Category: Sports News

SAN FRANCISCO — No, Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing was not trying to belittle the injury that Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee sustained in Tuesday’s game at Oracle Park.

On Wednesday, Rushing was asked about a clip that made the rounds (especially among Giants fans) the night before, when he appeared to say “f— ‘em” after Lee was slow to get up following a tag play at the plate.

Lee eventually left the game with a leg injury.

But Rushing insisted the moment was taken out of context.

“Hopefully he didn’t take it the way it was put out,” Rushing said. “I’ll be sure to say something to him face-to-face tomorrow, making sure he’s OK. There was nothing really directed at him. He’s a great guy.”

Rushing also said the internet’s attempted lip-reading of what he said wasn’t exactly accurate.

“I used a word, but it was not what [people thought] was said,” he insisted. “I’ll just leave it at that.”

Dalton Rushing said he was not directing anything toward Jung Hoo Lee in this moment last night. Didn't even realize in the moment Lee was hurt

"Hopefully, he didn’t take it the way it was put out. I’ll be sure to say something to him face-to-face tomorrow, making sure he’s OK." https://t.co/lTsFtJ9EGq

— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) April 22, 2026

The moment in question happened during the sixth inning Tuesday, when Lee attempted to score from first on a single by Helios Ramos.

A relay play from center fielder Alex Call to second baseman Alex Freeland easily beat Lee to the plate.

Still, Lee tried to slide around Rushing’s tag. As he did, his leg got caught underneath him, aggravating a quad injury he said he initially suffered last week.

Lee stayed down at the plate for a few moments after the out, which retired the side, was recorded — though he remained in the game for another inning before eventually being removed.

It was as Rushing was returning to the Dodgers’ dugout after the tag that a TV camera caught him looking back toward the plate, then dropping what many online observers believed to be the F-bomb.

The video went viral, fueled by long-heated emotions that accompany every rivalry meeting between the Dodgers and Giants. One post on X (formerly Twitter) received more than 1 million views.

“It’s social media, it’s fine,” Rushing said. “As long as he’s OK, and he doesn’t think I’m coming at him or any of those guys over there, that’s the biggest thing for me. I don’t care what other people put out there or say. I just want to play the game, play the game hard. That’s what I do every night.”

Rushing noted that he also checked with Dodgers infielder Hyeseong Kim, a fellow South Korean native who has been teammates with Lee in the World Baseball Classic, to make sure Lee was all right.

“He’s playing the game, he’s doing what his coach told him to do,” Rushing said. “Third base coach sent him, and he ran hard the whole way. It was kind of an awkward slide. That’s all it was. There wasn’t anything else added to it. I think it was just media making something out of nothing.”

San Diego Padres (16-7) at Colorado Rockies (9-15), April 22, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Coors Field – Denver, Colo.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads

The Colorado Rockies have mostly pitched well against the San Diego Padres in the five games played thus far this season. However, the Rockies are 0-5 against the Friars due to a lackluster offense that was on display in the 1-0 loss on Tuesday.

Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1, 3.92 ERA) performed well through his first couple of starts in a Rockies uniform before delivering his first clunker in purple. Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sugano allowed five runs on nine hits over four innings. Sugano has also now allowed a home run in each of his four starts, but has also managed 15 strikeouts against five walks in 20.2 innings of work. His last outing against the Padres on April 10 saw Sugano allow just two runs on four hits over six innings with three strikeouts on 81 pitches. The Rockies could certainly use a rebound outing for the veteran right-hander.

The Padres will send out Walker Buehler (1-1, 4.58 ERA) to take the mound. Buehler got off to a bit of a shaky start to the season through his first two outings, but his start on April 10 against the Rockies seemed to get him back on track. Buehler tossed six shutout innings, allowing just three hits with four strikeouts. In the following outing, he allowed two runs on five hits in five innings against the Seattle Mariners while striking out seven. The Rockies would likely hope that Buehler would replicate his last outing at Coors Field in 2024. In that game, Buehler allowed seven runs on seven hits in just four innings of work.

First Pitch: 6:40 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Padres SB Nation site: Gaslamp Ball

Lineups:

For the visiting Padres:

and the Rockies:

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

The White Sox are back at it tonight, looking to build on yesterday’s 11-5 win after consistently showing some life at the plate. Winners of three of their last four, the South Siders will try to string together another strong performance against the Diamondbacks. Last night was the first time they scored more than nine tallies over their first 23 games.

In every sense, Tuesday’s contest was a blast. Four home runs left the yard, including the chaos-filled, blink-and-you-miss-it inside-the-park homer from Sam Antonacci and Munetaka Murakami’s ninth bomb. For the fourth straight game, Chicago’s lineup actually resembled something functional.

Tonight’s cautious optimism starts with Anthony Kay. The southpaw (1-0, 2.60 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) has been solid through his first four appearances, even if he hasn’t quite provided length. His longest outing so far has been 5 2/3 innings, which means the bullpen has had to do plenty of heavy lifting. Still, he’s kept the Sox competitive, and at this point, that’s not nothing. If Kay can push a little deeper into the game while maintaining that effectiveness, the South Siders’ chances look a lot better.

On the other side, the Diamondbacks hand the ball to Eduardo Rodríguez, who has been exactly what you don’t want to see if you’re hoping for another offensive breakout. The lefty (1-0, 1.96 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) has been excellent through four outings, including a pair of quality starts. He’s limited damage, worked efficiently, and generally made life difficult for opposing hitters, holding opponents to a .218 BA. In other words, this isn’t exactly shaping up as another obvious “get-right” spot for the Sox offense, even if last night suggested they might be trending in that direction.

So the key question seems all too familiar. Is the 33-run offensive explosion over the last four games the start of something, or are we experiencing just a fun but brief detour? The good news is it took until May 2 for the club to win their ninth game last season, so we’re at least ahead of the curve there.

The Good Guys will once again try to piece together enough offense to support a starter who’s giving them a fighting chance.

Here’s how skipper Will Venable sends them out to face Rodríguez.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, will look to do what good teams tend to do — win with steady pitching, timely hits, and capitalizing on mistakes.

The first pitch is set for 8:40 p.m. CST. You can watch on CHSN or listen on ESPN 1000.

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Texas Rangers

Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

RHP Braxton Ashcraft vs. RHP Jack Leiter

Go Rangers!

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Texas Rangers, April 22, 8:05 p.m. ET

Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet

Pitching Matchup: Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. TBA

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today in the Lone Star State against the Texas Rangers looking to grab a win.

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
• Remember Bucs Dugout is basically a non-profanity site
• Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
• The commenting system was updated during the summer. They’re still working on optimizing it for Game Day Threads like ours. If you don’t like clicking “Load More Comments”, remember that the “Z” key can be your friend. It loads up the latest comments automatically.

BD community, this is your thread for today’s game against the Rangers. Enjoy!

In the wake of his disastrous performance in Tuesday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, left-hander Enmanuel de Jesus has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. RHP Burch Smith has been recalled. To open a spot for Smith on the 40-man roster, LHP Bailey Horn has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Horn had arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow over the offseason, and has dealt with some inflammation this spring. A brief rehab assignment in Lakeland was cut short after the inflammation returned, and he’ll be re-evaluated and won’t be eligible to return to action until late May.

As for de Jesus, he was the darling of spring camp, showing off a solid pitch mix and excellent command both in Grapefruit League action and in the World Baseball Classic for Team Venezuela. The Tigers selected his contract late in spring training as de Jesus had an opt-out clause looming and other teams were starting to inquire on him.

However, that command has been lacking since the season began. The strikeouts were plentiful and he still hasn’t allowed a home run yet, so the potential for him as he transitions from a starter in South Korea’s KBO to a major league reliever is pretty obvious. That potential ran off the road on Tuesday night in Detroit.

De Jesus entered the game with two outs in the sixth inning in relief of Keider Montero. He promptly carved up Garrett Mitchell with a pair of well located fastballs for strikes, and then a nasty cutter that got the swinging strikeout. However, in the seventh inning, de Jesus had a thorough and comprehensive meltdown.

After two fairly loud outs to start the inning, David Hamilton singled, and de Jesus followed that by walking Blake Perkins. Unfortunately, after picking off Hamilton at second, de Jesus started to do the right thing and charge the baserunner, but then hastily threw to shortstop Kevin McGonigle and sailed the throw into the outfield. A pair of singles followed, knocking in two runs, and de Jesus was visibly frustrated with himself through the rest of the inning, which ended on a ground out.

De Jesus is a 29-year-old pitcher who has played around the world. He knows how to field his position, and he should know how to settle himself down after a mistake. Instead, he came back out in the eighth, gave up back-to-back triples and then failed to break for first on a grounder to Spencer Torkelson that would have really helped the cause had de Jesus been on time to first base. He was not, and the inning spiraled into a seven-run debacle that saw Connor Seabold enter in a bases loaded situation and struggle as well.

Obviously, the key issue with de Jesus has been command. He and fellow KBO import Drew Anderson have both struggled to get ahead of hitters and spot their full pitch mix. There’s reason to understand that, as neither are particularly used to relief work, and the KBO ball is made to have some tackiness to the cover and has slightly higher seams. They aren’t the first pitchers to need some time to adapt. However, they were both in spring camp since mid-February, if not sooner, and you can only have so much time to get comfortable with the change. Pitchers who followed this route like Miles Mikolas or Erick Fedde, had some issues but they didn’t extend much into the regular season.

But the real issue, and what got de Jesus optioned, I suspect, was the mental error of letting the issues pile up on his mind, affecting his awareness and performance. That just can’t happen to this degree. De Jesus has never really had any control issues, and while no one expects him to be a closer tier reliever, his stuff is plenty good enough to keep major league hitters in check. The fact that his command disappeared and the metrics on his stuff even took a hit after the mistake in the seventh, speaks to the fact that he boiled over internally. Now he’ll get some time in Toledo to think about things and try to settle back in.

In his place I tended to expect RHP Ricky Nolasco, who has been outstanding for the Toledo Mud Hens early on. On the other hand, the 33-year-old Smith has likewise been nearly unhittable and hasn’t walked a batter in 10 innings of work. He also offers a little more of a unique look to hitters than Nolasco provides in comparison to the rest of the Tigers’ bullpen. Smith also has 247 1/3 innings of maajor league experience, which Nolasco definitely does not.

The Tigers still have Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter in their bullpen, so they’re fine in terms of left-handers. Hopefully Smith can add some quality length to the bullpen and help the Tigers out in the middle innings. They certainly could use some assistance in that regard.

Logan Gilbert is probably thanking his lucky stars he’s OK after a 108 mph screamer came right at him on the mound.

But he might be bummed that the comebacker that got stuck in his jersey was ruled a hit.

Gilbert, starting for the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon, saw a first-inning line drive — officially clocked at 107.8 mph — off the bat of the A’s Carlos Cortes slip in between the buttons of his jersey and get stuck inside his top.

#Mariners Logan Gilbert "caught" a 107.8 mph comebacker with his jersey. That's a first.

It is ruled a base hit. pic.twitter.com/iTsWOgvqtp

— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) April 22, 2026

The right-hander tried to locate the ball but had trouble finding it before realizing it was stuck in the confines of his white Mariners home uniform.

He was checked out on the mound by manager Dan Wilson and trainer Kyle Torgerson before he remained in the game.

However, per Major League Baseball rules, a catch must be made with a glove or bare hand “providing he does not use his cap, protector, pocket or any other part of his uniform in getting possession.”

In this case, the jersey helped him gain possession of the ball, so Cortes was credited with a single, while Shea Langaliers, the runner at first, was placed at second, while Nick Kurtz, who was at third, remained there — due to an umpire crew judgement call — to load the bases.

With the bases loaded and one out, Tyler Soderstrom brought in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly before Jeff McNeil brought in another with an RBI single.

Gilbert, a 2024 American League All-Star, lasted four innings, yielding three runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts. His ERA stands at 4.36 for the season.