Category: Baseball

Go Rays!

After a great 5-2 road trip, the Washington Nationals come back home looking to keep the good times rolling. It has been a small sample, but this team has been much better on the road so far. At home, they are just 1-5. The Nats will look to add a second home win tonight.

Blake Butera has shuffled up his lineup a bit. Daylen Lile will be in the 6 spot, the lowest he has been this season. Butera told me this was strictly a matchup based move. After getting hit in the hand yesterday, Jacob Young is not in the lineup, but Butera said he was available off the bench. Joey Wiemer will be in center instead. Jose Tena will be at DH today and Keibert Ruiz will be behind the dish. The dependable Zack Littell will be on the mound.

The Giants offense has not been great so far this year, which has Tony Vitello searching for answers. His top 3 hitters have been reasonably effective, but Rafael Devers has been off to a slow start. The Giants picked up Daniel Susac in the Rule 5 draft, and he has earned more reps behind the plate with his red hot start. Logan Webb has been one of the steadiest and most underrated arms in the league. He will be on the mound tonight.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV and Fox 5 WTTG

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nationals have been playing solid baseball so far, but that has mainly been the case on the road. It would be nice to give the home fans a taste of Butera ball. The Giants are struggling right now, but they have solid talent and cannot be taken lightly. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Maybe the greens wull change the mojo of this team? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

⚾️ First Pitch: 7:15pm ET —Fenway Park, Boston, MA

📺 TV: Apple TV

📻 Radio: WEEI

The Mets came to Wrigley Field riding an eight-game losing streak in which they had been outscored 44-12.

Those sorts of things are usually ripe for the losing streak team to break it, especially with the wind blowing out at the ol’ ballyard.

Not in this one. The Mets looked like a team in disarray and now have a nine-game losing streak in which they have been outscored 56-16 after the Cubs demolished them 12-4 on a warm, windy April afternoon.

The Cubs wasted no time getting the bats going after Edward Cabrera threw a scoreless first. With one out, Michael Busch walked and Alex Bregman singled him to third. Ian Happ struck out, but this bloop single by Seiya Suzuki made it 1-0 Cubs [VIDEO].

That 1-0 lead quickly became 4-0 courtesy of Moisés Ballesteros [VIDEO].

About the four-run first, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs’ four runs in the first inning equal their total in the first in their previous 18 games. That had been their fewest in any inning. They began today having scored six each in the second and fourth.

The Mets made it 4-3 off Cabrera in the second with four hits in the inning, and it could have been more if not for this terrific throw from Pete Crow-Armstrong [VIDEO].

The Cubs got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second on another homer. With one out, Dansby Swanson walked and Nico Hoerner put one in the bleachers [VIDEO].

That was Nico’s third of the year. Last year he hit his third home run on June 28, in the Cubs’ 79th game.

Cabrera had an easy third and fourth thanks to two double plays, one of those a strikeout-throwout DP by Carson Kelly [VIDEO].

The Cubs then extended the lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Swanson singled with one out and Hoerner and Busch also singled, loading the bases. Bregman hit a sharp line drive right to Francisco Lindor at short for the second out, and then this happened [VIDEO].

The Mets have some definite holes in their defense and it showed there. Meanwhile, the Cubs were getting some slick defense from Hoerner. This one ended the fifth [VIDEO].

This leaping catch by Nico was the second out in the sixth [VIDEO].

Hoerner was 3-for-5, his third three-hit game in his last eight. Between that and the great defense, if he keeps this up he might be NL Player of the Week, or even Player of the Month for April. He’s just been outstanding.

Cabrera finished up with six innings, allowing eight hits and three runs. Not a great outing, but good enough with the offense the Cubs provided. Riley Martin, who I am liking better and better with each outing, threw a scoreless seventh which included Kelly getting this ball call overturned for a strikeout [VIDEO].

Then the Cubs blew the game open in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Suzuki doubled and scored on this double by Matt Shaw [VIDEO].

Shaw advanced to third on a single by Kelly, and scored on this wild pitch [VIDEO].

PCA walked to load the bases, and Swanson scored Kelly with this sac fly to make it 10-3 [VIDEO].

Jacob Webb allowed the Mets a run on four hits in the top of the eighth, and the Cubs did that one better in the bottom of the inning. Busch led off with a single and one out later, Happ launched this towering home run to Waveland [VIDEO].

Check out the height and distance on that one! [VIDEO].

Hoby Milner entered to throw the ninth and allowed a leadoff single, but one out later ended the game on this double play [VIDEO].

A note from John on the Cubs’ three straight 10+ run games:

The Cubs had last scored at least 10 runs in three consecutive games Sept. 13-15, 2019, when they crushed the Pirates at home, 17-8, 14-1 and 16-6, setting a franchise record for total runs in a three-game series. This is the Cubs’ ninth three-game double-digit streak since 1901. Their record is five in a row, June 1-6, 1930.

And about the Cubs’ three wins in a row:

The Cubs’ previous three-game winning streak was the final three games of last season, when they swept the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, 12-1, 7-3 and 2-0.

Their last four-game streak was Sept. 14-17, when they beat the Rays at home, 4-3, then swept at Pittsburgh, 4-0, 4-1 and 8-4.

This is the sort of offense I think we will see more of from this team — some long-sequence innings, some home runs, taking advantage of the other team’s errors.

Unfortunately, there was bad news that broke just before the first pitch today, the Cubs announcing that Daniel Palencia was going on the 15-day IL with an oblique strain. Here’s how that happened (Bluesky link):

At this writing the Cubs have not announced who’s being called up to replace Palencia on the active roster. There aren’t a whole lot of choices, to be honest. As always, we await developments.

More on the game from Craig Counsell [VIDEO].

The Cubs will go for four straight wins Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The weather will be much colder with the wind likely blowing in, which could be good news for Jameson Taillon, who will start for the Cubs. Old NL Central friend Freddy Peralta goes for the Mets. Game time is again 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Mets market territories).

The Atlanta Braves have not lost any of their first six series of the season, the last team in the majors who can make that claim.

They’re atop the NL East at 12-7 and are now taking aim at the two-time defending division champions in the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game series which begins Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park.

Atlanta turns to Martín Pérez (0-1, 3.14 ERA) on the mound against Philadelphia right-hander Taijuan Walker (1-2, 7.36 ERA) for the series opener.

Let’s see if the timing to take on the Phillies (who have lost three straight series) is as good as it looks for the Braves.

Game Notes

Preview

Lineup

After another bad outing by Kodai Senga on Friday, manager Carlos Mendoza was hesitant to commit that the right-hander would make his next start for the Mets.

Senga went just 3.1 innings against the Chicago Cubs, allowing six earned runs on six hits, including two home runs, and three walks in an eventual 12-4 loss. In his last start against the Athletics at Citi Field, Senga lasted 2.1 innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits and two home runs in a game New York lost 11-6.

"He didn’t execute and they made him pay," Mendoza said.

Prior to his struggles which come on the heels of a rough end to his 2025 season, Senga got off to a good start, allowing four earned runs and striking out 16 over 11.2 innings in his first two outings. He also had an impressive spring training and looked like he was back to being the ace-caliber pitcher he was for the Mets in 2023 and the first half of 2025.

"Started off pretty good the first couple of outings," Mendoza said. "Coming out of spring training we saw a different guy, but then the last two I think the intent hasn’t been there. We saw the velo at the beginning and now it’s more like feeling for the strike zone, more like pitchability -- trying to mix cutters, sweepers as opposed to going right after people which is what we saw in spring training and the first two outings."

Now New York will need to make a decision on Senga whose next turn in the rotation would likely be April 23 against the Minnesota Twins. However, the Mets have an off day before then that they can use to their benefit.

Whatever New York decides to do, though, it's in a tough spot either way with its right-hander who is known to be fastidious with his craft and can harp on his mechanics, often to a fault, while sometimes also being overcritical of himself.

"It’s hard to figure it out, especially with him," Mendoza said. "But the number one thing is his health and he's healthy... I think he's gotta go back to trusting his pitches in the strike zone. He's gotta be able to compete in the strike zone, that's what it comes down to. If you get behind hitters at this level, they're gonna make you pay."

When asked about what's been the biggest difference for him during his last two starts, Senga agreed with his skipper.

"Not getting ahead, not getting first pitch strikes, getting into hitter's counts," he said.

Yet, despite the results, Senga believes he's "not all that far off" from where he needs to be.

"A lot of this stuff is the pitches just not being as strong near the hitter or near the catcher at home plate and I'm not being able to deceive them as much," he said. "... I just need to go out there and perform."

“We’ve improved defensively,” David Stearns said pregame Friday. 

“We have not been perfect, but overall, I can’t point at our defense and say that our defense has been a problem.” 

Just a few hours later, the Mets’ defense was a problem. 

With Huascar Brazoban attempting to keep the Cubs at bay in a three-run game in the bottom of the fourth, Brett Baty booted a potential double-play ball to load the bases. 

While it was ruled a hit, leaving the bat at 97 mph, it's a play he feels he should've made. 

And the miscue ended up costing the Mets two batters later, as Brazoban got the next man to lineout then appeared to escape the jam, but Baty botched another should be routine grounder off his glove to prolong the inning. 

A strikeout ended the threat, but Chicago stretched the lead to four with some help from the miscues. 

“I’ve gotta make both of them, simple as that,” Baty said postgame. “I feel like I make those plays 10 times out of 10, I gotta make them -- I don’t care that the first one is a hit, the play should be made.”

New York, of course, went on to be blown out by Chicago as they suffered their ninth consecutive loss. 

This continues what’s been a tough stretch for Baty on both sides of the ball. 

The 26-year-old was tremendous at second and third last season, but with Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette in town, he's struggled to find his footing in his transition to first and right field. 

He also hasn't been able to carryover his breakout at the plate thus far, as his 0-for-2 on the afternoon pushed his team-worst streak to 20 consecutive hitless at-bats. 

Baty is now hitting .197 on the season, and "terrible" is how he described his play. 

“I need to get back to my approach,” he said. “Swing at strikes, hitting the ball hard all over, and play defense better than I did today because I was terrible -- it’s a long season but it sucks right now for sure, just gotta keep going.”

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, April 17, 2026, 6:45 p.m. ET

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Apple TV

The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home today against the Pittsburgh Pirates looking to grab a win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Bucs Dugout is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
• The commenting system was updated during the summer. They’re still working on optimizing it for Game Day Threads like ours. If you don’t like clicking “Load More Comments”, remember that the “Z” key can be your friend. It loads up the latest comments automatically.

BD community, this is your thread for today’s game against the Rays. Enjoy!

The Orioles will look to even the series tonight after avoiding being no-hit on Thursday. Gunnar Henderson will lead off and play shortstop with left fielder Taylor Ward batting second. Pete Alonso will bat third, and designated hitter Dylan Beavers will bat clean up.

Baltimore has struggled to fill the clean up spot with Adley Rutschman sidelined. Beavers, who has been under the weather of late, will get the nod against right-handed pitcher Tanner Bibee.

Samuel Basallo will catch and bat fifth after just missing a game-tying single last night. Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser will complete the outfield with Taveras playing center. Coby Mayo will return to third base, and Jeremiah Jackson will round out the order at second.

Chris Bassitt will look to earn his first win in an Orioles uniform. Bassitt limited San Francisco to one run over 4.2 frames his last time out.

Bibee enters the game 0-2 with a 6.38 ERA.

Orioles lineup:

1. Gunnar Henderson SS
2. Taylor Ward LF
3. Pete Alonso 1B
4. Dylan Beavers DH
5. Samuel Basallo C
6. Leody Taveras CF
7. Colton Cowser RF
8. Coby Mayo 3B
9. Jeremiah Jackson 2B

Chris Bassitt RHP

The Yankees are still figuring out their third base situation with Opening Day starter Ryan McMahon struggling mightily at the plate.

But until they do, McMahon will be riding the bench. 

Manager Aaron Boone's lineup in the team's series opener with the Royals has Amed Rosario starting at third. What makes that notable is that Michael Wacha, a right-hander, is on the mound for Kansas City.

Now, Wacha is a neutral right-hander in his career, but it shows how poorly McMahon has hit -- and conversely, how well Rosario has performed -- that Boone would rather have McMahon come off the bench.

Boone's decision is more about matchups over the next six games. After Wacha, the Royals will start two southpaws and the Red Sox series should feature two lefties as well.

"This is probably a stretch [where he won't start] and he's working on a lot of things behind the scenes that I actually feel like I'm seeing some progress on," Boone explained. "We need him and expect him to be a real factor for us, not just defensively but offensively as well, so with these next several matchups being a little more difficult, probably be a lot of Rosey in there. While McMahon continues to kind of work through it."

Boone didn't commit to Rosario starting all three games of the Royals series. The skipper revealed there will be lefties in the lineup against Cole Ragans on Sunday because of the reverse splits, but he hopes this stretch allows McMahon to continue to work behind the scenes. 

So what is McMahon working on?

"More, just kind of staying more square with his shoulders. He can kind of rotate that front side, which kind of gets him in and out of the zone a little bit, and I actually feel like he's making some progress on it. Again, he's really talented offensively. There's real juice in the bat. There's knowledge of the strike zone. Hopefully, we can get him to a better place ....we need his production, especially down at the bottom of the lineup."

So far this season, McMahon is 5-for-42 (all singles) with two RBI and eight walks. Rosario is 9-for-34 with a double, two home runs and six RBI. 

Going into the Mets’ matinee with the Cubs, things were bleak. The Mets lost eight straight, the bats were dead, and the starting pitching has been inconsistent.

Well, things got worse, and the Mets dropped their ninth straight, losing to the Cubs 12-4.

The Mets managed to make fairly good contact off of Cubs starter Edward Cabrera, but were only able to break through once. In the first, Francisco Lindor lined a double off of Pete Crow Armstrong’s glove, but he was stranded at second.

However, before the Mets came up to bat a second time, they were already deep in the hole. Kodai Senga walked the second batter of the game in Michael Busch, who was pushed to third on an Alex Bregman single. Senga struck out Ian Happ and looked close to getting out of the jam. However, a Seiya Suzuki single put the Cubs up 1-0. One batter later, Moisés Ballesteros hit a three run shot to left field, and the Mets were down four.

However, the Mets showed some fight in the second, when Francisco Alvarez and MJ Melendez each singled to start the frame. Marcus Semien then hit a sharp double to left, scoring Alvy. After a Brett Baty strikeout, Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run single, bringing the Mets within one.

However, the Cubs came roaring back in the bottom of the inning. With a walked Dansby Swanson on first, Nico Hoerner homered to left, the it was all of a sudden it was a three-run lead.

Senga made it to the fourth, effectively bettering his disastrous start against the Athletics, but was pulled after Swanson singled with one out. Huascar Brazobán was first out of the bullpen, and he induced fairly weak contact, but good speed (Hoerner) and bad defense (Brett Baty x2) led to an additional run.

If there is good news from the offensive side of this game, it is that the Mets were making solid contact all game, and would’ve had a couple extra singles if not for some very, very good defense. Bo Bichette in particular got good wood on the ball a few times, but it was hit in the wrong places. This is cold comfort, but it is better than the team looking totally listless.

Sean Manaea relieved Brazobán and looked good in the fifth and sixth innings, with Manaea’s diminished stuff looking fine. However, in the seventh, the wheels came off. This is exactly what happened after Happ flew out for the first out: Suzuki double, a Matt Shaw double (Suzuki scores), a Carson Kelly single, a Crow-Armstrong walk, a wild pitch to Swanson (Shaw scores), followed by a Swanson sac fly (Kelly scores), and Hoerner grounded out. It was 10-3 Chicago after seven.

In the eighth, Jacob “I hit Kevin Pillar in the face but I seem like a good dude” Webb relieved Riley Martin, and promptly gave up three hits. Lindor reached on an infield hit, Luis Robert Jr. lined a double down the left-field line, and Alvarez legged out a swinging bunt, allowing Lindor to score. After a MJ Melendez strikeout, Semien lofted a ball to left to load the bases for Mark Vientos. Vientos it a grounder to short, which was turned into a double play, and the threat was over.

Despite looking like cooked bread, Manaea returned for the eighth and gave up a two-run dinger to Happ to put the Cubs up by eight. The Mets went quietly in the top of the ninth, and the longest losing streak in 22 years continues.

Freddy Peralta will try to stop the skid tomorrow against Jameson Taillon at 2:20 EDT.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
Bleed Cubbie Blue

Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: LOL
Big Mets loser: Kodai Senga, -42.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: -46.0% WPA
Mets hitters: -4.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s RBI double, +10.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Moisês Ballesteros’s three-run home, -20.6% WPA

The Mets suffered their ninth straight loss, falling to the Cubs 12-4 on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

This is New York's longest losing streak since 2004.

Here are some takeaways...

- The Mets' offense finally counterpunched after falling behind early. Kodai Senga spotted the Cubs four runs in the first, but the shaken up lineup was able to string together some second inning hits and struck three times on a Marcus Semien double and Tyrone Taylor two-run single to close the gap. 

New York had scored three runs in their previous 39 innings before the big top of the second.  

- Unfortunately for the Mets, Senga didn't fare much better the rest of the way. The right-hander gave up a monstrous two-run shot after walking the No. 9 hitter in the bottom of the second, then was able to work out of a two-out jam in the third before being pulled with a man on in the fourth. 

Senga lasted just 3.1 innings this time out after going just 2.1 in his last outing. 

- Things went from bad to worse after Senga left as some shoddy Mets defense helped the Cubs load the bases against Huascar Brazoban. The big righty appeared to get out of the jam, but Brett Baty booted a routine grounder to first, bringing in Chicago's seventh run of the game. 

Senga's ERA is up to 8.83 after allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks. 

- Sean Manaea put together two scoreless innings of work out the bullpen before running into trouble. The Cubs loaded the bases and tacked on three runs against him in the seventh, then Ian Happ crushed a 411 foot two-run homer to put the finishing touches on this one in the eighth.  

- While it was wasted by the poor pitching performance, the Mets' offense did finally enjoy a decent showing. They recorded the eight hardest-hit balls in the game and finished with a total of 14 hits, with nine different players recording one and five of them finishing with two. 

New York still couldn't come up with the big knock needed, though, finishing 4-for-11 with RISP. 

- Carson Benge put together a nice day in his first big-league appearance in the leadoff spot. The lefty-hitting rookie smacked a 105.2 mph lineout to left in his first at-bat, then laced a single up the middle in his second, giving him hits in three straight and six of his last seven games. 

Benge finished 1-for-4, and also made a diving catch in shallow right field. 

- MJ Melendez enjoyed his second straight good game after being called up from Syracuse. He's now 4-for-7 to start his Mets tenure after reaching in each of his first three plate appearances with a walk and two hard-hit singles, before striking out in the eighth.

- Francisco Alvarez reached three times with two hits and walk, bringing his OPS to .959 on the season. 

Game MVP: Nico Hoerner

Hoerner was tremendous on both sides of the ball, finishing with three hits and flashing the leather at second.

Highlights

MJ Melendez is 3-for-5 to start his Mets career pic.twitter.com/oycPIAJ2Qa

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

Marcus Semien is first-pitch swinging and drives an RBI double to get the Mets on the board pic.twitter.com/qikwbEUcij

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

Tyrone Taylor drives one off the wall to drive in a pair

He's out at second base after oversliding the bag pic.twitter.com/pQWF35cTty

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

MJ Melendez has reached base all three times today and is 4-for-6 to start his Mets tenure pic.twitter.com/HB7gWmOtMi

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

What's next

The Mets turn to Freddy Peralta looking to stop the skid against Jameson Taillon and the Cubs on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. on SNY.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Braves:

Let’s talk about it.

After getting banged up repeatedly in Thursday’s victory, utilityman Zach McKinstry has been placed on the 10-day injured list with left hip/abdominal inflammation. Infielder Hao-Yu Lee has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo to make his major league debut. He’ll wear number 50, and is batting eighth and playing third base on Friday night in Boston.

The Tigers acquired Lee from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen back in 2023. Currently ranked sixth on MLB Pipeline’s ranking of Tigers’ prospect, the right-handed hitting infielder has good power and hit 14 home runs while stealing 22 bases last year in his first full season at the Triple-A level. Lee has solid plate discipline and will take his walks and generally keeps his strikeouts under control. Now 23 years old, Lee was injured this spring with an oblique strain before he got a chance to play for his native Team Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic, and missed most of the rest of spring camp.

As a hitter, Lee likes to go the opposite way and tends to spray a good amount of line drives. He’s much better against left-handed pitching, and that might be the majority of his role in McKinstry’s stead. The main flaw at the plate for Lee is handling good breaking balls. He’s shown some modest signs of improvement in terms of laying off the breaking stuff, but he’ll certainly be tested in the major leagues. If he can take the junk without chasing too much and get himself some fastballs to hit he should do fine, and this will be a good experience for him to take back to Toledo to keep refining his game.

Lee can handle both second and third base, but is generally better at second, while third is still a position he’s learning. He’s an aggressive hard-nosed player all around, running the bases better than his size and speed might suggest, and generally grinding out at-bats.

Congratulations to Hao-Yu Lee on his major league debut.