Detroit Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle (7), right, and second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) celebrate a 2-RBI double from left fielder Riley Greene (31) during the ninth inning against Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In a game marred by delays, it looked like the Royals would take the series finale against the Tigers to avoid the sweep, and this after trailing by five runs midway through the game.
Unfortunately, the top of Detroit’s lineup had other plans.
The game started after an hour-plus rain delay. Detroit struck first in the bottom of the second when Spencer Torkelson doubled to left, scoring Matt Vierling. Not very long after, the Royals tied it in the top of the fourth when Bobby Witt Jr., who doubled to lead off the inning and then moved to third on a very long fly ball by Vinnie Pasquantino, scored on an infield single by Carter Jensen.
By the end of the game, the Royals, who had greatly struggled scoring runs and hitting with runners in scoring position lately, finished 5-for-10 with RISP. Bobby Witt Jr., who had only scored one run entering today’s contest, scored three times.
Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic ran into trouble in the fifth inning, which the Tigers entered winning 2-1. By the end of the frame, Bubic was out of the game and Detroit had extended their lead to 6-1 thanks in large part to a two-run home run by catcher Dillon Dingler off reliever John Schrieber. In all, Bubic lasted only 4-and-2/3 innings while allowing five earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with three strikeouts. He did not look sharp.
The Royals didn’t fold, though, instead chipping away at the lead. In the top of the sixth, Bobby Witt Jr. once again led off the inning with a double and once more moved to third on a fly out by Pasquantino, who hit several hard ball outs during the game. Bob ended up scoring his second run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez, who roped a screamer to left that Riley Greene caught sliding.
6-2, Tigers.
Alex Lange entered for the Royals against his former team, and while he allowed a runner to reach third, escaped the sixth with the score intact. In the next half-frame, the top of the seventh, the Royals bats busted open as the team batted around while scoring six runs to take a 8-6 lead.
The fun started with a lead-off double by Jonathan India who scored when Jac Caglianone singled up the middle on a ball that hit the second base bag. It was Cags’ first RBI of the season. I’ll note here that in the fourth, Cags, who had three hits and a walk yesterday with an outfield assist, nailed a runner at the plate for yet another outfield assist. Couple of good days for the youngster.
Lane Thomas then pinch-hit for Michael Massey, today’s starting left fielder. Thomas drew a four-pitch walk. Kyle Isbel then sacrificed Cags and Thomas over. The lineup flipped and Maikel Garcia drove in Cags to cut the lead to 6-4.
Bob followed with a check-swing infield single that scored Thomas and made it a one-run game. Pasquantino lined out to bring up Salvy with two on and two out. After completely whiffing on an 86-MPH cutter right down the middle, Perez battled back, and on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, ended up on one knee as he corked a go-ahead three-run homer to left. Thus ended an 0-for-22 with RISP skid for Salvy. 8-6, Royals.
KC – Salvador Perez 3-run HR (3) ⚡ Go-ahead HR ⚡
📏 379 ft | 💨 97.9 mph | 📐 36° ⚾️ 85.1 mph changeup (DET – LHP Tyler Holton) 🏟️ Out in 30/30 MLB parks
Immediately, the fourth and final delay of the game took place as rain briefly poured. About 40 minutes later, the game resumed, as Carter Jensen singled, but India fanned to end the big inning.
Nick Mears entered for the Royals, and hoo boy, was that an adventure. Kevin McGonigle tripled to start and scored on a foul-out by Kerry Carpenter. 8-7. Isbel then robbed Dingler of extra bases with a fantastic sliding catch at the wall. After giving up another hit, Mears escaped with the Royals clinging to the lead.
Not much happened for either team in the eighth. Daniel Lynch IV kept the Tigers at bay and the game headed to the ninth. In the top half, Pasquantino finally hit a hard ball fair, and it went out for his first homer of the season. The Royals had their insurance run, and Lucas Erceg came out to close down the game.
Erceg couldn’t do it. He allowed the first two batters to reach, on a single and walk, respectively. He then struck out Carpenter and induced a line-out by Dingler. Two down.
Next up, Riley Greene, who on the payoff pitch lined one down the first-base line. Torres scored easily from second with McGonigle not too far behind him. Erceg slapped his glove in frustration.
The game ended in the next at-bat as Colt Keith singled home Greene. Cags had a chance to get him, but Greene slid in ahead of the throw. Ballgame: 10-9 Detroit.
Now the Royals are 7-12 and begin a three-game trip to the Bronx tomorrow night against the Yankees.
Today’s game was great, and it would’ve been fantastic to write about a Royals win to staunch the bleeding and move them to 8-11. Instead, the Royals are suddenly five games below .500 and don’t return home until Monday.
Giants first-time manager Tony Vitello, who was a college coach at Tennessee last year, told reporters after the game he didn't see what caused the disagreement between his closing pitcher Erik Miller and Reds rookie Sal Stewart, who was struck out to end the game.
"I looked up and everything was going on," Vitello said. "I know the guys were joking but Miller doesn't say much to anybody, so I don't know who talked first between those guys, or if it's one-sided, but I think something was said. You know, maybe people reacted because of what went on early in the game. I didn’t have a great view."
Feb 28, 2026; Sarasota, Florida, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider (99) throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The big league team may be off, but we got a full slate of minor league games including a pair of rehab appearances. Spencer Strider makes his first rehab appearance, while Sean Murphy makes his second appearance. Let’s take a look at who is playing around the organization today.
It’s going to be a bit easier for Will Klein to catch ’em all these days.
The Dodgers pitcher revealed on Wednesday he recently netted a custom baseball mitt that features an actual Pokemon card implanted inside of it.
Klein said the guys over at 44 Pro, who’ve created custom gloves for him and other athletes for years, surprised him with it after they out of the blue asked him what his favorite Pokemon was.
Will Klein’s new glove has a Pokemon card actually stitched inside of it.
“Obviously I said Tyranitar because that’s the only right answer,” Klein said. “They were like, ‘All right,’ and they went to work.”
Klein — a massive Pokemon fan — said he had no idea what his mitt-making friends were up to, but this week, he got an unexpected package from them wrapped in foil.
“I whip this bad boy out,” he said, “and I didn’t even know you could do anything like this.”
Will Klein called the new Pokemon-themed glove “probably now the coolest thing I own.”
The glove is all Dodger blue with some red accents, and on the webbing, a Tyrantir card can be prominently seen.
Klein said he’s unsure if he can actually use it in a game, but he nonetheless is considering it one of his most prized possessions.
“It’s probably now the coolest thing I own,” he said.
Klein later revealed in addition to Tyrantir, he’s got love for Nidoking, Flygon and Swampert — perhaps indirectly presenting a whole new set of challenges for 44 Pro folks.
Former Yankees prospect Oswald Peraza had himself some series against his former team.
The infielder helped lead the Angels to an 11-4 win over the Yankees on Thursday afternoon with a home run and three RBI that helped Los Angeles split the four-game series.
And while his teammate Mike Trout will get the headlines for his five-homer performance in the series, you can't overlook what Peraza did against the Yankees. His former manager, Aaron Boone, certainly didn't.
Peraza got the scoring started out of the cleanup spot with a two-run shot off of Max Fried to give the Angels a 2-0 lead in the first inning. But he wasn't done; his game-tying double in the sixth knocked Fried out of the game, and led to the four-run inning that gave the Angels the lead for good.
In the four-game set, Peraza started just three but went 5-for-10 with two home runs and four RBI, while playing his usual slick defense at third base. As Boone said, it was the type of offensive performance they hoped for when he eventually came up to the bigs.
“A lot of good memories here,” Peraza told the media before the series began. “It’s business, it’s baseball. Now I’m with the Angels and enjoy every day.”
While he found playing time with the Angels last season, he struggled offensively. This season, however, he's gotten off to a much better start. He has four home runs this season (18 games) when he had five all of last year (106 games), and has launched three longballs over his last five games. Overall, he's slashing .368/.478/.947 (7-for-19) with four runs, two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, four walks and two stolen bases over his last seven games.
"He looked like what we were excited about several years ago," Boone said after the game. "And then obviously, went through a couple of years of struggling. He’s super talented, always has been. He’s fast-twitched, has power, can run and can do all those things. Clearly, in as good a place as he’s been in a few years. And he absolutely hurt us in this series."
"He looked like what we were excited about several years ago...he's super talented, always has been. He absolutely hurt us this series."
Peraza joined the big league club at the end of the 2022 season and was 15-for-49 (.306) in 18 games. That offseason, there was a lot of hype surrounding Peraza and Anthony Volpe as the next generation of Yankees infielders. However, Volpe outplayed Peraza that spring and won the starting shortstop job. With DJ LeMahieu and Josh Donaldson on the roster at the time, Peraza's path to the club was blocked.
The Venezuela native would get his shot that season, but struggled at the plate, going 33-for-173 (.191) in 52 games. Peraza would start the 2024 season in the minors, but injuries and offensive struggles kept him from seeing any time with the big league club.
Peraza would get his biggest chance with the Yankees in 2025, but it was more of the same for the infielder. He slashed .152/.212/.241 with an OPS of .453 across 71 games with New York before he was ultimately traded to the Angels for a minor leaguer and international money.
Apr 16, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the Athletics during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
The Texas Rangers scored nine runs while the Sacramento River Athletics scored six runs.
Brother I don’t know what that was. It was barely even baseball.
Anyhow, the Rangers dropped like ten popups and nearly lost a ridiculous, blustery finale in not-Oakland before the potential shame of blowing a 5-3 lead on a bases clearing popup kicked in and they scored four runs in the 9th to escape Yolo County with a series split.
Player of the Game: Josh Jung had three hits, scored twice, drove in two and had the most wind-aided dong you’ll ever see. It was his first homer of the year.
Up Next: The Rangers continue traveling north along the West Coast with their weekend destination bringing them to Seattle for their second look at the hated Mariners. RHP Jacob deGrom will make the start for Texas in the opener against RHP Logan Gilbert for Seattle.
The Friday evening first pitch from T-Mobile Park is scheduled for 8:40 pm CDT and you can catch it via the Rangers Sports Network.
The highly touted Pirates 19-year-old shortstop spiked a throw on a potential double play in the top of the fifth inning of Thursday afternoon’s 8-7 loss to the Nationals in 10 innings — moments before launching a game-tying hit.
With one out in the fifth, Griffin fielded a weak grounder from first baseman Luis Garcia Jr., stepped on second and spiked a throw to first into the dirt that rolled into shallow right field to allow all three runners on base to score.
Washington Nationals second baseman Nasim Nuñez (26) slides into Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (6) at second base, forcing an error and allowing two runs to score. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The umpire crew ruled runner Nasim Nuñez — whose hard slide into Griffin impacted the throw — safe at second.
The Pirates unsuccessfully challenged the play, which was scored as a throwing error.
Konnor Griffin spikes the ball into ground allowing all three runs to score on a ground ball pic.twitter.com/vELFw8KPsr
The Nationals added another run later in the inning after starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft made a throwing error of his own.
Pittsburgh rallied to tie the game at four before again falling behind 5-4 in the sixth. And that’s when Griffin made up for his miscue.
Griffin’s spiked throw rolled into shallow right field as three runs scored.Griffin made up for his miscue with a game-tying triple in the sixth inning of Thursday’s 8-7 loss. AP
In the bottom of the inning, Griffin launched a ball to center — missing his first career home run by inches — before it caromed far enough for a game-tying RBI triple.
He recorded another hit in the 10th inning on a weak grounder down the third base line, but the Pirates failed to tie the game.
The whirlwind performance encapsulated Griffin’s first few weeks in the majors.
Entering Thursday, Griffin was hitting .189/.279/.243 with five RBIs while striking out 12 times in 37 at-bats.
Griffin, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the top prospect in baseball entering 2026, was called up in early April after hitting a scorching .438/.571/.625 in five Triple-A contests.
The ninth-overall pick in the 2024 draft hit an eye-popping .333/.415/.527 with 21 homers, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases over 122 games between three levels in 2025, his first professional season.
Trout demolished a solo home run off of reliever Angel Chivilli in the seventh inning. With that blast, he became the first visiting player ever to hit home runs on four consecutive days against the Yankees (h/t Sarah Langs).
“It means a lot,” Trout told FanDuel Sports Network West after the game. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of great players who have played here. It’s awesome.”
Trout, a three-time MVP and 11-time All-Star, has seen injury issues derail him over the past few seasons, but he was in vintage Mike Trout mode in this series, hitting five home runs and driving in nine.
“He’s not chasing, and he’s deadly in some certain parts of the zone,” Aaron Boone said after the game. “Chivilli, really the entire at-bat against him I thought executed pretty well, and then all of a sudden he goes back to that changeup and he hammers it. Look, he’s clearly healthy and he’s an all-time great... Hurt us this series.
“There are some places that you can go to execute against him, but we weren’t able to do that enough this series.”
“It’s great to see a guy like him…. Obviously not against us, but he’s one of the greatest in this spot and he’s showing it,” added Jose Caballero. “Congrats to him, he’s amazing.”
And while Trout was putting on a tremendous power display, Yankees captain Aaron Judge was nearly just as incredible, hitting four homers of his own while driving in five.
In the first game of the series on Monday, both Trout and Judge homered twice each.
“Yeah, it was really fun,” Trout said. “That first game set it off… It was a fun series.”
“It was a cool, cool showing from him and Judgey all series,” said Giancarlo Stanton, who also homered on Thursday. “Obviously, we don’t want that against us, but you’ve got to acknowledge the great. It was a deciding factor today, so not what we want, but obviously a great talent.”
DETROIT, MI - APRIL 15: Colt Keith #33 of the Detroit Tigers bats (wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson) during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After a rain delay at Comerica Park, the Tigers were looking to wrap up their hopeful sweep of the Royals before heading to Boston for the weekend to take on the Red Sox. Hoping to get them there was Keider Montero on the mound, up against Kris Bubic for the Royals. Montero has had a decent start to his season and has a lot to prove, so he’s showing up eager to each start. The Tigers have floundered this series in terms of converting runs, with two 2-1 wins. They’d also be down one Zach McKinstry as he dealt with a slew of injuries from Wednesday night’s game and the Tigers were taking a wait-and-see approach to decide the best course for him.
When things finally got underway, the Royals went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Gleyber Torres got a leadoff walk to start the home half, but a flyout and a double play quickly kiboshed the Tigers’ efforts.
Salvador Perez singled to start the second inning. There was a brief pause in play as it looked like Perez jammed his finger getting to first, but he stayed in the game. Three outs followed, leaving the man stranded and the score still at goose eggs. In the home half, Riley Greene got a one-out walk, but was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Matt Vierling. A wild pitch allowed Vierling to advance to second, then a Spencer Torkelson double brought Vierling home and put the Tigers on the board. They’d need to settle for just the one run, but it was a good start.
In the top of the third, the Royals went 1-2-3 again. The Tigers, likewise, went down in order in the bottom of the inning.
Bobby Witt Jr. started the fourth with a double. He’s been a relatively minor pest this series, so we were due. With two outs, Carter Jensen singled, bringing Witt home and tying up the game. Feels familiar. In the home half, Dillon Dingler hit a one-out double, followed by a Riley Green single. Dingler was tagged out at home trying for the go-ahead run. Greene ended up on second. A wild pitch then allowed Greene to advance to third. Game hero Matt Vierling then singled, bringing Greene home and putting the Tigers ahead again. 2-1 game, feeling some deja vu right now.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Michael Massey singled for the Royals, but two outs followed. In the home half, Javier Baez got a one-out walk, then Gleyber Torres followed that up with a double to bring Baez home. The 2-1 curse is broken! One out later, Jahmai Jones singled, bringing Torres in. That was it for Bubic, who was replaced by John Schreiber, who then gave up a two-run homer to Dingler. A mighty big inning for the Tigers.
Keider Montero certainly had to be grateful for that extra buffer going into the sixth, especially after he gave up a leadoff double to Bobby Witt Jr. With one out, Perez hit a sac fly to bring Witt home, and that made all the Tigers very grateful for that cushion. In the home half, Alex Lange came out of the Royals’ bullpen. He gave up a leadoff single to Matt Vierling, who then stole second. Jeez, Vierling, what’s gotten into you, we love it! A Spencer Torkelson single pushed Vierling to third. Three outs in a row followed, however, leaving Vierling 90 feet from home.
The Royals love doubles. Jonathan India got the seventh inning going with a leadoff double. A Jac Caglianone single then brought India home, and that was it for Montero. His final line for the game was 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K on 83 pitches. Lots of contact unfortunately, but not the worst start we’ve seen this season. The run support really helped. Drew Anderson came in to replace him. A pinch-hitting Lane Thomas walked. There was then a very lengthy game break for the home plate umpire to… go to the clubhouse? He didn’t appear to be injured, so perhaps nature just made an unfortunately timed call. There was some umpire shuffling and the game resumed. A Kyle Isbel bunt advanced both baserunners. A Maikel Garcia single then scored Caglianone. A Witt single then scored Thomas and suddenly that lead wasn’t looking so healthy anymore. Anderson was then pulled, replaced by Tyler Holton. A wild pitch by Holton advanced Witt, and then a Perez home run scored three runs to put the Royals ahead. At this point there was a lengthy game delay because of inclement weather. We gotta keep it dramatic, I guess. After the delay, Holton was done, replaed by Enmanuel De Jesus who gave up a single to Jensen. The final out of the inning came with no additional damage done, but it was plenty bad enough already.
Nick Mears came in for the Royals in the bottom of the seventh and gave up a leadoff triple to Kevin McGonigle. A sac fly from a pinch-hitting Kerry Carpenter brought McGonigle home, putting the Tigers back within one run of tying.
Dillon Dingler hit a long fly and Isbel came out of nowhere (well, out of center field) for one of the best catches I’ve seen in ages. I mean, it sucks that he caught it, but credit where credit is due. Riley Greene then doubled. Colt Keith came on for Vierling, and Keith missed a couple of opportunities to make good ABS challenges, but instead, he grounded out to end the inning.
In the top of the eighth, Thomas got a one-out single. With two outs in the inning, De Jesus was done, making way for Connor Seabold. Seabold got the final out of the inning. Daniel Lynch IV came on for the Royals, and the Tigers quickly went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.
The Royals extended their lead in the ninth as Vinnie Pasquantino got a one-out solo home run. The Tigers had at least two run to make up now to tie the game, three if they were going to get a walk-off win, and it was all down to the bottom of the ninth inning. Lucas Erceg was out for the Royals. Torres got a leadoff single. McGonigle finally remembered the team had all their ABS challenges and had a called strike overturned into a walk, putting two on. Riley Greene laced a run right down the right field line, scoring two runs to tie up the game. Colt Keith then hit a walk-off single, scoring Greene and the Tigers actually had a comeback miracle. They also completed the series sweep.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 12: Chase DeLauter #24 of the Cleveland Guardians reacts after a double during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 12, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here’s the Orioles lineup:
Orioles 4/16
T. Ward LF G. Henderson DH P. Alonso 1B J. Rodríguez RF S. Basallo C J. Jackson 2B C. Mayo 3B L. Taveras CF B. Alexander SS
Mike Trout punctuated his outstanding series in The Bronx by making some Yankee Stadium history.
The Angels superstar launched another home run against the Yankees during Anaheim’s 11-4 win Thursday afternoon, his fifth blast of the four-game set, putting himself in the record books.
Trout’s 446-foot solo homer in the seventh inning made him the first visiting player in history to homer in four straight days at Yankee Stadium, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout hits a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees on April 16, 2026. APTrout made history by becoming the first visiting player in history to homer in four straight games at Yankee Stadium. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
After struggling through a myriad of injuries over the past five seasons, the three-time MVP’s performance turned back the clock to his peak form — a reminder of the dominance that once made him the game’s most feared hitter.
On Tuesday, Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning against lefty Ryan Weathers as the Angels slugged their way to a 7-1 win.
Trout hit a go-ahead home run off Luis Gil in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s tilt, a game the Yankees rallied to win on a walk-off hit by José Caballero.
On Thursday, the Yankees led 3-2 going into the sixth inning before the Angels’ offense erupted for nine total runs across three of the final four frames.
Trout’s latest blast came against reliever Angel Chivilli, who was making his Yankees debut, putting the Angels ahead 7-4.
Adell hit a grand slam in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Trout’s solo blast came against reliever Angel Chivilli who was making his Yankees debut. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Judge, who hit his fourth home run of the series in Thursday’s loss, had high praise for Trout earlier in the week.
“He’s the greatest… he’s the greatest of all-time,” Judge told reporters after the sluggers each slugged two bombs apiece Monday night. “He’s been fun to watch his whole career.
“Coming up at such a young age and to instantly put yourself at the top of the list, it’s special. He’s led those boys over there for quite a few years. I know he’s had some tough injuries over the years but [it’s great] to see himself put himself back in a better spot.”
Trout is now tied for second in the majors in home runs with seven, trailing Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker and Judge (eight).
“Every time he comes to The Bronx, he puts on a show, I hate to see it,” Judge added with a laugh.
Apr 16, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; /41/ talks with Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) and Toronto Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman (55) in the fourth inning against there Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
Blue Jays 1 at Brewers 2
For the second straight day, the Jays took an early lead on the Brewers, failed to build on it, and then were undone by some small ball as they fell 2-1 to the Brewers and dropped yet another series 2-1.
It’s particularly unfortunate since Patrick Corbin was in the fine form of his heydays in the late-aughts, working into the six th inning with a final line of 5.2, allowing only 4 hits and a walk while striking out 6. If there was a blemish it was allowing leadoff hits in three innings, including the 4th inning in which he yielded his only run. Brice Turang and Williams Contreras hammered balls for a double and single to put runners at the corners with none out, but Corbin limited the damage to a sac fly.
After retiring the first two in the 6th, John Schneider apparently wasn’t willing to give him a chance to finish the inning, and it almost cost him as Tommy Nance’s trip through the heart of the order was…bad. And nearly disasterous. Another single for Contreras followed by a walk to Gary Sanchez created a jam, before a flare on the infield ended the inning.
Having already skirted danger, the second time proved the undoing as Nance walked Garrett Mitchell leading off the 7th. Then the Brewers executed the ball, bunting him to second before David Hamilton beat out a perfect bunt off Joe Mantiply and Joey Ortiz brought the run home with yet another bunt which proved ultimately decisive.
The very questionable wisdom of using Tommy Nance against the middle of the order in a critical situation aside, let’s the honest that real fault lies however witb the offense. In fairness, Brandon Sproat despite poor numbers thus far was was very good (as I’ve seen him do in the minors many times in the Mets’ system), and one run a game just isn’t going to get things done. In three of the first five innings, the Jays went down in order. The 4th had a ground rule double by Lenyn Sosa, but with two out so not exactly a prime scoring opportunity.
The exception was the 3rd, with Andres Gimenez grounding a double to lead off before Ernie Clement cracked a single. The Jays did a little small ball of their own as Tyler Heinemann laid down a bunt to push the run across. But that was it after a couple flyouts at the top of the order. Was small ball the right call? One one hand, you’re not scoring much and it’s your backup catcher. On the other hand, with the top of the order up you still have to cash the runner without a hit (and Davis Schneider’s fly ball would have), and you hurt the chance of a big inning.
Wherever you come out on that, the bigger issue was squandered a golden opportunity to retake the lead and even maybe put up a crooked number (perish the thought). Schndier walked leading off the 6th, with Varsho singling behind him and the heart of the order up. But Vladdy grounded into a double, and there went any wind out of their sails. He did single leading off the 9th, but three ground outs ended things. If you’re going to only reach base 7 times, you’d better take advantage of the opportunities you do get.
Jays of the Day: Corbin (+0.21 WPA)
Boo Jays: By the numbers, Okamoto (-0.20), Sosa (-0.13), Mantiply (-0.11) and Jesus Sanchez (-0.10). But it really feels like Vladdy (-0.06) belongs there too, and Nance (-0.02) too. Really it could just be the entire lineup for the last two days in toto.
Stymied twice now in the Midwest, the Jays will move on and try their luck out West, in Arizona Friday when Eric Lauer will take on a rejuvenated Michael Soroka with the late 9:30 ET start time.
Through the first six series of the season, the Orioles are sitting with a .500 record and have played exactly like a .500 baseball team. Tonight in Cleveland, manager Craig Albernaz will take on his former team, looking to prove that the Orioles can rise above their recent mediocrity.
The O’s come into Cleveland with a 9-9 record, 77 runs scored vs. 78 allowed, the 16th-ranked offense in runs/game, and the 14th-best team ERA. Eight of their nine losses have come by three runs or less, while six of their nine victories have also come by small margins.
The talent on this team is better than the record suggests, but some mental lapses, poor defense, and the occasional bullpen have left Birdland wanting more. Shane Baz, the O’s starter who perhaps most epitomizes “leaves you wanting more,” takes the mound tonight in Progressive Field, looking to put the O’s back above .500.
Baz took the loss his last time out against San Francisco, as he scattered nine hits across five innings while allowing three runs. In his only road start of the season, 12 days ago in Pittsburgh, he dazzled—finishing with a final line of 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, and 5 K.
Baz has the tools to be a dominant starter; namely, his fastball that sits at 97 and touches triple digits, paired with his sharp knuckle curve. Results haven’t always matched his stuff, though, with opponents hitting .529 with a .824 slugging percentage against his heater through three starts.
The 26-year-old right-hander will make his second start of his career in Cleveland, after pitching in Progressive Field for the first time last year. That night, Baz took the L, despite putting up a quality start of 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 7 K.
Opposing the Orioles No. 3 starter is rookie left-hander Parker Messick. A former Florida State Seminole and Cleveland’s No. 5 prospect, Messick has acclimated quickly to the majors, allowing only one run over 17.2 innings in his first three starts. Last time out against the Braves, he tossed 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and punching out five.
The O’s did well facing their first left-handed starter of the season yesterday, tagging Arizona’s Eduardo Rodríguez for four runs and six hits over five innings. With normal lefty mashers Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill, and Adley Rutschman on the IL, Albernaz turns to former Guardian Johnathan Rodríguez as he looks to beat his mentor Stephen Vogt, and the Guardians.
BOWIE, MD - JULY 05: Sabin Ceballos #8 of the Richmond Flying Squirrels batting during the game between the Richmond Flying Squirrels and the Chesapeake Baysox at Prince George's Stadium on Saturday, July 5, 2025 in Bowie, Maryland. (Photo by Thomas Takele/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, for the first time since Friday, all four of the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates were in action. And, not for the first (or second) time this year, they all won! Fun times on the farm. Let’s jump into it.
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
Just one small bit of news, and a wholly expected one. Outfielder Turner Hill has been moved from AA Richmond to AAA Sacramento to help fill out the roster. Sacramento entered the season with just four outfielders, and lost two of them on Wednesday when Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan were called up to San Francisco. Hill, who has been having an excellent year, has filled in with the River Cats in emergency situations in each of the past three years, so this is nothing new to him. Honestly, he deserves to be in AAA, he’s just a lower priority on the depth chart than the outfielders that have been there.
Filling in for Hill in Richmond is High-A Eugene utility player Jack Payton, who gets the call to AA.
AAA Sacramento (10-4)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 7-6 (6 innings) Box score
After having their Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday games rained out (with an off-day on Monday), the River Cats finally got back into action on Wednesday. It didn’t last long, though, as rain shortened the game. But at least it was a game!
The big news for this game was that the Giants were using it to rehab a pair of relievers, LHP Sam Hentges and RHP Joel Peguero (No. 27 CPL). For Hentges, it was his 1st appearance with Sacramento, after making a single rehab start with Low-A San Jose. And this one went just like the other one: perfectly. Hentges started the game and pitched a perfect 1st inning, needing just 13 pitches and striking out 1 batter.
Things went much more poorly for Peguero, who was unable to get out of the 2nd inning, after giving up 2 hits and 2 walks while recording just 2 outs, which tagged him for 4 earned runs. Hentges, who is on a Major League contract, will certainly join San Francisco’s roster as soon as he’s ready, and that will probably spell the end of things for LHP Ryan Borucki. Peguero, on the other hand, has 3 Minor League options remaining, so he’ll have to earn his way back into the MLB bullpen.
Prioritizing the rehab assignments meant that the scheduled starter, LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) had to come into the game later. He took over to start the 3rd inning, and it was another outing just like the other ones for Whiz this year: not altogether bad, but not very encouraging, either.
Whisenhunt made it through 3.2 innings, while giving up 5 hits (all singles), 2 walks, and 2 earned runs, with 4 strikeouts. It was another game with so-so strike-throwing, as Whisenhunt needed 83 pitches to get his 11 outs, and threw just 50 of them for strikes. Then again, the not-ideal weather could play a role there.
It’s hard to know what to make of Whisenhunt’s season, in his 3rd pass through the level. Back in 2024, he showed off fantastic strikeout stuff (11.6 Ks per 9) but really struggled with walks (4.6 BBs per 9). Last year, in an odd season, he almost entirely lost the strikeouts (7.9), but did a tremendous job limiting the walks (2.9). This year he’s brought back the strikeouts (11.7) … but the walks are worse than ever (6.5).
The overall package is solid, as Whisenhunt has a 4.11 ERA and a 3.08 FIP, but it’s hard to envision the Giants being comfortable giving him starts when the walks are so high. Then again, I’m not sure what alternatives they have if something happens to the Major League rotation.
On offense, the star was exactly who you want it to be: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) who once again had a sensational day, hitting 1-3 with a 3-run blast (off a lefty!), a walk, and a strikeout.
With that gorgeous swing of the bat, Eldridge is up to a 1.059 OPS and a 190 wRC+ on the year, and the calls for him to join the Major League roster are only going to intensify with every swing of his bat, and every feckless offensive performance by the Giants. The pink flags are still there, albeit improving — he has a 15th percentile whiff rate, a 24th percentile strikeout rate, a 24th percentile in-zone contact rate, and a 36th percentile swinging strike rate — but it’s been an awesome season for him. After watching Sal Stewart in this series, fans are justified in clamoring for Eldridge, even if the responsible thing is probably to leave him in the Pacific Coast League for another month or two.
Third baseman Buddy Kennedy had the only multi-hit game for the River Cats, as he went 2-3 with a hit by pitch, though he also struck out and committed his 2nd error of the year. He remains a nice depth piece to have in AAA.
With half of Sacramento’s 4 outfielders getting called up to join San Francisco before the game, Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) was called into action in left field where he hit 1-3 with a walk, running his hitting streak to 9 games. Rodríguez, who has a .936 OPS and a 150 wRC+, is mostly a catcher and second baseman these days, but he’s spent a good amount of time in the outfield, too.
The magical season continues! The Squirrels trailed 11-8 entering the 9th inning, but rattled off 5 runs in the final frame to win their 10th straight game. You don’t see many 10-game winning streaks at any level!
It was an especially dramatic rally, because Richmond was down to their final out before any of the runs had scored … and with just 1 runner on base.
But then they rattled off quite a rally: shortstop Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL) doubled, catcher Adrián Sugastey and right fielder Jonah Cox walked, left fielder Scott Bandura doubled to score 3 runs and take the lead, and second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) doubled home the insurance run. What an inning!
Diego Velasquez is playing wall ball and we've got some insurance heading to the bottom of the ninth! pic.twitter.com/q1vsqNcter
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2026
Bandura was, for the 2nd game in a row, an absolute stud and an absolute star, as he finished the game 2-5 with a home run, a double, a hit by pitch, and a strikeout.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2026
Setting aside a game where he entered as a pinch-hitter and only had 1 plate appearance, the left-handed hitting Bandura now has 4 consecutive multi-hit games … and also has 3 consecutive games with multiple extra-base hits! The dude is on fire, and he’s up to a 1.003 OPS and a 154 wRC+, with a 15.1% strikeout rate that is fully cut in half from what it was during his brief stint with Richmond last season. He really should be getting a little more shine.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2026
But the biggest day belonged to first baseman Sabin Ceballos (No. 43 CPL), who had a much-needed fantastic outing, hitting 3-4 with a pair of 2-run home runs, while also drawing a walk.
SABIN SAYS SEE YA 🫡
That one got out in a hurry and Sabin Ceballos has his first longball of 2026! pic.twitter.com/iTCICzGuiF
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2026
Ceballos, a 23-year old 3rd-rounder from 2023 who came to the Giants in the Jorge Soler trade, really saw his power dry up last year as he posted mediocre numbers in AA. He’s repeating the level this year, and it didn’t start great. He entered this game hitting just 6-30 on the year, with 0 home runs and 2 doubles, but at this point in the season, it only takes 1 good game to fix your numbers. After his dynamic showing, the righty (who plays a strong third base) is up to an .833 OPS and a 109 wRC+.
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) April 16, 2026
Ahuna also had a much-needed nice game, going 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 strikeouts. We never have to worry about Ahuna’s glove at shortstop, but an opening assignment in AA was always a big challenge to ask him to overcome, given that the 2023 4th-rounder entered the year with just 97 career games in the Minor Leagues. The adjustment period has, indeed, proved difficult for Ahuna, who has just a .613 OPS and a 63 wRC+, with a 29.5% strikeout rate. Prior to his pair of doubles, he had just 1 extra-base hit on the year. Hopefully this is a sign of things turning around for him!
One final hitter to talk about: third baseman Charlie Szykowny had an awesome, awesome day, hitting 3-5 and finishing a home run shy of the cycle, while also having a walk and a strikeout. The 2023 9th-round pick has consistently put up good numbers in the Minors, but his prospect shine dimmed a little bit last year, not because of his performance, but because the Giants left him in High-A for the entirety of his age-25 season. He sure looks ready for AA now, though, as the left-hander has posted an .876 OPS and a 129 wRC+ through 10 games, while having just a 12.2% strikeout rate. What a great year he’s having.
On the negative side, second baseman Dayson Croes left the game early with an injury. Per Roger Munter, Croes was involved in a collision on the basepaths while playing defense, and hurt his ankle. Munter notes that Croes was able to eventually walk off under his own power, thankfully.
That’s a lot of words on the hitters, and it’s easy to see why: the Squirrels had 15 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases. And, yes, because the pitching really isn’t worth dignifying with many words.
LHP Greg Farone made his 3rd AA appearance and got rocked, giving up 6 hits, 1 walk, and 4 runs, while failing to make it through 3 innings, and striking out just 2 batters in 2.2 innings. RHP Manuel Mercedes followed and somehow was significantly worse, pitching just 1.1 innings while allowing 6 hits (which included a home run and 2 doubles), walking 1 batter, hitting 2 batters, striking out 0 batters, and allowing 5 runs. Those are some ERA busters!
RHP Will Bednar (No. 24 CPL) made his 1st Richmond appearance of the year, after getting moved down from AAA to help facilitate roster logistics for the River Cats with LHP Sam Hentges moving up for his rehab assignment. Unfortunately, Bednar didn’t exactly make a strong statement that he’s supposed to be in AAA, as he gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and a hit batter in 1.2 innings, while allowing 1 run on a home run, and striking out 2.
The lone pitching bright spot was RHP Tyler Vogel, who continued his excellent season with a scoreless inning, with 1 hit allowed. Vogel, who was a 12th-round pick in 2022, has allowed just 4 hits and 1 unearned run in 5 innings this year, though he has walked 4 batters.
More drama in the system, as the Emeralds needed extra innings before walking off the AquaSox. And the walk-off was accomplished by a pair of hitters who had really nice days, but who we haven’t talked about much this year.
The bottom of the 10th began with left fielder Carlos Gutierrez (No. 18 CPL) on second base as the Manfred Man. Knowing the Emeralds needed just 1 run to send everyone home happy, Gutierrez immediately took off and stole third base. And then, right after that, in a 1-2 count, right fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) hit a sacrifice fly, ending the game.
Those youngsters both had awesome games. Gutierrez, a 21-year old lefty who had a serious breakout season last year, hit 2-5 with a triple and stole 2 bases. Funnily enough, Gutierrez is accomplishing his success in a very different way this season. Last year, the contact maven was an absolute hit machine, but mostly just hit singles … his .351 batting average would have led the Cal League had he qualified for the batting title (injuries ended his season early), but he had just a .101 isolated slugging. This year, the average has dipped to .226, while the isolated slugging has risen to .226. Hopefully the power can continue a little — he does look noticeably bigger this year — and hopefully the average can recover. The latter seems likely, as Gutierrez is rocking a nearly identical strikeout rate (13.5%) as last year, while having an uncharacteristically-low .240 BABIP.
As for Diaz, the 20-year old right-hander hit 2-4 with a sacrifice fly, and stole not 1, not 2, but 3 bases on the day, leading the charge as the Emeralds swiped 7 bags (and weren’t caught any times). Diaz has played sparingly, as he missed about a week and a half and this was just his 2nd game back. I’m assuming there was a small ailment there. After having a fairly average campaign with Low-A San Jose last year, he’s hoping to make some gains in his 2nd full season.
Center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 2-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and his 5th stolen base of the year. Last year’s 3rd-round pick had gone 0-12 over his prior 3 games, so nice to see him play well. Designated hitter Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) went 2-5 with a stolen base and 2 strikeouts, and currently has an .802 OPS and a 111 wRC+, though he has a 34.8% strikeout rate.
As was the case with Richmond, Eugene lost a player early, as catcher Diego Cartaya exited before having an at-bat. According to Roger Munter, Cartaya was hit in the helmet on an opposing player’s backswing. Hopefully he’s OK.
The pitching performance was a sandwich, with good bread and bad meat. Perhaps I should find a better analogy, but what I mean to say is that the pitchers that started and ended the game were great, and the pitchers in between were not. LHP Tyler Switalski got the start and had a funny game, tossing 4 no-hit innings with 5 strikeouts … but issuing 4 walks.
You can probably guess from those stats, but the southpaw had a hard time finding the strike zone, throwing just 43 of 74 pitches for strikes. Thankfully that’s not the norm for the 2024 16th-rounder, who had just 1 walk in his 1st 2 appearances of the year.
We’re still a few outings away from being able to draw meaningful trend lines, but so far the 22-year old has shown marked improvement with his strikeouts. Last year, following a late-season promotion to Eugene (which came after striking out just 7.9 batters per 9 innings in Low-A), he struck out 17 batters in 23 innings. This year? He already has 22 strikeouts in just 12 innings, and he’s also only allowed 4 hits. That’s how you get a 0.00 ERA and a 2.12 FIP through 3 games! Let’s hope it continues.
Finishing things off was RHP Ryan Vanderhei, who likely was not scheduled to pitch but popped in for the 10th inning and stranded the Manfred Man with a no-hit inning, which featured 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Like Switalski, Vanderhei — a 10th-round pick in 2023 — has really pumped up the strikeouts this year, with 9 in 5.2 innings, after K’ing just 7.7 batters per 9 innings last year at the same level.
In between Switalksi and Vanderhei, RHPs Brayan Palencia and Austin Strickland really struggled, while RHP Ben Peterson gave up 3 hits in 1.1 innings, but didn’t give up any runs.
Low-A San Jose (8-3)
San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Angels) 16-3 Box score
It’s still far too early to making any conclusions about the Giants 2025 draft class. But if you were to make some conclusions? Well, you’d have to conclude that they absolutely nailed their 11th-round pick.
They used the 326th overall pick in the draft — and a $247,500 signing bonus — on JUCO catcher Junior Barajas, son of Major Leaguer Rod Barajas (the younger is technically Rod Barajas Jr., hence the “Junior” moniker). And to this point, it looks like a fairly brilliant selection.
Barajas was back at it again on Wednesday, hitting 2-5 with both a double and his organization-leading 4th home run of the year, despite only playing in 8 games. He also drew a walk and struck out once.
With that day, Barajas is now repping a 1.206 OPS and a 180 wRC+, despite a sustainable .320 BABIP. It’s safe to say his .472 isolated slugging will regress at some point — he won’t average more than an extra-base hit per game for the rest of the year — but it’s not like he’s selling out for power, either, as his strikeout rate is a very nice 17.5%.
Barajas, who is a 21-year old lefty, is a bat-first catcher, but he’s not a bat-only catcher, and that’s an important distinction. He’s a quality defensive player behind the dish, which makes his offense that much more exciting.
So far this year the stars of San Jose have been Barajas and shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), so we might as well update you on him as well. It speaks to the season that Level is having that the 19-year old switch-hitter had one of his worst games of the season … in which he hit 2-6 with a double and a stolen base, while knocking in 4 runs and striking out once.
Like Barajas, Level will probably not continue having 1+ extra-base hits per game, which is what he currently has, with 3 homers and 6 doubles through 8 contests. And at some point, the 1.377 OPS and the 231 wRC+ will likely settle into something merely great, rather than the A-ball equivalent of Barry Bonds on st… umm … on … uhh …
Moving on.
Level has 4 stolen bases in as many attempts, and a sub-20% strikeout rate, all while looking like he’s grown as an athlete, but not at the expense of his shortstop abilities. I’m not sure how much longer we can look at Level as a really good prospect as opposed to one of the best prospects in baseball, but we just might find out.
While that 2-hit game may have been sub-par for Level’s lofty expectations, a pair of other hitters had 2-hit games that exceeded expectations: right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) and left fielder Damian Bravo. We haven’t talked about Maldonado much this year, as last year’s 7th-round pick has had a slow start to his 1st full season. But that slow start did not include Wednesday’s performance, as he hit 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout, while bashing the 1st home run of his professional career.
Maldonado isn’t a huge power guy, but he’s not a stranger to power, either. Not to have a beloved former prospect catch a stray, but he’s no Wade Meckler. You can expect him to hit a few homers here and there. But his real calling card is his all-around game, which features strong outfield defense, good speed, a large amount of stolen bases, and the ability to avoid strikeouts (he has more walks than strikeouts this year).
As for Bravo, a 15th-round pick a year ago, he hit 2-6 with a 2-run blast and a pair of strikeouts. It’s been a tough year for Bravo, who’s hitting just .200 with a .591 OPS and a 37 wRC+ in his 1st taste of Low-A (he played 24 games in High-A last year), but you’re only ever a few homers away from making a bad slash line look really good!
RHP Cody Delvecchio made the 3rd start of his young career, and it went quite well, as the UCLA product allowed just 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 4.2 innings, while striking out 3 batters. He did give up a home run, but otherwise kept the Quakes’ batters in control inning in and inning out.
A 12th-round pick a year ago, Delvecchio has done a really nice job so far in the start to his career, with just 9 hits and 3 walks allowed in 11.2 innings, with 13 strikeouts. That’s given him a 2.31 ERA though, despite the nice strikeout and walk numbers, his FIP sits at 5.16. The Giants will want him to improve his strike throwing, however, as he’s a little too outside of the zone right now, even with the low BB numbers.
RHP Dylan Carter, an undrafted free agent in his 2nd season, ended the game with 2 scoreless innings, giving up just 1 hit while striking out 3 batters. Opposing hitters are batting .280 against him this year, but when they don’t put the ball in play, good things happen: Carter has 8 strikeouts and just 1 walk in just 6.1 innings.
Sacramento: 5:30 p.m. PT doubleheader at Tacoma (SP: Carson Seymour) Richmond: 4:10 p.m. PT at Hartford (SP: Joe Whitman) Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Everett (SP: Niko Mazza) San Jose: 6:30 p.m. PT at Rancho Cucamonga (SP: Jordan Gottesman)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
Since Mike Trout entered the big leagues in 2011, he's shown time and time again that, when healthy, he's one of the best in the business. And against the New York Yankees, he's looking like he's in peak form.
Trout smacked his seventh home run of the 2026 season, a solo shot at the top of the 7th inning to give the Los Angeles Angles a 7-4 lead on the Yanks. Angels went on to win 11-4 against New York on Thursday.
The Angels' outfielder had a remarkable four-game stretch against the Yankees, which included hitting five home runs to lead L.A. to a 3-1 series win.
The Angels advanced to 10-10 to move to second in the American League West division behind the Athletics (10-8).
