Category: Baseball

Box Score

Kansas City made today’s game interesting a couple of times, but Milwaukee held on for the win. Kyle Harrison turned in another impressive performance and got plenty of run support, propelling the Brewers to their third straight series victory to begin the season.

Royals starter Kris Bubic retired Brice Turang and Luis Rengifo to start the game, but William Contreras walked to keep the inning alive. Up next was Christian Yelich, who worked a full count before flaring a line drive down the left field line. Kansas City outfielder Nick Loftin, sprinting down the left field line, laid out to catch the liner and just missed it. The ball landed in fair territory and kicked off the wall, allowing William Contreras to score easily as Yelich raced into third with a triple.

Gary Sánchez also took Bubic to a full count before squaring up a fastball up in the zone for a 109-mph two-run home run, already his third of the season.

Luis Matos struck out for the third out, but the damage was done — Milwaukee led 3-0 before Harrison even threw a pitch.

Harrison was dealing to start the game, allowing only one batter to reach (on a walk) through the first two innings. He finally gave up his first hit in the third; unfortunately, that hit was a Maikel Garcia two-run home run on a middle-in fastball that probably shouldn’t be thrown to Maikel Garcia. That brought the Royals within one run, but they weren’t done yet. Harrison didn’t want to give Bobby Witt Jr. anything good to hit, walking him on five pitches to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. After a mound visit, Witt stole second. Vinny Pasquantino lined a single into right field, but Matos — making his first start as a Brewer — nailed Witt at the plate with an absolute frozen rope. Just a beautiful throw:

Pasquantino took second base on a wild pitch, but Salvador Perez flew out to end the inning with the Brewers still ahead by a run.

It didn’t take long for Milwaukee to answer. Sánchez and Matos both struck out to start the fourth, but Brandon Lockridge walked to keep the inning alive. Blake Perkins then hit a fly ball over the head of Loftin that one-hopped off the left field wall, scoring the speedy Lockridge to give the Brewers an insurance run. Perkins promptly stole third, but Joey Ortiz was unable to capitalize, striking out on a foul tip to keep the Royals within two runs.

Harrison retired the side in the fourth and allowed only a single to Loftin in the fifth. Sánchez walked, and Matos singled off of old friend Nick Mears to start the top of the sixth, both advancing thanks to a Lockridge sacrifice bunt. Perkins grounded into a fielder’s choice at home, giving the Brewers runners on the corners with two outs. Up next was Ortiz, who hit a groundout to Witt for the third out.

Harrison was pulled after retiring Pasquantino with one out in the sixth. His final line: 5 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Other than the home run to Garcia, he was dealing today. It’s only his second start this season, but it’s hard not to think the Brewers may have found something in Harrison.

Grant Anderson came in to face Perez and immediately gave up a double, although he retired the next two batters to keep the Royals off the board. He came back out for the seventh and ceded a single to Starling Marte, then walked Jonathan India to put two runners on. Brewers manager Pat Murphy quickly made the call to the bullpen, bringing in relief ace Abner Uribe to face Isaac Collins. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to escape the jam in his usual fashion. Collins came through against his old teammate, singling to load the bases. Garcia followed with another single, as the runners went from station to station to score a run and keep the bases loaded.

Things looked like they could quickly get out of hand with Witt coming to the plate, but Uribe got him to stare at a fastball on the outside corner for the first out of the inning. With Pasquantino, a lefty, coming to the plate, Murphy pulled Uribe in favor of Ángel Zerpa. The move didn’t pay off, as Pasquantino singled to bring the Royals back within a run. With two on and still only one out, Perez squared up a Zerpa slider for a line drive that settled into the glove of Garrett Mitchell, who had come in as a defensive replacement for Matos. Zerpa then got Lane Thomas to ground out to end the inning and preserve the lead.

Kansas City didn’t score again, while Milwaukee got a couple of insurance runs in the top of the ninth thanks to doubles by Yelich and Jake Bauers (who also entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh) and a bloop single by Brandon Lockridge.

Those two runs would bring the game to its eventual final score: Milwaukee 8, Kansas City 5. Trevor Megill worked around a Witt single in the ninth to earn his third save this season.

Although this was the final game of this weekend’s series against the Royals, the Brewers won’t get to go home yet. They’ll be in Boston tomorrow for the first of three games at Fenway Park. Brandon Woodruff will go for the visiting team, with Brayan Bello scheduled to start for the Red Sox. First pitch is slated for 5:45 p.m.

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Cincinnati Reds scored two runs.

It was a battle between two heralded former No. 2 overall picks today with Texas’ 2021 first-rounder Jack Leiter dueling Cincy’s 2024 first round pick Chase Burns. The two memorable college stars both had electric stuff and nearly identical lines with Leiter pitching an inning fewer and allowing one fewer hit but both right-handers struck out nine and walked just one batter while each allowed one run.

The difference nearly was that Leiter made the regretful mistake of allowing a leadoff single to Elly De La Cruz in the top of the 4th and De La Cruz leveraged his speed to reach second base on a flyout to right field and then scored on a Eugenio Suarez RBI ground ball single.

The Rangers, meanwhile, had Brandon Nimmo reach on a leadoff single in the bottom of the 5th and the only speed he leveraged was getting forced out at second base on a bloop flyball that found grass behind first base. So instead of two on with nobody out, the Rangers were back to square one and eventually did not score.

They did an inning later, however, when Joc Pederson quieted the boo birds at The Shed with a solo home run off Burns to tie the game. The Rangers hadn’t scored in 17 consecutive innings this weekend before the dong, and Pederson hadn’t had a hit in 16 at-bats to begin the year. It didn’t seem likely that it would be Pederson to get the Rangers on the board but that’s why baseball is what it is.

One batter later, Evan Carter reached on an infield single and Burns exited. The Rangers eventually had two runners in scoring position with just one out but Andrew McCutchen K’d pinch hitting for Ezequiel Duran and Nimmo worked a full count before striking out to end the threat.

It then took the Reds exactly two batters to retake the lead in the top of the 8th as Skip Schumaker called on Robert Garcia who promptly walked leadoff hitter Matt McLain before McLain stole one of five bases that Cincy pilfered in this one and then scored on a De La Cruz single.

As far as chances for the Rangers the rest of the way, Carter sent one about 405 feet to the 407 center field following a two-out Jake Burger double and Pederson walk in the 8th, but former whipping boy Brock Burke effortlessly striking out the side in the 9th meant Texas lost back-to-back games in which the Reds were held to two runs.

With the sweep and four losses in a row overall, the Rangers are below .500 at 4-5 on the year after starting the season 4-1. They scored four total runs in their first home series of the year. Call it the curse of Captain Jay Banks.

Player of the Game: While it was nice to see Pederson finally do something at the plate, Leiter was Texas’ best performer today as the former Vandy standout tossed five innings of one-run ball with the aforementioned nine strikeouts.

Perhaps the next step for Leiter will be figuring out a way to be a little more efficient so that he stays in games longer but it’s clear that the Rangers have themselves a rare home grown established starting pitcher.

Up Next: The Rangers welcome in the hated Seattle Mariners for a three-game set with RHP Jacob deGrom expected to make the start for Texas in the opener opposite RHP Logan Gilbert for the M’s.

The Monday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be carried on the Rangers Sports Network.

Astros GM Dana Brown joined Todd Kalas and Julia Morales in the SCHN broadcast booth in the top of the 4th inning during today’s game.

Kalas asked the GM about SP Hunter Brown going on the IL.

“We’re gonna remain optimistic,” Dana Brown said. “Hunter felt…pretty good. Ultimately, (Hunter) didn’t feel as bas as some of the …more devastating injuries feel. He felt pretty confident that he was gonna be ok. When a player shows confidence like that, I feel a lot better. Now, we won’t know, of course, until he gets back to Houston…on Monday and we get him looked at.”

Morales then asked Dana Brown about what he may be thinking as far as options for the Astros rotation with Hunter Brown out.

“It’s one of the reasons why we signed a lot of pitching last offseason. You gotta have depth. Last year, you know, we ran into a lot of injuries. This year, we loaded up with some arms…If we can get through this, you know, we gotta use some of our guys…maybe some of the guys in our pen right now, we can get them stretched back out.”

Kalas then asked if the injury to Hunter Brown changes the equation for the team, as they previously intended to go to a six man rotation when they begin a stretch of 13 straight games on April 10.

“Yeah, something that we’re gonna talk about, but…we can use (Kai-Wei) Teng in the…six man. We got (Spencer) Arrighetti in Triple-A, you know, we got (Ryan) Weiss who we could also put in the rotation…So we have some guys and some depth…We can…take (A.J.) Blubaugh out of the pen and put him in the rotation, so we still have depth. We have guys, you know, in Triple-A, (Jason) Alexander, we have (Colton) Gordon, so we do still have enough to go into a six man. It’s just something that we’re gonna discuss over the next few days…that’s the reason why we got all the depth this year.”

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! When we last met, the Yankees had gotten off to a strong start, sweeping the San Francisco Giants while allowing just one run in three games. Since then, the vibes have continued to be great, for while the Bombers have suffered defeat, a strong pitching performance and some timely offense have gotten them off to a hot start. How have those good vibes transferred to the social media landscape? Let’s find out!

Welcome Home

The New York Yankees had themselves a very Good Friday (gotta get that Easter humor in there), as they celebrated their home opener with a dominant 8-2 victory on Friday over the Miami Marlins. Although it does not generate quite as much social media buzz as when it is the first game of the season, the home opener nonetheless was the biggest topic this week — particularly with Olympic gold medalists Jack Hughes and Aerin Frankel on hand to celebrate the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams with the ceremonial first pitch.

Behind the NY

The Yankees’ YouTube account has begun a new series this year, Behind the NY. This past week, the second episode released, titled “The Standard.”

Sightseeing in Seattle

While the Yankees took two out of three on the diamond in Seattle, the broadcasters had some fun sightseeing and hanging out with some old friends. Remember, Dave Sims spent 14 years calling games for the Mariners, and he was thrilled to be around to see soon-to-retire M’s radio voice Rick Rizzs.

Don’t Quit Your Day Jobs

Back in spring training, we got a glimpse of the Yankees engaging in some art behind home plate during drills, but never got to see the results. Well, with the off day on Wednesday, the social media team finally decided to grace us with the video, and, uh…yea, these guys aren’t exactly artists.

The Game Belt

The Yankees haven’t quite been as good as the Knicks are at posting their Game Belt exchanges on social media, but we still got to learn that Aaron Judge received the belt for his two-run homer in the first inning during the home opener.

Somerset Media Day

The Somerset Patriots shared pictures and videos from their own media day, which took place after the Yankees and their minor league system broke camp in Tampa.

On a day the Twins really needed some length, starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson gave the Twins everything they could ask for and more. Unfortunately, the bats didn’t do their part, leading to another loss that was well within reach. 

Let’s start with the good. Woods Richardson looked sharp all day, despite his stuff being down a touch. Most importantly for him, he attacked the strike zone and was remarkably efficient, pitching into the 7th inning on just 88 pitches. 

The lone run off of Sim came on a very well-placed splitter to all-world home run hitter Junior Caminero in the fourth inning. Up to that point, SWR faced only one batter over the minimum. He didn’t run into trouble again until the 7th when a couple of singles put runners on the corners with one out. Woods Richardson was able to get Jonny DeLuca swinging before fireman Kody Funderburk got Nick Fortes to hit a comebacker and end the threat. 

Minnesota’s hitters were equally quiet for most of the day against Rays starter Nick Martinez. Martinez has had an up-and-down career, but his strength has always been a filthy changeup, a pitch that the Twins have particularly struggled with early on in 2026. The Twins’ lone run (and hit) off Martinez came from a patented Matt Wallner moonshot, his third of the season, that nearly hit some kids playing in the plaza over right field. 

Their next hit didn’t come until the 7th off of old friend Griffin Jax. It was Wallner again who was able to beat out an infield single that rolled into first base, causing Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda to misplay the ball. Wallner immediately wiped that out with the classic Twins Boneheaded Base-running Play of the Day (TBBPoD, if you will. Trademark pending), where he took off for second base while Jax was still holding the ball, leading to an easy pick off. 

Knotted at 1 the whole way, the game went to extras where things fell apart for the Twins. Known bad pitcher Justin Topa came in for the Twins in the 10th and immediately gave up a two-run blast to Richie Palacios, his third hit on the night despite having just one prior to this game. He followed that with a single and two walks to load the bases with one out, forcing Taylor Rogers out of the bullpen to get things in order. 

Rogers was able to get Chandler Simpson to ground out, but walked Caminero to bring in the Rays’ third run of the inning and give them an insurmountable three run lead. Tampa’s Kevin Kelly retired all three Twins he faced and that was all she wrote. 

This is normally the point of the post where I point out a few positives despite the loss, but other than Sim, there’s not much! The hitters only managed 6 hard-hit balls all game. Wallner’s homer was the only Minnesota hit that left the infield. The at-bats by everyone save Trevor Larnach looked pretty poor. Kaelen Culpepper is playing well for the Saints, so that’s something. 

To put it simply, Derek Shelton’s go-to top 3 hitters have given them absolutely nothing all season and there’s not much you can expect from this team when that’s the case. We’re just over a week and nine games into the season, but Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall having an OPS under .500 is going to tank the rest of this lineup. Also, get Kody Clemens out of the leadoff spot. He’s a useful role player who can get incredibly hot, but there’s no reason he should be getting the most PAs on a day-to-day basis. 

Don’t worry, things will get easier this next series where the Twins are scheduled to face (checks notes…) back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and All-Star Framber Valdez. No rest for the weary. 

STUDS

• Matt Wallner, technically: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
• Simeon Woods Richardson: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K

DUDS

• Known bad pitcher Justin Topa: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 HR
• The rest of the lineup: 1-28, 2 BB

I’ll see you back here tomorrow where hopefully Kody Clemens is in the bottom half of the lineup. 

The Royals fell behind early and made a couple of pushes to cut the deficit to one run, but couldn’t overcome three and four run deficits, as they dropped the rubber match 8-5 to the Brewers.

Kris Bubic got two quick outs to start the game, but a four-pitch walk to William Contreras set the table for Milwaukee. Christian Yelich hit a slicing ball down the left field line that Nick Loftin dove for, but missed, resulting in an RBI triple for the former MVP. Gary Sánchez followed that up by blasting a two-run homer into the left field seats, and suddenly it was 3-0 Brewers.

Jonathan India led off the third inning, by taking a fastball off the elbow. After a Loftin strikeout, Maikel Garcia smashed his first home run of the season into the Brewers bullpen. A 388-foot shot for the WBC MVP.

Bobby Witt Jr. walked next and stole second. The Royals seemed poised to tie the game. Vinnie Pasquantino singled into right field, but Witt got gunned down at the plate, and the Royals still trailed 3-2 after three innings.

Similar to the first inning, Bubic got two quick outs in the 4th inning, however a two out walk to Brandon Lockridge spelled trouble. Blake Perkins did the damage this time, smacking a double off the left field wall, extending the Brewers lead to 4-2.

Fast forward to the 7th, Royals still down two, Matt Strahm made his first appearance of the series. A leadoff walk, followed by a Luis Rengifo double put the Royals in trouble. Contreras promptly smacked a single up the middle to score two, putting the Royals down 6-2. Despite allowing the first three to reach, Strahm buckled down and didn’t allow any further damage.

Starling Marte led off the bottom half of the inning for Kansas City and smoked a single, India walked and Isaac Collins pinch hitting for Loftin, loaded the bases with a single to right field. Nobody out.

Garcia drove in his third run of the day, singling to left. 6-3 Brewers, still nobody out and Witt, Vinnie and Salvy coming up. But credit to Abner Uribe, and maybe the Royals being out of ABS challenges, he struck out Witt looking.

Former Royal, Angel Zerpa would then get brought into the game, his first appearance against the Royals since being traded in the offseason. Pasquantino came through, perfectly placing a line drive into the left-center gap, scoring two runs. First and second, one out, Royals down 6-5, Salvy up.

Zerpa’s slider just got enough depth for Perez to fly out to deep center, instead of a go-ahead three run home run. 104.5 mph off the bat for Perez. Lane Thomas grounded out to third on the first pitch to end the threat.

After Steven Cruz, pitching for the fourth time in five days, worked around a lot of traffic, getting a scoreless top of the 8th, the Royals had a chance to tie or take the lead. With two outs, India walked, getting on base for the third time today, and Tyler Tolbert came in to pitch run. He got picked off during Collins at bat to end the 8th inning.

Lucas Erceg got the ninth, and similar to Strahm, it didn’t go well. Back-to-back doubles plated the first run and a two out single the second. 8-5 Milwaukee going to the final half inning. The Royals walked eight batters, and every one of them seemed to come back and haunt them. In the bottom of the ninth, the Royals got a two out single from Witt, but nothing else.

The loss puts the Royals back under .500, at 4-5. It was a 3-3 homestand as well. The Royals have been outscored 14-0 in the 9th inning this season so far. Michael Wacha starts in Cleveland tomorrow for the Royals. First pitch is set for 5:10 p.m. CT and can be streamed on Royals.TV.

The Rays beat the Twins today 4-1, and won their first series of the season.

This was a quintessential pitcher’s duel, with both starters pitching at least six strong innings. Nick Martinez, making his second start as a Ray, was especially impressive. He gave up one hit – of course it happened to be a booming home run to Matt Wallner — and walked just one batter. He struck out four, relying on weak contact to get his outs.

So it was fortunate that today was also a day when the Rays infield avoided costly errors, and in fact I’d say they looked pretty sharp. Junior Caminero, whose fielding has been atrocious over these first 10 days, made all his routine plays and even a few tough ones. (He and Chandler Simpson did nearly collide while letting a foul ball drop in the tenth inning, but fortunately it did not lead to damage.)

The Rays had their opportunities through the first nine innings, but were not able to deliver. Their only run during regulation also came on a solo shot, Junior’s first home run and shockingly first RBI of the season.

With Griffin Jax and Bryan Baker keeping holding the Twins scoreless in relief of Martinez, the game headed into the 10th inning. Ben Williamson was the — do we still call them ghost runners? — well the guy on second to start the inning, and Richie Palacios came to bat.

Richie has missed a lot of time the last two seasons with injuries, and was a bit of a forgotten man coming into this season, what a great pick-me-up for him and for the Rays, then, for him to take a 1-0 pitch well over the right field fence to give the Rays a 3-1 lead.

The Rays continued to apply pressure, as Nick Fortes singled and both Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda drew walks to load the bases. Junior Caminero came up with two outs, and patiently took his walk as well, to drive in the fourth run.

Before we could even remember how terrible the Rays bullpen has been in most of this season’s games, Kevin Kelly had retired the Twins to earn himself a save and the team a victory.

We hate to over-extrapolate from very small samples, but Nick Martinez and Steve Matz are looking very good. Ben Williamson has also impressed with his versatility, sharp fielding and reliable bat. Chandler Simpson is on a tear, and perhaps less surprisingly Yandy Diaz has been unstoppable. So, Rays fans have reason to feel optimistic.

It’s great that the team returns, victorious, to re-open Tropicana Field tomorrow.

We track every White Sox 40-player roster move here, so be sure to check back for updates.

All 2025 White Sox transactions.

Last updated: April 8, 2026

If you are on a mobile device, this table is best viewed in landscape mode. Tap or click on the roster to zoom.

Players in red are on the 60-day injured list and thus do not count toward the 40-player limit.

Chicago White Sox 40-player roster

Transactions

April 8 Demote RHSP Shane Smith to Charlotte Knights, promote LHP Tyler Schweitzer from Charlotte Knights

Move OF Brooks Baldwin (Tommy John surgery) from 15-day IL to 60-day IL. The 40-player roster is now at 39

April 7 Place RHRP Mike Vasil on 15-day IL (Tommy John surgery) and move him to 60-day IL; place OF Austin Hays (right hamstring strain) to 10-day IL; promote LF Dustin Harris from Charlotte Knights

April 6 Claim LHSP Doug Nikhazy off of waivers from Cleveland Guardians, option to Charlotte Knights. The 40-player roster is now at 40

April 5 Place OF Everson Pereira on 10-day IL (left ankle sprain), retroactive to April 2; promote SS Tanner Murray from Charlotte

April 4 Designate Rule 5 pick RHRP Jedixson Páez for assignment, return to Boston Red Sox. The 40-player roster is now at 39

April 1 Promote RHRP Lucas Sims from Charlotte Knights. The 40-player roster is now at 40

March 28 Trade INF Curtis Mead to Washington Nationals for C Boston Smith

C Korey Lee clears waivers, demoted to Charlotte Knights

March 27 Demote LHRP Tyler Gilbert to Charlotte Knights, claim LHRP Bryan Hudson off waivers from New York Mets. The 40-player roster is now at 39

Sign free agent LHP Chase Watkins to minor league contract

March 26 C Edgar Quero changes number to 26

March 25 Designate C Korey Lee and INF Curtis Mead for assignment. The 40-player roster is now at 38

RHSP Drew Thorpe (Tommy John surgery recovery), RHRP Prelander Berroa (Tommy John surgery recovery) and RHRP Mike Vasil (Tommy John surgery) placed on 15-day IL; LF Brooks Baldwin (right elbow sprain) and C Kyle Teel (right hamstring strain) placed on 10-day IL

Sign free agent 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. to minor league contract, assign to Charlotte Knights

March 23 Sign free agent RHRP Lucas Sims for one year, $1.5 million

March 22 Sign free agent C Reese McGuire for one year, $1.2 million. The 40-player roster is now at 40

Demote LHRP Brandon Eisert to Charlotte Knights

Assign SS Matthew Boughton to White Sox

March 21 Release RHRP Lucas Sims

March 20 3B Alec Makarewicz assigned to White Sox

March 19 Designate Rule 5 pick RHRP Alexander Alberto for assignment, return to Tampa Bay Rays. The 40-player roster is now at 39

RHP Seth Keener assigned to White Sox

March 17 Demote RHSP Jonathan Cannon to Charlotte Knights

Assign C Jorge Corona to White Sox

March 14 Assign RHRP Jarold Rosado, OF Nathan Archer, RHRP Aric McAtee and RHP Morris Austin to White Sox

March 10 Assign RF Drake Logan and IF Bryce Eblin to White Sox

March 9 Demote 2B Tanner Murray, RHSP David Sandlin, and RHRP Wikelman González to Charlotte Knights

Assign INF Jason Matthews to White Sox

March 7 Demote RHSP Tanner McDougal to Charlotte Knights

March 6 Demote RHSP Duncan Davitt to Charlotte Knights

Assign SS Billy Carlson to White Sox

March 5 Assign C Juan Gonzalez to White Sox

March 3 Assign C Grant Magill to White Sox

March 1 Assign OF Ely Brown to White Sox

February 27 Assign C Adam Hackenberg, SS Kyle Lodise, OF Jaden Fauske, C Jackson Appel, CF Samuel Zavala and 3B Anthony DiPino to White Sox

February 26 Assign LHP Tommy Vail, 2B Andy Weber and C Calvin Harris to White Sox

February 26 Assign INF Jeral Pérez to White Sox

February 23 Sign free agent RHP Alexander De Los Santos to minor league contract

Assign RHRP Mark McLaughlin to White Sox

February 22 Assign SS Ryan Burrowes, RHP Luke Bell, SS Colby Shelton, RHP Jonathan Clark and OF George Wolkow to White Sox

February 21 Assign SS Caleb Bonemer, RHRP Nick Altermatt, RHRP Eric Adler, RHP Chase Plymell, 2B Javier Mogollón, 2B Mario Camilletti, RHP Jake Bockenstedt and LHP Jake Palisch to White Sox

February 20 Assign LHRP Garrett Schoenle, SS Jordan Sprinkle, LHP Frankeli Arias, RHP Jackson Kelley, 1B Caden Connor, RHSP Riley Gowens, RHRP Jared Kelley, 2B Darren Baker, 1B Ryan Galanie, RF Rikuu Nishida, CF Matt Hogan and CF Jacob Burke to White Sox

February 13 INF Curtis Mead changes number to 17

February 11 Invite non-roster RHP Jairo Iriarte to Spring Training

February 10 Sign RHSP Erick Fedde to a one-year, $1.5 million contract; place LHSP Ky Bush on 60-day IL

Sold LHP Bryan Hudson to New York Mets

February 6 C Drew Romo and RHP Jairo Iriarte cleared waivers, assigned to Charlotte Knights

February 4 Sign Austin Hays to one-year, $5 million contract; designate LHP Bryan Hudson for assignment

February 1 Trade RHSP Gage Ziehl and a player to be named later for RHRP Jordan Hicks, RHSP David Sandlin, two players to be named later and cash; designate C Drew Romo and RHP Jairo Iriarte for assignment

Sell 3B Bryan Ramos to Baltimore Orioles

January 30 Sign RHRP Lucas Sims to minor league contract

January 29 Invite non-roster LHSP Shane Murphy, INF Sam Antonacci, C Michael Turner, LHSP Hagen Smith, LHSP Noah Schultz, INF William Bergolla Jr., LHP Tyler Schweitzer, RHRP Tyler Davis, RHRP Adisyn Coffey, RHSP Ben Peoples, RHRP Zach Franklin, OF Braden Montgomery, CF Dru Baker, INF Jacob Gonzalez and RHSP Mason Adams to Spring Training

Sign free agent RHRP Seranthony Domínguez to a two-year, $20 million contract; designate 3B Bryan Ramos for assignment

Sign free agent 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. to a minor league contract and invite him to Spring Training

January 26 RHP Ryan Borucki assigned to Chicago White Sox

January 20 Trade CF Luis Robert Jr. to New York Mets for IF-OF Luisangel Acuña and RHRP Truman Pauley

January 15 Chicago Cubs claim INF Ben Cowles off of waivers

January 8 Claim C Drew Romo off of waivers from New York Mets; designate INF Ben Cowles for assignment.

January 7 Chicago Cubs claim LHP Ryan Rolison off of waivers

It’s important to remember that baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. As a one-time marathon runner (no big deal), starting out too fast is a real concern. Just ask one-time marathon runner Jacob Roy, who went out too fast and ran the final six miles at about 10 minutes per mile after running the first 20 at a sub-seven pace. At the same time, if you start too slow, you get stuck behind slow runners and expend more energy passing people and weaving through traffic. On Sunday, Alex Cora was caught between the two.

Following the 2-6 start, the Red Sox can’t afford to punt wins. They needed to use the whole bullpen to secure the victory on Friday, and went to their high-leverage arms again on Saturday in a tight game. On Sunday, after the Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third, Ranger Suarez gave three runs back in the fourth. After he allowed a lead-off single in the fifth, Cora turned to his bullpen to hold the lead. Weissert gave up the lead, and Cora had to take his foot off the gas by giving the ball to Tyler Uberstine. The rookie did a good job keeping the team in the game in his debut, holding the Padres scoreless over his first two innings.

In the seventh, the Red Sox rallied behind Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida, tying the game at six. That’s where Cora got caught in between. Going to Justin Slaten or Aroldis Chapman would have been like sprinting the tenth mile of a marathon. Cora stuck with Uberstine, electing not to push it and keep some gas in the tank. Uberstine gave up a home run to Jackson Merrill, and the Padres had the lead back.

With the Red Sox trailing, the Padres went to Jeremiah Estrada and Mason Miller. The two relievers were untouchable, and the Padres held on to win 8-6.

Congratulations to Garrett Whitlock on the birth of his child, but it came at an inconvenient time (I hope the whole family is happy and healthy).

Three Studs

Wilyer Abreu

Abreu was a home run away from the cycle and continues to put the lineup on his back.

Masataka Yoshida

Yoshida was 3-4, including two doubles off of lefties. The guy can hit if he gets the opportunity.

Tyler Uberstine

I’m a sucker for MLB debuts, and Uberstine is a cool story. It’s a miracle he’s in the major leagues at all, let alone getting Fernando Tatis Jr. out. Jackson Merrill’s home run was a damper on the outing, but he’s a stud nonetheless.

Three Duds

Greg Weissert

Weissert took over for Suarez with a runner on in the fifth. He struck out the first two hitters he faced, but Jackson Merrill singled on a first-pitch changeup. Manny Machado then took a changeup way off the plate over the Green Monster to give the Padres the lead. Look how far off the plate this is.

That’s the problem with same-handed changeups. While they can be effective in catching a hitter out in front, they’re slow and tend to run right to an area where hitters can drop the barrel and get around the ball for hard contact. That’s what happened here, and Weissert paid the price.

Ranger Suarez

Suarez did a great job getting his cutter in on righties in his first start. Today, he didn’t do that at all. He also still doesn’t have a feel for his changeup, which is typically his best pitch. His two-strike changeups, in particular, were well below the zone and didn’t generate a whiff. Suarez had an unusual spring training with the World Baseball Classic, and the pitch is also showing more depth than last season. Hopefully, as a veteran, he’s able to make the adjustment and execute with the pitch.

Roman Anthony

Anthony came up to the plate with two runners on base in the sixth and struck out. He drew a walk in the third and scored, but hasn’t hit with runners in scoring position so far this season. The expectations for Anthony might be unfair to him, but the Red Sox need him to hit if they’re going to win games.

This series has been pretty grim. The pitching hasn’t been awful, one significant meltdown notwithstanding, but the offence largely hasn’t shown up against a pretty bad pitching staff, and now the Jays find themselves on a 1-5 skid and below .500 for the season.

In case the results weren’t enough, Addison Barger had to leave the game in the sixth, a couple of innings after appearing to hurt himself stretching for first trying to beat out a throw. The issue was described on the broadcast as “bilateral ankle discomfort.” We’ll have to wait and see what that actually means, and whether it causes him to miss time. Hopefully not, as the injuries are piling up at a concerning rate early this season.

Davis Martin. Vladimir Guerrero jr. lined a single in the first, the only Jay to reach through two. In the third, Andres Gimenez worked a lead-off walk. Brandon Valenzuela, in his first MLB at bat, lined a sharp single to right. Two outs later, Vlad walked to load the bases. Addison Barger grounded one over second base, for what looked likely to be a hit, but shortstop Tanner Murray made a great play getting to the ball and throwing him out at first. An Ernie Clement line single was all they managed in the fourth.

The White Sox got on the board against Eric Lauer in the first, although it wasn’t all his fault. His velocity was down, and he was scattering the ball in a way that isn’t like him. It seems like the illness that got his start pushed back from yesterday was sticking with him. Chase Meidroth lead off with a double on a soft grounder hooked into left field. Lauer rallied to get the next two, but then Daulton Varsho misplayed a soft liner by Miguel Vargas, turning a short single that might not have scored the runner into a standup triple. Lauer walked Edgar Quero, but a long Lenyn Sosa fly ball was caught by the track for the third out. It took 28 pitches to get through the inning, and Pete Walker had relivers warming up before the third out was recorded. He gritted his way through the second, working around a single and a walk, then walked Murakami to begin the third. That was the end of his afternoon. The freshly called up Austin Voth took over, allowing the inherited runner to score on a Sosa double but limiting the damage there.

In the bottom of the fourth, Luisangel Acuna lined a single, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on an Austin Hays single, increasing Chicago’s margin to three.

George Springer lined a single in the top of the fifth, but it was erased by a double play. Voth got two outs in the bottom half and issued a walk before being lifted for Joe Mantiply, the other pitcher called up for today’s game, who struck out his man to end the inning.

Martin set the Jays down in order in the sixth. Mantiply returned the trick in the home half, adding a pair of strikeouts.

The Jays had just a little more luck off reliever Bryan Hudson in the seventh. Varsho and Clement lined singles to bring the tying run up. He got the next two outs, though, before giving way to Jordan Leasure. Leasure struck out Springer to end the inning. Spencer Miles worked a smooth 1-2-3 inning, picking up a strikeout. Leasure returned for a clean eighth. Miles gave up a couple of singles in his second inning of work, but got out of it without allowing any runs.

Down to their final three outs, the Jays faced Crhis Murphy. Kazuma Okamoto walked, but that was all they’d manage.

Jays of the Day: Nobody qualifies.

Less so: Springer (-0.10), Lukes (-0.13), and Barger (-0.12) qualify, but really the whole offence can share the credit.

Mercifully, they’re done with the White Sox. Things will undoubtedly get easier as they go home to face… *checks notes* … the Los Angeles Dodgers. Justin Wrobleski (0-0, 6.75) will start game one for the visitors, while Max Scherzer (1-0, 1.50) represents the home team. First pitch is set for 7:07pm ET tomorrow night.

If someone could kindly inform the Orioles that the 2026 season began a couple of weeks ago, I’d greatly appreciate it.

The O’s continued to stumble out of the gate in the new season, putting themselves hopelessly behind after two innings en route to an 8-2 loss and a series sweep by the Pirates. Chris Bassitt had another horrendous performance, the offense again failed to show up, and the Orioles limped out of Pittsburgh as a 3-6 team with a lot of questions and very few answers.

With the Orioles heavily using their relievers in the first two games of the series and likely to use a bullpen game tomorrow, Chris Bassitt came into this contest with two main tasks. #1: Eat up a bunch of innings, and #2: Keep the Orioles in the game. I regret to inform you that he failed spectacularly at both tasks.

Bassitt’s second Orioles start was even more miserable than his rough debut last week, and by the second inning the Pirates were well on their way to the sweep. Right from the get-go, the control-challenged Bassitt seemed to have no idea where the ball was going. He set an ignominious tone by plunking leadoff man Oneil Cruz on an 0-2 pitch. Despite catching a lucky break on a scalded Brandon Lowe liner to first that became a double play, Bassitt failed to take advantage. He walked Bryan Reynolds on four pitches, then threw three straight balls to Ryan O’Hearn.

With the count 3-0, MASN analyst Ben McDonald commented, “I would be real careful right here.” Alas, Bassitt failed to heed Big Ben’s advice and instead grooved a 91-mph fastball right down the middle to O’Hearn, who blasted it 402 feet to dead center for a two-run dinger. It was the first Pirates HR for the former Oriole O’Hearn, who is off to a scalding start for his new club. I miss him. I’m glad he’s getting to play for a more competent team, which is a weird thing to be saying about the Pirates, but here we are.

Bassitt ended up throwing 28 pitches just to finish the first inning, and things only got worse in the second. Facing the bottom of the Pirates lineup — which, as McDonald pointed out, is full of sub-.200 hitters that any pitcher should easily attack — the veteran righty melted down. All nine Pittsburgh batters came to the plate before all was said and done. The inning began with another four-pitch walk, followed by a pair of singles. The second of those came on a bunt, when second baseman Jeremiah Jackson (covering first on the play) failed to put his foot on the bag when receiving the throw. There’s that Orioles defense, baby. Can’t get enough.

With the bases loaded, Cruz scalded a line drive that deflected off the back of Bassitt’s leg for an RBI infield single. The trainers checked on Bassitt, who deemed himself ready to continue. Health-wise, maybe he was. Performance-wise, not so much. With one out, Reynolds lofted a sac fly to the wall in right, making it 4-0, and O’Hearn ripped a double to left-center that brought home two more. Bassitt added a HBP to his ugly afternoon before finishing the inning. He didn’t return for the third.

Bassitt’s final pitching line: 2 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 1 HBP. He threw just 32 of his 62 pitches for strikes and didn’t strike out anyone. He has a 14.21 ERA through two starts. It might technically be too early to throw him into the Charlie Morton/Kyle Gibson category of “ancient free agent SPs who turned into duds the second they joined the Orioles,” but it doesn’t feel too early.

Down 6-0 after two, all hope was pretty much gone for the Orioles, and it doesn’t help that their offense put up the kind of phoning-it-in performance that’s become all too familiar. They allowed Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft to set a career best in strikeouts with eight, and didn’t manage their first baserunner until a Taylor Ward double to lead off the fourth. Pete Alonso’s RBI double that inning was the only run that Ashcraft allowed. Jeremiah Jackson added an RBI single off reliever Mason Montgomery in the seventh, but that was all the O’s offense scraped across on this day.

Manager Craig Albernaz didn’t stick around long in this game, getting ejected for the first time in his career in the top of the third. Albernaz barked at home plate umpire James Jean after the ump didn’t grant Blaze Alexander a timeout on the first pitch. Seems like a trivial thing to argue about, but maybe Alby was looking for an excuse to leave early. Who can blame him?

If there’s one positive takeaway from this game, it’s Cade Povich, who ate up 5.2 innings of long relief. He didn’t look great, walking three and coughing up a Cruz two-run homer, but he managed to save the bullpen ahead of the Orioles’ series opener against the White Sox tomorrow. Albert Suárez figures to start that game but the O’s will probably need to go through a lot of arms.

There you have it. The Orioles are 3-6 and just got swept by the Pirates. Any hopes of the O’s bursting out to a hot start in 2026 have evaporated, and now they’re going to have to play catch-up, something they were utterly incapable of doing last season. It’s not great.

The Yankees are off to a sterling 7-1 start to the 2026 season and have already guaranteed themselves a third consecutive series victory. After sweeping the Giants and taking two out of three from the Mariners in Seattle, they’ve won the first two games of their first homestand of the campaign, beating the Marlins on Friday, 8-2, and then 9-7 last night. They’re eyeing another dusting today with Opening Day starter Max Fried on the mound, as he has yet to allow a run through two starts.

The Marlins aren’t a pushover, but Fried’s toughest opponent today might actually be the weather. It’s lousy today in the tri-state area and the Double-A Somerset Patriots have already postponedtheir series finale in Bridgewater against the Portland Sea Dogs (the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades have since done the same). Similarly, the tarp is on the field in the Bronx, and the Yankees have announced a delay to Sunday’s matinee.

Major League Baseball, however, is going to do everything it can to get this game in against the Marlins because it’s difficult to reschedule interleague series postponements. This is the only Yankees/Marlins series of the year and while the Fish will return to the area for series against the Mets, it would be very annoying to find an offday where they could theoretically play the Yankees.

MLB has time to wait this out until later, as the forecast says it will indeed stop raining before nightfall. At the very least, this isn’t starting until 3pm ET, and later is more likely.

Hang in there with us, put on some music or something, and we’ll tune into the series finale together when it actually starts!

Update

This is not a rain-related update, but it is an interesting wrinkle: The Marlins will no longer be starting Chris Paddack as initially expected. Closer Pete Fairbanks’ wife is pregnant and will be induced tomorrow morning, so he will instead start this game with Paddack following.

Non-Update Update

What else can one say but “lol.” Hang in there, folks.

Actual Update

All right, now we’re in business. See you fine folks a little after five o’clock! It only took … a breezy three and a half hours or so.

Columbus Clippers 7, Indianapolis Indians 5 (F/7)

Clippers improve to 6-2

I think George Valera might be ready to be activated. The left-handed hitting slugger was perfect at the plate on Saturday, going 3-for-3 with a double and a walk to lead the Clippers offense.

Other standouts included Cooper Ingle, who went 2-for-3 with an impressive opposite field home run and Stuart Fairchild, who went 2-for-3. Nolan Jones went 1-for-2 with a walk and Petey Halpin went 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Ryan Webb was tagged for four runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings. He walked three and struck out four.

Tommy Mace provided some solid long relief, allowing one run on four hits in 2.2 innings to earn the win. The game was ended during the seventh inning with the Clippers leading by two runs due to poor weather.

Akron RubberDucks 5, Reading Fightin Phils 0

RubberDucks improve to 3-0

Akron’s pitching was the story of this game as the RubberDucks utilized five pitchers to shut out Reading.

Caden Favors led the way, tossing 4.0 shutout frames on just two hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Magnus Ellerts followed Favors with 1.2 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts and two walks. Jack Jasiak retired the lone batter he faced while Hunter Stanley pitched 2.0 perfect innings with three strikeouts and Matt Jachec finished off the shutout with a scoreless ninth inning and a pair of whiffs.

On the offensive side of the equation, three different RubberDucks blasted home runs. Angel Genao went 2-for-4 with a three-run bomb.

Wuilfredo Antunez blasted off for his first home run of the year and Nick Mitchell went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double.

Ralphy Velazquez also reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk while Juan Benjamin singled and stole a base.

Lake County Captains 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 3

Captains improve to 1-2

Lake County’s offense awoke from its slumber on Saturday, racking up six extra base hits including three home runs.

Aaron Walton led the way, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs batted in.

Esteban Gonzalez had the other multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double while Bennett Thompson impressively homered and walked three times.

Jaison Chourio doubled and walked while Nolan Schubart doubled.

Top draft pick Jace LaViolette’s struggled are ongoing as he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. He still is seeking his first hit of the young season and has struck out in seven of his first eight plate appearances.

Starting pitcher Braylon Doughty was spectacular, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit, striking out two and walking zero.

Rafe Schlesinger followed Doughty with 4.0 scoreless innings of long relief, allowing four hits with one walk while striking out five batters.

Cam Walty and Donovan Zsak closed out the victory with 1.2 perfect innings with four strikeouts.

The long pitching black mark was Kendeglys Virguez struggled, allowing three runs in just 0.1 innings of relief.

Hill City Howlers 2, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 19

Howlers fall to 2-1

I’m trying to think of a good adjective to describe this game. Debacle, fiasco, catastrophe, apocalypse? I’m not sure any of them fit. This game was so bad that I’m not sure the word that fittingly describes it has been invented yet.

Prep pitching prospect Chase Mobley was the starting pitcher and he got absolutely annihilated for six runs in 0.1 innings. He only allowed one hit, but he walked three and hit two more.

Eudry Alcantara relieved Mobley and he didn’t fare any better, allowing two inherited runners to score and then giving up six runs of his own in just 0.1 innings. Alcantara was tagged for five hits, two of them home runs and he walked two.

Both Mobley and Alcantara are beginning the year with ERAs of 162.00. It can only get better from there (hopefully).

Offensively, no one had an extra base hit and no one reached base twice. If you watched this game, perhaps you can pray a Men in Black-esque memory wipe device gets invented soon.

Well, that wasn’t good. Here’s hoping game 2 is better

After last night’s postponed game, the Guardians faced a chilly Sunday double header against the Chicago Cubs. In game one, Slade Cecconi took the mound for Cleveland and Edward Cabrera for Chicago. Both starting pitchers gave it their all, keeping it a scoreless game into the eighth with both teams only notching one hit.

Cleveland’s hit came in the bottom of the 6th with a lead off double from CJ Kayfus.

The Guardians finally got pressure on Cabrera, taking advantage of his walks. After CJ’s lead off double, Steven Kwan hit a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to third. Chase DeLauter worked a 2-2 count and hit into a fielder’s choice. Kayfus was thrown out at home, but CDL reached first safely. José Ramírez worked an eight pitch at bat, including a loud foul ball, before being walked. Kyle Manzardo drew a walk to load the bases and force Cabrera out of the game with 97 pitches. Bo Naylor fought, fouling off the first three pitches from relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar, taking two balls, but ultimately popping up to center leaving three runners stranded.

Slade Cecconi ended the day having given the Guardians 6.0 innings pitched of one hit, one walk baseball. Slade struck out six batters, turning things over to Tim Herrin.

Herrin bookended the inning with strikeouts, sending it to Cleveland’s 6-7-8 hitters. Daniel Schneemann grounded out to first, but Brayan Rocchio worked a 3-2 count, fouling off pitch after pitch. Thielbar’s 10th pitch of the at bat was called a strike. Rocchio challenged the pitch and was awarded first on an overturned strike. Gabriel Arias grounded into a forceout, leaving two outs for pinch hitter David Fry. Fry got into a slider sending it to foul territory where it was caught by left fielder Ian Happ to retire the side.

Connor Brogon replaced Tim Herrin in the top of the eighth, giving up a lead off walk. Matt Shaw hit a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner. Catcher Miguel Amaya singled to right, breaking up the shutout, scoring the pinch runner from second. The Guardians defense kept the Cubs from tacking on more runs with an amazing play from Gabriel Arias to Kyle Manzardo.

The Guardians turned to the top of the order, hoping to add a run of their own. Steven Kwan was hit by pitch to lead off the inning, but Chase DeLauter grounded into a double play that was confirmed after a challenge. José popped up, leaving the Cubs with a one-run lead.

Peyton Pallette pitched the ninth and once again delivered a great performance. Pallette struck out Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Happ went 0-for-4 on the day, striking out four times. Nico Hoerner was hit by pitch, but it didn’t mean much as Dansby Swanson grounded into a force out to retire the side.

Ultimately the Guardians succumbed to the Sunday/Double Header curse and fell to the Cubs 1-0.