Fedde pitched a fine game today. Michael Wacha pitched a better one.
Fedde made one mistake, starting the game after a short rain delay with a get-me-over first pitch to settle in, a pitch Maikel García deposited 412 feet away. Well, two mistakes, the other being a case of chronic White Sox pitcher inefficiency that made him leave the game after five innings and 85 pitches, 53 of them strikes.
Part of the inefficiency came in the second inning, when a walk, an infield single and a hit batter loaded the bases, but García grounded out to end the only time the Royals had a runner in scoring position against him. Otherwise, Fedde walked no one else and only gave up one more hit.
Small problem, though — if Fedde was lights barely visible, Wacha was lights fully out. In the first inning, he threw 11 pitches, all of them strikes, and then tossed six more strikes to start the second. He was as efficient as Fedde wasn’t, cruising through eight innings on just 88 pitches, 63 of them strikes.
Wacha did allow the Sox offense four hits, doubles to Andrew Benintendi (raising his average to .184) and Lenyn Sosa (raising his to .179) and singles to Reese McGuire (now hitting a hearty .125) and Murray, who got his first-ever big league hit on a grounder up the middle:
And the Sox only struck out eight times in the game, so that’s some form of progress.
Sean Newcomb did a nifty six-up, six-down in relief, but then the Royals added a run off Jordan Hicks in the eighth on a García double and two fly balls. That was totally unnecessary against the Sox, who now have scored eight runs in their last six games, with seven straight games of three runs or fewer and 11 such games of the 15 this year.
The White Sox are now 5-10 on the young year — a 54-win pace, in case you’re keeping track. The finale in KC is at 1:10 p.m. Central tomorrow, with the Sox going with the famous “undecided” (as opposed to the equally famous TBA or TBD), as it would be Shane Smith’s turn in the rotation and Smith is enjoying Charlotte.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: Former Padres pitcher and Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman hugs Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on April 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Colorado Rockies (6-8) at San Diego Padres (8-6), April 11, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST
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Apr 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The Colorado Rockies will try to limit the damage after two straight walk-off losses to the San Diego Padres.
In good news, the starting pitching has been stellar and both games have been competitive throughout. Thursday, Jimmy Herget opened with a 1-2-3 inning, paving the way for Chase Dollander to take a bulk of the game, with that approach still working nicely for the youngster’s development. Yesterday, Tomoyuki Sugano worked through six innings and looked sharp outside of a couple solo homers surrendered in the fifth.
For the bad news, the fight fell short at the hands of an electric 12th-inning grand slam on Thursday and a three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth yesterday (seriously, Padres… a calm walk-off RBI single wouldn’t have been enough for you?).
The blueprint for a win is there as the Rockies have looked sharp out in Petco Park. A series split is still on the table, but that begins with a solid pitching battle today, as Ryan Feltner takes the mound for the Rox against old friend Germán Márquez.
The two pitchers have had an extremely similar start to their 2026 season. Márquez (1-1) and Feltner (1-0) have both notched one win across two starts, have pitched 8.0 and 8.1 innings respectively, and have each given up four runs and tossed five strikeouts. Feltner has been a tad more efficient, giving up just four hits to Márquez’s 14 and giving up just one home run to Márquez’s two.
It will surely feel surreal to see Márquez in his first action against his old club after a 10-year career in purple. Márquez made some waves when signing with San Diego, stating that he was “excited to play with a team that wants to win,” and lamenting that “when [he] was young, [he] had a team that liked to win,” taking a shot at the downward trajectory of the Rockies in his time with the team.
It may also be surreal, then, for Márquez to face off against this scrappy, new-look Colorado club. While it’s probably far too early for bulletin board material — and while there is much to be seen about where these teams ultimately end up this season — it could make for a nice statement if the Rockies can turn the tides of the series today against a franchise mainstay that has moved on.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA Rockies Radio Network (850 AM / 94.1 FM)
The Mets lost to the Athletics, 11-6, at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon and dropped their fourth straight.
Here are the takeaways...
-- It was not a good day at the office for Kodai Senga, who lasted just 2.1 innings after allowing seven earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs -- the second of which came on the last pitch he threw, which resulted in a three-run homer that gave the Athletics a 7-1 lead. In that same inning, Senga allowed a leadoff double, a two-run homer, and two singles before the second blast of the inning, all of which resulted in five runs.
It was the first time in Senga's career (55 starts) that the right-hander allowed a three-run home run (he has yet to allow a grand slam) and the first time he's allowed seven earned runs or more in a game.
-- Senga's command was also off. Not only did he walk two in his abbreviated outing, including one with the bases loaded to even up the score at 1-1, but he was also only able to throw a first-pitch strike to five of the 17 batters he faced. Of the 72 pitches he threw, 40 were strikes.
Following the disastrous outing, Senga's ERA climbed to 7.07 in the early season.
-- New York got on the board first, scoring a run in the bottom half of the opening inning. Luis Robert Jr. singled, advanced to second on a groundout and crossed home plate on Bo Bichette's RBI single off Jacob Lopez to take a 1-0 lead. That lead vanished in the second inning, though, with the A's scoring twice with the second run scoring on a ground ball to second base that could've been an inning-ending double play had Francisco Lindor covered the bag instead of going for the ball.
-- The score was held to 7-1 thanks to Huascar Brazoban's 2.2 innings of scoreless relief that kept his 0.00 ERA intact. It also gave the Mets a chance to fight back, which they did in the fifth inning, scoring twice on Bichette's opposite-field, two-run shot -- his first home run as a Met. After a slow start, Bichette has kicked it into gear and is hitting .254 after his 2-for-3 day that included two walks.
-- After Brooks Raley kept the Athletics off the board in his inning of relief (also to keep his scoreless streak to start the season alive), New York was back at it offensively in the sixth. Francisco Alvarez led off the inning with a solo home run to straightaway center field that was initially ruled a double but overturned to a homer and got the Mets closer, 7-4.
A walk and a single put runners at the corners with nobody out and Brett Baty came through with a sacrifice fly to get the Mets to within two. An inning later, they cut the deficit to one on Jorge Polanco's first home run as a Met that snuck over the wall in right field. It was New York's third home run in three straight innings.
-- What felt like a potential incredible Mets comeback brewing came crashing down in the eighth inning after Luke Weaver entered the game and allowed four runs, all with two outs. The big hit came on Tyler Soderstrom's three-run blast that went 420 feet to right-center field and gave the A's an 11-6 advantage. It was Soderstrom's second home run of the game after he took Senga deep for a two-run shot in the third.
New York went quietly in the eighth and ninth innings and dropped its fourth straight game, after a four-game winning streak, to go below .500 once again.
-- Following his promotion back to the major leagues earlier in the day, Craig Kimbrel made his debut for the Mets and pitched a clean seventh inning that included two strikeouts. The former All-Star closer needed just 10 pitches and threw nine strikes.
-- Still trying to find his footing in the big leagues, Carson Benge had an up-and-down game. The rookie went 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base but added an error in left field on the first batter of the game.
-- Every starter in the lineup except Mark Vientos had at least one hit. After an exceptionally hot road trip, Vientos has cooled off and has gone hitless during this homestand (0-for-15).
Game MVP: Tyler Soderstrom
In a game in which the A's scored 11 runs on 15 hits, Soderstrom stood out the most with his 3-for-5 and two-homer performance out of the cleanup spot.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - MARCH 30: Kade Anderson #32 of the Arkansas Travelers poses for a photo during the Arkansas Travelers photo day at DickeyStephens Park on Monday, March 30, 2026 in North little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo by Karen E. Segrave/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Kade Anderson’s Double-A debut on April 3 went well enough: four innings, no runs, five hits, six strikeouts and a walk. The five hits he gave up were all singles, and two of those didn’t even leave the infield. But Anderson outdid himself in his second outing against Wichita Friday night. Anderson tossed five innings of no-hit ball while recording 11 strikeouts.
It wasn’t necessarily the cleanest start for Anderson, who opened his night striking out the first hitter he saw on three pitches but then walked the next hitter he saw on four straight. But Anderson dialed it in for his next hitter, breaking off a nasty curve for his second strikeout of the inning en route to what would be 11 on the night.
Anderson sat 93-96 with his heater, riding it up in the zone for swinging strikes, and locking up hitters on the curveball for called strikes after peppering the top of the zone with the four-seamer. He worked quickly and efficiently, pounding the zone with 69% strikes (nice), and dominated the Wichita lineup. The only black mark on Anderson’s ledger was the two walks, first the four-pitch walk in the first and another in the third inning where he missed just inside in a 3-2 count and reacted like he’d just given up a go-ahead homer in the World Series:
(Kade. Buddy. We simply cannot get this wrapped around the axle about a singular, isolated walk in the second start of the season. I know you are the ultimate competitor but you’ve gotta give yourself some room to make a mistake once in a while, Kade.)
He came back to strike out the next hitter looking at the curve, (strikeout six) and the hitter after that (number seven) on a fastball up at 95 after he’d just had him flailing over the changeup. Here’s a look at the change:
What really stood out about Anderson’s outing was his pinpoint command of the zone, walks aside – and when the rare unfavorable (2-0, 3-0) count happened, it felt like Anderson was able to pull himself back into the zone (perhaps explaining his frustration with the second walk). It was Anderson’s zone, and the Wichita hitters were just trying to survive in it; five of his eleven strikeouts were on called strike threes.
That’s not to say Anderson was without whiffs though; his 14 whiffs ranked fifth in all of Double-A yesterday, although by percentage he ranked third at the level, behind Gage Stanifer (TOR) and Miguel Mendez (SDP). He was especially fired up on this three-pitch strikeout where he got the hitter hacking after a nasty curve.
For only his second outing of the season, there’s a lot to like about this start from Anderson: the pitch mix and command were as advertised, the stuff looks primed to rack up whiffs and called strikes, and Anderson’s competitive mound presence was on display even in an early-season game. Next up for Anderson, aside from building volume and working deeper into games, is to continue refining his pitch mix – he didn’t mix in his slider very often, although with the other three pitches working, he didn’t really need it – and continue to dial in his command, not allowing those 3-0 or 4-0 lapses to happen. Progress in the minor leagues is never perfectly linear and there will be bumps in the road for even the hyper-polished LSU product, but Anderson starts are quickly becoming must-see-MiLB TV.
DENVER, CO - APRIL 7: Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (8) hits a second inning solo home run during a game between the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Christian Walker is not in the Astros starting lineup tonight. He appears to tweak something in last night’s game:
A trainer and manager Joe Espada just went to check on Christian Walker after he grounded out to end the 8th. Walker is staying in the game.
Through 14 games and 53 AB, Walker is batting .321 with a .390 OBP and .994 OPS. He leads the team with 17 hits and 6 doubles. He is tied for the team lead in RBI with 13.
Should I be unhappy because they lost, and part of the reason was a player playing his first game at first base — ever?
Or should I take some solace in the fact that they came back from a 3-0 deficit with a stirring ninth-inning rally, and Cubs pitching held the Pirates down after the third inning? (Well, at least until that ugly 11th.)
It’s kinda both, but this one does leave a sour taste.
Let’s begin at the beginning. Edward Cabrera wasn’t as sharp as he had been over his first two starts, and issued three walks in addition to allowing eight hits. That gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead after three, and it could have been more, but they left several runners on base early and the Cubs turned a double play in the second.
Meanwhile, Braxton Ashcraft kept the Cubs completely off balance for the first four innings. They had three singles over that time, with none of the runners getting past first base.
The Cubs broke through in the fifth. Michael Conforto walked with one out and went to third on a single by Dansby Swanson, and Swanson took second on the throw in. This might have been a big inning, but the Cubs simply aren’t taking advantage of those situations. Conforto did score on a ground out by Nico Hoerner [VIDEO].
That made it 3-1.
Cabrera finished five innings, and his line isn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. More from BCB’s JohnW53:
Edward Cabrera became the 52nd different Cub to allow no more than total three runs in his first three starts of a season. Dick Ellsworth, Shota Imanaga, Jon Lester and Steve Stone each did it twice.
Cabrera is the 33rd season of three such runs, including ones by Ellsworth, Imanaga and Stone. There have been 19 seasons of two runs, two of them by Lester. Imanaga and Stone are among the five who gave up one. The three others were Rich Hill, Carl Lundgren and Mike Prendergast.
Ben Brown came in and threw the sixth and seventh and did a nice job, despite allowing a couple of hits. He struck out three and induced a double-play ball. Brown seems to be taking to this long-relief role.
So, rallies are going on, but even with RISP the Cubs are only scoring on outs.
Jacob Webb threw a scoreless eighth, including a pair of strikeouts. That’s good after Webb has struggled in the early going. Hoby Milner then threw a 1-2-3 ninth that included an odd play, a ball that bounced off his foot that was picked up by Amaya, who threw Brandon Lowe out at first. You don’t see a 1-2-3 play very often:
Then, the bottom of the ninth, with the Cubs trailing 3-2. Swanson walked with one out. Then Swanson moved to second on a passed ball. One out later, Carson Kelly also walked, and Shaw replaced him as a pinch runner.
That was a real nice piece of hitting, going the opposite way on an 0-2 sinker. Shaw took third, representing the winning run, but Ian Happ flied to right and thus we were off to the Cubs’ first extra-inning game of 2025.
Daniel Palencia, who hadn’t thrown since Sunday, came in for the 10th. He got the first two outs on routine fly balls, issued a walk, then retired pinch-hitter Nick Gonzales on a ground ball to third, giving the Cubs a real chance to win it in the bottom of the 10th.
The pitch was pretty clearly in the zone, but that wasn’t a bad place to challenge. Worth using it at that point, I thought. Both runners then moved up on a wild pitch, putting the winning run on third with two out. Conforto walked to load the bases, but Swanson grounded out to end the inning.
In the 11th, Caleb Thielbar entered, coming off a bad outing Friday. But he struck out the first two batters he faced, before issuing an intentional pass to Oneil Cruz, who had a four-hit afternoon. I agree with that choice, too, setting up a possible force at second or third.
Well, I dunno. You tell me. No, that wasn’t a good throw by Thielbar, who was charged with an error. But does a more experienced first baseman knock that down and keep the lead runner at third? Or throw him out at the plate?
I guess we’ll never know. The Cubs opted to pinch hit for Michael Busch with Kelly in the seventh. Busch has really been struggling with the bat, so I don’t necessarily argue with that move. But the thing is, the Cubs don’t have an experienced backup first baseman. Shaw had literally never played the position, except for Spring Training, before this game. Kelly, who replaced Busch, had never played first base before this year either. This was just his second appearance at the position.
You can see how important first base defense is with this one play.
Anyway, that run was all the Pirates got, and turned out that’s all they needed. Swanson was the placed runner in the 11th. Nico hit a comebacker that Yohan Ramirez threw away for an error, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Cubs got to scoring in the 11th. Shaw hit a line drive to right that was too shallow to score the tying run. Bregman popped up to first. Happ was intentionally walked to set up a force at any base, but Suzuki also popped up to end things.
The Cubs went 1-for-15 with RISP and left 16 (!) runners on base. That’s pretty awful. The Pirates weren’t much better, going 2-for-19 with RISP and stranding 13. This was an ugly, ugly game in what’s now an ugly, ugly series.
Eventually the Cubs offense will get untracked. These hitters are too good to keep doing this for much longer. Maybe Sunday, when the weather is supposed to be better (sunny, in the 70s). Jameson Taillon will try to help the Cubs salvage one win in this series. Bubba Chandler goes for the Pirates. Game time is again 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Apr 5, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick (77) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
ATLANTA — Injured starter Spencer Strider took another step toward returning to the Atlanta Braves’ rotation on Saturday by throwing three innings of batting practice at Truist Park.
Braves manager Walt Weiss said Strider felt good after throwing three simulated innings and said the 27-year-old right-hander will likely make a rehab start on Thursday and throw 40-45 pitches. Strider has been on the injured list since March 22 with a Grade 1 left oblique strain.
“He’s on the right path,” Weiss said before the Braves faced Cleveland. “With starters, it takes time. We’ve got to build him back up now.”
Weiss does not anticipate Strider rejoining the Braves before the end of the month.
Strider hit 95 mph during his three innings against batters. He was in full uniform, wearing the new Braves City Connect outfit.
“That’s no adrenaline, right?” Weiss said of the mid-90s fastballs. “I don’t think he had adrenaline for BP, but you never know with Strider. All signs are pointing in the right direction. Physically where he’s at, mentally, emotionally, he’s handled this very well. All things point the right way.”
The Braves are missing projected starter Spencer Schwellenbach, along with Strider, yet lead the NL East at 9-5 and have had seven quality starts in their first 14 games.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 11: Michael Wacha #52 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the 6th inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium on April 11, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Michael Wacha saw Kris Bubic’s seven-shutout-inning performance and decided to try to one-up him. Wacha knew he couldn’t get the same strikeouts, but he could go even deeper into the game. In the end, Wacha was able to go eight shutout innings, striking out seven, walking only one, and allowing only four hits. The White Sox had only three at-bats with a runner in scoring position all day. No runner ever made it past second base.
As you can see in the above graphic, Michael Wacha did all of that on only 88 pitches. He threw 63 strikes – almost 3/4 of his pitches – in part because the White Sox were just swinging at every dang thing, and missing plenty often. Personally, I would have liked to see him pitch the second Maddux of the season (when someone pitches a 9+-inning, complete game shutout in under 100 pitches). But it’s reasonable that Matt Quatraro decided to go to the team’s closer, instead. Erceg had a clean ninth with a strikeout to earn his fifth save of the season.
The Royals’ offense struggled once again. At first, it seemed like they might get something going when Maikel Garcia reminded us he was related to Alcides Escobar in the first inning.
The Royals only got three more hits and a walk the rest of the day, but they added on in the bottom of the eighth. Garcia, leading off the inning again, smacked a double down the third base line and into the corner. Bobby Witt Jr. lofted a flyball deep enough to right to advance Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino went the other way to left field deep enough to easily bring the insurance run home.
You’d like to see the Royals’ offense wake up, especially because the White Sox’s pitching is not considered to be particularly good, but not panicking and manufacturing a run like that is a really good sign that the hitters are still in the mindset they need to be in. Coming into today, the Royals had the fifth-highest hard-hit rate in baseball. I’ll keep promising an imminent offensive explosion until it happens or those kinds of stats change.
The Royals have guaranteed a series split with the White Sox and have a chance to win the game with another afternoon contest, tomorrow. Noah Cameron (1.69 ERA, 3.69 SIERA) will pitch for the Royals. The White Sox have not yet announced their starter, and I can’t even find any guesses as to who it might be. The game will start at 1:10 KC time, be broadcast on Royals.TV, and will feature the new Royals City Connect uniforms for the third straight game. They’ve won every game they’ve played in them; let’s hope they don’t break that streak.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 5: Chris Bassitt #40 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 5, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles will attempt to get back to .500 tonight against Logan Webb and the Giants. San Francisco took the first of three games last night in a 6-3 result at Camden Yards.
Chris Bassitt will look to bounce back after a rough start to his Orioles tenure. Baltimore inked Bassitt to a one-year, $18.5 million deal before the start of the season. Now, with Zach Eflin out for the year, Baltimore needs Bassitt to be the veteran innings eater that the club signed him to be. He’s currently 0-2 with a 14.21 ERA and only three strikeouts in two short appearances.
Adley Rutschman was originally in the lineup but scratched with left ankle discomfort. The Orioles moved Samuel Basallo to catcher and inserted Ryan Mountcastle as the DH.
Rutschman has been one of Baltimore’s hottest hitters, and he feels like a guy the team cannot afford to lose for an extended period of time. Basallo has struggled to find his footing early in the season, but the rookie will have another chance to breakout today.
The same can be said for first baseman Pete Alonso and today’s left fielder Colton Cowser. Leody Taveras will play center field with doubles machine Taylor Ward playing right. Coby Mayo and Jeremiah Jackson will round out the infield.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MARCH 30: Kyle Leahy #62 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets in the first inning at Busch Stadium on March 30, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Your first place St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series vs the Boston Red Sox Saturday night at Busch Stadium. Game time is 6:15pm with Kyle Leahy on the mound for St. Louis vs Ranger Suarez for the Boston Red Sox. Saturday night’s game is a nationwide broadcast on Fox.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 10: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals gestures after hitting an RBI double in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 10, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Nats stole game one of the series in Milwaukee last night, putting up 4 runs in the 9th inning to win it 7-3. The rally in the 9th was led by 3 consecutive bunts, which resulted in hits for the Nats, much to the dismay of Brewers fans. A welcome surprise was 4 scoreless innings from the Nats bullpen after Jake Irvin went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs, with Clayton Beeter finishing the job in the 9th.
Foster Griffin toes the rubber for the Nats in game two against the Brew Crew, coming off successful starts against both the Phillies and Dodgers, 2 heavyweight lineups. There are a few alterations for the Nats against the left-handed starters tonight, with Curtis Mead shifting from DH to 1B and Luis Garcia Jr. hitting the bench, Nasin Nunez playing 2B over Jorbit Vivas, and Jacob Young returning to the lineup in CF.
For the Brewers, Kyle Harrison toes the rubber in his 3rd Brewers start, acquired from the Red Sox this offseason. There are plenty of alterations to the Brewers’ lineup, as there often is, with Gary Sanchez, Brandon Lockridge, and Joey Ortiz joining the starting lineup and Garrett Mitchell, Jake Bauers, and David Hamilton hitting the bench.
Small ball and clutch pitching got the Nationals the victory against the Brewers last night, and they’ll need it again to beat the Brewers tonight and steal the series. Foster Griffin will also face another test in a scrappy Brewers lineup that will make starting pitchers work for outs. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
Less than twenty-four hours after the Diamondbacks managed to overcome a disastrous first inning from Michael Soroka, they had the chance to do it again, thanks to the kind of performance we’ve sadly become accustomed to from Brandon Pfaadt in 2026. On paper, at least, this seemed like a winnable game, and maybe even one in which we had the advantage coming in. Pfaadt hasn’t been good to start the season—he was rocking a 6.75 ERA after his first two starts—but his opposite number today was old friend Taijuan Walker, who came into the game sporting a distinctly unsexy 9.31 ERA.
Pfaadt and Walker are actually in similar positions within their respective team’s rotations, insofar as the Diamondbacks will likely be sending one starter to the bullpen once Merrill Kelly is ready to take his rotation spot, while Walker is keeping a spot warm until Zack Wheeler returns from the injured list. Walker is definitely going back to the Phillies’ bullpen when Wheeler returns; Pfaadt, meanwhile, has been looking increasingly likely to be pitching out of our ‘pen once Kelly is back on the mound. There was some question before Opening Day as to whether he or Michael Soroka would be the odd man out, but while Soroka has been getting good results (aside from that first inning yesterday), Pfaadt continues to display his unerring talent for giving up the dreaded One Big Inning.
So that was fun! Corbin Carroll, back in starting lineup today as the designated hitter, drew a four-pitch walk, and then Geraldo Perdomo moved him to along with a ground out to second. Adrian Del Castillo, behind the plate this afternoon with Gabi Moreno once again ailing, singled to center, driving in Carroll. Jose Fernandez and Nolan Arenado then struck out in succession, leaving ADC stranded at first. Still, it’s nice to take the early lead. 2-0 D-BACKS
Sadly, however, that lead didn’t last. Pfaadt pitched a great bottom of the first—two Ks, ten pitches thrown—and a perfectly serviceable second frame, pitching around a two-out walk to record a second zero. Then, alas, came the OBI.
For starters, Alek Bohm reached on a grounder to short that Perdomo booted for an error. Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford followed with a single to left, turning the lineup over. Pfaadt managed to record the first out by striking out Trae Turner for the second time in the ball game, but then gave up two consecutive long balls over his next four pitches. Kyle Schwarber launched a hanging changeup into the right field seats, and then Bryce Harper launched his own over the fence in right center. Two outs (and another walk, and a hit batsman) later, the inning finally ended, but the damage was done. 4-2 Philadelphia
And that was pretty much that. Pfaadt returned to competence in the fourth, as is often the case—in fact, he wound up going six full innings, pitching around minimal traffic in each inning—a walk in the fourth, a single in the fifth, a double in the sixth—to put up three zeroes. The bullpen did its job, too, with Kevin Ginkel pitching a scoreless seventh and Ryan Thompson a scoreless eighth. But the Diamondbacks offense couldn’t make up the lost ground, despite having plenty of chances:
Alek Thomas hit a two-out double in the second but was stranded there;
Tim Tawa TOOTBLANned his way into an out after drawing a two-out walk in the fourth;
Jorge Barrosa reached on a one-out single in the fifth, but was doubled off thanks to a Ketel Marte grounder to first;
Adrian Del Castillo singled with two outs in the sixth, but was stranded there;
Alek Thomas was drilled with two outs in the seventh, stole second and took third on an errant throw, and was left standing there when Barrosa couldn’t get him home.
We did manage to get a run back in the top of the eighth, thanks to a two-out Perdomo walk, ADC’s third single, and a Jose Fernandez RBI single that scored Perdomo and advanced ADC to third. Sadly, however, ADC is slow as molasses on the bases, so there was no chance he was going to score, and, shocking as it might be to believe, Nolan Arenado struck out on four pitches when it was his turn to try and drive in the tying run. 4-3 Philadelphia
The bottom of the Diamondbacks order had one last chance in the top of the ninth, but they sat down in order, and that was that.
The Gameday Thread seems to have been reasonably lively for a Saturday game for which the first pitch happened at 10:05am Arizona time, with 156 comments at time of writing. Sadly, my attention was taken up with getting some final stuff in order around the house in preparation for TheRealRamona’s dad, who arrived at his new home with us sometime during the eighth inning. Comment of the Game goes to MikeMono by popular acclaim, and because it shows you how it’s done with the /sarcasm font when one is critiquing the lineup and lack of timely pinch-hitting decisions:
Anyway, thanks to the Friday night result, we are still in line for a possible series victory. Join us tomorrow as Zac Gallen takes the mound for the rubber match, going up against highly-regarded Phillies prospect Andrew Painter. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35am AZ time. Hope you can stop by!
As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
Apr 5, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (52) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images
On Friday evening, the Brewers dropped an ugly one, maybe their most painful loss of the young season. After Jake Bauers hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the first inning to respond to two early Nationals runs, it felt like Milwaukee might cruise. But instead they were shut out for the next eight innings by the Nationals’ pitching staff — not exactly the ‘90s Braves over there — and fumbled the game away after a bit of a ninth-inning implosion.
They’ll look to bounce back tonight behind Kyle Harrison, one of the brighter spots in what has been a mostly encouraging start to the season. Harrison is making his third start, and each of the first two has been good. On March 30, Harrison allowed one run to the Rays on four hits and one walk while striking out eight in five innings, though Milwaukee lost that game when the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead that Harrison left with. On April 5, Harrison pitched 5 1/3 innings in Kansas City and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six. He earned his first win of the season in that one, an 8-5 Brewers victory.
Washington counters with lefty Foster Griffin, who is back in the big leagues at age 30 after spending the last three seasons in Japan. Griffin came up through the Royals’ organization and made his brief major league debut in 2020, but he was unable to nail down a spot in the majors, and after just nine big-league appearances across three seasons, he made the move to Japan, where he was a star for the Yomiuri Giants — in three seasons that covered 348 innings, Griffin pitched to a 2.51 ERA and 4.50 K-to-BB ratio. That got him a job back in the US, where he signed with the Nationals. He’s been pretty good so far and is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in two starts. Foster does not throw hard (low-90s) but throws a whole bunch of different pitches, which keeps hitters off balance.
The Brewer lineup hasn’t looked great against left-handed pitching lately, but they’ll take another crack at it tonight. Luis Matos, however, continues to ride the pine despite being one of the few available right-handed bats; Brandon Lockridge will play left, with Blake Perkins in center and Sal Frelick in right. After a night off on Friday, Joey Ortiz is back in the lineup today, and Luis Rengifo, who hasn’t been able to buy a hit (though that’s certainly partially due to a .188 BABIP), bats second. Get well soon, Jackson.
A couple of injury notes from the organization: Quinn Priester had a good live batting practice session and is expected to get some game action soon in extended spring training. Tyler Black, who is playing at Triple-A Nashville, went on the seven-day injured list with a “shoulder impingement,” but is not expected to be out long. Cooper Pratt missed a couple of days with a sore shoulder but is back in the Nashville lineup tonight.
First pitch at 6:10 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
