Category: Baseball

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As someone who played the game himself, Aaron Boone knows that diagnosing and fixing a hitter’s slump is easier said from the dugout than done from the batter’s box.

But as Austin Wells has continued to sink deeper into an offensive rut, Boone believes he knows what is ailing the Yankees catcher.

“I feel like he’s making a conscious effort to go the other way so much,” Boone said. “When that happens, sometimes you end up waiting, and you don’t get started, you don’t make your move. Everyone’s a little bit different in how they load and things like that. But sometimes you can get stuck and it’s just, ‘Go.’ So I don’t feel like he’s been as accurate as he should be on some pitches.

“From my eye, and sometimes it gets easier from the side or whatever, I feel like it’s as simple as that. I feel like if he gets started and gets on time, he’s got the ability to be impactful. That’s my expectation and hopefully he can string some at-bats together where he starts to feel that and he can take off.”

Boone had Wells out of the lineup Friday — with J.C. Escarra continuing to eat into some of his playing time of late — following Thursday’s team off day, hoping that the double day off could serve as a reset of sorts.

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Because as important as Wells has been behind the plate and in calling games for one of the best pitching staffs in the majors, his lack of offense has become increasingly troubling.

Going 1-for-2 in Saturday night’s 6-4 loss to the Athletics raised his average and OPS to .180 and .568, respectively, through 43 games.

Wells’ underlying metrics do not suggest he has just been unlucky, either. He was hitting balls hard and drawing his fair share of walks during the first month of the season, but both of those areas have taken a downturn in May.

“As a hitter, you got to get started, you got to have a move, you got to have a hitch or a load that allows you to be aggressive,” Boone said. “I’m getting way in the weeds and it’s not going to make sense, but you got to be able to shut down and have brakes, as I would call it. He’s got that ability, but I feel like he’s been a little stale and trying to be too, ‘Wait, see it, go the other way,’ and then it’s just, ‘Go,’ and you end up beat.”

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Yankees nearly pulled off a miraculous ninth-inning comeback Saturday night by almost never swinging the bat.

It ultimately fell short, making for a tough 6-4 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health park, but not before a wild finish.

The Yankees entered the ninth inning trailing 6-1 and A’s reliever Jack Perkins got it started by striking out Paul Goldschmidt. Ryan McMahon then hit a bloop single and J.C. Escarra walked before Anthony Volpe struck out.

From that point on, over the final 28 pitches of the game, the Yankees swung just twice and it almost proved to be a winning recipe against the wild A’s bullpen.

Perkins walked Trent Grisham on five pitches to load the bases before Scott Barlow entered and walked Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, each on a full count, to force in three runs. Of that group. Judge had the only swing, taking a big hack through a curveball in the zone.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. then worked a 2-2 count on Barlow before grounding out, stranding the tying run on second base.

“Just great at-bats to give us a chance there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “To not only get the tying run to the plate but then have the go-ahead runs on base there at the end, just a lot of patient, real quality at-bats, forcing them to come into the zone.”

The Yankees’ six baserunners in the ninth inning came after they had nine through the first eight innings combined.

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“There was a lot of belief that we were going to come through and do it,” McMahon said. “It didn’t go our way, but putting pressure on a team like that, they’ll remember that, and next time we’re down, hopefully we come through.”

The Yankees played a man short Saturday night and likely will again on Sunday after Amed Rosario was placed on the paternity list shortly before the game.

The utilityman left clubhouse in street clothes a few hours before first pitch to head home for the birth of his child, and because of the timing, it did not make sense to fly a replacement cross-country just for Sunday’s series finale before the Yankees return home for an off day Monday.

Players may take up to three days on the paternity list, meaning Rosario could be back on the active roster by the time the Yankees open a homestand on Tuesday against the Guardians.

Since going through an 0-for-24 skid earlier this month, McMahon finished Saturday batting 9-for-29 (.310) with a .965 OPS over his last eight games.

“Just trying to trust it,” McMahon said. “This game’s extremely hard. Just trying to work every single day so I can go out there and try to do things to help the team win.”

With a pair of walks, Grisham has now reached base multiple times in each of his last four games and seven of his last nine.

His on-base percentage was up to .329, the highest it had been since April 13.

Luis Severino landed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right shoulder strain after leaving Friday’s game against his old teammates before the second inning started.

Welcome back to the best version of Roki Sasaki.

And, in a frustrating setback for the Dodgers, the worst version of Tanner Scott.

Entering the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night in Los Angeles, the red-hot Dodgers seemed to be rolling to a seventh-straight win and a series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

They had gotten 5 ⅓ spectacular innings from Sasaki, who rediscovered 100 mph life on his fastball for the first time this year. They were also protecting a two-run lead, thanks to some big outs from relievers Alex Vesia and Kyle Hurt in the prior two innings.

That’s when Scott came trotting in, trying to extend a 12 ⅓ inning scoreless streak that resembled nothing of the career-worst campaign he endured last season.

Instead, the veteran left-hander quickly imploded in a 4-3 defeat, succumbing to the exact same two-strike issues that plagued him through so much of his 2025 struggles.

He got leadoff man Justin Crawford in an 0-2 hole, before throwing a low slider that was hit for a single.

With two outs in the inning, he was ahead of Bryce Harper in a 1-2 count, but threw a down-and-in fastball that the two-time MVP ripped to right for an RBI single.

In the next at-bat, Scott got to two strikes again against Edmundo Sosa, this time trying to climb the ladder with a putaway fastball. His heater, however, stayed in Sosa’s “wheelhouse,” as manager Dave Roberts acknowledged. 

Sosa walloped it to left for a go-ahead two-run home run.

“We were trying to go up and I thought I could get it high enough, [but] I left it too much in the zone,” Scott said. “Just a bad pitch.”

Just like that, the Dodgers had squandered a lead they had held since Santiago Espinal’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and extended on an RBI single from Mookie Betts in the seventh.

Even worse, they let Sasaki’s one-run, three-hit, seven-strikeout gem go to waste, snapping a season-long winning streak that had seemed so certain to continue.

What it means

For the first time since the start of the Dodgers’ recent 13-3 tear, their bullpen finally faltered.

In the previous two losses of that stretch, lackluster offense had been to blame. The bullpen, meanwhile, had been almost flawless, at one point setting a club record with a 38-inning scoreless streak.

On Saturday, however, the loss fell most squarely on Scott, marking the first time this season he took the mound with a lead and failed to protect it.

“[When] you get count leverage, then you have to be able to put them away,” Roberts said. “And tonight we couldn’t do that.”

Who’s hot

Sasaki, especially with his fastball.

From the very start of the night, the right-handed phenom had found renewed life on his four-seamer. In his very first at-bat against Kyle Schwarber, he hit 99 mph twice, then eclipsed 100 mph for the first time since he was pitching out of the bullpen in last year’s playoffs.

Sasaki would keep lighting up the radar gun the rest of the game, averaging a season-best 98.5 mph with his heater.

It allowed him to attack the Phillies’ star-studded lineup in a way he has rarely been able to as a big-league starter, bouncing back from a second-inning home run from Alec Bohm by retiring the next 13 batters he faced consecutively.

Sasaki’s night only ended after back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth, forcing manager Dave Roberts’ hand with a couple left-handed hitters on deck. But Alex Vesia escaped that jam, preserving what was only Sasaki’s third one-run start this year.

In his last three outings overall, Sasaki has now posted a 2.08 ERA in 17 ⅓ innings, while striking out 19 batters and walking only three.

For the first time this season, he had 100 mph heat to go along with it, marking the most encouraging step yet in his continued growth process in the big leagues.

Who’s not

While Scott was the main culprit, the Dodgers’ offense didn’t help matters either.

Despite racking up nine hits –– including three from Betts –– the club failed to cash in on several chances and went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Kyle Tucker’s 0-for-4 loomed particularly large, especially after he took pregame batting practice on the field for the first time this season in hopes of finding a better feel for his swing.

Instead, he left two runners aboard by grounding out to end the first inning, then failed to get Betts home after a one-out double in the third. He also recorded the final out of the seventh, rolling over to second base again right after Betts had pushed the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1.

With that, Tucker’s season batting average is back down to .236, amid a 1-for-16 slump since the start of this homestand.

“It’s a work in progress,” Roberts said of the $240 million slugger. “I think he’s frustrated with his swing [and was] really getting beat on some pitches today, not hitting it hard.”

Up next

The Dodgers will try to salvage this series in a Sunday afternoon rubber match, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-4, 3.09 ERA) faces off against right-hander Andrew Painter (1-5, 5.40 ERA).

Well, there’s honestly not so much to say about this one. Ryne Nelson was going for us today, which I actually felt pretty good about, given that the Ryno had pitched at least seven innings in his last three starts, and was rocking an ERA right around 2.70 for the month of May. He was going up against Bryan Woo, a very talented Seattle right-hander who’s been pretty good but who has had a middle-of-the-road performance so far this year, much like the rest of the Mariners’ ballclub.

Sadly, though, tonight it was no contest.

It started off okay, or it seemed to. Ketel Marte led off the game by making good contact on the first pitch Woo threw him for a fading liner into shallow right. I thought it was going to drop for a hit, but Mariners’ right fielder Luke Raley made a nice diving-ish catch to snag it just before it landed in the right field grass. Corbin Carroll then struck out looking, and Geraldo Perdomo struck out looking, getting Woo out of the top of the first with all of ten pitches thrown.

Ryne Nelson matched him, sorta, and even did better, sorta—he gave up a leadoff single, but then induced a one-pitch double play and then a lineout to Tommy Troy in left to face the minimum with only eight pitches thrown. So that was cool….maybe it would be a pitching duel.

Woo came out for the second, however, and promptly struck out Gabriel Moreno, Adrian Del Castillo, and Ryan Waldschmidt on fifteen total pitches. So, six batters faced, and after what turned out to be a lineout he struck out the next five. Yeah. It was all like that.

Meanwhile, Ryne Nelson stumbled in the bottom of the second. After getting a one-pitch flyout to start things off, he allowed a solo home run to Raley, who sent a middle-middle fastball over the wall in right center. One out later, he threw a hanging curveball to old friend Dominic Canzone for the same result. 2-0 Seattle

Woo recorded three more outs in order against the bottom of our lineup in the top of the third, though in what seemed like it might be a hopeful sign (SPOILER: it wasn’t), there were no strikeouts involved. In the bottom of the inning, though, Nelson pretty much repeated what he’d done in the previous inning, surrendering his third solo homer to Mariners’ rookie and nine-hole hitter Colt Emerson, and then his fourth one out later to Julio Rodriguez. 4-0 Seattle

But the real story, aside from all the jokes that erupted in the Gameday Thread about “solo homers won’t lose you the game” and so forth, was really Bryan Woo, who continued to deal. He retired the top of our order again in the fourth, continuing what was to that point a perfect game. That, thankfully, was broken up with one out in the top of the fifth, as Adrian Del Castillo lined a single to center, and then, after Waldschmidt grounded to third but beat the throw that would have resulted in an inning-ending double play, Ildemaro Vargas singled to center. That was that, though, as Jose Fernandez, playing third after Nolan Arenado was a late scratch from the lineup, struck out looking to end our one threat. Woo then retired the Diamondbacks in order in both the sixth and the seventh. We could do nothing against the dude.

Nelson, meanwhile, settled down, I suppose, at least insofar as he stopped giving up solo dingers to random Mariners. He pitched around traffic in both the fourth and the fifth, but managed to put up zeroes in both frames, and given that he’d actually been very efficient, he was only at 78 pitches after five innings of work so he came out to start the sixth. Sadly, however, it did not go well, though this time it was not entirely his fault. Randy Arozarena hung a seven-pitch AB on him to start the frame, but hit an easy grounder to Jose Fernandez for what should have been the first out of the inning. Fernandez, however, air-mailed the throw to first, putting Arozarena on second on the two-base error. Luke Raley then singled to left to advance Arozarena to third, and a Cole Young sac fly to right scored him. All that mishegaas brought Nelson to 99 pitches, and with only the one out recorded, Torey Lovullo swapped him out for Ryan Thompson. Thompson gave up a double down the left field line to Canzone, but recorded the last two outs without any further damage. 5-0 Seattle

And you might think that that would be your ballgame—I expected it to be, myself. Woo was basically unstoppable through his seven innings of work, and our offense, which was basically everywhere all the time when they were needed over the last three series, were nowhere to be found. Their bullpen did their job, our bullpen did its job, with Thompson pitching a second scoreless inning for us and Taylor Clarke putting up a zero in the bottom of the eighth, and us squandering a leadoff single from Waldschmidt in the eighth and then going down to our last out with Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll making easy outs on the infield to start the ninth.

But no! While everyone else on the team would have liked nothing more than to simply put this one to bed and absquatulate back to the hotel with all speed, Perdomo decided that he was having none of it. Facing Mariners reliever Alex Hoppe, Gerry drew an eight-pitch walk, then promptly took second on defensive indifference. Hoppe then uncorked a pitch that I thought was wild, but was scored a passed ball instead. It rolled to the backstop, Gerry advanced to third, and when Hoppe forgot to cover home plate, Gerry just kept on going:

Moreno promptly grounded out to short to end things after that, but at least Gerry’s hustle spared us the indignity of a shutout loss? 5-1 Seattle

Loss Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Good Rhinos: NONE
Bad Rhino: Ryne Nelson (5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 K, 4 HR, -26% WPA)

So, yeah. That was pretty much that. Only one Diamondback had a positive WPA contribution, and that was Ryan Thompson, who managed to contribute a whopping +1%. Adrian Del Castillo and Taylor Clarke at least managed to be neutral, contributing 0% apiece in total. But, well, it was that sort of game.

Perhaps surprisingly, given that, we had a pretty well-attended Gameday Thread tonight, with 274 comments at time of writing, so that was nice. Comment of the game goes to Fearless Leader for this one that got the most rec’s, though to be fair it was one of many that appeared around the same time that worked the same theme:

To be fair, it wasn’t the solo home runs that beat us, I don’t think. It was more that we couldn’t score any runs of our own. Well, at least not until the very end.

Anyway.

Tomorrow we will try to avoid being driven back to the desert by sailors brandishing brooms, I guess. Merrill Kelly goes for us, Bryce Miller takes the mound for Seattle, first pitch is scheduled for an actually reasonable time for a weekend game, which is to say 1:10pm AZ time. Join us if you can, we hope to see you!

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Yankees do seem to like Ryan Weathers, but they have a funny way of showing it for their new teammate.

The left-hander took the mound on Saturday night and an offense that had been red-hot went cold, until it was too little, too late — just barely.

The Yankees’ one run before the ninth inning gave Weathers little margin for error, and another strong outing for him turned sour when he gave up his third home run of the night on his 107th and final pitch — resulting in five runs overall — as the Yankees snapped a five-game winning streak with a 6-4 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.

The Yankees made a wild — emphasis on the wild — last push in the top of the ninth, loading the bases with two outs and forcing in three runs on three straight full-count walks by Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. But Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded out to end it, leaving the tying run at second base in crushing fashion.

“It’s a tough one to swallow, but just got to move on from it,” Weathers said.

After stranding a pair of runners in the top of the seventh, the Yankees (35-23) trailed 3-1 as Weathers went back out to the mound and retired the first two batters in the bottom of the inning. He then walked leadoff hitter Colby Thomas on a full count, at which point Aaron Boone went to the mound to check on him.

The Yankees manager wanted the left-on-left matchup against Nick Kurtz, but it backfired, as Weathers’ next pitch was a 94 mph fastball up and in that Kurtz deposited just over the wall in center field to put the A’s (28-30) up 5-1.

Boone said he did not second-guess the decision to keep Weathers in to face Kurtz, but indicated he could have pulled him before facing Thomas.

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“I feel like kind of kicking myself — probably after he got the second out, through the bottom [of the order] … definitely a case there to go for the leadoff hitter,” said Boone, who had Camilo Doval warming but wanted to keep the A’s lefty hitters on the bench. “I don’t’ question leaving him in there for Kurtz, I’m going to take my left-on-left shot there with two outs. But after he got those first two, and throwing quite a few pitches to that point, that’s the one where maybe I go to Doval there.”

It made for a rough ending on a night when Weathers struck out 10 across 6 ²/₃ innings but was victimized by three long balls — a two-run homer from Shea Langeliers in the first inning, a solo shot from Tyler Soderstrom in the sixth and the two-run blast from Kurtz in the seventh — and a lack of support from his offense.

For the eighth time in Weathers’ 11 starts, the Yankees scored two runs or fewer while he was in the game. They have now averaged 2.95 runs scored per nine innings while Weathers is pitching, the fourth-lowest mark among qualified starters.

This week alone, Yankees starters had received plenty of run support, only for that to dry up on Saturday for their first loss in over a week.

“I put them in a bad spot giving two runs up in the first,” Weathers said. “This is a game of momentum, so if we don’t score, I got to put up a zero and just keep momentum. We create momentum if we score and same for them. I gave them momentum early and this is a game of that. I just can’t do that.”

In a dugout that had no tunnel to the clubhouse (in center field), Weathers expressed his frustration in full view of the cameras after coming out of the game, slamming his glove and other objects after an otherwise encouraging night was spoiled.

“It’s just a competitive kid that pitched his heart out, pitched a whale of a game, frankly,” Boone said. “Two-run homer there to finish sours it, but thought he threw the ball great.”

The Yankees nearly finished off a furious comeback in the top of the ninth, when they recorded one single and five walks against A’s relievers Jack Perkins and Scott Barlow. Before Chisholm grounded out, the Yankees had taken just one swing in their last 27 pitches as the A’s almost self-destructed.

“Love the finish,” Boone said, “just didn’t quite get over the hump there.”

West Coast trips stink. Unless you’re one of the many Yankees fans who live out west, I think a lot of us can agree on that. When they win, it’s chill, especially if it’s a relative blowout like Friday night, where you could catch some shut-eye a little early.

When they lose, you just feel like you stayed up for nothing. This one wrapped up around one in the morning on the East Coast and I kind of wish that I just went to bed after learning the Knicks will face the Spurs in the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

The story of tonight’s game was the power of the (Sacramento) Athletics. A lineup that can be truly scary at times showed why, as they took what was overall a pretty solid night from Ryan Weathers and completely wrecked his line with a trio of long home runs to center field. Couple that with an offense that blew some opportunities early and couldn’t finish off a marathon rally in the ninth, and you get a 6-4 defeat to set up a rubber game tomorrow afternoon.

Ben Rice got things started for the Yankees’ offense with a one-out single in the first off J.T. Ginn, but was erased on a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Aaron Judge. Weathers took the bump in the bottom half and gave up a fair amount of hard contact, including an absolute bomb off the bat of Shea “Bangeliers” Langeliers to dead center to give the A’s a quick 2-0 lead.

The second went in a similar fashion for the Yanks, as Paul Goldschmidt ripped a single with two outs before being stranded. Weathers induced more soft contact in a 1-2-3 second. Both teams got a baserunner in the third on an Austin Wells single and Langeliers walk, but both pitchers had settled into a groove.

By the time the fourth came around, the Yankees were able to take advantage of the Athletics’ poor defense. Ginn walked Cody Bellinger with one out before giving up a single to Jazz Chisholm Jr. A bad hop caused Henry Bolte to boot it in center field, allowing Bellinger to advance to third.

That proved costly, as Chisholm bolted for second a few pitches later and forced an E4 on a stolen base that scored Bellinger and got Jazz to third with one out. A Goldschmidt walk set up runners on the corners in a prime position to tie or take the lead, but Ryan McMahon struck out, and Wells flew out to get Ginn out of trouble, but not before the Yankees cut the deficit to one. Weathers’ strikeout stuff came back to him in the bottom half, striking out a pair after a leadoff walk.

After coming oh-so-close to tying the game in the fourth, the Yankees somehow managed to get even closer in the fifth. A two-out walk by Rice set up Judge for the third time through, and the three-time MVP put a charge into a fastball and sent it to deep right field, only for it to be caught at the wall. That ball is a home run in 16 ballparks, including Yankee Stadium. Ouch

Ginn wrapped up six strong innings with a 1-2-3 sixth, while his offense added some extra insurance. Weathers was in a groove into the sixth inning after allowing the early home run, but was tagged by Tyler Soderstrom with one out to deep right-center field for a solo shot, making it 3-1.

Ginn was finally lifted after six for the lefty Hogan Harris. McMahon, who was taking the at-bat because Amed Rosario left on paternity leave, ripped a leadoff single. After a pinch-hitting José Caballero and Anthony Volpe were both retired, Trent Grisham worked a walk to set up Rice with the tying run on first. Despite working a full count, the third of the inning, Harris’ slow, looping curveball neutralized him the same way it did with Caballero earlier in the inning, ending the threat.

Despite his pitch count climbing, Weathers remained in the game and appeared to be on the verge of completing seven strong innings, but he lost Colby Thomas with two away, prompting a visit from Aaron Boone. With the powerful lefty Nick Kurtz due up, the Yankees’ skipper elected to stay with his laboring left-hander, hoping he had enough in the tank to get him out, rather than go to Camilo Doval.

Sometimes, the ol’ “fake manager hook” works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.

It didn’t work this time.

The Big Amish obliterated the first pitch he saw for a dagger home run that knocked him out after a career-high 107 pitches. 5-1 A’s.

Weathers pitched better than his line of 6.2 innings and five runs allowed, but you are what your numbers say you are. The Athletics can slug, and Weathers gave up three long homers. It happens, but the 10 strikeouts and the ability to grind past 100 pitches are the parts that encourage you here.

Justin Sterner got the eighth for the A’s and sat down the heart of the order 1-2-3. Jake Bird got the eighth and immediately got in trouble, plunking Bolte and allowing a double to Soderstrom. After a strikeout, Zack Gelof lined a two-strike RBI single to left to extend the lead to 6-1. Fortunately, the rally stopped there after some bad baserunning from the A’s, coupled with all-around head’s-up defense, led to a *checks notes* 5-2-6-4-5 double play.

Jack Perkins came on to get the final three outs for the Athletics, but despite the five-run lead, it was never that simple. McMahon blooped a one-out single, Escarra worked a walk, and Grisham extended the game with a walk of his own. With the bases loaded, Mark Kotsay turned to Scott Barlow, who walked Rice to bring in a run and bring up Judge as the tying run in a 6-2 ballgame.

The game got really interesting as Barlow straight up refused to throw strikes with the heart of the order just one swing away from tying the game. He walked Judge and Bellinger to force in another two runs before Chisholm took two called strikes and then finally put one in play. He was jammed on a 2-2 fastball on the inside part of the plate, grounding out to first and stranding the tying run on second.

The final game of the six-game road trip is a much easier watch for those on the East Coast, as the Yankees play the rubber game against the A’s tomorrow at 4:05 pm EST on YES. The pitching matchup will feature Will Warren against lefty Jacob Lopez, who was just announced a few minutes ago.

Box Score

Philadelphia’s Edmundo Sosa sauntered out of the box, motioning with one hand in a pump-wave in front of a nearly packed Dodger Stadium. The left fielder, who had taken over for Brandon Marsh in the top of the sixth, connected on a four-seam fastball that Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott left too far over the plate for a go-ahead home run.

The Dodgers had been playing with fire all night, but they couldn’t regain momentum after Scott’s struggles, losing to the Phillies 4-3 to set up a Sunday series rubber match.

The loss ended the Dodgers’ six-game winning streak for only its third defeat in 16 games.

“I was trying to go up, and I left it more on the plate,” said Scott about the home run pitch. “It wasn’t out of the strike zone with two strikes and it caught me.”

Read more:Justin Wrobleski carries no-hit bid into the sixth in Dodgers' win over Phillies

The Dodgers (37-21) started strong, with pitcher Roki Sasaki giving up just three hits and one earned run over 5⅓ innings.

Sasaki’s elevated velocity posed early concerns for the Dodgers as he struggled more with his command. The right-hander crossed the 100-mph threshold for the first time this season on two pitches: a 100.4-mph four-seam to J.T. Realmuto and another fastball, this time 100.1mph, to Kyle Schwarber.

“The fastball was really good,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “The velo was there. I was able to execute what the catcher called.”

Three of his four pitches — the four-seam, slider and splitter — averaged at least 1.2 mph faster than his yearly average.

Roberts said he was surprised to see Sasaki hit triple digits. The Japanese pitcher has been working hard in the weight room and, earlier in the season, he would check the speed of his pitches on the radar gun after every throw. The next step will be to execute his harder throws with a more precise location.

“You layer in the confidence and the conviction and all that stuff,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Then you get a really good fastball with very good command. It’s a very good lineup over there. I know they’re not swinging the bats the way that they will. But good team over there, and he really kept them at bay.”

The Phillies (30-28) struggled to generate consistent momentum. Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm hammered a four-seam fastball that skimmed the top of the strike zone over the center-field wall in the first inning. The rest of the Philadelphia lineup struggled against Sasaki, striking out seven times and walking only once.

Roberts pulled Sasaki with runners on first and second in the sixth. Left-hander Alex Vesia walked Bryce Harper but escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam by striking out Sosa and forcing Bohm into a groundout to third.

“Early on, certainly last year, a little bit this year, you’re trying to protect him,” Roberts said of Sasaki. “I think that you’re trying to not let the shoe drop, leave him with a feeling of confidence when he leaves the mound. Today, I thought he was still throwing the baseball well, but with two guys coming up I thought Alex was a good matchup for those two guys.

“There’ll be an opportunity to push Roki later. ... I’m not necessarily pins and needles, but I just feel like I can give him a little more leash now.”

By then, the Dodgers had already established a lead. Alex Call put them on the board in the second on a poked single through the gap between second and short. In the fourth, Call reached third on a double and a fielding error from Adolis García. Santiago Espinal hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, driving in Call.

Mookie Betts also found his footing after he went 0 for 3 on Friday. The shortstop struggled in the first four games of the Dodgers’ homestand, batting .200 across 15 plate appearances. Against the Phillies on Saturday night, Betts laced two singles and a double.

Andy Pages scored on a close play at the plate after Betts singled to shallow right field in the seventh. Although catcher J.T. Realmuto missed tagging Pages’ foot, the Dodgers center fielder’s cleat didn’t appear to touch the plate. After a long review, the safe at home call stood.

But the Dodgers’ good fortune didn’t last. Scott gave up an RBI single to Harper, and it was like the Phillies could sense exactly when the reliever’s pitches crossed over the zone. Scott (1-2) then gave up the home run to Sosa before the Dodgers were retired on three groundouts in the ninth.

Before Saturday, Scott’s 1.14 ERA ranked third among National League relievers who had thrown at least 20 innings. He hadn’t given up a run in May and he had only given up three earned runs this season.

In the span of two at-bats, however, he looked closer to the pitcher that struggled last year.

“You throw a pitch in [Sosa’s] wheelhouse, and that’s what happens,” Roberts said. “It happened quick. But Tanner has been great. No one is trying to give up hits and homers. But part of the equation is, you get count leverage, and then you have to be able to put them away. And tonight we couldn’t do that.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees' offense was quiet on Saturday night after scoring 34 runs this past week, losing to the Athletics, 6-4.

New York made it interesting in the ninth inning, drawing three straight bases-loaded walks to cut into the lead, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded out to end the game.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Ryan Weathers had an up and down outing, allowing five runs on six hits (three home runs) with 10 strikeouts and three walks over 6.2 IP and 107 pitches.

He opened with a tough first inning, letting up a huge two-run home run to Shea Langeliers that gave the Athletics an early 2-0 lead. Weathers bounced back with a five-pitch, 1-2-3 second inning and kept it going through the fifth inning, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts in that span. However, his hot streak came to an end with one out in the sixth inning, allowing a solo home run to Tyler Soderstrom as the A's went up 3-1.

Weathers got two quick outs in the seventh inning, and despite his pitch count crossing 100, Aaron Boone kept him in to face slugger Nick Kurtz after a walk. The decision backfired as Kurtz launched a two-run homer to center field, making it a 5-1 game and ending the left-hander's night.

-- New York got a run back in the fourth inning thanks to two mistakes by the Athletics. CF Henry Bolte misplayed Chisholm's single, allowing Cody Bellinger to advance from first to third base. Chisholm then stole second base to avoid the inning-ending double play, but Langeliers' throw got by second baseman Alika Williams into the outfield -- making it easy for Bellinger to score and cut the lead to 2-1.

-- Aaron Judge nearly tied the game in the top of the fifth inning, but his deep drive was just short as right fielder Colby Thomas made the catch up against the wall.

The Yanks had another scoring chance in the seventh inning after Ryan McMahon led off with a single. Although, José Caballero and Anthony Volpe both couldn't get the job done, and after Trent Grisham walked, Ben Rice struck out swinging for the third out.

-- Jake Bird struggled in eighth inning by hitting the leadoff man Brent Rooker, allowing a double to Soderstrom, and letting up an RBI-single to Zack Gelof as the A's took a 6-1 lead.

-- Amed Rosario did not play and will be out again Sunday after he was placed on the paternity list prior to the game.

Game MVP: Nick Kurtz

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. 

Honorable mention goes to RHP J.T. Ginn, who allowed just one unearned run on four hits over 6.0 IP with four strikeouts and three walks.

Highlights

Jazz singles and Bellinger advances on a bobble in center field and the Yankees are set up with runners on the corners and one out for Paul Goldschmidt pic.twitter.com/FUDFf4fUHx

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 31, 2026

What's next

The Yankees wrap up their three-game series in Sacramento on Sunday. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.

Will Warren (6-1, 3.55 ERA) will take the mound for New York, while the Athletics are yet to announce a starting pitcher.

LOS ANGELES — Roki Sasaki continued to impress, pitching into the sixth inning, and the Dodgers had a late lead. But Tanner Scott allowed his first runs on over a month in a decisive eighth inning in a stunning 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

Scott had a rough go of it in his first year in Los Angeles, but this season has looked much more like the dominant reliever the Dodgers signed to a four-year contract. Entering Saturday he struck out a third of his batters with a 1.14 ERA, 2.18 xERA in 23 2/3 innings, and hadn’t allowed a run since April 24, thirteen appearances ago.

Staked to a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning, Scott allowed a pair of singles for one run, snapping his scoreless skid, then Edmundo Sosa hit a two-run home run just over the left field wall to turn the game around.

After leading the majors with 10 blown saves last season, this was Scott’s first blown save of 2026. Before the three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday, all Dodgers actual relief pitchers (Miguel Rojas excluded) allowed two runs in their previous 50 2/3 innings.

Encouraging beginning

Sasaki has found some success of late in throwing his harder split-fingered pitch, which plays better off his fastball. That’s kept him in games longer, and helped him string together confidence-building starts.

“Over the last handful of weeks, he’s just more comfortable,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “For me, the quality of [the fastball], the command of it has gotten a lot better. He hasn’t hit 100, but it’s still commanded a lot better than it was early on. 97 commanded is a lot better than 100 out of the hitting zone.”

Sasaki did hit triple digits on Saturday, twice (100.4 and 100.1 mph), plus three more at 99.8 mph and 99.7 mph. It’s the first time he’s thrown 100 mph this year, something he did regularly in Japan and did three times last season. But more importantly, he was effective, matching his MLB high with 18 swinging strikes — eight on the fastball, seven on the slider, and three on the slider.

Alec Bohm hit a 98.9-mph fastball at the top edge of the strike zone over the center field wall for the first run of the game, in the second inning. But Sasaki didn’t allow much else, and retired his next 13 batters in a row before Kyle Schwarber — who struck out in his first two at-bats — reached on an infield dribbler in the sixth inning. A more traditional single, by Trea Turner to right field, ended Sasaki’s night at seven strikeouts through 5 1/3 innings, up 2-1 but with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base.

Alex Vesia walked Bryce Harper to load the bases, but struck out Edmundo Sosa and got Bohm to ground out to strand the inherited runners, escaping his second jam in as many nights.

Sasaki ended his promising May with a 3.18 ERA in five starts, with 28 strikeouts against only six walks in 28 1/3 innings.

Alex Call, making his second start in a row in left field after Teoscar Hernández strained his left hamstring, was instrumental in the Dodgers’ first two runs. He singled home Will Smith in the second inning, then doubled to center in the fourth on a ball that got past a diving Justin Crawford, and took third on an error by Adolis Garcia attempting to help out in right. Santiago Espinal’s sacrifice fly gave the Dodgers their first lead of the night.

Andy Pages doubled in the seventh inning, and scored on a two-out single by Mookie Betts. Pages nearly got thrown out at home, but was ruled safe. That distinction proved important, because replays were inconclusive whether catcher JT Realmuto tagged his foot or whether Pages even touched home plate at all. Not enough to overturn the Phillies challenge meant the call stood, and the Dodgers got their insurance.

They just needed a little more cushion in this one, and the win streak is snapped at six games.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Alec Bohm (6), Edmundo Sosa (3)

WP — Orion Kerkering (3-0): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 strikeouts

LP — Tanner Scott (1-2): 1 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs

Sv — Johan Duran (12): 1 IP, zeroes

Up next

The homestand concludes on Sunday (1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound against Phillies rookie right-hander Andrew Painter.

Mariners 5, Diamondbacks 1

Back-to-back series wins: Bryan Woo, +.24 WPA

Letting the shutout get away in the 9th: Josh Naylor, Randy Arozarena, Cole Young, and Mitch Garver, -.02 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

The only way to build a streak is one game at a time.

After a five-game losing streak, the Colorado Rockies mounted a ninth-inning comeback win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night to get back in the win column. The Rockies came out swinging on Saturday to make it two.

In a refreshing manner, the Rox made things fairly relaxing. They took control of the game right off the bat and never looked back.

Welcome back, Ryan Feltner!

You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get when a pitcher comes back from an injury. Ryan Feltner progressed nicely after landing on the 15-day injured list and rehabbing in Albuquerque, but there are always some nerves along with the leap back to the majors.

Things couldn’t have gone any better for Feltner in the top of the first. He came out firing, showing off his velocity and putting together an extremely efficient 1-2-3 inning, escaping on just seven pitches.

Feltner continued his hot start with a great day all around. Aside from Ezequiel Tovar snagging a grounder up the middle to save a hit in the bottom of the first, he didn’t need much help.

Feltner did a great job getting ahead of batters. He was aggressive targeting the zone, getting a first-pitch strike on 11 of 15 batters faced through the fifth. He didn’t find himself in many jams, working through half of his innings on 10 or fewer pitches.

You couldn’t have asked for more in Feltner’s return to the Rockies. He bounced back impeccably, notching a Quality Start and finishing the day with 6.0 shutout innings pitched, giving up just four hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

After the game, manager Warren Schaeffer commented on his efficiency: “(His) fastball command was exceptional, slider was good, got double play balls when he needed them early. I just thought he controlled the game very well. He was in attack mode. When he does that, he’s pretty dang good.”

Thanks, Rally Rabbit!

Conversely, things were a struggle for Adrian Houser to start the game. The Giants’ starter was put to work early, giving up crucial hits and walks in the first. He struggled to find the zone, as his two-seam fastball had the velocity but could not hit the mark. He needed nearly 40 pitches to get out of the first.

The Rockies offense was still feeling the effects of the loose bunny that ran the warning track and jumpstarted the bats on Friday night:

The Rally Rabbit made an early appearance to keep things rolling Saturday night, lurking in the grass before the game started. Whether you attribute things to the bunny or to the offense finding their groove, the Rockies struck early.

Colorado took advantage of Houser’s struggles. After Jake McCarthy and Hunter Goodman both walked, Willi Castro brought McCarthy home with a line drive to center field. Tovar singled to join his friends on the basepaths to load things up.

Sterlin Thompson put together a great at bat and was hit by a pitch (on what would’ve been ball four anyway), as Goodman came home. Edouard Julien was unable to do more damage, striking out with the bases loaded. But the Rockies took a 2-0 lead into the second.

Later in the bottom of the fourth, McCarthy followed up a Julien single with a two-run dinger at the expense of Houser to increase the lead to 4-0. Not long after that, Houser was yanked with two outs, replaced by Sam Hentges. Houser finished his day with just 3.2 innings pitched, surrendering eight hits, four earned runs including a home run, and two walks with four strikeouts.

Piling on some insurance

The Rockies offense continued a steady assault through the middle innings, getting runners on base and increasing the lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hentges got the first two outs but couldn’t stop Colorado from breaking through. Julien drew a walk and was moved to second base by a Brett Sullivan single. McCarthy grabbed another RBI with a single to left, bringing the lead to 5-0.

Later, in the bottom of the seventh, Kyle Karros joined the fun and blasted a solo shot into the bullpen over the right center fence — his first against a team other than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

McCarthy’s thirst for RBI wasn’t quenched, so he knocked another single to left to bring Tyler Freeman home and put the Rockies up by a touchdown with a successful PAT. Schaeffer noted that, “Jake’s taken the opportunity and run with it… he’s taken full advantage of his playing time.” TJ Rumfield would return McCarthy’s favor, with another single to get McCarthy across the plate. The Rockies left the seventh up 8-0.

Staving off a comeback

Alas, it wouldn’t be a shutout. After a clean seventh from Brennan Bernardino, Blas Castaño entered in the top of the eighth, going on to give up a two-run home run to Drew Gilbert. He surrendered a triple to Jung Hoo Lee in the ninth, followed by an RBI single to Matt Chapman to make the game 8-3.

Luckily the Rockies had plenty of cushion. With seven shutout innings from the pitching staff and 14 hits from the offense, Colorado gave the fans little to worry about as nearly everything went right across the board.

Up Next

With the series win in hand, the Rockies will try to sweep the Giants on Sunday afternoon.

Robbie Ray gets his 12th start of the season, going 3-6 so far with a 4.60 ERA with 53 strikeouts across 58.2 innings pitched. For the Rockies, Tanner Gordon is set to get another start. Gordon has a 0-0 record with a 5.85 ERA in eight games and one start this season. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. MDT.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

This season is going astonishingly well in Atlanta. They are the first team to 40 wins despite missing half of their projected rotation, having missed time from Ronald Acuna and Drake Baldwin, Ha-Seong Kim only playing 12 games and being astonishingly bad, and Austin Riley struggling. Now Schwellenbach, Waldrep, and Smith-Shawver are progressing back towards health, Ronald Acuna is healthy and in full form, Drake Baldwin should hopefully be back soon, they have the depth to bench Kim for real MLB shortstop options, and Austin Riley is (maybe? hopefully?) showing some life. This could be a SCARY team in October if health doesn’t betray them, but we’ve still got ~100 games to go for the regular season. Let’s enjoy what a journey it’s been so far, what a journey we’ve got to come, and hope for something special come October.

Braves News

Ronald Acuna led the way as the Braves homered their way to a 5-2 win, with strong pitching from the bullpen behind a solid Martin Perez.

MLB News

Breakout star Munetaka Murikami will miss a month or two with a grade 2 hamstring strain.

Former Braves Jarred Kelenic elected free agency after being DFA’d by the White Sox.

The A’s placed veteran Luis Severino on the 15-day IL with a shoulder strain.

Just a few days ago, baseball fans celebrated the 33rd anniversary of one of MLB’s most bizarre moments. The day that Jose Canseco tried to catch a fly ball, only to see it ricochet off his head and over the wall for a home run.

Thankfully, Saturday night’s game between Milwaukee and UCF in NCAA baseball regional action gave you an updated version.

Grant Ross for Milwaukee came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with two outs and the bases empty. Ross lofted a fly ball to straight-away center field, where UCF outfielder DeAmez Ross tried to make the catch at the wall.

Instead, the ball deflected off his glove, and then his head, before carooming over the wall for a home run:

Here is a longer clip, that includes a few replays of the moment at the wall:

The home run staked the upstart Panthers to a 10-1 lead, just one day after the Horizon League champions knocked off Auburn, the fourth-overall seed in the NCAA baseball tournament.

While UCF has closed the gap — the score is currently 10-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning at the time of publication — this play might live on in Milwaukee lore, no matter how the game ends.

Iowa right-hander Connor Noland came off the injured list. Iowa Right-hander Yacksel Ríos went on the temporarily inactive list.

Knoxville first baseman Edgar Alvarez came off the restricted list.

Right-hander Luis Rujano was sent to the rookie ball ACL Cubs from Double-A Knoxville.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs got blasted by Indianapolis (Pirates), 14-5.

Connor Noland came off the injured list and pitched the first four innings. He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits. Noland struck out six and walked one.

Zac Leigh relieved Noland to start the fifth inning and only managed to retire one batter. Leigh took the loss after giving up five runs on one hit and four walks over one-third of an inning. The one hit was a three-run home run. Leigh did not have a strikeout.

Gavin Hollowell is making a case for a major-league call up with another perfect inning in the seventh, striking out two. Hollowell has a 1.23 ERA and hasn’t given up an earned run since May 7.

DH Chas McCormick went 2 for 5 with two RBI.

Left fielder Ben Cowles was 2 for 5 and scored once.

RBI single for McCormick.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies swept a doubleheader from the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 7-5 and 7-5.

Starter Jake Knapp pitched 2.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out two.

Dawson Netz pitched the final 3.1 innings and got the win, giving up only one run on a solo home run. He allowed two hits total. Netz struck out two and walked one.

DH Ethan Hearn clubbed a solo home run in the second inning, his third on the year. Hearn went 1 for 4.

In the third inning, catcher Owen Ayers cracked a two-run home run, his seventh. Ayers was also 1 for 4.

First baseman Edgar Alvarez hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, his fifth home run this year. Alvaraez went 1 for 3.

Finally, third baseman Jefferson Rojas hit his sixth home run with the bases empty in the seventh. Rojas went 1 for 4.

Second baseman Alex Madera was 2 for 3 with an RBI double in the third. He scored on Ayers’ home run.

Shortstop Hayden Cantrelle was 2 for 3 and scored one run.

Tyler Schlaffer started game two and allowed just one run on two hits. Schlaffer walked three and struck out six.

The Smokies went into the bottom of the seventh with a 7-1 lead, but Jackson Kirkpatrick had trouble getting anyone out. He gave up four runs on two hits and three walks over just a third of an inning. So Marino Santy was summoned from the pen with one out, two on and the tying run at the plate. He walked the first batter he faced to load the bases and then a run came home on a ground out by former Smokie Pablo Aliendo. Then Santy got a strikeout to end the game and collect the save.

Left fielder Carter Trice hit a solo home run in the second inning, his eighth on the year. Trice went 1 for 3 with the home run and a sacrifice fly for two total RBI.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez connected with the bases empty in the fifth, his fourth on the year. Ramírez went 2 for 4 with a double and the home run. He scored twice.

Center fielder Andy Garriola was 3 for 4 with a double. He scored one run and drove in one.

Shortstop Hayden Cantrelle was 2 for 3.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs cracked open the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 7-0.

Koen Moreno got the start and went four innings. He allowed just two hits. Moreno walked four and struck out four.

Eli Jerzembeck pitched the next two innings and got the win because Moreno didn’t pitch five innings. Jerzembeck gave up no hits, but he walked two and struck out two.

Mason McGwire made his High-A debut in this game and was impressive in collecting a three-inning save. He allowed just one baserunner, a two-out single in the seventh. McGwire struck out six.

For the second-straight game, first baseman Drew Bowser hit a grand slam. This one came in the sixth inning. It was Bowser’s third overall home run this year. Bowser went 1 for 4.

Third baseman Matt Halbach was 1 for 1 with two walks and a hit by pitch. Halbach scored twice and his single in the third drove in a run.

Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Here’s an RBI double by Jose Escobar and an RBI single by Justin Stransky. Escobar was 1 for 4 and Stransky went 1 for 3 with a walk.

Bowser’s grand slam.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans grounded the Wilson Warbirds (Brewers), 7-5.

Noah Edders started and gave up four runs on five hits over 3.1 innings. Edders walked two, hit one batter and struck out three.

Riely Hunsaker allowed the game to stay close, giving up just one run on three hits over 4.1 innings. Hunsaker walked two and struck out three. He also hit a batter.

Braylon Myers threw the final 1.1 innings, allowed no runs and got the win after the Pelicans took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Myers gave up just one hit. He struck out one and walked no one.

Left fielder Geuri Lubo hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Pelicans the lead for the first time. It was Lubo’s second home run of the year. Lubo went 2 for 4 with a double and the home run.

Third baseman Yahil Melendez clubbed a two-run home run in the fifth to tie the game up 4-4. It was Melendez’s first home run of the year. Melendez finished 1 for 4.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy went 2 for 4 with two steals. He scored on a wild pitch in the third inning.

The Melendez home run.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Diamondbacks, 4-0.

After nearly two months, Fernando Tatis Jr. is finally on the board with his first home run of the season.

In the fifth inning of the Padres’ 9-4 loss to the Nationals, Tatis blasted a towering 451-foot solo homer to left field at Nationals Park to break his harrowing streak without a home run that dated back to last season.

Before Saturday’s game, the Padres outfielder had not gone deep in 240 plate appearances, which was the longest home run drought in the MLB.

“I just knew right away,” Tatis told reporters following the game, according to The Associated Press. “About f–king time.”

Upon hitting the homer, Tatis flipped his bat and got a warm welcome from his teammates as he rounded third base.

“It was very exciting for everybody,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He’s been carrying that burden. The team has been carrying that burden.”

The last time Tatis had hit a home run was a game against Arizona on Sept. 27.

“Bet you he’ll sleep a little better tonight, knowing that he has a little ‘one’ on his numbers. He has a lot in his career, but it’s different,” San Diego shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “Everyone knows what the deal is here.

“Everyone knows he has zero, so I think getting that kind of pressure off his back is nice.”

Despite Tatis’ blast, the Padres gave up six runs to Washington in the seventh for their 25th loss of the season.

“There’s no off days over here, man,” Tatis said. “This game will find a way how to still punish you.”

Tatis’ numbers have taken a significant hit so far this season because of his home run drought.

Despite holding a .268 batting average going into Saturday’s game, the three-time All-Star was slugging just .307 across 55 games played.