Category: Baseball

The Angels got the memo that Monday night’s slugfest was carrying over into Tuesday.

The Yankees, evidently, did not.

The bell rang for Round 2 to begin and only the Angels came out punching, delivering a trio of right hooks to Ryan Weathers in the form of back-to-back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning and then cruising from there as the Yankees fell 7-1 on a warm night in The Bronx.

Angels lefty Reid Detmers silenced the Yankees lineup that broke out for an 11-10 win Monday, putting it right back in the rut it found itself in entering the series opener.

Facing a lineup that did not include Ben Rice, the major league leader in OPS who sat in favor of the right-handed hitting Paul Goldschmidt, Detmers allowed just four hits and one run across seven-plus innings, not letting a runner touch second base until the eighth inning.

“I thought [Detmers] was good, but we know we got to do a better job of creating some things,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We just got to get going.”

Meanwhile, over half of the Angels lineup homered — all solo shots, but damaging nonetheless as Weathers surrendered a career-high four and reliever Yerry De los Santos gave up another late. The five homers matched the number the Yankees pitching staff had given up in their first 16 games combined.

The poor pitching and poorer hitting handed the Yankees (9-8) a seventh loss in their last nine games as they will try again Wednesday to shake this early-season funk for good.

“It’s tough for me when we win a game [Monday] night with good momentum, I come in and give up three in the first on three solo shots,” Weathers said. “There was some good tonight, but when I pitch, I want this ballclub to win games and I did not put us in a good position to win a game tonight.”

Weathers came into the night having not allowed a home run through his first three starts (16 innings) this season.

The left-hander had also not received a single run of support from his offense while he was still in any of those games.


Only one of those things changed Tuesday, though, on a strange night in which the left-hander struck out 10 across five-plus innings but had four pitches end up in the seats.

In a span of five pitches in the top of the first, Weathers gave up 1,276 feet worth of homers to Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler.

They all came on low fastballs — Adell’s was actually below the zone — and all came off the bat loudly as the Angels (9-9) stormed out to a quick 3-0 lead.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“They’re a really good low-ball hitting team, and three misfires against a good low-ball hitting team is not a good start,” Weathers said.

Weathers went on to retire 10 of the next 11 batters before former Yankee Oswald Peraza — as part of a 3-for-3 night in which he added a 12-pitch walk — crushed another solo shot in the fourth inning to make it 4-0.

“You see it all there [with Weathers],” Boone said. “You see all the things that you get excited about. But a little bit tough just command-wise with the heater.”

After Weathers struck out the side in the fifth inning, he issued a leadoff walk in the sixth that ended his night.

Paul Blackburn then entered and evoked some boo birds as he allowed four straight batters to reach base — on three singles and a walk — as the Angels padded their lead to 6-0.

Yoán Moncada later took De los Santos deep to lead off the eighth inning, stretching the lead to 7-0 before the Yankees finally mustered a run in the bottom half.

Randal Grichuk broke his 0-for-15 start to the season by roping a double into the gap, and after Austin Wells singled, Rice pinch hit for Ryan McMahon and delivered a sacrifice fly to snap the shutout.

“I think you see how streaky this game is,” Goldschmidt said. “You just got to take it in stride. When things are going good, you can’t think you got it all figured out. When we’re struggling, you can’t get down on yourself. … We’ve played a lot of close games. We’ve lost unfortunately too many of them here lately.”

It was tenuous and I was convinced the Pirates were going to win until that Nick Yorke pop up landed in Curtis Mead’s glove, but the Nats got the job done. They just barely made their early 5-1 lead stick thanks to some solid work by the bullpen. Tonight, the bullpen and CJ Abrams were the stars of the show.

Speaking of Abrams, he has made quite the statement to start this season. He was in the middle of everything good tonight. The Nats shortstop was three for four with a homer and two RBI’s. His homer off of Mitch Keller tied him with Gunnar Henderson for most home runs by a shortstop with six. The Alien is on a roll right now, and he is leading the Nats to victories.

Hot April’s are nothing new for Abrams. He has started the season strong in the two previous seasons, but tailed off in the second half. With this new coaching staff and an extra year of maturity, I am confident that Abrams will make his hot April stick this time. While he is unlikely to hit .356 with a 1.121 OPS the rest of the way, I think Abrams could be in for a career year.

However, Abrams was not the only offensive contributor tonight. The Nats lit up Mitch Keller early, getting three runs in before the Pirates right hander got an out. They could have created even more separation if not for a couple outs on the bases.

It did not end up costing the Nats the game, but it did make things much more stressful. By the bottom of the 5th, it was a 5-4 game after Miles Mikolas did some Miles Mikolas things. If you told me there would be no more runs in the game, I would have called you a mad man.

That is exactly what happened though. Mitchell Parker, Cionel Perez, Clayton Beeter and Gus Varland combined for 4.2 scoreless innings to end the game. Parker looked particularly sharp, showing off a new slider heavy mix that resulted in a lot of Pirates whiffs.

It was not smooth sailing for Nats relievers, but they ended up getting the job done. Cionel Perez worked out of a bases loaded jam by getting a double play ball on a 3-1 count. That really felt like the turning point of the game. Pirates manager Don Kelly pulled Brandon Lowe in favor of a right handed hitter, and that decision backfired.

While that may have been the turning point, the result was in doubt throughout. The Nats infield defense was pretty shaky tonight, but Daylen Lile made a stellar basket catch in the outfield that really helped Clayton Beeter get out of the 8th inning.

It was one of the best catches of Lile’s young career. While the hits are not falling the way they did at the end of last year, Lile looks much improved on the defensive side of the ball. I also think his swings are looking a lot better the past few days. He had a couple really unlucky outs tonight.

All of this set up a ninth inning for Gus Varland, who is just coming off his first career save. Now, he was going for save number two. He did not make it easy, allowing a double and a walk to the 8 and 9 hitter. However, Varland locked in with a strikeout of Oneil Cruz. Then he got Nick Yorke to hit a weak pop up to Curtis Mead.

It may have taken some years off my life, but the Nats ended up pulling it out with a 5-4 win. That was a very gritty win, which showed their offensive fire power as well as some positive signs on the mound. Hopefully that can carry over, and the boys can at least split this four game series in Pittsburgh.

The Twins struck first in this game with a Luke Keaschall single scoring Byron Buxton from 2nd. There was a tag play at the plate and he was initially called out but replay overturned it, putting the Twins up 1-0. In the 3rd, Buxton would make it 2-0 with a solo shot to left.

In the 4th, Brooks Lee blasted his 3rd homer of the year, a solo shot. Then, Trevor Larnach lined a ball down the right field line with 2 on, scoring both but getting thrown out at 2nd, making it a 5-0 game. The lineup was able to knock old friend Sonny Gray out of the game after 4 innings. In the bottom of the 6th, Buxton blasted another solo shot into the bullpen in left-center.

That was plenty of run support for the starter, Mick Abel, who looked great tonight. He never allowed more than one baserunner in any of his 7 innings, striking out 10. Taylor Rogers and Cole Sands both pitched scoreless innings to secure the Twins a series win, and their 11th win of the season.

Studs:

Byron Buxton: 4-5, 2 HR, 4 R

Trevor Larnach: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB

Luke Keaschall: 2-4, RBI

Brooks Lee: 1-4, HR

Mick Abel: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 10 K

Duds:

NO DUDS TWINS WIN!!

Francisco Lindor checked off his first RBI and home run in one fell swoop.

The Mets shortstop blasted a leadoff home run off Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to give the Amazin’s an early 1-0 lead on Tuesday night before New York fell, 2-1.

Not only did the homer break a drought for Lindor, but it marked the first time the Mets scored a run since the bottom of the seventh inning of Saturday’s loss to the A’s, breaking a scoreless stretch of 20 innings.

LAUNCHED!@Lindor12BC | #LGMpic.twitter.com/1mFb1IltM4

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 15, 2026

Lindor, a notoriously slow starter, was hitting .176 with a .541 OPS through his first 17 games this season.

“There’s always been pressure and I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself, because I expect a lot of myself,” Lindor said Saturday. “It’s the same every single year.”

Monday night was a kind of heavyweight prize fight, with each team trading blow after blow after big home run. Tonight was much more like a heavyweight prize fighter fighting me, with the Angels playing the former role and battering the Yankees all over their home ballpark. LA took off almost immediately, hitting the same number of home runs in the top of the first as outs they made, and they really didn’t look back. New York was shellacked in this one, 7-1 your final.

I suppose that first inning was inevitable, as the one thing we know about Mike Trout is the man loves to study Weather(s):

It would get worse from there, with Jo Adell and Jorge Soler also taking Ryan’s fastballs into the bleachers, three straight solo shots that had the Angels up 3-0 before many Yankee fans had bought their chicken buckets. The Angels clearly came out hunting fastball, with Weathers far better with his slider/sweeper and changeup, and their homework paid off.

Indeed Trout was a particular thorn in Weathers’ side today, even though the home run was the only damage done. The three-time MVP saw 24 pitches in total across three ABs against the lefty, wearing out a pitcher that the Yankees have to at least be questioning the ideal role for. Weathers actually got Trout looking in those other two at-bats, but the pitches necessary ended up costing him, and Weathers was gone after throwing five innings plus a batter.

It was really a game for the FIP lovers, with Weathers boasting an excellent 10:1 strikeout to walk ratio, the kind of outing that might in other circumstances lead to the starter receiving the Player of the Game belt. Those circumstances though, the three home runs in the first and a final dinger from old friend Oswald Peraza, take the start more into the pure bizarre territory. When Weathers was locating with his secondary offerings, he was absolutely dominant, and then he left four of the fattest cookies you could imagine right to MLB caliber hitters. I had mentioned in the gamethread that Ryan might be best off to pitch “backwards”, but he didn’t seem to adopt that strategy tonight. Former #1 overall prospect Yoan Moncada added a trio of RBIs himself, one hit with the bases loaded and one porch job solo shot.

Angels starter Reid Detmers did Weathers one better, with nine strikeouts and no walks, allowing just two hits — one of them a ground ball that third baseman Moncada lost his footing on — through seven innings. The lefty retired 15 consecutive Yankees before Randal Grichuk led off the eighth with a double, his first hit in pinstripes. Grichuk would eventually plate thanks to pinch-hitter Ben Rice:

And uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that’s about it. Aaron Judge added a double of his own in the bottom of the ninth, but nothing came of it, and the Yankees dropped to 9-8 on the year.

From the Department of It Could Always Be Worse, let’s check in on the scene at Target Field:

It hasn’t been a very fun week to be a Yankee fan. Last night felt like it might be the start of a hot streak, the kind of inconceivable win that everyone gets a little extra out of the next day. Instead, the Yankees looked just as flat as they did at the Trop, and some of that pitching regression is starting to set in. Luis Gil is set to make his second start of the season after a laborious effort against the Rays last weekend, and will need to set the tone as both the rotation and bullpen have had to work quite a bit in the first two games of this series.

The third game of this series comes at 7:05pm Eastern, the weekly Amazon Prime game. I hope the Yankees see the value in starting the guy who is right now the best hitter in baseball.

Box Score

The Atlanta Braves’ series win-streak isn’t over yet.

Applying offensive production was the key to this matchup, and that’s exactly what the team was able to pull off in a clutch performance to win the game 6-5 against the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins capitalized in the beginning, starting off the bat (no pun intended) after Reynaldo López went for five innings in his return, but didn’t showcase the strong start we’ve seen for his past three games. Though accomplishing six total strikeouts, he also gave up five hits, three earned runs, and three walks.

Two very strong starters struggling back-to-back is not what this team needed to set the tone and limit the runs of the bat-happy Marlins. It’s fair to observe that it wasn’t necessarily that the fish were that good, but they took advantage when given the opportunity. Drawing walks and collecting hits when they could paid off and made a difference when it was time to drive in runs to start hot.

Was it possible López’s suspension set him back a bit, or was today just an off-day?

Now for the offense, the Braves scored two in the third after an RBI single from Dominic Smith to drive Ozzie Albies in for the first run, and an RBI double from Drake Baldwin to bring in Mauricio Dubón for their second. Matt Olson would collect a double of his own soon after to drive in Baldwin, cutting the Marlins’ lead to a one-run game (5-4).

The eighth inning was where the real action happened. A single from Marlins’ Otto Lopez put the fish in the lead by two runs (5-3). But, it’s true what they say, especially in the game of baseball, “it’s not over ‘til it’s over.” And the Braves are becoming notorious for demonstrating a visual of that saying.

With two outs recorded in the bottom of the eighth, Mike Yastrzemski singled to place Baldwin on third, Ozzie Albies took his base after getting hit by a pitch, and this set the scene with bases loaded and newcomer Dominic Smith to take the plate and get a bases-clearing double to give the Braves the lead (6-5).

The Yankees gave up five solo home runs and couldn't generate any offense of their own on Tuesday night, falling to the Los Angeles Angels, 7-1.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Coming off of an impressive eight scoreless innings in his last outing, Ryan Weathers had a tough first inning on Tuesday night. The left-hander gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs to Mike Trout, Jo Adell, and Jorge Soler as the Angels took a 3-0 lead.

Weathers bounced back in the second inning, including winning a 12-pitch battle against Trout with a strikeout to end the frame. He kept it going with a 1-2-3 third inning, adding two more strikeouts to his total.

-- Weathers' struggles continued in the fourth, giving up a solo home run to former Yankees top prospect Oswald Peraza, making it a 4-0 game. He settled down in the fifth with another 1-2-3 inning, including a second strikeout against Trout in an eight-pitch AB. Weathers came out for the sixth inning, but walked Soler and was pulled from the game.

His final line: five runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks over 5.0+ IP (94 pitches, 61 strikes).

-- The Yankees bats simply could not figure out Angels starter Reid Detmers on Tuesday night, managing just two hits against the lefty through seven innings. Detmers finished after seven-plus innings with nine strikeouts and zero walks, allowing just one run on four hits.

-- Paul Blackburn came in for relief and let up a two-run single to Yoán Moncada, giving LA a 6-0 lead. Yerry De los Santos got through the seventh inning unscathed, but allowed a leadoff solo home run to Moncada in the eighth as the Angels pushed their lead to 7-0.

-- Randal Grichuk recorded his first hit with the Yanks in the eighth inning, hitting a leadoff double against Detmers. Grichuk was 0-for-15 at the plate prior to the double. He ended up scoring on Ben Rice's sac-fly that cut the deficit to 7-1.

Aaron Judge got his first hit of the game in the ninth with a leadoff double, but was left stranded to end the game. He finished 1-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts and is now hitting .234 on the year.

GAME MVP: Reid Detmers

Detmers was dominant on Tuesday night, shutting down the Yanks' offense after they scored 11 runs in Monday's win.

Highlights

Ryan Weathers strikes out the side in the 5th and is up to 10 strikeouts tonight pic.twitter.com/i05SyC6sGX

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 15, 2026

Ben Rice gets the Yankees on the board with a sac fly pic.twitter.com/r96og3pFWE

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 15, 2026

What's next

The Yanks and Angels continue the four-game set on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

Luis Gil (0-1, 6.75 ERA) makes his second start of the season, while LA has not announced a starter yet.

A night after the Phillies’ hitters had their way with the Cubs’ pitching staff, the Cubs returned the favor on Tuesday. Phillies pitchers couldn’t keep the Cubs off the bases, giving up 15 hits, six walks, and one hit batter. And once those runners got on board, the Phillies didn’t do much to stop them from scoring. The end result was an ugly 10-4 loss.

Early on, it looked like the Phillies might be due for another big offensive night. Edmundo Sosa crushed a home run in the second to stake the team to a 3-0 lead.

The Cubs answered immediately. Aaron Nola got the start for the Phillies, and he had an uneven night. He held the Cubs scoreless in the first two innings, but the Cubs used five hits to score two runs in the top of the third. The damage would have been worse if not for a tremendous throw by right fielder Adolis Garcia to get a runner out at third base.

One team continued to score with regularity, but it wasn’t the Phillies. After Sosa’s home run, they managed only one runner over the next five innings. Meanwhile, the Cubs took advantage of two Nola walks in the fifth, as Alex Bregman tied it up with an RBI single.

Tim Mayza entered the game in the sixth. He’s been a pleasant surprise thus far this season, but this was a bad night. He walked two batters, hit another, and gave up a single in one-third of an inning as the Cubs took the lead. Brad Keller came in to clean up the mess, but he gave up a two-run single to the heretofore slumping Bregman before getting out of the inning.

The Phillies had a chance to make a game of it in the eighth. Sosa led off with a double and scored on a Trea Turner single. A Kyle Schwarber single and walk to Garcia loaded the bases with two outs. With lefthander Caleb Thielbar in the game for the Cubs, Alec Bohm was sent to pinch hit for Brandon Marsh. Like Bregman, Bohm was slumping heading into this game. Unlike Bregman, that slump didn’t end, as he struck out to end the threat.

Tanner Banks gave up a three-run home run to Carson Kelly in the final inning to remove any sense of drama.

Now that both teams have traded ugly wins, they’ll have the rubber match on Wednesday. Jesus Luzardo and Shoto Imanaga will try to provide their teams with less ugly pitching than we’ve seen the past two nights.

South Bend right-hander Brooks Caple was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.

The Cubs signed left-hander Ty Blach and right-hander Paul Campbell assigned both to Triple-A Iowa.

Catcher Casey Opitz was activated by Iowa.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs sunk the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 8-1.

Connor Noland gave up a run in the first base on a disengagement violation. Other than that, he was pretty strong. Noland gave up just one run on five hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked no one.

Corbin Martin tossed one scoreless inning, Yacksel Ríos threw two and Zac Leigh tossed a scoreless ninth to close out the game.

Center fielder Kevin Alcántara hit two home runs tonight. The first one came in the third inning with the bases empty. The second one was a three-run blast in the fifth. It was The Jaguar’s sixth and seventh home runs on the season. He went 2 for 5.

Third baseman Pedro Ramirez was 2 for 5 with a double and a two-run single in the fifth. He scored on Alcántara’s second home run.

One paw up for Alcántara. This one went 405 feet.

The Jaguar’s second home run went 387 feet.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were pulled into the water by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins), 5-1.

Tyler Schlaffer started and took the loss. Schlaffer gave up four runs on two hits over just two innings. Both hits were home runs—a three-run blast in the first and a solo shot in the second. Schlaffer walked three and struck out two.

Left fielder Jordan Nwogu went 2 for 3 with an RBI single. He also stole two bases.

Knoxville had just four hits, all singles, in this game.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs speared the Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins), 5-1.

Brooks Caple picked up right where he left off as Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. Tonight he surrendered just one run on two hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out nine and walked no one.

Here are the nine strikeouts.

Alfredo Romero did not allow a run or a hit over the final three innings to pick up the save. Romero did walk two while striking out three.

Catcher Owen Ayers continues to rip the cover off the ball on this young season. Tonight Ayers was 2 for 4 with a double and a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. Ayers scored twice.

Right fielder Kade Snell was 2 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. He scored once.

Center fielder Kane Kepley went o for 1 with two walks and was hit by a pitch.

Shortstop Christian Olivo was 2 for 4.

Ayers’ first home run of the year.

Snell scored a run the hard way.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans defused the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 4-0.

Starter Hayden Frank threw four innings and surrendered two hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Mason McGwire threw the middle three innings and got the win because Frank didn’t go five. McGwire had a terrific outing, giving up just one hit. McGwire struck out five and walked no one.

Jordan Henriquez pitched the final two innings in a non-save situation. He allowed three hits. Henriquez struck out three and walked no one.

First baseman Cole Mathis connected on a three-run home run in the third inning. It was his fourth of the season already. Mathis went 1 for 4.

Shortstop Ty Southisene was 2 for 4 with one run scored.

Catcher Logan Poteet was 2 for 4.

DH Jose Escobar was 2 for 3 with a walk.

The Mathis home run.

Dodgers and Mets in the middle game of three in Los Angeles.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Mets
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Well, it was bound to happen. Trevor Rogers was bound to have a bad night. Unfortunately, it happened in a game where the Orioles’ offense was unable to make the most of its opportunities. It was really only one bad inning of pitching. But it was too much for the Orioles to overcome, leading to a 4-3 loss.

The Orioles took an early lead off of starter Merrill Kelly. Kelly was making his season debut and was far from perfect. He walked four, for one thing. The Orioles left runs on the table against him, which is frustrating to watch on any night. But on this night, when Rogers could have used a pick-me-up from his offense, it was especially glaring.

The prettiest hit of the day came off the bat of Samuel Basallo to lead off the second inning. He absolutely crushed a fastball. It left his bat at 109.2 mph and landed 431 feet away in the Eutaw Street seats. It felt like a good omen at the time. It was not.

In the third, the Orioles had the chance at a big inning but could not make it happen. After Taylor Ward singled with one out, Pete Alonso and Basallo walked to load the bases. Kelly was struggling with control. All Dylan Beavers had to do was keep the bat on his shoulder and he would have walked with the bases loaded. Instead, he chased three pitches in the dirt for a strikeout.

Leody Taveras was watching, however, and learned what to do. He took a four-pitch walk. Ward scored the second run. Colton Cowser got a fastball down Broadway for his first pitch, and he let it rip. He smoked it at 105 mph, but it was caught in centerfield for the last out. It was a good pitch to hit and Cowser got a good swing on it, but it was also frustrating when Kelly was having such a hard time finding the plate.

Kelly was in trouble again in the fourth inning, but again the O’s offense bailed him out. Jeremiah Jackson led off with a double and Blaze Alexander…bunted? Why? Jackson was already in scoring position. It was the fourth inning. But that’s what he did. Jackson got to third base with Gunnar Henderson coming up and then Jackson GOT HIMSELF PICKED OFF for the second out. Just terrible decisions all around. Henderson struck out to end the inning.

Though Rogers got through the first four innings without allowing a run, he did run into some trouble in each frame. It wasn’t all his fault. The defense left something to be desired, even if no errors were called. In the fifth inning, he was unable to escape again.

James McCann singled to start the inning and Jorge Barrosa walked. Ildemaro Vargas, who replaced Ketel Marte in the lineup not long before the first pitch, got his chance. He made the most of it. His three-run homer put the Diamondbacks up, 3-2. But that wasn’t the last of it. Geraldo Perdomo singled and stole second base, then came in to score on a double by Jose Fernandez. That was it for Rogers. His final pitching line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. He threw two wild pitches.

One thing that went right on this night was the bullpen. Craig Albernaz turned to Rico Garcia after Rogers, which I really liked. There was a runner on second and the need to keep the game from getting out of hand, so Alby went to the high-leverage guy who normally comes in late.

Garcia got that last out of the fifth, then pitched a perfect sixth. Grant Wolfram followed with a perfect 1.1 innings. Yennier Cano replaced Wolfram and retired all three batters he faced. Together, the three pitches struck out seven batters in 3.2 innings. Is this bullpen actually good?

The offense made some noise in the bottom of the inning but once again were unable to capitalize. Pete Alonso started a one-out rally by challenging a called strike three. He was correct; it was ball four. Basallo followed with a single. Beavers had another chance, but grounded out. Taveras came through again, this time with an RBI single to cut the deficit to one.

Colton Cowser walked to load the bases for Jackson, but he did not have another grand slam in him. He grounded out to end the rally.

With one out in the top of the ninth, Albernaz made the puzzling choice to go to Nick Raquet. Raquet allowed two baserunners but was bailed out on a sliding catch by Cowser to end the inning. It could have been a lot worse. I would like to request that this guy not pitch in high-leverage situations for awhile.

Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald came in for the ninth and made short work of Alexander, Henderson, and Ward. Thus the Orioles lost what felt like a winnable game, even with Trevor Rogers having an off night.

The Diamondbacks evened the series at a game apiece with a win over the Baltimore Orioles tonight. The victory was powered by a strong 2026 debut from Merrill Kelly and timely offensive contributions from the team’s hottest hitters, Ildemaro Vargas and Jose Fernandez.

Merrill Kelly’s return was a welcome sight after the D-backs brought him back this offseason. His season debut was delayed a couple of turns through the rotation due to a nerve issue that surfaced early in spring training, so it was great to see him back on the mound. Kelly delivered a solid outing, tossing 5.1 innings while allowing just two earned runs. He did struggle with control at times, issuing four walks—including a bases-loaded free pass—which was uncharacteristic for the veteran right-hander. Still, he threw 86 pitches, kept the D-backs in the game, and picked up the win in what was overall a very encouraging performance.

Ildemaro Vargas continued his torrid start to the season, delivering a big three-run homer in the fifth inning. According to the D-backs TV broadcast, Vargas set a franchise record by recording hits in his first 11 games to open the season. It’s worth noting that he was a late addition to the leadoff spot and second base after Ketel Marte was scratched pregame with back tightness. Jose Fernandez kept up his own impressive start, collecting two hits—including a rocket of an RBI double to dead center that missed a home run by just two feet. The ball came off the bat at 102.8 mph and traveled 399 feet. What a dynamic duo these two have been early on!

Geraldo Perdomo showed signs of life at the plate with three hits, but he committed a costly error in the bottom of the eighth. He dropped the ball on the transfer, which would have been an inning-ending double play. That miscue allowed the Orioles to push across a run a couple of batters later and forced Juan Morillo to throw more pitches than ideal. It was the kind of fundamental mistake that runs counter to the brand of baseball manager Torey Lovullo has been emphasizing this season. The error nearly cost the D-backs the game, but Ryan Thompson came in and calmly escaped a bases-loaded jam on just one pitch.

Paul Sewald then closed it out for the save. At this point in the season, it’s remarkable to note that Sewald is a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities and leads all of Major League Baseball in saves. With how many one-run games the D-backs have played early on, it’s hard to imagine where the team would be without him.

Tonight was a good one for D-backs fans—especially with Kelly’s return and bouncing back from yesterday’s heartbreaker to even the series. Arizona will look to clinch its third straight series victory tomorrow afternoon, with Eduardo Rodriguez toeing the rubber. Giddy up!

Fresh off their stunning Weekend 1 Coachella performance, BigBang cruised to Dodger Stadium to catch Los Angeles’ Tuesday night matchup with the Mets — and more than one Dodger was seen fanboying out over the iconic K-pop group.

G-Dragon and Daesung scored field-level access a few hours before the game’s first pitch, and Dave Roberts immediately showed them love after they caught his eye.

The LA manager gave them big hugs and chatted with them for a while.

Blake Snell then walked over, signed some baseballs for the pair and started up a lengthy conversation as well.

Roki Sasaki, too, stopped what he was doing to greet the duo, before he doled out a couple autographs.

The attention shouldn’t surprise many — BigBang was one of the stories of Coachella on Sunday.

The group, comprised of G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung, drew a massive crowd at the festival’s Outdoor Theatre, and entertained for around an hour with hits like “Bang Bang Bang” and “Fantastic Baby.”

They’ll be back in Indio again for one more show on Weekend 2, but none of the Dodgers will be able to see them because of a road series with the Rockies — a clear blow to a lot of the Boys in Blue.

LOS ANGELES — Technically, Wednesday’s series finale against the New York Mets is the first day Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is eligible to return from the injured list. But he won’t be returning any time soon from his oblique strain, taking a more deliberate approach in his rehab.

“He’s moving well. I see him throwing, stretching out a little bit. I’m not sure when he’s going to start swinging the bat,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “But in talking to him, he doesn’t feel any symptoms.”

Betts injured the oblique during the Dodgers’ game on April 4 in Washington D.C., likely while running the bases in the first inning. On Tuesday, Betts told David Vassegh of Dodger Talk that the oblique strain doesn’t bother him with everyday activities, but he feels it while doing sport-specific exercises.

“It’s not that it hurts. It’s just you feel it and — you don’t want to feel it, because the more that you feel it, that means it’s still healing, and any quick movements from there could just re-injure it,” Betts said. “Then we’re in a much worse spot.”

Betts was on the field at Dodger Stadium before Tuesday’s game, throwing and going through various pregame activities. He’s done rotational work while in the weight room, but hasn’t yet swung a bat.

“I’m able to throw. Running, I feel it, but it’s not that bad. I haven’t started hitting yet, but we’re doing med ball throws,” Betts told Vassegh. “We want to get fully comfortable with throwing the med ball, and not having really any hesitation with that before we start swinging, just because I don’t want to start developing bad habits because I’m scared to swing.”

Because Betts hasn’t yet started swinging a bit, there’s no specific timetable yet for his return, nor when he might start a minor league rehab assignment, if he even plays in the minors at all before returning. Betts didn’t play in any rehab games after missing 11 weeks with a broken hand in 2024, for instance.

“We don’t really know how long he’s going to be out for, but I do know there are sim-game opportunities, and he’s not one who loves going on a rehab assignment,” Roberts said. “So we’ll put a pin in that one.”

Betts missed 15 days on the injured list in 2018 with an oblique injury while with the Boston Red Sox. But now, at age 33 instead of 25, Betts and the Dodgers are taking the older, wiser approach.

“I think the oblique is something that is good until it’s not,” Roberts said. “You want to make sure that you’re really mindful of the process to get back and build up.”

“Things are going great,” Betts told Vassegh. “It’s just an oblique and things are going to take time.”

It’s rainy and gray in Seattle but the Mariners are enjoying sunny skies in San Diego for the next three games. After mopping up the Astros this weekend in a weird wraparound series, the Mariners will hope to keep their offensive improvements going against a San Diego team that isn’t quite as battered as the Astros.

Lineups:

Look at the Padres social team trolling Mariners fans with our old first baseman:

Roster updates:

Rob Refsnyder is headed to the paternity list; Patrick Wisdom is up from Tacoma to fill in. Find out more here.

For the Padres, they announced pregame they have placed RHP Nick Pivetta on the IL with right elbow inflammation and recalled RHP Alek Jacob.

Game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners.TV with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

As a reminder, we’ll be watching Thursday’s game at the Rebel in Wallingford – come through if you can! 21+, food and drink specials, and prizes.

If you’re looking for MiLB games to watch tonight, the Rainiers game has been postponed because of rain; it will be made up as a doubleheader on Thursday the 16th.