Apr 23, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher JR Ritchie (56) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss announced after today’s 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that rookie starting pitcher JR Ritchie will get his second major league start on Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers.
Weiss also confirm that former right-handed starter Reynaldo López is heading to the bullpen to work out some mechanical issues that are framed as the culprit of his last two sub-optimal starts.
Ritchie made his MLB debut on April 23, picking up the victory after tossing seven innings of two-run ball. The righty struck out seven against the Washington Nationals.
López, pitched in only one game in 2025 after a sterling first season in Atlanta in 2024. The 32-year-old has made five starts this year for the Braves, logging 21.2 innings. However, he allowed a combined seven earned runs in his past two starts – including four in a single inning of work on April 21.
Rehabbing starting pitcher Spencer Strider pitched five strong innings for Triple-A Gwinnett today and could be activated off the IL within the next week. The Braves have not yet announced if Strider will make an additional minor league start.
Ritchie will make his home debut, weather permitting, as the Braves take on a Tigers squad looking to win the American League Central Division.
After a promising 10-8 win over the Minnesota Twins last Thursday, the Mets’ offense appeared to regress back to the doldrums of their 12-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Colorado Rockies 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
The numbers weren’t pretty. The Mets had just four hits off of Jose Quintana and the Rockies bullpen, they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and they left six men on.
In both the first and eighth innings, the Mets loaded the bases with one out. But both times, they came away with nothing.
“It’s frustrating, obviously,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “Not having good at-bats and then we had an opportunity with the bases loaded right away and couldn’t’ cash in. Every time you get an opportunity like that, we’ve got to be able to capitalize there, and we haven’t been able to do that.
“We’ve got to get going.”
Mendoza was asked, point-blank, if the offense is fixable.
“Yes. We’ve got to do something,” he said. “That’s not a good showing. We’ve got to fix it.”
Nolan McLean, the Mets' rising star on the mound, was electric in the early going, facing the minimum through the first three innings. He ran into trouble in both the fifth and sixth innings, and ultimately was pulled with the bags full in the sixth.
All in all, he allowed two runs (one earned run) on five hits, striking out seven and walking two.
McLean took the tough-luck loss in Sunday’s first game, but said afterwards that he and the entire pitching staff believe in this Mets lineup.
"The way we see it in the clubhouse is, 'any minute now.' We look at the lineup going out there each day and we know how hard they're working,” McLean said. “It's just a matter of time. We know how good those players are who are in the lineup for us.”
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 26: Garrett Mitchell #5 dumps water on Kyle Harrison #52 of the Milwaukee Brewers after a 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field on April 26, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Kyle Harrison turned in a brilliant performance, and the Brewers capitalized on a five-run fourth inning to snap their four-game losing streak and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The win puts Milwaukee back over .500 ahead of a Tuesday matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth, when Milwaukee broke through against Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski. William Contreras led off with a single, and Jake Bauers followed with a ground-rule double that likely would’ve scored him had it stayed in play. Gary Sánchez then grounded out to second, but Contreras came home from third to give the Brewers their first lead of the series.
Jake Bauers' double leads to an RBI from Gary Sánchez
Garrett Mitchell then struck out for the second out, and Sal Frelick quickly fell behind 1-2. Frelick fouled off the next pitch, but Joey Bart was called for catcher’s interference, sending him to first. From there, Mlodzinski unraveled. Luis Rengifo singled to knock in Bauers, David Hamilton doubled off the right-field wall to score Frelick, and Brandon Lockridge singled to clear the bases.
When the dust settled, the Brewers were up five runs, and Mlodzinski was walking to the dugout. Evan Sisk came in to face Brice Turang, who hit a tailing line drive to left field that hung in the air just long enough for Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum to make the catch.
Mlodzinski couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning, but Harrison was nearly untouchable through six. He pitched like an ace today, and the results showed it. Harrison threw 101 pitches over six innings, striking out 12 while allowing just one hit (a ground-ball single off the bat of Marcell Ozuna) and one walk. The more he pitches, the more promising he looks.
Trevor Megill got into a little bit of a jam in the seventh inning after allowing a leadoff double and a walk, but he bore down to get back to the dugout without allowing a run. In the eighth, Aaron Ashby loaded the bases on two walks and an error by David Hamilton, but also escaped with a scoreless frame. Abner Uribe struck out two Pirates in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to give the Brewers their first shutout win of the season.
Some of the issues that have plagued the Brewers early in the season are still present. The bullpen hasn’t been as dominant as in years past, and Milwaukee managed just two hits after Mlodzinski exited the game.
Still, today’s win felt like a step in the right direction and a reminder of why the Brewers have won the NL Central in four of the past five years. Quality pitching and timely offense are a winning formula, and today, Milwaukee got both.
The Crew will get a much-deserved day off tomorrow before welcoming the Diamondbacks to American Family Field for a three-game series. First pitch for Tuesday’s opener is set for 6:40 p.m.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 26: Foster Griffin #22 of the Washington Nationals delivers a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on April 26, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Zoe Davis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Right as I hit send on a tweet questioning the logic of Blake Butera pinch hitting Jose Tena for Jacob Young, Tena blasted a solo homer in the 10th, which proved to be the difference in the game. It was a pitchers duel, with no runners scoring for either team in the first nine, but the Nats managed to get two runs across in the 10th to win it.
This game felt very different from most of the 2026 Nationals games we have watched so far. Most Nats games this year have been very high scoring, and even when they are not, teams are threatening. However, both pitching staffs shut down dangerous offenses this afternoon.
It was a true pitchers duel between Foster Griffin and Sean Burke in this one. Despite the White Sox using an opener, Burke still managed to toss 7.1 scoreless innings. Burke befuddled Nats hitters with his rising fastball and big overhand curveball. He looks like a real nice arm that could slot into the middle of the White Sox rotation for years to come.
Foster Griffin was matching Burke pitch for pitch though. This was Griffin’s best outing as a Nat, which is saying something because he has been solid each and every start. The crafty lefty threw 7 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts and just two hits. He was masterfully wielding his seven pitch mix today, with the cutter and sweeper being the stars of the show.
Griffin’s deep bag of pitches makes him so unpredictable. It just felt like White Sox hitters were guessing wrong all afternoon. Griffin’s ERA is down to 2.67 on the season. He is also just so much fun to watch because of how smart he is as a pitcher.
A great outing for Foster Griffin today! He threw 7 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts and only 2 hits and 2 BB’s allowed.
Griffin is an arsenal maxxer, throwing 7 pitches at least 9% of the time.
With Burke and Griffin rolling, offense was tough to come by. There were hardly any rallies to speak of. For a while, it just felt like the Nats were speedrunning their at bats. The White Sox made Griffin work a little more, but that was mostly because of how much they were whiffing.
The 9th inning was the first time either team felt like they threatened. In the top of the inning, the Nats had a man on third with one out due to Nasim Nunez getting a single and working his magic on the bases. However, after James Wood was intentionally walked, both Curtis Mead and Daylen Lile popped up to end the inning.
In the bottom half, the White Sox threatened thanks to an Everson Pereira base hit and an error by Richard Lovelady on a pick off attempt. Lovelady got out of the jam by getting two huge strikeouts. He was fired up after getting out of the jam. Lovelady is a real character, and looks to have found a home with the Nats after bouncing around a ton over the past couple years.
It was the 10th inning that proved decisive though. The Nats manufactured the first run. On an 0-2 pitch, Jorbit Vivas did a nice job rolling one over to the first baseman and getting the runner to third. Then CJ Abrams got robbed of a hit, but still got the sac fly. That opened the scoring, but the Nats needed more to feel comfortable.
That was the moment where Blake Butera made the gutsy move to go to Jose Tena. On a 3-1 pitch, Tena unloaded on a fastball that caught the heart of the plate. He knew it was gone and watched his 100th career hit fly. It was an insurance run that was desperately needed.
After being recalled today, Paxton Schultz came on to close the door. While he allowed the Manfred runner to score, he got a pair of massive strikeouts to end the ball game and improve the Nats record to 13-16.
The Nats were playing baseball everyday for a while. They had 17 straight games without an off day. It was a run that the Nats navigated quite well, going 9-8 in that span. That is a great job from the boys, who have a much deserved off day tomorrow.
The Nationals took 2 of 3 from the White Sox and just finished a 17 day stretch without a day off at 9-8.
Really fun team to watch right now. Staff is getting a lot out of the guys and squeezing every drop out of 40 man with players coming and going from minors.
Now, the Nats will head to New York to try and extend the Mets misery. The Mets snapped their 12 game losing streak a few days ago, but now they just dropped a series to the Rockies. Hopefully the Nats can continue being road warriors and keep the momentum rolling.
Apr 26, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish (38) looks on during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
A weird weekend of baseball ended in a frustratingly conventional way. Kyle Bradish had an uneven day on the mound, Grant Wolfram struggled out of the bullpen, and the Orioles bats lacked punch in a 5-3 loss on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.
This was a laborious start for Bradish. He made it through five innings, but none of them were clean, and many of them required some serious help from his defense in order to survive them.
In the second inning, Ceddanne Rafaela led off with a double. He attempted to tag up and advance to third on the Marcelo Mayer fly ball that followed, but a strong throw from right fielder Tyler O’Neill and a slide that popped Rafaela up off of the base instead gave Bradish two outs.
In the Red Sox side of the third inning, Bradish issued two walks and uncorked a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. That’s as far as they would go, Bradish striking out Roman Anthony to escape the jam.
The fourth inning saw Bradish issue another walk, this one a lead-off base on balls to Wilyer Abreu. But the runner would be quickly eliminated when he got too eager to advance on a missed bunt attempt by Rafaela at the plate. Samuel Basallo fired over to first, behind Abreu, and got him scrambling back to the bag.
It was in the fifth inning where Bradish finally succumbed to his struggles. Caleb Durbin led off with a single and then stole second base. An Andrew Monasterio single brought Durbin in for the first run of the day. A few batters later, Willson Contreras launched a two-run bomb to left-center field for a 3-0 lead.
Bradish finished up the fifth inning, and that marked the end of his outing. The righty gave up the three runs on four hits, four walks, and three strikeouts. It wasn’t a disaster, but it was also far from what we normally expect from the 29-year-old. His stuff seemed to be lacking across the board. Spin rates were down. Velocities were down. And whiff rates were down. Maybe it was the colder temperatures. Or maybe it’s just part of the process that comes with building back up after missing most of the 2025 season.
It’s not as if the Orioles offense was doing much to support him. They struggled to handle Boston’s starter Connelly Early. The young lefty tossed four shutout innings to begin the game, scattering two singles and walk in that time.
The Orioles first run of the day came in the bottom of the fifth. Basallo led off the frame with a solo homer to right field, his fifth long ball of the season.
Boston answered right back in the top of the sixth inning. Grant Wolfram had come on in relief of Bradish, and immediately got smacked around. Abreu led off with a single, then came in to score on a Rafaela triple to center field. Mayer followed that with a base knock to bring Rafael home and make it 5-1.
That was all for Wolfram. He faced three hitters and failed to retire any of them. Yennier Cano came on and did an impressive job to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs. That was despite the first batter he faced, Durbin, reaching on an error by Jeremiah Jackson. Gunnar Henderson helped out with a nice snag to get the first out. Cano got the next out on his own, fielding a Monasterio ball back to the mound and then tagging out Mayer as he tried to get home. The final out of the inning came when Basallo nabbed Monasterio trying to steal second base.
Henderson followed his nice glove work with a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. His ninth home run of the season came off the bat at 105.3 mph, but it counted for just one anyway. The Orioles trailed 5-2.
In the bottom of the eighth inning the Orioles would score again. Colton Cowser pinch hit for Blaze Alexander and reached base on a single up the middle. A dribbler in front of the mound advanced Cowser to second with two outs. And then it was Henderson that came through with an RBI single to make it a 5-3 game.
That is as close as it would get. Aroldis Chapman came on for the ninth inning and made quick work of the O’s lineup to secure the 5-3 win for the visitors.
What a bummer. This series had started off so well on Friday night. And given how poor the Red Sox had been playing coming in, paired with their Saturday evening/Sunday morning drama, it felt like a chance for the Orioles to get division play off on the right foot. Instead, they wilted today.
The 5-3 scoreline feels kind to the Orioles. The Red Sox went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Rafaela got thrown out at third base because he (just barely) popped off the base, and Abreu was picked off at first base because he didn’t wait for a bunt to get down. They could/should have scored more.
The Orioles bats had just two extra base hits (the two home runs) and worked one walk. It was a bad showing against a young pitcher.
At least the Orioles bullpen, minus Wolfram, was good. Cano, Anthony Nunez, Rico Garcia, and Andrew Kittredge combined for four scoreless, hitless innings. They each have ERAs under 2.00 on the year.
The Orioles are off on Monday. They will then wrap up the month of April with a three-game set at Camden Yards against the Astros. That’s another under-performing team that you would like to see the Orioles beat. It has to happen eventually, right? Right!?
Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) tags out Colorado Rockies center fielder Jake McCarthy (31) in the seventh inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The Mets fell to the lowly Rockies by a score of 3-1 in the first game of the doubleheader. Lack of offense and poor defense was the name of the game yet again in their second straight loss to Colorado.
The Mets did load the bases with one out in the first against old friend Jose Quintana, but both Marcus Semien and Brett Baty struck out to end the threat. Baty thought he had walked but an overturned call ended the inning. That was it on the offensive side until Tyrone Taylor hit a home run to lead off the fifth inning. Quintana had retired 11 batters in a row up to that point. It was a bit of a makeshift lineup given the lefty on the mound and the doubleheader, but this team has no excuse to score only one run against a team with inflated ERAs. Baty struck out three times and Tommy Pham still does not have a hit since his call up..
Opposite Quintana on the mound Nolan McLean was good enough but allowed a run when he loaded the bases in the fourth with nobody out. After Troy Johnston singled to put Colorado on the board, McLean limited the damage with a strikeout and a double play to get out of the inning. Unfortunately the sixth was again his undoing, although in this case he was not helped by his defense. After a double and a walk to lead off the inning, he induced a ground ball, but in attempting to turn a double play, Mark Vientos hit the runner running to second and got zero outs. Huascar Brazobán entered in relief of McLean and got a double play but the go-ahead run came home. That closed the book on McLean whose final line was 5 innings pitched, five hits, two runs, one of which was earned. He also struck out seven and walked two. Brazobán would give up another run in the seventh to put the game further out of reach for this abysmal offense.
The team did manage to load the bases in the eighth but Luis Robert Jr. popped up and Mark Vientos struck out to end the inning. The team pitifully went down in order in the ninth and with the Red Sox already firing Alex Cora you have to wonder how much longer this will continue before changes will be made in the organization.
Big Mets winner: Tyrone Taylor +12% WPA Big Mets loser: Marcus Semien -18% WPA Mets pitchers: -5% WPA Mets hitters: -45% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Tyrone Taylor home run in fifth +16.1 WPA Teh sux0rest play: Mickey Moniak single in fourth -11.3% WPA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 31: Kodai Senga #34 of the New York Mets looks back after being taken out o the game during the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on August 31, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mets lineup
Bo Bichette – 3B Juan Soto – DH Francisco Alvarez – C Brett Baty – 1B MJ Melendez – LF Marcus Semien – 2B Carson Benge – RF Ronny Mauricio – SS Tyrone Taylor – CF
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 26: Emerson Hancock #26 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Busch Stadium on April 26, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Our Fire TV winning moment: Rob Refsnyder, .38 WPA
Setting your TV on fire: Randy Arozarena, -.16 WPA
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 26: JJ Wetherholt #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning at Busch Stadium on April 26, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Michael McGreevy gave the St. Louis Cardinals a crucial quality start and JJ Wetherholt and Nathan Church provided the power, but the bullpen wasted all of it as the Mariners pulled out a late inning victory 3-2.
Both Emerson Hancock for the Mariners and Michael McGreevy for the Cardinals gave their teams strong starts Sunday. Both offenses were quiet until the bottom of the 3rd inning when JJ Wetherholt turned on a pitch and deposited it in the right-field bullpen with an exit velocity of 107.4 mph traveling 375 feet making it 1-0 Cardinals.
The Seattle Mariners answered in the top of the 4th inning when Cal Raleigh showed proof that his bat is starting to wake up hammering a McGreevy pitch over the wall to tie the game 1-1.
Michael McGreevy’s performance was remarkable. He threw 6 solid innings only surrendering 5 hits and 1 earned run with 6 strikeouts and no walks. He gave the St. Louis Cardinals an absolutely crucial long start at a time when the bullpen need it most. To give credit where credit is due, Emerson Hancock also threw a strong game completing 6 innings allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs striking out 4 and walking 2.
The St. Louis Cardinals offense would flex its muscle again in the bottom of the 6th inning when Nathan Church unloaded on a Hancock pitch and deposit it in the right-field stands giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Can you say 110 mph exit velocity? Yes, you can and Nathan Church did.
Matt Svanson gave the Cardinals an efficient start to the 7th inning getting two quick outs including a great defense play by Ramón Urías at third base. However, Connor Joe would double and then score on a 2-strike broken bat single by Young tying the game 2-2.
The Cardinals would threaten in the bottom of the 7th inning when JJ Wetherholt barely missed another home run flying out to deep right-center with a ball caught up against the wall by Rodriguez. Ivan Herrera walked, but was out on a force play when Alec Burleson grounded out. Burleson the pitch before had yanked a foul ball with home run distance. Jordan Walker grounded out to end the Cardinals threat in the 7th.
Ryne Stanek entered the game in the top of the 8th inning for the Cardinals to face the top of the Mariner’s lineup and he was sharp. He got Crawford out looking thanks to a nice ABS challenge by Herrera. Stanek would also punch out Cal Raleigh thanks to a 100 mph corner painter. He would strike out Rodriguez, too, with his 22nd pitch of the 8th inning which was a 101 heater that Rodriguez missed.
The only Cardinals highlight in the bottom of the 8th inning wasn’t a player, but a fan. After Nathan Church flied out to deep left field, Randy Arozarena flipped the ball into the stands which was caught by a gentleman who, without hesitation, handed the ball to a young girl. Well done, sir.
JoJo Romero came in to pitch the 9th for the Cardinals. He was able to retire Arazorena on a flyout to Jordan Walker in right field. However, Rob Refsnyder ruined everyone’s day with a pinch-hit home run into the Mariner’s bullpen in left field giving Seattle a 3-2 lead.
Jose Ferrer was brought in by the Mariners to face the Cardinals in the bottom of the 9th. He got Ramón Urías to flyout to Arazorena in left field. Yohel Pozo pinch-hit for Victor Scott II. He grounded out for the second out. That brought up JJ Wetherholt who popped out to third to end the game.
The St. Louis Cardinals begin a crucial 4-game series in Pittsburgh Monday night as Dustin May will get the start for the Cardinals. The Pirates have yet to announce their starter as of now. First pitch scheduled for 5:40pm central time at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Apr 26, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil (81) steps on first base to get an out as Houston Astros left fielder Dustin Harris (37) runs down the line during the second inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Yankees had already locked up their third-straight series win, but were unable to notch their third consecutive sweep on Sunday in Houston. Astros hitters had a perfect gameplan to attack starter Luis Gil — although they may not have needed one — and the Yankee lineup was unable to counter against Spencer Arrighetti. Even after some signs of life in the ninth, the Astros salvaged one game in this set, 7-4.
Plainly put, Luis Gil was terrible. The Yankee righty lasted a couple of batters into the fifth inning, but never looked good. I wrote in the game thread that he was issuing nearly a walk per strikeout, and he actually got worse today, with three free passes and not a single punchout. He has now walked 11 of 85 batters faced this season, against just nine strikeouts. This is not the performance of a Major League-caliber starting pitcher.
Things were bad from the jump, with Christian Walker taking Gil deep for a two-run shot just four batters into the game. I may be a humble blogger, but I don’t think you’re supposed to pitch there:
Don’t worry though, the second home run he allowed on the day, another two-run blast this time off of Isaac Paredes’ bat in the third inning, was a slightly-less-terrible pitch:
The Yankees were down 4-0 before they’d barely gotten through their own batting order once. I’m not going to excuse the Yankee offense today, who outside of one Aaron Judge blast was fast asleep against a pitcher that left a lot of balls out over the zone. Still, as we had seen in the two previous games of this series, when you’re down by crooked numbers early it does impact the way your hitters approach their at-bats. Not much went right at all at Daiken Field today but being down by so much so early had the biggest impact.
Gil allowed Carlos Correa to walk to open the fifth before Yordan Alvarez doubled, and I think we’re all lucky that Darth Vader Yordan didn’t manage to leave the yard in this series for how hard the ball was coming off his bat. Still, the Astros had two men in scoring position with nobody out, and Paul Blackburn was called in to a pretty impossible situation.
He didn’t help himself out though, allowing three more runners to score and finally closing the book on Gil’s day. 4.0+ IP, 6 ER, 3 BB, 0 K. His ERA this season is now 6.05, his FIP 8.43, and his xFIP which assumes a relatively normal HR rate, stands at 6.32. The Yankees are a good baseball team, but Gil in his current form cannot be allowed to make another start in this rotation.
There’s not much else to talk about in this game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a horrendous challenge and slid down to 1-for-8 on the year, the current worst mark in all of baseball. He did manage a single out of the AB in question, but I think we need to start increasing the alleged $1000 kangaroo court fines for challenges missed that badly.
Jazz slightly made up for the ABS snafu with a really nice double play:
That’s his 10th home run this season, and the third time in his career he’s gone yard on his birthday. Happy 34th, Cap.
There was something resembling a rally in the ninth, albeit everything coming with two outs. Paul Goldschmidt boomed a double into the left-center gap that brought Jazz around to score, and J.C. Escarra answered with a double of his own to make it 7-3. Ryan McMahon, who is starting to look like a representative MLB hitter again, added an RBI single of his own before José Caballero lined out to end the threat.
There are going to be bad games — there’s that old adage about how every team wins 50, loses 50, and it’s what you do with the rest that counts. More particular to these 2026 Yankees, it’s easier to stomach a loss like this when it comes at the end of an 8-1 run with series wins over bitter rivals on the road. Still, there are takeaways from everything; Luis Gil cannot continue to be a starter for this ballclub, and we might want to look at why Judge’s road splits are so off.
The Yankees can wash the taste out of their mouths right away, as they head up to Arlington for a three-game set with the Rangers. Before what should be a dynamite pitching matchup Tuesday, where Jacob DeGrom is scheduled to start against Cam Schlittler, the nominal No. 1 in the rotation goes Monday night with Max Fried tabbed to start. That’s as good as you can hope for coming off a loss, and first pitch comes at 8:05 p.m. Eastern.
DENVER, CO - APRIL 21: Chase Dollander #32 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Casey Paul/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies held the New York Mets to just one run during their 3-1 victory in the first stage of today’s traditional double-header. With that win, the Rockies have won the series against the Mets.
Now it’s time to play again, and potentially earn a sweep in Flushing.
For the first time this season, right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander will take the mound without an Opener.
The 2023 first round pick has been nothing short of excellent so far this season. Operating in a bulk relief role—usually with an opener—Dollander has a 2.88 ERA in six appearances and 25 innings of work. He has walked seven batters and leads the entire Rockies pitching staff with 32 total strikeouts.
Dollander is considered fully stretched out. His last time out against the San Diego Padres he went a full six innings while giving up just one earned run on three hits and a walk. He tied a career high for strikeouts with nine.
Making the start for the Mets is Japanese righty Kodai Senga 千賀 滉大. Senga is off to a bumpy start for the 2026 season. In four starts he currently holds an ERA of 8.83 with four home runs and a 1.904 WHIP across 17.1 innings. In both of his last two starts he has failed to make it through four or more innings and has given up at least six earned runs.
Senga has historically done well against the Rockies, which could provide both him and the Mets an opportunity to turn things around. In three career starts against the Rockies he has an ERA of 1.47 with only two home runs and 17 strikeouts over 18.1 innings. He uses his arsenal to make opposing batters whiff with a 96.3 MPH four-seam fastball, a cutter, a sweeper, a sinker, and his trademark “ghost” forkball. He has also thrown at least one curveball and slider this season.
Apr 26, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Phillies snapped their ten-game losing streak on Saturday night by actually getting some late, clutch hits and prevailing in extra innings.
The Braves: “I took that personally”
On Sunday, the Braves reverted to their winning ways, while the Phillies were back on their B.S. Aaron Nola was rocked, the hitters looked feeble against Chris Sale, and they lost to the Braves 6-2, marking their eleventh loss in twelve games.
One of the recurring themes of the Phillies’ freefall has been a tendency for their pitchers to give up a lot of cheap hits. And far too often, those cheap hits are followed by not-so-cheap ones. We got to see that familiar sequence immediately on Sunday. Ronald Acuna, Jr. led off the first with an infield single and Drake Baldwin followed with another single. Another phenomenon we’re quite used to is Nola giving up a home run, and that’s exactly what he did next when Matt Olson sent a deep ball to right field to make it 3-0.
The game was essentially over at that point, but the Braves weren’t done. Mauricio Dubon led off the second with a triple, and Eli White followed with another home run. After Nola actually recorded an out, he walked Acuna, allowed a steal of second base, and then another single to Baldwin to make it 6-0.
To Nola’s slight credit, he held the Braves scoreless over the next 2.2 innings, and then the Phillies’ bullpen was also able to keep them off the board after that. But with Sale at the top of his game, it didn’t come close to mattering.
After being retired with ease in the first two innings, the Phillies’ offense almost showed signs of life in the third. With two outs, Rafael Marchan was hit by a pitch, Trea Turner singled, and Kyle Schwarber walked. That brought Bryce Harper to the plate.
Harper was one of the heroes of Saturday, and he clearly wanted to be a hero again on Sunday. He worked a 3-0 count and then swung at a borderline pitch. But as too often happens, when the Phillies swing on hitter’s counts, the result was a foul ball. Harper then watched strike two and was blown away by a 98 MPH fastball to end the inning, and any realistic chance the Phillies had at a comeback.
Sale retired the first eight batters he faced, suddenly lost command, loaded the bases, fell behind Harper 3-0 and then nailed this 98 mph heater pic.twitter.com/UXJnULBODn
Sale cruised through the sixth inning, not allowing another baserunner. In the eighth, the Phillies took advantage of the Braves’ bullpen and some defensive sloppiness when Marchan reached on an error. One batter later, Schwarber hit a home run that did little but make his stats – and the final score – a little bit prettier.
With that, the Phillies’ disastrous road trip comes to an end. After a much needed (for the fans if not the team) day off on Monday, they’ll be home to start a three-game series with the Giants on Tuesday. With the team in free fall, we’ll see if the team’s personnel and coaching staff still looks the same when that series begins.
Apr 26, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early (71) throws during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
Damn, why didn’t they think of firing Alex Cora earlier? The Red Sox won Chad Tracy’s debut, 5-3. Did anything happen differently than it would have with Cora in charge? It’s impossible to say, but from a strategy perspective, things were more or less the same. Connelly Early was maybe given a longer leash than he normally would have, throwing 6 2/3 innings and 92 pitches. Zack Kelly was the first man out of the bullpen in a spot that Cora usually gives to Greg Weissert, but Weissert pitched yesterday, so it’s tough to say if that was a trust thing or a workload thing. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman still handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to protect the lead and close out the game — no change there.
On the offensive side, Tracy didn’t go to his bench at all. There weren’t any obvious spots to pinch hit late in the game, but Cora was always aggressive with his bench, so that’s an area to watch. On the basepaths, the Red Sox looked to run. They stole four bases, got thrown out another time, were picked off, and ran into an out at third base. Cora always picked his spots to run, and today could have been a matter of getting hitters on base frequently, but it’s notable to see from the Tracy-led Red Sox in game one.
That out at third base, which came in the second inning, might have been due to the coaching changes. Ceddanne Rafaela tagged from second to third on a ball hit to right field and was called out for popping off the bag after beating the throw. On review, it looked like he kept in contact with the bag through his whole slide, but Tracy elected not to challenge. Did not having a bench coach affect the review process? Was Tracy being conservative early in his first game? I don’t know. He’ll probably address it in his post-game, but I’m on a timer here.
The first one is out of the way now. We’ll continue to pick up differences between Cora and Tracy over the next few weeks and months, but this is the new normal now. On to Toronto to face the Blue Jays, where we’ll look to get the train back on track and climb back up the American League East standings.
Three Studs
Connelly Early
It was the longest outing of Early’s short career at 6 2/3 innings. The only runs came via solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings. To his credit, he bounced back from the home runs and didn’t let it snowball. The swing and miss still hasn’t returned to his 2025 rates, but his four-seam fastball command was as good as it’s been this year. He earned four whiffs on 32 pitches, the second-best rate of his season for a single game. The two-strike command of his secondaries still needs to improve, but he didn’t let two-strike counts turn into base runners. His late-game fastball velocity was up as well, which is a great sign for the lefty. I would have liked to see him try to talk Tracy into giving him one more batter so he could finish the seventh, but it was a job well done regardless.
Willson Contreras
His fifth-inning home run extended the Red Sox’s lead to three. The team needs him to continue providing power to give the offense a boost.
Ceddanne Rafaela
Rafaela hit a leadoff double in the second inning and had an RBI triple in the sixth. I mentioned him getting thrown out at third base, but it was less a baserunning error and more an umpiring error. That’s not one to be up in arms about.
Three Sorta Duds
Nobody played particularly poorly.
Roman Anthony
0-3 with a walk. First game back from injury, oh well.
Connor Wong
Also 0-3 with a walk. Pretty serviceable day from your backup catcher.
Garrett Whitlock
He gave up a run, but it should probably be unearned. It’s hard to get an error nowadays (I think it’s a conspiracy to inflate batting average), but a runner reached on a play I expect my second baseman to make. The stuff is still sharp. On to Toronto.
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 26: Angel Martínez #1 of the Cleveland Guardians hits a double in the fifth inning during the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Sunday, April 26, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Michael Chisholm/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With another series on the line, the Guardians faced the Blue Jays in Game 3, behind starting pitcher Slade Cecconi.
Slade Cecconi struggled in the bottom of the first, giving up two hits, a walk, and two runs and driving his pitch count high for the starter. However, he tightened up for the next four innings and only allowed two hits and kept his pitch count to 70 pitches thrown. The sixth inning bookended the start with similar results as the first. Two hits and a two-run home run gave the lead back to the Blue Jays. Slade recorded two more outs before being replaced by Tim Herrin to retire the side. Slade finished his day having gone 5.2IP/6H/4R/1BB/5Ks.
The Guardians were looking to start the game with some momentum. Steven Kwan hit a lead off single, but Angel Martínez grounded into a force out, leaving Kwan out and Martínez on first base. With two outs and Rhys Hoskins up to bat, Angel attempted to steal second. He was called out and the team challenged the call, but it was ultimately upheld. This retired the side and took the Guards challenge away in the first inning.
Both teams were held scoreless for the second, third, and fourth innings. The bottom of the Cleveland lineup pieced together some offense to tie it up. Juan Brito and Austin Hedges hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corner. Brayan Rocchio slapped a single of his own to center field to score Brito. Kwan hit into a double play, putting Hedgey on third. Angle Martínez doubled to left, scoring Hedgey and tying the game.
The Guardians didn’t have an answer for the two runs the Blue Jays put up in the sixth. There were two defensive gems today that are worth highlighting.
Rocchio had a great snag at short in the bottom of the third to end the inning.
Angel Martínez made an incredible jumping catch to get Vlad Guerrero Jr. out in the bottom of the eighth.
The Guardians return home to face Tampa Bay in a 3 game series before heading out west for the weekend.
Apr 26, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) celebrates with right fielder Jesús Sánchez (12) after defeating the Cleveland Guardians at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Guardians 2 Blue Jays 4
It didn’t come particularly easily but the Jays win their second in a row.
We only had 6 hits on the day, but they were grouped nicely. We scored:
Two in the first: Ernie Clement started the game with a double. Daulton Varsho walked. Vladimir Guerrero singled home one. And Jesús Sánchez got a sac fly.
Two in the sixth: Vlad led off with a double and Sánchez homered. Not crushed, 355 feet (only 5 more feet than Vlad’s) and 98.1 mph, but pulled down the right field line. The pitch was only 70 mph.
Sánchez had a big day with three of our four RBI. And Vlad had a good day, 3 for 4, with a double. He would have had another double, hitting a ball in the ninth 109.3 mph, and 370 feet, but left fielder Angel Martinez made a terrific catch.
Beyond that Yohendrick Pinango got a hit in his first MLB gam. He didn’t look over-matched at the plate.
A bunch of guys had 0 fors: Daulton Varsho (with a walk, and two k), Kazuma Okamoto, Davis Schneider (he’s looking lost at the plate) and Brandon Valenzuela.
Okamoto made a couple of nice plays on defense. The reports that his defense was lacking appears to be wrong.
On the pitching side, Patrick Corbin was doing very well until the fifth inning, went he gave up 4 hits (with a double play mixed in) and 2 earned. He had 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.
And the bullpen did the job:
Braydon Fisher got the last out of the fifth (after walking two to load the bases). He gave up a leadoff single in the sixth, but then got three quick outs.
Tyler Rogers did Tyler Rogers stuff, getting a strikeout and two ground outs in the seventh. He was helped out by a very nice play from Okamoto.
Jeff Hoffman came in for the eighth, which didn’t cause us any angst at all in the game thread. He got a strikeout, gave up a walk, then a fly out and a ground out. He threw 24 pitches, getting a hold.
Louis Varland got his second save in a row and third of the season, giving up a leadoff single, but gets a ground out, and two strikeouts. He has a 0.60 ERA.
Jays of the Day: Vlad (.21 WPA), Sánchez (.15 ) and Fisher (.12). I think Rogers, Hoffman and Varland deserve honourable mention, for the 4.1 scoreless innings.
No one had the number for the Other Award, but Davis Schneider had a rough day at the plate and made a poor throw from second for an error.
Tomorrow the Coraless Red Sox come to town, with Ranger Suarez (4.00 ERA). Dylan Cease (2.10) starts for the good guys.
