Texas Rangers @ Athletics
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 8:40 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)
Sutter Health Park
RHP Kumar Rocker vs. RHP J.T. Ginn
Go Rangers!
Game 18 Game Day Thread – Texas Rangers @ West Sacramento Athletics
Game 18: Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners (8-10) at San Diego Padres (11-6), April 15, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
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Mets' Christian Scott goes 5.1 innings for Triple-A Syracuse, retires last 11 hitters in a row
Mets right-hander Christian Scott took the mound for Triple-A on Wednesday and had a second consecutive solid start for Syracuse.
After giving up some early runs, Scott settled in and struck out five in his 5.1 innings of work, retiring the last 11 hitters he faced and 13 of the last 14. The one batter that reached base during that stretch reached on an error.
Scott allowed just two hits and a walk in his outing while throwing 82 pitches (50 strikes), but the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, made them count. Spencer Jones hit a two-out double following a walk to open the scoring in the first and Ernesto Martinez Jr. tagged the 26-year-old for a solo shot to lead off the second.
From there, Scott faced one over the minimum until he was pulled from the game in the sixth, in line for the loss with Syracuse down 2-0. Regardless, his season ERA dropped from 6.48 to 5.27 over 13.2 innings this season.
Scott missed the entire 2025 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery following a big league promotion in 2024. That year, Scott had a 4.56 ERA in nine major league starts and a 2.76 ERA in nine starts in Triple-A.
Christian Scott's final line tonight for Triple-A Syracuse:
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 15, 2026
5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Scott retired the final 11 batters he faced.
Catch the @SyracuseMets NOW on SNY pic.twitter.com/MYyJwYMBrM
Mets place Jared Young on IL with meniscus tear, recall MJ Melendez from Triple-A
Prior to tonight’s series finale against the Dodgers, the Mets placed Jared Young on the IL, retroactive to April 13, with a meniscus tear in his left knee. The team later revealed that Young will undergo surgery and is expected to miss six to eight week of action as a result. To take his place on the roster, the team called up MJ Melendez from Triple-A Syracuse. As an unrelated roster move, the team also released reliever Luis García, whom they designated for assignment last week.
Young had seen more playing time since Soto’s injury, picking up some at-bats at first base and the outfield. In 23 plate appearances, he’s posted a .350/.391/.450 slash line with two runs scored, two runs batted in, a 137 wRC+, and a 0.2 fWAR. Looking at tonight’s lineup, the team will go with Brett Baty at first base, an outfield configuration of Tommy Pham in left, Luis Robert Jr. in center, and Carson Benge in right, and the newly-recalled Melendez manning the DH role.
Melendez is coming off a game in which he homered and tripled for Syracuse Mets in an 8-6 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday night. In all, the 27-year-old outfielder, whom the Mets signed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal over the winter, is hitting .216/.286/.431 with two homers, three runs batted in, and seven runs scored for Syracuse.
Giants go down swinging in 2-1 loss to Reds
The most telling statistic in the San Francisco Giants’ 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds is the two teams’ pitch counts. Four Giants pitchers combined to throw 145 pitches in eight innings. The Reds got through nine innings against the free-swinging Giants in just 111 pitches, an average of 12.3 per inning.
The Giants had seven hits but only one walk, getting their lone run when Willy Adames crushed his third home run of the season in the 5th inning. Cincinnati got only three hits in the game but two of them were solo home runs off Robbie Ray (2-2), which gave the Reds the first game of the series. The defining moment came in the bottom of the 4th, when Reds first baseman Sal Stewart fouled off four pitches before going deep on Ray’s ninth pitch of the at-bat.
The Giants pitchers didn’t make too many mistakes apart from that fastball to Stewart and a hanging slider that Spencer Steer turned into a 401-foot bomb in the 3rd.
Reds starter Brady Singer pitched a solid six innings of one-run ball, striking out only one batter, hitting another, but walking none. That’s less of a challenge with the walk-averse Giants, but it allowed him to get through six innings in only 75 pitches. The Giants never had more than one runner on base at a time Tuesday, thanks to a caught stealing in the first inning and a Matt Chapman GIDP in the 8th.
Both teams had runners erased in the opening frame, with Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson throwing out Adames trying to steal and Gold Glover Patrick Bailey gunning down Matt McClain. Perhaps traumatized, neither manager called for a steal the rest of the game.
Adames did crush one in the 5th inning, reaching the second deck in left after sitting on Singer’s sweeper.
But that was it for the Giants offense, besides two singles by Luis Arraez, who went 3-for-4 and raised his batting average to .333. Jung Hoo Lee had a single and a double, but six Giants starters went hitless.
Even the team’s leading hitter, Daniel Susac, couldn’t come through Tuesday. He pinch-hit for Bailey with two outs in the 9th and hit one to the wall, but the ball fell short and lowered his average to .583. What a bum!
The Reds bullpen was excellent. Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagan (5 saves) struck out four Giants in three innings, giving up only a single to Arraez and an unintentional-intentional walk to Rafael Devers. Ashcraft was particularly filthy, getting Jared Oliva to whiff on a pitch at least five feet wide of home plate.
SF’s relievers were solid as well, with Keaton Winn and Ryan Walker throwing no-hit innings and Caleb Killian escaping a two-on, no-out jam in the 6th with a strikeout and a timely double play.
It’s the third game in a row that the Giants have scored two runs or fewer. It’s the ninth time in 17 games this season they’ve scored two or fewer and they’re 0-9 in those games.
Tony Vitello may be considering dramatic lineup changes. The most obvious move might come in left field, where Heliot Ramos has two extra-base hits all season, though the team isn’t exactly flush with options. Harrison Bader has struck out in a third of his at-bats. Oliva has one hit this season. Jerar Encarnacion might have the most upside — at least based on exit velocity.
If you can’t hit in the Great American Ballpark, that’s a very bad sign. It’s encouraging for the Giants pitching staff but another rough data point for the sputtering Giants hitters.
Astros vs. Rockies Game Thread: Game 19, 4/15/2026
The Houston Astros (7-11) host the Colorado Rockies (6-11) for the second game of a three game series on Jackie Robinson Day.
RHP Spencer Arrighetti (season debut) will make his first Major League start of the season tonight opposite the 15-year MLB veteran LHP Jose Quitana (0-0, 4.15 ERA) and the Rockies.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP Spencer Arrighetti opened his season at Triple A Sugar Land where he had three strong starts, posting a 1.26 ERA (2ER/14.1IP) with 20 strikeouts, a 0.77 WHIP and a .111 opponent average.
Arrighetti has spent the majority of the last two seasons in Houston, making 36 appearances (35 starts) for the Astros, posting a 4.69 ERA (94ER/180.1IP) with 202 strikeouts in 180.1 innings pitched.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have recalled RHP Spencer Arrighetti to make tonight’s start.
In a corresponding move, the Astros placed RHP Cody Bolton on the 15-day IL with right mid-back inflammation (retro to April 13).
JACKIE ROBINSON: Today is Jackie Robinson Day, which will include seminars, pregame activities and charity work at the ballpark tonight.
In recognition of Jackie Robinson Day, the Astros will host a short “Breaking Barriers” forum in the press conference room at 5:30 p.m. with 40 high school-aged kids from the Astros Youth Academy. Brice Matthews, Cam Smith, Taylor Trammell, Dave Clark, Joe Espada and Dana Brown are scheduled to take part.
Also, all pregame activities will be dedicated to Jackie Robinson Day, which will include the Play Ball Call from JC Hartman, the Astros first African American player.
CORREA’S GUESTS: The Correa Family Foundation will make their monthly visit to Daikin Park today.
IF Carlos Correa and his foundation will host young patients battling illness and their families at the game, including having them on the field during batting practice.
HOME-COOKIN’: Tonight is the second game of a six-game homestand for the Astros, in which they’ll host a pair of National League opponents in the Rockies and Cardinals.
The Astros enter tonight’s game 6-2 overall at Daikin Park in 2026.
VS. THE ROCKIES: The Astros were swept by the Rockies last week in a three-game series at Coors Field (April 6-9), which was the Astros first sweep at the hands of the Rockies since a four-game series from May 28-31, 2012.
After the 2012 season, the Astros have not lost a season series against the Rockies, winning seven times and splitting twice.
ROCKING THE ROCKIES: 1B Christian Walker has enjoyed facing the Rockies throughout his career, posting a .334 avg. (123×368) vs. them with 29 HR and 77 RBI with a 1.022 OPS.
His career avg., RBI and OPS vs. COL are his best vs. any club (min. 10g) while his 29 HR match his most against any single opponent (also the Dodgers). His 29 home runs are also tied with 1B Paul Goldschmidt for the most homers against the Rockies among active players.
AGENT SMITH: RF Cam Smith is coming off a strong road trip, in which he hit .324 (12×37) with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI and a .927 OPS in 10 games (nine starts).
Smith continued that hot streak last night, going 1×4 with an RBI and a run scored.
HOT START:Yordan Alvarez is off to a sizzling start for the Astros in 2026.
In the American League, he currently ranks first in extra-base hits (11) and in total bases (42), tied for first in walks (16), and second in RBI (16), OPS (1.175), SLG (.700) and OBP (.475). Alvarez was named American League Player of the Week for March 30-April 5 (fourth time to win the award).
THE ORDER: The Astros have used 18 different batting orders in their 18 games so far this season. Only LF Yordan Alvarez has started every game in the same spot in the batting order (batting second).
FROM THE TRAINER’S ROOM: The Astros currently have 13 players on the Major League Injured List.
Here are updates on a few:
• RHP Cody Bolton (right mid-back inflammation) was placed on the IL today and is currently not throwing.
• RHP Hunter Brown (right shoulder sprain), RHP Tatsuya Imai (right arm fatigue) and RHP Cristian Javier (right shoulder strain) are rehabbing in Houston, but currently not throwing.
• LHP Josh Hader (left biceps tendinitis) tossed a 19-pitch live BP yesterday in Houston.
• RHP Nate Pearson (right elbow surgery) threw 2.0 innings in an extended Spring Training game on Saturday (April 11).
• LHP Bennett Sousa (left oblique strain) is out on a minor league rehab assignment now…he pitched last night for Double A Corpus Christi, working 1.0 scoreless inning on eight pitches (seven strikes).
• OF Zach Dezenzo (right elbow sprain) is rehabbing in Florida…he has progressed to a position specific throwing program while continuing normal hitting.
• OF Jake Meyers (right oblique strain) and SS Jeremy Peña (right hamstring strain) are rehabbing in Houston, focusing on rehabilitation exercises.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, April 15, 7:10 p.m. CST
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
Game Thread: Welcome to the show, Sam Antonacci
Happy Jackie Robinson Day to all who celebrate! The White Sox (6-11) dropped the first game of a three-game set with the Rays Tuesday behind Noah Schultz in his MLB debut, and righthander Sean Burke will take the mound in an effort to create any form of positive momentum for the team. As it stands, the South Siders are 4-6 in their last 10 while holding down last place in the AL Central — 4.5 games behind the first place Twins — and they still hold the worst run differential in all of baseball (-33).
For us White Sox fans, we have more than one person to celebrate today. The White Sox announced this afternoon that utility man Sam Antonacci has finally been called up to the show, and will make his major league debut on the South Side Wednesday. Antonacci has cruised through the minor league system, making an solid first impression in Low-A ball with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in 2024 (.333/.471/.432 in 81 ABs), and posted an .837 OPS with the High-A Winston-Salem Dash before being promoted to the Double-A Barons and maintaining a consistent .816 OPS.
After his performance on the international stage with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, he came into the 2026 season hot out the gates with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, slashing .313/.500/.479 with a .979 OPS in 14 games (48 at-bats). Though he’s primarily played the infield throughout his collegiate and amateur career, he’s played 100 innings in left field this season with a 1.000 fielding percentage, and has flashed his arm accuracy by throwing a few runners out — something the South Side outfield desperately needs. Welcome to the show, Sam!
Now for our pitching, Burke has been more consistent in this last two starts compared to opening weekend, sitting at a 2.45 ERA in two April outings, with three earned runs given up on six hits across 11 innings, accompanied by 10 strikeouts and just two walks. A small sample size, of course, but his statcast percentile rankings are almost night and day compared to 2025:
Burke’s 3.60 ERA on the season is nearly double his 1.96 FIP, signaling that the poor defense on balls in play are also hindering his ability to keep runs from crossing the plate. His low 4.8% walk rate also highlights that runners aren’t necessarily getting on base because of Burke alone, and the White Sox rank 7th with 12 errors so far on the year, and that doesn’t include the mental errors that we regularly see in the field. Last season, Burke struggled with batters barreling the ball at a much higher rate (10.4%), though he is down to 2.3% so far in 2026.
A week spot, however, is that he often gives up a lot of pulled fly balls, which could be trouble with the wrong batter, especially with power hitters such as Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda, and Yandy Díaz. Here’s how the Rays will line ‘em up today:
Old friend alert! Righthander Jesse Scholtens will make his first start of the season, and second appearance in 2026, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings behind the starting pitcher to finish the game. Scholtens was claimed off of waivers by Tampa Bay last August after he was designated for assignment by the White Sox following his rehab assignment from Tommy John surgery. In two outings with the Rays last season (8 1/3 innings), he allowed seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, including one home run. Scholtens had an excellent 31.6% strikeout rate last season, and was able to get batters to chase, though his one outing this year is a bit too small of a sample size to see how he will progress throughout the season.
Tonight’s lineup construction is another Will Venable classic: seemingly picking lineups out of a hat to see if anything works better. For whatever reason, Andrew Benintendi is leading off and playing left field, while last night’s leadoff batter has now shifted into the three-spot (Miguel Vargas). Munetaka Murakami at least remains in the two-hole after a pair of walks and a two-run bomb yesterday, but some of the other choices don’t necessarily make sense. For example, on Tuesday, Venable insisted on batting Everson Pereira over Colson Montgomery in the cleanup spot in his first game off of the IL, yet today he is nowhere to be found in the lineup after a three-run homer.
Sam Antonacci will make his debut batting fifth and playing second base in place of Chase Meidroth, who will get a rest day. I’m not worried about where Antonacci is batting in the lineup, but the Sox have been working him in the outfield more a couple months only to roll out a brutal outfield rotation while sitting an everyday player. Trying to understand here, Will, but we are all confused on a daily basis. Normal teams probably aren’t doing a plug-and-play in the lineup everyday, but here we are. I digress.
Here’s the full lineup for the Good Guys tonight:
Another round of storms are set to roll through the Chicagoland area this evening, weather permitting, first pitch will take place at 6:40 p.m. CT. Be sure to tune in for Antonacci’s debut either on CHSN or on the radio via ESPN Chicago AM 1000.
Game #17 GameThread: Jays @ Brewers
Game two of three in Milwaukee.
I have such a dislike of Bud Selig that I don’t I could go to Milwaukee to watch a game. I know he doesn’t own the team anymore (and that he’s over 90 years old), but he worked very hard to kill off my Expos and was just an all-round Clemensing Farrell (he says trying to stay inside the site’s language rules).
It does look like they have a nice ballpark.
I also couldn’t drink Miller beer. I didn’t drink beer at all until the last 15-20 years, because my dad bought Labatt Blue. My father-in-law bought Old Style Pilsner (he was born in Saskatchewan). Both tasted like sewer water to me. But, craft beers are interesting. I’m generally a one and done, so I like the beer to be interesting.
But it is a nice looking park and I’m there is other things to do there than drink bad beer.
Go Jays Go
Colorado Rockies game no. 18 thread: Jose Quintana vs. Spencer Arrighetti
It’s been a tough road trip for the Colorado Rockies as they are the losers of five straight games and dropped another close affair 7-6 on Tuesday against the Houston Astros. The offense came to life a little bit better, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a bad start on the mound, and the Rockies are looking to turn things around to snap the losing streak behind one of their free-agent starting pitchers.
Jose Quintana (0-0, 4.15 ERA) is making just his second start of the season tonight after being waylaid for two weeks with a hamstring injury. His lone start came on March 29 against Miami, in which he allowed two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings with two strikeouts. While Quintana escaped without too much damage, he did struggle with his command, issuing four walks in the start. It’s unclear how much of a leash he will have coming off the injured list, but the Rockies are in desperate need of some length out of a starting pitcher, so five innings would be ideal at the very least. This will be Quintana’s 12th appearance, 10th start, against the Astros, and he sports a 3.08 ERA in 52.2 innings of work.
Also, in a corresponding move, Kyle Freeland was placed on the 15-day IL.
As for Houston, right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (0-0, 1.26 ERA in Triple-A) was recalled from Sugar Land to take the hill. Arrighetti’s been off to a hot start in Triple-A, allowing just two runs on five hits over 14.1 innings in three starts. Last season in the big leagues, he went 1-5 with a 5.35 ERA over seven starts, allowing 21 runs over 35.1 innings. Much like the Rockies, the Astros are hoping for some length out of their starter and that he can pound the zone like he’s shown capable of doing in the past. He has made one appearance against the Rockies in his career, back in 2024, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits, recording 10 strikeouts, and walking none.
First Pitch: 6:10 pm MDT
TV: Rockies TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
SB Nation site: The Crawfish Boxes
Lineups:
For the visiting Rockies:
and the Astros:
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MLB umpire Brock Ballou ‘violently’ punched in head during alleged robbery, assault in Philadelphia
A Major League Baseball umpire did not feel any brotherly love while in the city of Philadelphia last week, and it had nothing to do with baseball.
Brock Ballou was allegedly robbed and assaulted on April 9 while in town to work the Phillies series against the Diamondbacks, according to CBS News Philadelphia.
Ballou was one of two people who were allegedly attacked by the same assailant, who Philadelphia police believe is in his teens.
The MLB umpire was allegedly approached by the suspect — seen in surveillance video wearing a black hat, black pants and a light blue hoodie — while walking on the 1600 block of Walnut Street in Philly, when the individual stole his phone and took off.
Ballou attempted to give chase and ended up getting into a “physical altercation,” Capt. Jason Smit told CBS News Philadelphia, and when Ballou tried to take back his phone, he was punched in the head several times.
“They ended up on the ground, at which time the victim struck his head, causing injury,” Smith said. “The male continued his assault, violently punching him.”
The suspect ended up not making off with the MLB umpire’s phone. Ballou was able to get it back when a passerby returned it to him.
The injuries sustained by Ballou were not serious, and he umpired first base the next night and called balls and strikes behind the plate the day after.
Ballou has been an umpire in MLB since 2022.
MLB has not publicly commented on the matter that occurred earlier this week.
Another person had also been allegedly assaulted by the same person on the same day at a 7-Eleven 20 minutes earlier.
The alleged assault was not the first peculiar situation that Ballou has found himself in.
In a story published by MiLB.com in 2016, Ballou was traveling to call a game in the Carolina League and was on I-95 with fellow umpire Cody Clark when an RV in front of them lost control.
The two men jumped out to assist the vehicle’s occupants.
Texas Rangers lineup for April 15, 2026
Texas Rangers lineup for April 15, 2026 against the A’s: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and J.T. Ginn for the A’s.
Its Jackie Robinson Day, and the Rangers are playing game three of the four game series in Sacramento. Jake Burger gets his first day off of the season, and Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager switch places.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Seager — SS
Langford — DH
Carter — CF
Pederson — 1B
Jung — 3B
Smith — 2B
Jansen — C
Duran — LF
8:40 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.
With win streak now at six games, Padres’ offense keeps rolling
The San Diego Padres continued their recent stretch of success by winning their MLB-leading sixth straight game, taking the series opener from the Seattle Mariners.
It was an all-around success, with fantastic defense, great pitching and an offense that just wouldn’t quit against one of the game’s best pitchers in Bryan Woo. They’ll look to keep their win streak tonight against right-hander Emerson Hancock.
Their recent success has been unprecedented, with their streak being the longest one of the 2026 MLB season. The Padres are doing great, and are looking to add to it as they sit just below the Los Angeles Dodgers despite their turnaround performance.
If they can continue to prove their mettle against Seattle, it’ll go a long way to showing the league who this San Diego club really is.
Taking the mound
Emerson Hancock (SEA) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)
Both Hancock and Vásquez are young guys who have been off to incredible starts to the season. Hancock has put up a 2.04 ERA and 0.74 WHIP to begin the year, allowing only four runs on 10 hits.
He’ll look to continue that run against a Padres lineup that has been downright deadly as of late. Not many in the Padres have faced him (only Fernando Tatis Jr. has seen him more than four times), so he could prove difficult. But the Friars managed to get to Woo last night, so anything’s possible.
Vásquez will look to continue his burgeoning success. He has a 1.02 ERA and 19 strikeouts across 17 2/3 innings of work this season.
Vásquez has emerged as a borderline ace for the club, dominating on the mound every time he comes out. He’ll give San Diego a great chance to win the game, but faces his first true test against a Mariners lineup that can slug. Facing stars like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, it will be a true test of Vásquez’s mettle.
Batter up!
With a righty on the mound for Seattle, the Padres will probably stick with what they had against Woo last night. That will look something along these lines:
- Ramón Laureano, LF
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Miguel Andujar, DH
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Freddy Fermin, C
Luis Campusano got the start yesterday after a week of his bat being red-hot, but Fermin seems likely to start tonight. His bat has been cold, so hopefully he can get it going soon enough.
Bogaerts will look to build on a fantastic 3-for-4 night, driving in three of the Padres’ four runs. Merrill will do the same after a similar good night (3-4, 2B, 2 R, SB).
The Friars managed to get to the Mariners just enough to take a 4-1 win in the series opener. If they can do the same tonight, especially with Vásquez on the mound, it should be enough.
Relief corps
With the off day on Monday, the relievers got plenty of time to rest before yesterday’s game. Adding to that, King went a full six innings of work, taking the burden off of most of the bullpen.
Craig Stammen only used Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Mason Miller to cover the final three innings. Miller extended his scoreless streak to 29 2/3 (though, surprisingly, only struck out one batter), and Morejon looked much more like his dominant self than he has lately.
The only problem is that leaves only David Morgan as a high-leverage option for San Diego. The others available are Kyle Hart, newcomer Alek Jacob, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta. If it’s a tight game, it could be difficult for the Friars to hold on if Vásquez doesn’t go deep.
Orioles’ Coby Mayo caught in middle of ABS challenge controversy
The Orioles were the latest victims of yet another automated ball-strike system snafu on Wednesday.
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning of their 8-5 loss to the Diamondbacks, Baltimore third baseman Coby Mayo took a 3-0 pitch from Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez near the outside corner that home plate umpire John Tumpane called a strike.
As Tumpane made the call, Mayo started his walk toward first, thinking the pitch from Rodriguez was off the outside of the plate.
Umpire made Coby Mayo use this challenge, even though a camera angle shows he never touched his helmet pic.twitter.com/G81xlEL63i
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 15, 2026
Mayo then moved his hand towards his helmet as if he was going to challenge the pitch, but stopped short of touching the top of his head, seemingly halting himself from questioning the call.
Tumpane apparently saw otherwise, forcing Mayo to go through with the challenge despite not touching his helmet, and Mayo arguing he didn’t actually give the signal to go through with it.
The pitch would be confirmed as a strike, taking away an Orioles challenge and moving the count to 3-1.
Losing the challenge aside, it would work out for Mayo, who hit a double on the next pitch, but the ordeal is the latest example of MLB’s growing pains with ABS.
Last week, the Pirates’ Nick Gonzales unsuccessfully attempted to un-challenge a pitch after clearly tapping his helmet on a strike call.
Red Sox infielder Andruw Monasterio made perhaps the worst ABS decision of the year on Tuesday, challenging an 88 mph slider right down the middle from Mick Abel for a strikeout.
As expected, some teams have had more success than others with the new system.
After a hot start at challenging calls, the Yankees have hit a cold stretch and now rank just 12th in the league at 57.1 percent.
Atlanta Braves vs Miami Marlins Game Thread: April 15
The Braves try to win another series, and avoid their first series loss of the season, in a rubber game with the Marlins.
GameThread: Tigers vs. Royals, 6:40 p.m.
Detroit Tigers (8-9) vs. Kansas City Royals (7-10)
Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-1, 5.14 ERA) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (1-1, 1.53 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flaherty | 3 | 14.0 | 21.2 | 16.7 | 32.4 | 5.07 | 0.1 |
| Lugo | 3 | 17.2 | 20.3 | 8.7 | 43.8 | 2.57 | 0.5 |
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