Category: Baseball

The Phillies got their obligatory series loss in San Francisco out of the way early this year, going out with a whimper in the rubber match of the series thanks to a silent offense and a back-breaking home run allowed by Aaron Nola. They have still not won a series in San Francisco since 2013 and are 9-29 at Oracle Park since. The last run the Phillies offense scored in this series was Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of their comeback win on Monday. They have not scored in the ensuing 20 innings since and have totaled only eight hits over that span.

It looked like maybe today would be different though when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper both singled in the first to put two runners on with one out, but Alec Bohm lined out on three pitches and Bryson Stott struck out on six pitches against Giants’ starter Tyler Mahle. It was one of six strikeouts for Mahle in 5.2 innings, five of which came on his splitter.

Schwarber and Harper yet again got on base in the third inning, this time with a pair of two-out walks and advancing to third and second respectively on a wild pitch. But yet again, Bohm failed to make the Giants pay, as he softly grounded out to third on a pitch on the outside corner of the zone despite being ahead in the count 3-1.

That would be the Phillies last real scoring chance until the seventh, when pinch hitter Otto Kemp singled, only the team’s second hit since the first inning, with one out and Trea Turner drew a walk. The previous script was flipped this time however, as it was Schwarber and Harper’s turn to not come through with runners on. Schwarber swung over a curveball in the dirt for a punchout and Harper grounded out to first on a slider well below the zone to end the threat and strand two more runners. The Phillies wouldn’t get another baserunner and in total stranded nine total runners and went 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

Aaron Nola meanwhile was excellent through five innings, allowing just three hits and no walks. He escaped a one out triple from Luis Arraez in the first with back-to-back strikeouts of Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers. Danger reared its head again in the fourth when Arraez and Chapman led off the inning with a pair of singles, but Nola was able to get Devers to ground into a double play and induced a fly ball to Jung Hoo-Lee to escape damage once again.

Nola had two runners on again in the sixth following a Willy Adames double and an Arraez walk, but this time he was not able to navigate his way out of trouble. He struck out Chapman after an ABS challenge overturned a call on the field for the second out, but the first pitch Nola threw to Devers was deposited into center field for a three-run home run.

Nola then finished the sixth and ended his day with those three runs allowed on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in six innings. Not a bad day, but with how the offense played in this series, it was insurmountable. José Alvarado allowed two more runs to come across for the Giants in the eighth thanks to some singles and his own throwing error as the final humiliation before the Phillies offense went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Next matchup

The Phillies will have off tomorrow before opening a three-game series at home with the Diamondbacks on Friday. Jesús Luzardo (1-1, 4.97) is scheduled to take the ball for Philadelphia. Arizona has of this writing not yet announced a starter.

After spearheading last night’s thrilling comeback win, Amed Rosario finds himself back in the starting lineup, and I will be expecting another two home runs from today’s third baseman. He and the rest of the Yankees will be facing off against the man who was once seen as the future long-term ace of the staff, with Luis Severino tapped to start against his old squad for the third time in his career.

Severino’s had a rough start to 2026 after a strong World Baseball Classic — one of many such cases around the league. In two starts he’s posted a 6.48 ERA, but his 3.63 FIP is a little cleaner. He had one perfectly serviceable start in the season’s opening series at Toronto; getting thudded around by Atlanta last week has his early-season numbers looking a little rough. He hasn’t exactly fooled the Yankees in his two previous starts against them, with a 15.26 ERA and 1.136 OPS against. If that trend continues today, New York stands a good chance of winning yet another series.

Will Warren gets the ball for the Bronx Bombers, in a reverse of Sevy — strong ERA, higher FIP. His paltry five percent walk rate is the big thing to watch as he gets into the swing of the season; I can’t imagine he’ll keep it that low but if he can maintain a below-average walk rate, his historical challenges with nibbling might be going away. The rotation has led the way for the Yankees so far this season, and there must be some pressure on the next day’s starter to match what the squad has put up in the year’s first two weeks.

We have a little bit of juggling in the lineup, with the aforementioned Rosario at third and batting eighth. Ryan McMahon returns to the field, this time at shortstop and batting ninth. I’m not in love with McMahon getting much playing time at all, but it’s not like José Caballero has been any better. Austin Wells also enjoys a night off, with J.C. Escarra behind the plate.

Take note that this is the weekly Amazon Prime game!

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — New York, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: Amazon Prime, NBCSCA

Radio broadcast: Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast (ATH), WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY)

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

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For the first time in 14 years, the Colorado Rockies swept the Houston Astros with a 9-1 victory on Wednesday. With the victory, the Rockies improved to 6-6 on the year, marking the latest they had been at a .500 record or better at least 12 games into a season since May 14, 2022. Behind another strong starting pitching performance and quality hitting from the offense, the Rockies have now won four straight games.

Lorenzen’s Refresh

Looking to avenge his rough outing last time around, Michael Lorenzen did that and more against the Astros. He ended up going 5.2 innings, allowing one run on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The lone run came in the top of the second after Isaac Paredes walked to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a single from Christian Walker. Lorenzen then notched a pair of punch outs before pinch-hitter Brice Matthews singled to left field to drive in the run.

Lorezen went right back to work, utilizing all of his pitches to stifle the Astros offense. He induced eight groundouts and threw 62 of his 100 pitches for strikes. He was close to finishing the sixth inning, but ran into trouble after Joey Loperfido had a two-out hit to put men on the corners. Lorenzen then left the game with the bases loaded after issuing a walk to Matthews. Luckily, Zach Agnos bailed him out of the inning without another run scoring.

The Rockies’ starters now sport a 4.44 ERA on the season as a unit at the end of this home stand.

Agnos Carving up the Astros

Speaking of Agnos, the young righty cruised through the end of the game to earn a multi-inning save. He ended up working 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two batters. He turned 44 pitches, 29 of which went for strikes.

A Busy Second Inning

Astros’ starter Cristian Javier had to depart the game after throwing his warm-up pitches in the second inning, leaving the Rockies to face off against the Houston bullpen the rest of the game. The Rockies ended up scoring five runs in the second inning, after scratching one across in the bottom of the first. Troy Johnston led off with a double, followed by a bunt single for Brenton Doyle. He then stole second base while Kyle Karros drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Edouard Julien delivered a two-run single to give the Rockies a 3-1 lead.

Tyler Freeman dropped a sacrifice bunt, setting up a sacrifice fly RBI for Mickey Moniak. Hunter Goodman then drew a walk and stole second base with TJ Rumfield at the plate. A wild pitch scored Julien, upon which Rumfield drew a walk after a 10-pitch at-bat. Ezequiel Tovar put the cap on the inning with an RBI double to give the Rockies a 6-1 lead.

Colorado had four hits, two stolen bases, three walks, and a pair of bunts in the inning, showing off the multiple facets that offense can use to score runs.

Rockies Rockin’ Offense

Goodman would tack on the Rockies’ seventh run with a solo home run in the fourth inning, while another sacrifice fly in the sixth inning would add on an eighth run, and a Johnston single in the eighth tacked on a ninth run. In total, the Rockies scored nine runs on 10 hits with every player reaching safely at least once. Julien, Tovar, and Johnston each had two hits, while only two starters didn’t have an RBI.

Even more surprising and encouraging was the fact that the Rockies drew nine walks against seven strikeouts. In fact, it was the first time in 251 games that they had more walks than strikeouts, which was the second-longest streak since 1901. Add in four stolen bases and a team that also went 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next

Colorado heads to San Diego to begin a four-game series. They will use an opener, most likely followed by Chase Dollander. San Diego will send Randy Vasquez (1-0, 0.75 ERA) to the mound.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 pm MT. See you then!

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Go Rays!

TORONTO –– With the chance to complete a perfect six-game road trip Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers instead stumbled with some uncharacteristically imperfect play.

In a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays, which snapped the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak, the team fell victim to the kind of mistakes it had largely avoided through the season’s first couple weeks.

There was a blown late-game lead, with the Blue Jays erasing a two-run deficit in the seventh against Jack Dreyer after a pivotal leadoff walk and three straight hits that tied the game.

“Just didn’t do my job,” Dreyer said.

There was a critical defensive breakdown with runners on the corners an inning later, when Will Smith tried to catch Andrés Giménez stealing a base at second –– only to see his throw trickle away from shortstop Miguel Rojas to let baserunner Davis Schneider score the go-ahead run from third.

“We thought we could get an out right there, a big out in that situation,” Smith said. “A little better throw would’ve got him.”

Instead, the Dodgers came up short, missing numerous other opportunities offensively to pull away early [they left six men stranded on base against Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease] and mount a rally late [they stranded the bases loaded in the seventh, and did nothing with two aboard in the ninth].

And despite a solid six-inning, one-run start from Shohei Ohtani, they had to settle for a 5-1 record on this opening East Coast trip.

“When you win the first five, you want to get greedy and win the last one,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But it’s still a really good road trip.”

What it means

With the loss, the Dodgers (9-3) also squandered an opportunity to complete a sweep in this World Series rematch.

And in doing so, they failed to replicate the kind of big-moment execution that lifted them to a championship in last year’s Fall Classic.

No sequence loomed larger than the Dodgers’ botched steal attempt in the bottom of the eighth. Both Roberts and Smith said trying to get Giménez at second –– even with Davis at third as the go-ahead run –– was the right decision. Smith noted the dugout even called for a throw in such a situation.

Alas, Smith delivered a low ball to Rojas, who couldn’t squeeze it as he tried to attempt a bang-bang tag.

“I think it was a ball that I know Miggy would love to have back and hold onto,” Roberts said. “That’s baseball. That happens. There’s nobody more sure-handed than Miggy. But yeah, I thought it was the right play.”

The Dodgers also committed their first two-error game of the season, recorded more walks (four) than strikeouts (three) as a pitching staff, and went just 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Who’s hot

Two pitching starts into his first full-time two-way season as a Dodger, Ohtani has yet to give up an earned run.

That didn’t mean he was dominant in his six-inning start Wednesday. He struck out only two batters while letting five reach base (four hits, one walk). He acknowledged he was battling some end-of-the-road-trip fatigue.

Still, when he needed to make a big pitch, he did –– blowing a fastball by Kazuma Okamoto to strand two runners in the first inning, then getting Tyler Heinenman to chase an inning-ending splitter in the second to work around an Alex Freeland error.

He also finished his day by stranding a leadoff double from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the sixth.

“You’re not going to feel your best every day,” Roberts said. “But to his credit, he found a way to give us length and exit with a lead.”

Who’s not

Last year, Dreyer was one of the pleasant (and rare) surprises in the Dodgers’ bullpen, posting a 2.95 ERA in his rookie season.

But on Wednesday, he took the first lumps of his second big-league campaign –– leading to the first late-game lead the Dodgers bullpen has blown this year.

With the Dodgers up 3-1 in the seventh, Dreyer gave up two runs while retiring just one of the five batters he faced. It began as most bad innings do, with a leadoff walk. Then, with one out, the Blue Jays tagged him with three straight hits, including an RBI double from George Springer and a game-tying single from Daulton Varsho.

“Obviously, I want to be put in that situation and I want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Dreyer said. “And I just didn’t do it today.”

Up next

The Dodgers will be off on Thursday, before beginning a six-game homestand on Friday when the Texas Rangers come to Dodger Stadium.

If the first dozen games of this Mariners season have felt derivative to you, that wouldn’t be misplaced. Dating back to 2023, Seattle has stumbled out of the gate, starting each season with a record of 4-8. Thankfully, in all previous three years, the M’s have bounced back, staunching the bleeding to win their next game (and more often than not the few following ones). But hasn’t that script gotten old? The trips to the callback well surely wore thin in 2025. What’s next, a clip show episode? A main character has a baby?

You’d do well to know that a new path has been chosen.

Today’s morning contest got off to a promising start, with Rob Refsnyder battling back from an 0-2 count (and missing his first hit of the season by about two feet when he hammered a line drive down the third-base line foul) to work a leadoff walk against new Rangers lefty MacKenzie Gore. Cal Raleigh’s slow start to the year continued on a strikeout, but Julio Rodríguez drew a second walk on a 3-1 pitch that probably would have been challenged in a higher-leverage spot. Although Randy Arozarena and Brendan Donovan both went down on strikes, Seattle pushed Gore’s pitch count up to 26 to open the game; always an encouraging early sign.

By contrast, Bryan Woo stepped out of the gate as his usual self; breezy pace, bevy of fastballs, brisk at-bats. He needed eight fewer pitches to get through two frames than Gore used for one, and aside from a true jammed bleeder from Brandon Nimmo to lead off the first allowed no baserunners. Mitch Garver contributed with a keen ABS challenge in the second against Evan Carter, flipping a 1-1 count to 0-2 before Carter harmlessly flew out to Julio a few pitches later. Despite the efficiency, though, there were some scary contact moments, most notably a shot to left field off the bat of Jake Burger that Randy caught right at the wall and would have been out in seventeen big league ballparks. Those worries continued when Josh H. Smith led off the third by turning on a first-pitch four-seam up in the zone, sending it deep to right field. Refsnyder, filling in for the freshly injured Víctor Robles, had quite the amount of ground to cover, somehow getting a bead on the ball. He leapt, and…

Jo Adell, eat your heart out. Woo had to work a bit more through his next two frames, picking up a pair of strikeouts from Ezequiel Durán and Wyatt Langford that sandwiched a double over Julio’s head from Nimmo. Corey Seager led off the fourth with a walk, but was erased on a double play from Burger.

Meanwhile, Gore settled in, facing the minimum through his next three frames, including striking out the side in order in the third. Any chances for a no-hitter were put to rest in the fifth, though, when Mitch Garver led off the fifth with a solidly stroked base hit into center field for his first knock of the season. After having a possible double taken away by a diving stop by Durán in the third, it was a nice treat to see the Garv man get on the board. Any hopes of a big inning were dashed by a one-out double play from newest Mariner Connor Joe – on the second hardest-hit ball of the game. Tough scenes.

The bottom of the frame is where Woo began to wobble, despite getting a seven-pitch flyout from Carter for the first out. Danny Jansen grinded out another seven-pitch at-bat before hitting a bounding ball to third that Donovan cleanly fielded, but got off a weak throw due to his feet being improperly set, allowing the not-fleet-footed Jansen to reach. Smith and Durán followed with a pair of much more legitimate singles, loading the bases for just the guy we all wanted to see in this spot: Brandon Nimmo. Woo got the count to 1-1, and got Nimmo jammed on an inside fastball, dribbling the ball up the third base line. Joe, giving Josh Naylor the day off at first, charged, fielded, and threw well offline to home plate, allowing a pair of runs to cross on a ball that went maybe seventy feet.

Kyle’s brother tacked on the third and final run of the game with a routine sacrifice fly, and the rest of the game passed by in a blurry blink. While the M’s got Gore out of the game through five on the back of that hefty first inning, the Rangers relievers were suffocating, allowing just one baserunner (a soft line drive into right field from Cole Young leading off the ninth. Hell yeah, Cole) over the last four frames in economical fashion. José A. Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo, and Gabe Speier all stitched together three scoreless innings, facing the minimum thanks to a caught stealing by Garver and a double play from Durán. If you’re looking for a crumb of good news, Speier particularly looked sharp, picking up a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning to get some work in.

The Mariners fell today to 4-9 for the first time in the Dipoto era. If nothing else, this year has gotten off to a different start. An off day tomorrow feels like a gift for fans and players alike before they head back home, kicking off the homestand with a weird, wrap-around Friday-to-Monday series with the Astros – who have just been swept by the Rockies. We’ll see how that turns out when we get there, but for now, I am prescribing reading a book, playing a video game, going for a walk (it’s a perfect spring day in Seattle if you’re so inclined), or any other activity is not paying a disastrous road trip any mind. You’ve earned that.

A former Yankees catcher’s 2026 season is not off to a great start. 

Jose Trevino, in his second season with the Reds after three years in The Bronx, was put on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a thoracic spine strain.

Trevino, 33, has played in three games for Cincinnati this season, going 1-for-11 at the plate. 

He has been serving as the Reds’ backup catcher behind starting backstop Tyler Stephenson. 

The injury marks the latest setback in what has been a precipitous fall since a career season with the Bombers four years ago. 

After coming over to the Yankees from the Rangers in a deal for right-hander Albert Abreu and minor league lefty Robert Ahlstrom before the 2022 season, Trevino immediately made a major impact. 

The framer extraordinaire took over the starting catcher job from Kyle Higashioka and made the most of it, making the American League All-Star team. 

Trevino’s prowess behind the plate earned him the AL Gold and Platinum Glove awards as the best defensive player in the league at the catching position. 

His good times with the Yankees would end that season. 

In 2023, Trevino was limited to just 55 games thanks to a wrist injury, and his already below-average effort at the plate took a big step back, as he slashed .210/.257/.312 with four home runs in 168 plate appearances. 

A year later, Trevino appeared in just 74 games, with Austin Wells taking over the starting role behind the plate. 

He was traded to Cincy in exchange for Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson after the 2024 season. 

Last season, Trevino was below replacement level, according to Baseball Reference (-0.2 WAR), hitting .238/.272/.351 in 302 plate appearances.

The Dodgers were on the verge of ending their first road trip undefeated, but the Blue Jays rallied against the bullpen for three unanswered runs to avoid being swept as the Dodgers fell 4-3.

Before Shohei Ohtani took the mound for the second time this season, he drew a lead-off walk to extend his on-base streak to 43 games, tying Ichiro for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player. His on-base streak is now tied for sixth for the longest such streak in Dodgers history. Kyle Tucker followed Ohtani with a walk of his own to put the first two men on base with no outs, but Toronto starter Dylan Cease struck out Will Smith for his first out and induced a line-drive double play from Freddie Freeman to end the threat.

Ohtani was in danger of having his scoreless streak snapped as he allowed a pair of singles to George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but he was able to get Jesús Sánchez to pop out on a 3-0 count and struck out Kazuma Okamoto to keep Toronto off the board.

After a scoreless second inning, the Blue Jays proceeded to snap Ohtani’s scoreless streak at 25 1/3 innings as Sánchez lined a two-out RBI double down the left field line to give Toronto their first lead of the series.

The Dodgers were left struggling for answers against Cease after the first inning walks, as they went down quietly over three innings until Smith reached on an infield single in the top of the fourth, advancing to second on a throwing error from Okamoto. Freeman brought him home with a single up the middle to give him his team-leading 13th RBI and erase a short-lived Toronto lead.

The Dodgers got to Cease to begin the top of the sixth inning, as he allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Cease was pulled after 96 pitches and he was accounted for a Teoscar Hernández sacrifice fly off of Louis Varland to put the Dodgers back in front by a run.

The Blue Jays threatened against Ohtani in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Guerrero lined a lead-off double to put the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Sánchez followed Guerrero with a hard ground ball to Rojas at short, but he gunned down the lead runner at third for the first out, and Ohtani kept Toronto at bay to end his day on the mound. It was another quality start for Ohtani, and he maintains a spotless earned runs average after allowing just the unearned run. His two strikeouts on Wednesday are a career low for any start of at least six innings in his big league career.

Game 7 heroes Miguel Rojas and Smith combined to give the Dodgers an insurance run in the top of the seventh, with the latter driving an RBI single up the middle against Tyler Rogers to make it a two-run game.

Jack Dreyer came in to face the bottom of Toronto’s lineup in the bottom of the seventh inning, and he faced trouble early by walking Davis Schneider and allowing a single to Tyler Heineman to put the tying run on base. George Springer narrowly missed hitting an opposite field go-ahead home run, but still connected for his second RBI double of the series to bring the Blue Jays to within a run. Dalton Varsho got Cease off the hook for the loss with a base hit up the middle to tie the game at three and knock Dreyer out of the game.

Blake Treinen came in to face the righty Guerrero, but walked him on four pitches to load the bases and put the go-ahead run at third. He bounced back to strike out Sánchez for the second out and then got Okamoto to roll over to third to keep the game tied.

Ben Casparius took over in the bottom of the eighth inning, and after getting Ernie Clement to fly out on one pitch, he walked Schneider and allowed a base hit to Andrés Giménez to put men on the corners, once again with the go-ahead run at third. Giménez took off for second base on a 1-0 pitch to Brandon Valenzuela, and Smith’s throw kicked away from Rojas, allowing Schneider to score and giving the Blue Jays the lead.

Kyle Tucker connected for his second straight single against closer Jeff Hoffman to put the tying run on first base with one out in the top of the ninth inning, and Smith walked to put the potential go-ahead run on base. Hoffman got Freeman to strike out on a high fastball and induced a weak ground ball from Max Muncy as the Dodgers suffered their first defeat away from home in 2026.

It was a rare struggling performance from the red-hot Andy Pages, as he went 0-4 with four strikeouts while snapping an eight-game hit streak dating back to March 30.

Three runs are the lowest total the Dodgers have had in any road game this year, although they are still averaging 8.67 runs per game away from Dodger Stadium. Now they’re set to return back home, where they last struggled mightily against the Cleveland Guardians combining for just seven runs in the three-game series.

Game particulars

• WP— Tyler Rogers (1-0): 1 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
• LP— Ben Casparius (0-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
• SV— Jeff Hoffman (2): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are off on Thursday but are back at home to open a three-game series with the Texas Rangers on Friday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tyler Glasnow kicks off the series for the Dodgers against right-hander Kumar Rocker.

The base runners were there. The result? Same old story.

White Sox lose 5-3 to the Orioles, swept again, because of course they are. Sean Burke did his best Houdini act, chewing through 23 pitches in a clean first. More traffic in the second — plunked a guy, walked another, but somehow left them both standing. It was ugly, but it kept the Sox in it.

For a hot second, the bats woke up in the second. Colson Montgomery whiffed, but Andrew Benintendi smoked a triple, Dustin Harris knocked him in, swiped a bag, and scored on Luisangel Acuña’s single. With the bases loaded and one out, a double play killed the rally. They scored two runs, but you could already feel the missed chance hanging in the air.

Naturally, the lead vanished. Burke handed out a free pass to Gunnar Henderson; Tyler Ward doubled him home; wild pitch; groundout; tie game. Blink, and the lead’s gone.

The South Siders snatched the lead back in the fifth, and it was pure White Sox. Walk, walk, another walk, bases loaded. Then Rutschman lobs one back to the mound, Bradish boots it, and Meidroth sneaks home. Free run, thank you very much. Didn’t matter. The lead was gone before you could even enjoy it.

Burke’s afternoon: five innings, two runs, nothing flashy, but he did his job. Then, the bullpen comes in, and the lead walks out the door.

Lucas Sims took a winnable spot and set it on fire with a double, single, and walk to load the bases. Will Venable yanked him for Bryan Hudson, but it was already unraveling. Passed ball, tie game. Sac fly, Orioles up for good.

The Sox had their chances, but don’t they always? Traffic in the sixth and seventh, Vargas bunts his way on, Montgomery takes one for the team, but the bats go silent. Eighth inning? Three up, three down. Just enough left for one last cruel tease in the ninth.

Tyler Schweitzer made his debut and looked a little jittery, but he flashed something. Then, back-to-back doubles in the ninth for an insurance run that nobody needed but everyone expected.

Down two in the ninth, the Sox mock us with a pulse. Tristan Peters walks, Miguel Vargas walks, tying run up in Montgomery. You already know: soft roller, game over. Going 3-for-11 with RISP and striking out 12 times usually isn’t going to go well. And it didn’t.

The White Sox are now 4-8, and honestly, that feels generous. The problems aren’t rocket science as the bullpen coughs up leads, the lineup leaves runners everywhere, and close games are just a formality. Remember when they were 4-5? Feels like ancient history.

No day off tomorrow as the team heads to Kansas City for a four-game trip. The boys haven’t won on the Royals’ home turf in I don’t know, 100 years? It will be Anthony Kay against Seth Lugo to kick off the series at 6:40 p.m. CST. See you then!

Ready for Round 2? The A’s and Yankees are set to go at it again tonight in New York. The Green & Gold dropped the first game yesterday evening in heartbreaking fashion with another late-game meltdown so the club will try to run through the finish line in their second try against the team with the best record in the sport.

On the bump tonight for the good guys will be Luis Severino. The right-hander will be going up against the team he began his big league career and spent the first decade-plus with. The Athletics’ Opening Day starter was good in his first game of the year but struggled in his most recent outing, not even able to give four full innings in a loss to the Braves. In two career starts against his former team (both coming last year), Sevy has gotten rocked for 15 runs in just 7 2/3 innings so he’ll be looking to conquer his old team.

The starting nine tonight looks like this:

Mostly the same regular lineup, save for one change from yesterday’s order. Center field will be manning by Lawrence Butler this evening, spelling Denzel Clarke up the middle. That means we’ll see backup outfielder Carlos Cortes draw another start tonight.

The Yankees meanwhile will have right-handed Will Warren on the mound for tonight’s game. He’s off to a quick start this year allowing just three runs in his first two starts. The A’s will hope to give Warren his first bump in his season. They’ve had some poor performances against his in the past though as he’s only allowed one run against the A’s in two starts.

The Yankee lineup tonight:

The A’s did well holding down this potent offense for most of the game last night. Will they be able to do it again? Tall task for the boys tonight but we got this. Let’s go A’s!

Every baseball game has a story. That’s what makes the game so great. Here were some of the narratives working their way through my head as we entered today’s Orioles-White Sox contest:

Will the Orioles get back to .500 and keep pace in the AL East?

Will the offense find itself against a bad Chicago rotation?

Does a post-Tommy John Kyle Bradish still have his ace stuff?

Well, we have some answers for you: Yes. Sort of (Ward and Henderson look pretty amazing). And I think so, but it’s still a work in progress.

Of those queries, the stuff and health of Bradish may be most important. Entering today, the one-time Top 5 Cy Young Award finisher hadn’t quite been himself, with an 0-2 record, a 6.23 ERA, and a 6.23 BB/9 rate in two starts. Today, he was better, but you can tell he doesn’t feel 100%. Bradish threw five innings on 96 pitches, allowed three runs (two earned), struck out seven, walked three, and also made two errors (totally gratuitous—more on those later).

But this was enough, as the Orioles scored four runs off Chicago starter Sean Burke, added a fifth in the ninth, and a bullpen outfit of Tyler Wells, Grant Wolfram, Anthony Nunez and Rico García held the line. The result gave the Birds their first series sweep of 2026, and pushed them back to the .500 mark, at 6-6. Things feel much better in Birdland right now.

Bradish managed to complete five innings today, which is progress. But he won’t be happy with this one, either. The second inning is becoming a thing for him: he allowed four runs his last time out against Pittsburgh, all in the second, and the Second-Inning Blues continued today, as the White Sox scored two off Bradish on five consecutive hits, and the results really could have been worse.

With one out, Bradish hung a slider to Andrew Benintendi, who tripled into the right-field corner while outfielder Tyler O’Neill tried to fish the ball out, looking like somebody rummaging around in the toolshed for a screwdriver. Chicago’s five-through-nine hitters made it 2-0 with the bases loaded, and it felt like Bradish was spiraling. But then, the gods smiled on him: Chase Meidroth grounded into a double play, getting us out of the inning and keeping the lead to just two.

This was key, as the O’s immediately tied the game the next inning. As on Tuesday, when Blaze Alexander, Taylor Ward, and Gunnar Henderson led a game-winning rally, it was the Birds’ hottest hitters who got the job done. In the leadoff spot, Gunnar Henderson walked, setting up No. 2 hitter Taylor Ward, who responded with a run-scoring double (the first of three today). A wild pitch moved Ward over, and a productive grounder by Adley Rutschman brought him home.

Bradish left the game furious after giving back a third run in the fifth, one of the strangest runs you’ll see. After walking two batters with two outs, he walked a third, Colson Montgomery, by a hair, to load the bases. A frustrated Bradish turned his back while catcher Adley Rutschman tossed the ball back to him, only to see it roll off his glove, and into the grass. As the runner on third took off for home, Bradish finally realized his mistake, fired way wide of the plate, and now the White Sox had a 3-2 lead. It was stupid. A run-by-tantrum, if you will.

Baseball is weird, though, because while Bradish left the game frustrated, he also left as the winning pitcher, courtesy of a rally the next inning off Chicago’s Sean Burke. Pete Alonso’s one-out hustle double (coupled with a dive into the second base bag) lit the way. “Let go of that anchor and get there, big fella!” said Ben McDonald from the booth, inimitably. Echoed Kevin Brown, “A belly flop for the Polar Bear!” Then Taylor Ward reached on an infield single and Ryan Mountcastle loaded the bases on a walk. The White Sox went to Bryan Hudson, a sidearming lefty, against rookie Dylan Beavers, and it backfired as Hudson fired one that got by the catcher. Alonso scored, showing more hustle. Then Beavers gave the Birds their first lead with a solidly hit sac fly.  

Now, it was time for the bullpen to try to make a 4-3 lead stand. This is not something you can take for granted these days, especially with closer Ryan Helsley out of action today. But they made it work.

First came Tyler Wells for the sixth, and it was a really weird inning. He walked Dustin Harris, gave up a stolen base, which the O’s lost their last challenge of the day contesting. Then Wells threw an inside pitch to Chicago catcher Reese McGuire, who tapped his left arm, alleging he’d been hit, and took first base. I didn’t see any contact, and neither did the MASN booth. Would the dugout have challenged this call if they could have? The world will never know, because two flyouts made the question moot, and got us out of the inning.

Grant Wolfram hit a batter and allowed a bunt single in the seventh, but he got a crucial double play to end the inning: Gunnar-to-Blaze-to-Mounty (just like Tinker to Evers to Chance, but with sunglasses, and more facial hair).

After him, Anthony Nunez continued his charmed rookie season with a clean eighth inning, aided by a great pick-and-throw by Gunnar, and a high swinging strikeout.

The Orioles scored a huge insurance run in the ninth with back-to-back doubles from Gunnar and Ward against the Sox’s Tyler Schweitzer, freshly added to the Chicago roster. That Ward-for-Grayson-Rodriguez trade in the offseason starts to look better when your outfielder is hitting .383 and leading the league in doubles (9).

That left only the ninth. In at closer for the first time in his MLB career, Rico Garcia turned in a ridiculous performance—I mean that in the best way possible. He opened the inning with seven straight balls, looking completely lost, then struck out two in a row, walked another guy, then got a groundout to end the game before things got cockeyed. Congrats on your first career save, Rico!

The Orioles offense is still a mysterious thing, the bullpen is weird, and Kyle Bradish’s command is still a work in progress. But you know, the team is back to .500 and working with something like momentum after handling the White Sox this last series.

So who is your Most Birdland Player of the Game? A gritty Bradish, showing improvement? Rico García with his first career save? Taylor Ward, who went 4-for-5 with three doubles? Henderson who scored two and also did it with the glove? Maybe a write-in nod for the Polar Bear, who hit a hustle double and scored on a passed ball?

The Red Sox needed 12 games to do it, but Boston secured its first series victory of the season. The 5-0 getaway day win over the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the series over the reigning National League Central champions.

Starting pitching did indeed prevent runs and the offense did its job in a productive third inning. 

Here are three takeaways from Boston’s series finale. 

Sonny Days

Sonny Gray clearly found his rhythm once Boston began its 2026 Fenway slate.

The veteran right-hander tallied six innings of two-run ball to down the San Diego Padres last Friday. Gray followed that with 6 ⅓ shutout frames Wednesday afternoon. The Brewers mustered just three hits against the Red Sox starter, who added two strikeouts. 

In the third inning with rare trouble, he made a big pitch to end the third with a sweeper to strike out Jake Bauers. 

Gray talked his way back to the mound after a post-sixth inning chat with Alex Cora. Gray pitched like the competitor the Red Sox hoped they acquired. For the second straight outing, Gray impressed.

Dro’s Woe’s

Shane Drohan ran through two stints in the Red Sox organization. At 27, he finally made his MLB debut in Boston, though he did so with the Brewers.

The lefty looked strong for two innings before the Red Sox wore him down in the third. Boston forced eight three-ball counts while Drohan walked four hitters. 

The home team tallied three runs in the inning with opportunistic offense: a bases-loaded walk for Willson Contreras, an infield laser for Wilyer Abreu and a sacrifice fly for Trevor Story. 

Mets prospect Jonah Tong gave up a pair of early runs, but settled in for a fine outing, striking out seven batters over five innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon.

Tong's third outing with Syracuse went much better than his last one, as he allowed two runs on just one hit and two walks while getting 15 outs on 83 pitches (53 strikes) in what would be a 4-3 defeat to Buffalo in a seven-inning affair to close a doubleheader. 

The runs came early, and then zeros followed for the Mets' No. 4 prospect in Joe DeMayo's most recent rankings.

After hitting the first batter he faced when a 1-2 breaking pitch lost its way, Tong left a 2-1 changeup right over the plate to Rafael Lantigua, and he hammered it 100.7 mph off the bat for a 382-foot home run to left. 

After a one-out walk was erased with a caught stealing, the righty issued a second walk, both on 3-2 counts, and it was an early mound visit from pitching coach A.J. Sager. A called strike three on a 96 mph fastball got him out of the inning, but not after throwing 30 pitches (16 strikes). 

And that was it as Tong rebounded for a 12-pitch second, adding a strikeout thanks to a generous call on the outside corner for the first out. And after a lengthy spell on the bench as Syracuse scored three in the top half of the third, the righty got a shutdown inning, including getting Lantigua looking at a slider that just caught the corner. 

Tong would close his afternoon by making it 13 straight batters retired with a two-strikeout fourth and a two-strikeout fifth.

On the afternoon, he was fastball-heavy, throwing the heater 59 percent of the time, and with some good effect, with a 33 percent called strike plus whiff rate. Emblematic of the 22-year-old settling in, his average fastball velocity ticked up to 96.2 for the fifth inning, after hanging at 94.8 mph in the first and second.

His cutter, a new pitch for him, was his second most used offering, 13 of 83, and almost exclusively to right-handers, and got five called strikes and whiffs.

Tong's ERA now stands at 5.06 through his first 10.2 innings to go along with 13 strikeouts, seven walks, and a hit batter.

Jonah Tong today for Triple-A Syracuse:

5 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K pic.twitter.com/wnfR71ySRI

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 8, 2026

Jack Wenninger strikes out five in Game 1

Wenninger, making his second start at the Triple-A level, had a decent outing in the first half of the Wednesday twin bill, a 2-0 Syracuse loss.

The 24-year-old allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks over 4.1 innings, throwing 85 pitches (50 strikes). And like his first outing of the year, the right-hander struck out five batters.

He sported an effective fastball, getting 11 called strikes and four whiffs on 11 swings for a 42 percent called strike plus whiff rate. His slider, which he threw primarily to righties, was hard to touch with five whiffs on 11 swings.

Wenninger, the No. 8 prospect on DeMayo’s list, has posted a 1.00 ERA and 1.333 WHIP through his first nine innings of the year with 10 strikeouts to four walks.

Davey Lopes was an outstanding second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers for most of the 1970s and early 1980s, playing for them in four World Series and getting a ring in 1981. He was part of a famous infield that included Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and another guy who later played for the Cubs, Ron Cey.

Lopes passed away Wednesday, about four weeks shy of his 81st birthday, reportedly from complications from Parkinson’s disease.

Lopes was a prolific base stealer in his early years, in an era when stolen bases were a huge part of the game. He led the NL in steals in 1975 with 77 and in 1976 with 63.

He was thought to be done after 1981 at age 36, so the Dodgers traded him to the A’s for a minor leaguer. He had two decent years in Oakland and the Cubs acquired him one day before the deadline to qualify for the postseason roster in 1984, Aug. 31, as the player to be named later in a June 15 deal that had sent pitcher Chuck Rainey to the A’s.

Lopes didn’t play much for the Cubs in September 1984, just 16 games and 23 plate appearances, mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. And he appeared in just two of the NLCS games that year, once as a defensive replacement, the other as a pinch-hitter.

In 1985, though, with injuries taking their toll on the Cubs, Lopes played in 99 games, mostly as an outfielder, though he did play a bit of third base. He had a good year, batting .284/.383/.444 with 11 home runs in just 275 at-bats. And Lopes also stole 47 bases that year and was caught just four times. The 47 steals is still the MLB single-season record for any player age 40 or older.

Lopes was hitting well for the Cubs in 1986, batting .299/.419/.490 with 17 steals in just 59 games, but the team was well out of contention so they traded him to the Astros around the trade deadline for pitcher Frank DiPino, who had a couple of undistinguished seasons in the Cubs bullpen.

He did establish one distinction for the Cubs franchise before he left. On July 2, 1986, Lopes hit a walk-off home run against the Expos. At age 41 years, 60 days, Lopes is the oldest Cub ever to hit a walk-off homer. Here is video, from this Instagram post from last year when Justin Turner became the oldest Cub to do that since Lopes (and they are the only two aged 40 or older to hit walk-off homers for the Cubs).

After his playing career, Lopes coached for the Rangers, Orioles and Padres and managed the Brewers for two full seasons in 2000 and 2001 before he was fired 15 games into the 2002 season. Later he returned to coaching with the Padres and also coached with the Nationals, Phillies and Dodgers before retiring after the 2017 season.

Lopes had a 42.4 bWAR career and stole 557 bases, which ranks 26th all-time. He was definitely a Hall of Very Good player and I remember that 1985 season well — he just ran all over the place. He wasn’t a Cub very long, but that year was memorable.

Sincere condolences to Lopes’ family, friends and many fans around baseball.