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Last time the Athletics played the Texas Rangers, the teams split a four-game series in Sacramento. This time, the A’s emerged victorious in a best-of-three battle in Arlington. The two runs they scored in the first inning proved sufficient to win a game in which they overcame an injury to their starter and a 1-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position.

Facing Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker, the A’s offense got going early. With two outs in the first inning, Rocker walked A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and designated hitter Brent Rooker. Hot-hitting right fielder Carlos Cortes stepped up to the plate and promptly smoked his first triple of the season over the head of the Rangers center fielder Evan Carter, scoring those two runners to give his team an immediate 2-0 lead. That would be the first of three hits in this game for Cortes, who capped off an incredible week at the plate.

Athletics starting pitcher J.T. Ginn only needed to throw six pitches in a scoreless, shutdown first inning. After giving up a leadoff single, he got Joc Pederson to ground into a double play before retiring the dangerous Corey Seager on a line out snagged nicely by first baseman Nick Kurtz.

In the second inning, A’s center-fielder Lawrence Butler came close to hitting a two-run home run. However, it went just foul near the foul pole and he ended up lining into an unlucky double play. Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, who hit the go-ahead home run last night, led off the home half of that inning with a double. Ginn escaped the jam unscathed, striking out Texas’ catcher Danny Jansen to strand Jung and another runner on base.

The next inning, the A’s somehow went scoreless despite the final three batters smoking the ball. Soderstrom crushed a two-out double to the right-center gap, but was left stranded when third baseman Jung made a nice play to field Rooker’s hard-hit grounder and then threw him out.

With Ginn through three scoreless, the A’s sought to give him more of a cushion. Cortes and shortstop Jacob Wilson led off the fourth with back-to-back singles. Rocker got out of the jam by retiring the next three A’s hitters. He got some help from his first baseman Jake Burger, who made a diving stop to rob Butler of a hit.

With one out in the fourth inning, Ginn left the game with right arm soreness, abruptly ending his outing and forcing the A’s to turn to their bullpen earlier than expected. Reliever Joel Kuhnel came out of the bullpen on short notice and got the final two outs of that inning.

The Athletics wasted another scoring opportunity in the fifth. Catcher Shea Langeliers was left at second base after hitting a double down the left field line. Despite all of the baserunners he allowed, Rocker only gave up those two first-inning runs over six innings of work.

The team was planning to skip left-hander Jacob Lopez’s next turn in the rotation as right-hander Aaron Civale is scheduled to start the first game of the home stand against the Kansas City Royals. So, in the wake of Ginn’s injury, Lopez entered this game out of the A’s bullpen in the fifth inning.

Making his first relief appearance of the season, Lopez pitched a scoreless first inning. The sixth inning did not go as well. Jung hit a lead-off double and then Lopez fielded Carter’s bunt, but threw wildly to first, allowing Carter to reach safely and Jung to score the Rangers first run.

Right-handed reliever Justin Sterner replaced the rattled Lopez and came up huge! He pulled a Houdini to escape a bases loaded, no outs jam, striking out two-straight Rangers before getting right fielder Brandon Nimmo to fly out to end the inning.

Seeking insurance runs, the A’s got a two-out rally going against Rangers left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander in the seventh on back-t0-back singles by Kurtz and Langeliers. Unfortunately, Soderstrom flew out to end the inning and stop another scoring opportunity.

Following scoreless innings from Hogan Harris and Jack Perkins to maintain the A’s advantage, the A’s loaded the bases in the ninth looking to extend their lead. In that inning, Kurtz was intentionally walked, overtaking Rickey Henderson for the most consecutive games drawing a walk in franchise history. Alas, Rooker struck out on three pitches to send it to the bottom of the ninth with the Athletics still clinging to their one-run lead.

Perkins finished off the Rangers in the ninth, setting them down in order to complete his second two-inning save of the road trip and lock up the series win for the first-place Athletics.

As a result of their win, the team gets to enjoy a happy flight home and an off day tomorrow before beginning a new series against the Royals. On Tuesday, Civale will look to pitch better than he did in his first Sacramento start during the A’s previous home stand. He will be opposed by left-hander Kris Bubic, who is 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA through his first five starts this season.

If you had any doubt about the 2026 Mets being a terrible baseball team, surely it was erased this afternoon as the team scored just one run across two games of a doubleheader against the Rockies at Citi Field. In the second game, the Mets were shut out, a recurring theme early of a season that feels like it’s ending right before our eyes even though the calendar hasn’t yet turned to May.

As was the case in the first game of the doubleheader, the Rockies scored three runs, and it was once again more than enough as Colorado won by a 3-1 score. The fact that the Mets’ pitching staff only gave up three runs was a minor miracle, as Kodai Senga shit the bed for the third-straight start. He lasted just two-and-two-thirds innings, gave up three runs, struck out one, walked three, and allowed three hits. If not for admirable work by Carl Edwards Jr. in relief of him in the third, he might’ve been charged with more runs. And even with the assist that he got, Senga has a 9.00 ERA and looks like a pitcher who shouldn’t be getting major league starts.

Edwards wound up pitching three-and-a-third innings without allowing any runs, and Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, and Devin Williams each threw a scoreless inning. You’d typically say that they kept the game within reach by doing so, but the Mets’ lifeless lineup really meant that three of the team’s high-leverage relievers were simply able to get some work.

As for those Mets hitters, they had six hits on the day, only one of which went for extra bases. The team is not competitive, and it’s hard to imagine that will change. The Mets are 9-19. Their season is very likely over.

You could look back at what we were writing here just shy of two years ago and point out that it’s possible to turn a miserable season around. It’s still only April, but barring a major turnaround, the Mets could get to mid-June with the worst record in baseball over the past twelve months. That is a massive failure for a team that spent over $300 million on its roster both last season and this.

Thankfully, the Mets are off tomorrow. They’ll begin a three-game series against the Nationals—their first series against a National League East opponent this year—on Tuesday night at Citi Field. Tickets are still available.

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Earlier today, the Yankees optioned Luis Gil to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after taking the loss in the series finale in Houston. In a corresponding move, the Yankees are reportedly calling up outfielder Jasson Domínguez from Triple-A.

A path to playing time for Domínguez opened up on Friday night when Giancarlo Stanton exited mid-game due to a calf injury. The Yankees haven’t placed Stanton on the injured list, but the 36-year-old DH will presumably still need some more time to recover even if he doesn’t ultimately hit the IL in the coming days, potentially giving Domínguez his first chance at major-league at-bats this season.

Domínguez had gotten off to an excellent start at Triple-A, posting a .306/.404/.471 slash line with three home runs and eight stolen bases. He may be the primary option to take over DH duties against right-handed pitchers for now, with Paul Goldschmidt on hand to enter the lineup against lefties.

It’s possible this isn’t a long stint back in the majors for Domínguez; his role in the organization at the moment seems to be to stay ready for times exactly like this, when a veteran goes down and the Yankees have a need for another bat in the lineup. Though this kind of job isn’t exactly what Domínguez or the club had in mind a few years ago as the outfielder shot through the minor league ranks, it’s representative of the depth the Yankees have right now that when injury hits, they can just plug in a competent young bat still with loads upside.

After rain bumped the Saturday matchup from the MLB schedule, the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets played two on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

Game 1: Rockies 3, Mets 1

The Rockies started the day with a victory to lock up a series win on the road.

Putting the ‘K’ in New York

Strikeouts were a key theme across the first few innings.

After Nolan McLean struck out two batters in a quick top of the first, the game got off to a dicey start for José Quintana. Walks have plagued Quintana in 2026 and he struggled to find control early, walking Bo Bichette before striking out Juan Soto and then walking Luis Robert Jr. to put runners on first and second.

A Mark Vientos single loaded the bases with one out. Quintana responded by striking out Marcus Semien. Brett Baty proved to be a difficult final out, working his at-bat to a full count. The sixth pitch was initially called a ball to walk in a run, but a successful Brett Sullivan ABS challenge overturned the ruling, sparing the Rockies with a third strikeout for Quintana.

McLean continued to pile up the strikeouts as well, including the 1,000th strikeout of his career. He matched his first inning total, striking out two more each inning in the second and the third. McLean looked sharp mixing his pitches for those six strikeouts, with two Ks coming on curveballs, two on four-seam fastballs, one on a sinker, and one on a sweeper. He also picked off Jake McCarthy at first base in the bottom of the third.

Ducks on the pond, only one gets home

The Rockies found their spark in the fourth inning. With only one hit through the first three innings, they got to work with three more.

Edouard Julien hit a line drive leadoff single, before Mickey Moniak moved him to third with a single of his own. McClean would then walk TJ Rumfield to load the bases with no outs. Troy Johnston seized the opportunity, hitting an RBI single to right.

Unfortunately, that would be all the Rockies could muster. McClean bounced back to strike out Kyle Karros, before fielding a Sullivan grounder to turn a 1-2-3 double play to get out of trouble.

The pitchers (mostly) settled in

Coming into the game, the question was how Quintana and McClean might respond after they both struggled in their last outings. The answer was a low-scoring pitchers duel, plenty of quick innings, and several jams navigated.

Getting out of his rough first inning, Quintana would cruise, sitting down 11 straight batters in a masterful performance.

Bad news: he couldn’t make it 12 straight. Tyron Taylor kicked off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer to left center to tie things up at 1-1.

Good news: That would be the only run Quintana would give up all day.

The Rockies got to McClean in the sixth, ending his day by putting him in a pickle. A Julien leadoff double, a Moniak walk, and a throwing error to put Rumfield on first would load the bases and force the Mets to go to the bullpen. McLean’s day ended at 5.0 innings pitched, with five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.

Huascar Brazobán entered and gave up a run — charged to McLean — on a double play ground ball. He and the Mets would get out of the inning trailing just 2-1 after Karros hit a grounder for the third out.

Quintana would also call it a day in the sixth after 5.1 innings pitched, with one run given up on just two hits alongside five strikeouts and two walks.

Late ups and downs

Leadoff hits were a common theme for the Rockies today, and it worked out for some seventh inning insurance. Sullivan hit a double out to right field and was brought home by a McCarthy RBI single, giving the Rockies a 3-1 lead. Juan Mejia, who came in to relieve Quintana, kept things clean by sitting down Semien, Baty, and Taylor to end the inning.

Things got a little too close for comfort in the eighth. It was three straight outs for the Rockies offense in the top, followed by three straight baserunners for the Mets offense in the bottom.

Jaden Hill replaced Mejia and, after getting the first out, quickly found himself in trouble. He surrendered back-to-back singles to Francisco Alvarez and Bichette, before walking Soto to (once again) load the bases. But (also once again) the Rockies would prove resilient. Hill would get Robert Jr. to pop out on a 1-2 count and lock in to strike out Vientos, getting him to swing on a slider down in the zone.

Start spreadin’ the news!

The Rockies went on the road and secured their third series win of the season behind Quintana’s best outing of the year. Quintana’s first win in 2026 came with season-lows for hits and runs given up. He had more strikeouts today (five) than he had thrown all year (four across three games).

Both teams had plenty of chances, including multiple bases loaded opportunities, but neither could fully capitalize. Each team left 13 runners on base. The game ultimately was a classic Citi Field showdown, decided one run at a time in a low-scoring affair with the Rockies getting runs across when they needed them most.

Game 2: Rockies 3, Mets 0

Less than an hour after game one, the Rockies were back on the field to face the Mets again. With a series win already locked down, the Rockies rode a dominant day from their pitching staff to a sweep in Flushing.

Dominant Dollander

For the first time this season, right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander started a game. After operating largely as a bulk reliever with an opener through his first six appearances, Dollander was given the nod for the second game in today’s doubleheader.

He then made a case to stay in the rotation.

Dollander was a little shaky with his command early. However, he ended up only giving up two hits and two walks through his first three innings of work. He then settled into a powerful rhythm. Dollander ended up pitching seven shutout innings on 105 pitches while giving up five hits and two walks while striking out seven hitters. The seven innings were a career high for Dollander.

It looked like manager Warren Schaeffer was coming to get Dollander when he gave up a two out single in the bottom of the seventh. However, Dollander gestured to the dugout as if to ask for one more batter to end the inning. Dollander then induced a pop-out to end the inning.

With Ryan Feltner out for an unknown period of time with right ulnar nerve inflammation, it might be time for Dollander to take his place in the rotation.

Early offense sputtered out

The Rockies’ offense wasn’t exactly dominant, nor was it the real reason the Rockies won this game. In fact, the Rockies had just one total hit after the third inning. That hit came off the bat of Mickey Moniak, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Tyler Freeman wore a pitch and TJ Rumfield drew a walk to set up the Rockies in the top of the second inning. Kyle Karros grounded into a force-out to advance Freeman to third, and Freeman then scored on a single off the bat of Troy Johnston.

In the top of the third, Edouard Julien singled to star the inning before Hunter Goodman gave the ball a ride over the fence for his seventh home run of the season.

Making things easy for the bullpen

Thanks to strong outings in the first game of the doubleheader and Chase Dollander’s seven inning start, the Rockies bullpen had just one job in this game: get it done in two innings.

Seth Halvorsen came in first, making his second appearance with the Rockies this season. He allowed no hits, but did issue a walk in a scoreless eighth inning. He then gave way to Zach Agnos, who gave up a double but kept the Mets off the board and earned his second save of the season.

Now the bullpen gets an additional day of rest tomorrow before the Rockies start their next series.

Up Next

The Rockies get a day of rest Monday before heading to Ohio for a three game series with the Cincinnati Reds. Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1, 3.42 ERA) and Chase Burns (2-1, 2.57 ERA) are expected to start the first game of the series on Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. MDT.

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The Mets once again failed to produce any offense, dropping the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, 3-0, to the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.

Kodai Senga failed to get out of the third inning, surrendering three runs on three hits and three walks with one strikeout while getting eight outs on 50 pitches (30 strikes).

But the story of Game 2 was the same as Game 1: The bats failed to produce. The Mets left seven runners on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and have now scored one run or fewer in 10 of 28 games this season. Rockies starter Chase Dollander was the beneficiary, allowing just five hits and two walks as he struck out seven batters in seven shutout innings.

New York, which scored just one run in 18 innings on 10 hits Sunday, fell to 9-19 on the season. Colorado improved to 13-16 with the three-game sweep in Queens.

Here are the key takeaways...

- Senga collected his first strikeout of the day on a good forkball in an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 first. The second was less successful with a hit batter and a walk to start the frame. After a fielder’s choice, a Senga 0-2 forkball hung over the plate and was ripped into right for an RBI single. But a pair of flyouts to left field stranded two runners. Through two innings, Senga had been leaning heavily on his fastball and forkball, with those two pitches making up 32 of his first 34 offerings.

Senga started the third with a first-pitch curve, and Edouard Julien lined it up the middle for a single. Senga then got stung by Hunter Goodman staying on a down-and-away fastball for a two-run shot to right-center on a ball that carried 390 feet (104.9 mph off the bat). It wasn't a bad pitch; Goodman just crushed it. 

A four-pitch walk followed, and pitching coach Justin Willad was out for a visit. After a flyout, Brett Baty made a good play down the line at first for an out, but threw the ball into left field trying to do too much, putting a runner at third with two down. After a third walk of the game, manager Carlos Mendoza came out to grab the starter.  

Senga, who was working on eight days' rest as the Mets looked to reset him after a tough outing in Chicago, just didn’t find his groove after the first and saw his ERA balloon to 9.00 through his first five starts. He’s now allowed 21 runs (20 earned) on 26 hits (five homers) and 13 walks to 23 strikeouts in 20 innings for a 1.950 WHIP.

- The bullpen then did its job shutting down Colorado's offense: Carl Edwards Jr. entered in his Mets debut with runners on the corners and two down, and walked the first guy he faced, but got a groundout to stop any further damage. Edwards issued a one-out walk but struck out the side in the fourth, with all three going down swinging at the curveball. He followed with a walk and strikeout in the fifth before adding a 1-2-3 in the sixth with another strikeout.

Luke Weaver allowed a one-out single, but picked off Mickey Moniak at first to get a clean seventh, Brooks Raley added a strikeout in a 1-2-3 eighth, and Devin Williams struck out the first two on the changeup in a 1-2-3 ninth to keep the Mets in the game, but the offense never arrived. 

- The Mets had a chance in the first inning against Dollander. Juan Soto ripped a bullet one-out single up the middle (106.5 mph off the bat) and Baty, who had a tough time in Game 1 with three strikeouts looking, walked on four pitches to put two on and two out. But MJ Melendez popped out a 3-2 offering to the shortstop in shallow center. 

- There was something really cooking in the fifth as Carson Benge grounded a ball up the middle and Ronny Mauricio yanked one through the right side to put two men on. But Tyrone Taylor looped a line drive at the first baseman to double off Mauricio at first, and Bo Bichette grounded out to short. It ended up being a 13-pitch inning for Dollander, getting the last two batters on four pitches. 

- Bichette was hitless in his first two at-bats with a strikeout looking, thanks to a Goodman challenge on a 3-2 pitch that just caught the zone down and away. He was robbed of a hit with one out in the eighth when Ezequiel Tovar made a diving stop at short on a ball he smashed 109.2 mph to finish the day 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 

Bichette, who played shortstop in Game 1, made a great pick at third on a hard smash off Brenton Doyle's bat (100.9 mph) for the second out in the sixth.

- Benge put a good swing on a 1-2 pitch to poke the ball the other way for a two-out hit in the seventh. He went 2-for-4 as he has looked much better at the plate in recent games, but popped out to left to end the game.

- Melendez, who was hitless in his first three times up with a strikeout swinging, dropped a double into the left field corner with one out in the ninth to finish 1-for-4. He also made a nice running grab tracking down a ball in the corner in left to start the fifth.

- Soto finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout swinging on a 100.4 mph heater from Dollander to start the sixth, after losing the Mets’ final challenge of the game on strike one.

- Marcus Semien blistered a single up the middle to start the second inning, but was caught stealing second a few pitches later. He went 1-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.

He made a nice play to start the seventh, ranging to the shortstop side of the bag to backhand the ball and make a nice throw to get Goodman running to first.

- Francisco Alvarez went down swinging on a letter-high 99 mph fastball from Dollander in his first at-bat and went down swinging on a low-and-away Dollander slider in the sixth. He finished 0-for-4.

- Baty finished 0-for-3 with a walk and a smashed liner (102.1 mph) but right at the centerfielder to end the sixth. 

- Mauricio finished the day 1-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.

- Taylor was hitless in three at-bats.

Next Up

The Mets have Monday off before opening up a three-game set with the Washington Nationals. 

Clay Holmes (2.10 ERA, 1.033 WHIP in 30 innings) gets the ball for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. first pitch in Queens. Zack Littell (7.56 ERA, 1.680 WHIP in 25 innings, who leads baseball with 11 home runs allowed) goes for the visitors.

Michael King was dealing in the second game of the Mexico City Series between the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander completed six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. King took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fourth inning and did not allow a run until the bottom of the fifth inning when Jose Fernandez hit a solo home run to make the score, 6-1. King allowed the second run of the game to Arizona in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ildemaro Vargas hit another solo home run. San Diego held a 7-2 lead when King walked off the mound after the final out of the bottom of the sixth inning, but that was when the game got interesting as the Padres bullpen imploded and the result was an 12-7 loss at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu on Sunday.

David Morgan took over on the mound for the Padres and recorded a flyout to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Morgan then allowed three singles to load the bases before Tim Tawa hit a grand slam home run to left field that made the score, 7-6. The reliever left the game after just 1/3 of an inning and Bradgley Rodriguez came on to try to get the final two outs of the frame.

Rodriguez had his own struggles and allowed a leadoff double before getting a groundout for the second out of the inning. With a runner on third base, Rodriguez walked Corbin Carroll to put runners at the corners. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a double to left that scored two runs and gave the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead and robbed King of a potential win. Rodriguez got the final out of the inning when James McCann grounded out to second base, ending the six-run frame for Arizona.

Ron Marinaccio came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning for San Diego and allowed three consecutive singles to load the bases to open the inning. Tawa flied out to shallow left field, which prevented any movement from the runners and gave Vargas another opportunity to put runs on the board for Arizona. He did just that with a triple to right field which put the Diamondbacks ahead of the Padres, 11-7. Ketel Marte followed with a single to right field, which pushed the score to 12-7 and knocked Marinaccio out of the game.

Wandy Peralta was called on to get the final two outs of the inning for San Diego but allowed a single to Carroll to put runners on the corners with one out. Peralta then walked Gurriel Jr. to load the bases before he induced a ground ball off the bat of McCann that was fielded by Jake Cronenworth, who tagged the runner and threw to first base for a double play to end the inning.

The Padres brought the top of their lineup to the plate in the top of the ninth inning and Ramon Laureano led off with a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a lineout to right field and Jackson Merrill flied out to right field. With two outs and Laureano on base Manny Machado stepped to the plate and hit a line drive to third that was caught by a diving Nolan Arrenado to secure the win for the Diamondbacks.

Manny Machado was the offensive highlight of the game for both teams in the early innings. He hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning and followed that with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to give San Diego a 6-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth. The Diamondbacks got on the board in the bottom of the inning and the Padres answered in the top of the sixth when Luis Campusano hit a solo home run to push the lead to 7-1.

San Diego returns to Petco Park to take on the Chicago Cubs on Monday at 6:40 p.m.