The San Diego Padres are returning to Petco Park today after a wonderful stretch for the Friars on the road.

After starting off the season 2-4, they won both away series and are coming back to San Diego sitting at .500. The vibes are high after their 8-2 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday.

With a pitcher’s duel going through six-plus innings between starters Michael King and Mitch Keller, the Friars put up a four-run seventh inning. It was a lead they wouldn’t surrender, despite King and Kyle Hart allowing two runs in the bottom of the seventh to the Bucs.

The game reminded the Friar Faithful who the Padres are. Their pitching mostly dominated, the offense hammered mistakes and they were aggressive on the base paths.

With a four-game series against the division-rival Colorado Rockies starting today, San Diego will look to capitalize on their momentum.

Taking the mound

Jimmy Herget (COL) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

With José Quintana scratched after landing on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, the Rockies didn’t announce their starting pitcher until today.

They’ll likely make it a bullpen game after ace Michael Lorenzen pitched 5 2/3 innings against the Houston Astros in Colorado’s 9-1 win yesterday. Jimmy Herget will lead off the group.

The Rockies’ bullpen has been quite good through the first two weeks of the season, posting a 2.91 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. It would be a surprise if San Diego can’t find a solution for their division rivals, with them going 10-3 against Colorado last season.

However, in the past the Friars have (for whatever reason) had difficulty beating the struggling Rox. They did a good job last year putting those woes to bed, hopefully they can tonight as well.

Vásquez has shown flashes of bonafide ace stuff in his first two starts for the club. In 12 innings pitched, he has a 0.75 ERA with only one run allowed thus far.

Vásquez was a back-end starter for the Padres going into this year, but he’s pitching like a front-end one. He’s managed to stymie a Detroit Tigers lineup that, two days earlier, tagged Nick Pivetta for six runs.

There’s nothing to suggest he can’t handle this Rockies lineup just like he did the Tigers and the Boston Red Sox already this year. But, if Vásquez does stumble, the bullpen is rested well enough to dominate.

Batter up!

With Manny Machado getting a rest day yesterday, he’ll be back at the hot corner tonight. But Miguel Andujar had a great day in his place, going 2-for-4 at the plate. This road trip has been great for Andujar, after ending the homestand with a .167 batting average, he’s since raised it to .310 in the last six games.

But Nick Castellanos was also great yesterday (1 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB). This is exactly what San Diego had in mind when they signed Castellanos and Andujar: make it difficult to not have them in the lineup:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Nick Castellanos, 1B
8. Freddy Fermin, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

If the offense can keep it rolling after pounding out 24 hits against Pittsburgh, they’ll be able to solve the Rockies’ pitching staff easily.

Relief corps

King went six full innings yesterday and came back out for the seventh before giving up back-to-back hits. That forced manager Craig Stammen’s hand and he was lifted in favor of Kyle Hart. Hart looked a little shaky but managed to get out relatively unscathed (1 H, 1 BB).

Behind him was Jeremiah Estrada in the eighth inning and closer Mason Miller in the ninth. Estrada looked more like his usual dominant self despite his recent lackluster performances.

Miller’s strikeout streak came to an end at 11 with Jake Mangum’s game-ending groundout, but he has still yet to allow a run in 26 2/3 innings.

Today’s game will likely see Bradgley Rodriguez, Wandy Peralta, Ron Marinaccio, Adrian Morejon and David Morgan available out of the ‘pen.

Morejon has struggled lately, and that was highlighted by his inability to get more than one out in Tuesday’s 1-7 loss to the Pirates. If he can begin to rebound from his (thus far) dull performance, it will go a long way towards assuaging worries about his relief appearances.

Miller will likely be available as well to close even though he pitched yesterday. He was efficient, only throwing 10 pitches, and the Friars have shown a willingness to use him in consecutive games.

The Yankees fell to the Athletics by a score of 1-0 on Thursday afternoon, dropping the rubber match of the three-game series.

Here are the takeaways...

-- With lefty Jeffrey Springs on the mound, Aaron Boone changed things up with the lineup. Amed Rosario led off, playing second base, and Randal Grichuk got the start in left. Of note, Paul Goldschmidt did not get the start at first base against the lefty, with Ben Rice getting the nod. Boone said before the game that with the Yanks facing lefties in three of their next four games, Goldschmidt will see plenty of playing time.

But the Yankees had no answers for Springs. The former Ray held them hitless through the first five innings, allowing just one walk and striking out four during that span. 

Finally, after 6.1 innings of no-hit ball, Ben Rice came through with a single through the right side, which followed a Giancarlo Stanton walk to put a couple of runners on base. The A's got out of it, though, as Austin Wells flew out with a pair of runners in scoring position to end the threat.

Springs went 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out six and walking a pair. He lowered his season ERA to 1.47.

--The A’s lineup suffered a blow early, as right fielder Brent Rooker appeared to tweak something in either his back or side when swinging at a pitch in the first inning. Rooker, the three-hole hitter, had to be removed from the game and replaced by Lawrence Butler.

--Ryan Weathers, who has gotten off to an inconsistent start to his Yankees career, looked sharp early. The lefty started the game with three scoreless innings, striking out three while allowing just two hits. 

Weathers and Springs traded zeros through the first six innings, but Weathers allowed a leadoff triple to Max Muncy to start the seventh. Tyler Soderstrom cashed in with an RBI single, putting the first run on the board for either team.

Weathers turned in what was easily his best start as a Yankee, going 8.0 innings while allowing just one earned run on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

-- The Yankees finished with just one hit, and have just two hits total since the first inning of Wednesday's game.

Highlights

They call it the hot corner for a reason 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/TdWddMPbSc

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 9, 2026

Aaron Judge catches Nick Kurtz sleeping for the inning-ending double play pic.twitter.com/VrxI1aNScF

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 9, 2026

A hit pic.twitter.com/r7QtZsSgHu

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 9, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Yankees head to Tampa for three games against the Rays, beginning on Friday at 7:10 p.m.

Luis Gil faces Steven Matz in the series-opener.

The Royals continued to shuffle their bullpen Thursday, adding relievers Eli Morgan and Mitch Spence from Triple-A Omaha, while sending Luinder Avila and Steven Cruz down. Avila and Cruz each pitched extensively in Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland. Morgan was up last Saturday as the 27th man for the doubleheader against Milwaukee, pitching three scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Morgan has pitched parts of five seasons with the Guardians and Cubs before this season, posting a 4.15 ERA in 275.2 innings, mostly as a reliever. His best year came in 2024 when he posted a 1.93 ERA, although he pitched in just 32 games. He pitched in just seven games last year before he injured his elbow in April and missed the rest of the season. The Royals signed the 29-year-old as a minor league free agent this past winter.

Spence was acquired from the Athletics in a trade for minor league reliever A.J. Causey. He has pitched parts of the last two seasons with the Athletics, mostly as a starter, with a 4.77 ERA in 236 innings. Last year he made 24 relief appearances and 8 starts, with a 5.10 ERA in 84.2 innings. He gave up just one unearned run over five innings in his only start for Omaha this year.

Avila has given up 14 hits, 4 walks and six runs in six innings with the Royals. He is ranked as the #9 prospect in the farm system and the team considers him a future top-of-the-rotation starter. Cruz has given up eight runs in five innings for a 14.40 ERA, with four home runs allowed, tied for the most in the league.

If you’ve ever been to a game at Coors Field and wondered what that’s song, say, Willi Castro is walking up to, and the clip is too short to Shazam, Reader, I am here to answer your questions.

Below are (most of) the 2026 music selections of the Colorado Rockies.

Zach Agnos — Jacob Banks’ “Chainsmoking” (from the beginning)

Jordan Beck — A$AP Rocky’s “Everyday” (:16-:32)

Willi Castro— Crazy DesignRD’s “Porón Pompón” (:04)

Chase Dollander — Kai Uriah’s “Bound 2 Be” (from the beginning)

Brenton Doyle — Bad Wolves’ “Zombie Bad Wolves” (1:03)

Tyler Freeman — Cody Johnson’s “Dear Rodeo” (:52)

Hunter Goodman — Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t” (0:59)

Jimmy Herget — BigXThaPlug’s “Back on my BS” (from the beginning)

Jaden Hill — YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Bruce Wayne” (Best Clean Version from YouTube) (1:02)

Troy Johnston — Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” (0:03)

Edouard Julien — GIMS and Le Mano 1.9’s “Parisienne” (0:30)

Kyle Karros — Toro & Moi’s “The Difference Flume” (0:36)

Michael Lorenzen — KB’s “10k” (from the beginning)

Jake McCarthy — Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” (6:40)

Juan Mejia — Juan Luis Guerra’s “Soldado” (from the beginning)

Mickey Moniak — Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” (from the beginning)

José Quintana — La Moral’s “Criss 7 Ronny, lil Silvo” (from the beginning)

T.J. Rumfield — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark” (0:41)

Tomoyuki Sugano — HUNTR/X’s “Golden” (0:55)

Brett Sullivan — Big X Tha Plug’s “Holy Ground” (0:26)

Ezequiel Tovar — Rawayana’s “Inglés en Miami” (0:37)

Victor Vodnik — 2Pac’s “Ambitionz AZ A Riddah” (from the beginning)

We’ll try to keep this list updated throughout the season.

Let us know your favorites (or musical suggestions!) in the comments.

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

What's really behind Phillies' recent offensive drought originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The four-run seventh inning of Monday’s game at Oracle Park feels like forever ago.

That’s because the Phillies have not scored a run since then — 20 consecutive scoreless innings without one.

“Has it been that long?” Bryce Harper asked reporters after yet another shutout loss in San Francisco, sounding genuinely thrown by the number.

When the Phillies embarked on this West Coast trip after last Thursday’s electrifying comeback win, capped by Justin Crawford’s walk-off hit against the Nationals, it felt like the offense had some life again.

When they got to Colorado, they wasted no time carrying that momentum with them. They hung a statement seven-run first inning on the Rockies. Eleven batters came to the plate. They saw 44 pitches. It was an offensive clinic.

And yet, from that point on, the lineup has looked like a different group.

The Phillies did win the series in Colorado, but after that first inning, they scored only six runs over the final 26 innings against one of baseball’s weakest pitching staffs. Then they went farther west and into San Francisco, where they fell behind 4-0 through four innings in the opener before clawing all the way back behind six unanswered runs.

That game, more than anything, now looks like the exception.

Since that first inning in Denver, the Phillies have scored just 12 runs in 53 innings. That is the fewest in baseball over that span. They are batting .199 with a .574 OPS in the stretch, the third-lowest OPS in the sport.

So where is the real problem?

Recently, it has not been the top of the order.

That group was the main topic through the first six games of the season, all played at home. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper finished that first week slashing .164/.256/.315, a .571 OPS.

Over the last six games on the road, that same trio has slashed .302/.436/.508, a .944 OPS.

That is a massive swing, and it’s key, because the easiest storyline early on was that the stars at the top had not started hitting. Right now, that is not where the offense is breaking down. And it is hard to pin it on the bottom, either.

The Phillies have gotten quality at-bats from the last two spots in the order, mostly J.T. Realmuto and Crawford. Those lineup spots have combined for the second-highest on-base percentage in baseball at .362, trailing only the Dodgers.

That leaves the middle. More specifically, it leaves the fourth through seventh spots.

On the season, those spots are slashing .199/.256/.306, almost identical to what the offense has looked like during this recent dry spell. And when you split it apart further, the picture gets clearer.

Adolis García, who has spent time in that section of the lineup, has not been the issue. Neither has Brandon Marsh. García owns a .738 OPS. Marsh is at .727. Both have looked like contributors.

The bigger issue has been Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, who have primarily occupied the cleanup and fifth spots. Bohm is hitting .186 with a .550 OPS. Stott is hitting .167 with a .405 OPS, the fourth-lowest mark among qualified National League hitters.

That is where the offense has bogged down. Oddly enough, though, there is a caveat.

One issue that has been there since day one is the Phillies’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position. The club is batting .200 in those spots, second-worst in the league.

But the team’s two best hitters in those situations so far, even in a small sample, are Bohm and Stott.

Bohm is hitting .333 with runners in scoring position. Stott is at .250.

So the criticism of that four-five pocket is fair, but it is not as simple as saying those two have been the reason the Phillies have not scored. In the spots that matter most, they have actually been among the better producers.

The issue is that the lineup has not clicked in order. Too often, when one section has gotten going, another has stalled. That is why Rob Thomson’s postgame comments Wednesday were worth paying attention to. He did not sound like someone ready to overreact. But he also did not sound like someone ruling out a tweak.

When asked if he might shake up the lineup after the off day, he said, “Yeah, a little bit. I might.”

That is important because the likely changes are not hard to see.

García can move into the cleanup spot. Marsh, against right-handed pitching, can slide into the fifth spot. Bohm and Stott can each move down a couple of slots.

And if García and Marsh keep getting on, that could put Bohm and Stott in the exact situations where they have actually had success so far — with traffic on the bases and less pressure to be the engines of the offense.

A major topic all offseason was how to give Harper more right-handed protection in the middle of the order. Dave Dombrowski’s answer was García on a one-year prove-it deal worth $10 million.

Thomson, though, has long preferred a contact-oriented run producer like Bohm in the four-hole. That is understandable. It is also why this part of the season is magnified. It is where roles start to sort themselves out.

García’s biggest problem over the last two seasons has not been bat speed or power. It has been patience and pitch selection. His average chase rate over that stretch was 34.7 percent. His swing rate sat at 52.1 percent. His in-zone contact rate was 78.5 percent.

This year, in a smaller sample, the changes are real. He is chasing at just a 29.8 percent clip, swinging 48.2 percent of the time and making contact on in-zone pitches at an 87.5 percent rate. Those improvements mirror the progress he made in spring training, when he walked eight times and struck out only five.

If García can maintain that, and if Marsh continues doing what he has always done against right-handers, the middle of the order could start to look a lot more functional.

But that is the point. “Could.”

The Phillies are 6-6. They are playing .500 baseball. They are only 1.5 games out of first in the NL East. This is not a crisis piece. It should not be one. They’re just 12 games in.

Harper, looking at the bigger picture, put it plainly after Wednesday’s shutout loss in San Francisco.

“We have to be that team,” he said. “Because if we’re not, then we’re not going to be where we want to be at the end.”

That is probably the right way to read this. And a slump like this did happen last year.

The last time the Phillies were shut out for more than 20 straight innings was last June, when they went 26 innings without scoring against the Mets and Astros. Their next game, they scored 13 runs in Atlanta.

The Phillies and Thomson could certainly use one of those nights when they get back to home and face the Diamondbacks on Friday night. And if the skipper does make a tweak, it will not be because the lineup is broken.

It will be because right now, it just is not clicking in the right order.

Welcome to The California Post’s weekly Dodgers main recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was –– publishing every Thursday.

TORONTO –– What became a controversial subplot in Game 7 of the World Series last fall has reemerged as a recurring storyline in this season’s early weeks.

For virtually every other pitcher in Major League Baseball, the rules about warming up for an inning are simple: A two-minute timer begins with the conclusion of the previous half-inning. If they’re not ready to face the leadoff batter by then, they risk incurring an automatic ball via pitch-clock violation.

For Shohei Ohtani, however, there is one loophole only he can really exploit.

As stated on the league’s website: “If the pitcher is on base, on deck or at-bat when the (previous) inning ends, the timer begins when the pitcher leaves the dugout for the mound.”

That modification, of course, wasn’t created explicitly for the Dodgers’ two-way star. In rare situations, a handful of pitchers still get at-bats each season.

Still, given there’s only one pitcher who hits full time in the majors anymore, it might as well be called the Ohtani Caveat.

“If you’re on the other side, you’re trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But the truth is, he’s different.”

Thus, don’t expect his routine to change soon.

Just like in Game 7 last year –– when he took his sweet time getting to the mound between innings, frustrating Blue Jays players and coaches wondering why he was granted so much leeway –– Ohtani has capitalized upon the carve-out during his first two pitching starts this season.

If he was at-bat, on base or on deck the previous half-inning, the clock has automatically been reset to two minutes once he reemerges from the dugout. Even if it takes most of the original two minutes for him to get out there.

On both occasions, the dynamic did not seem to go unnoticed by Dodgers opponents. Last week, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt came out to talk to an umpire the first time the clock was reset for Ohtani. On Wednesday, in Ohtani’s return to Rogers Centre to face the Blue Jays, it was veteran slugger George Springer who seemed to check with the crew about Ohtani’s added warm-up time.

Some drama between the #BlueJays and #Dodgers.

George Springer approached HP umpire Dan Bellino to inquire about the amount of warmup time for Shohei Ohtani.

Dave Roberts was visibly annoyed in the dugout.

(: @sportsnet) #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/HwghO9tdnQ

— Daniele Franceschi (@Daniele_Media) April 8, 2026

When asked about it postgame, Roberts said he could “understand their gripe.” However, he countered by referencing Ohtani’s unique two-way job title, arguing that “there’s got to be some grace, which I think the umpires are giving him.”

How much it really helps Ohtani is another question altogether. On the one hand, he’s only really getting an extra minute or two per start (time that is mostly spent in the dugout changing out of his batting gear anyway). On the other, any extra breather might make a difference for the 31-year-old right-hander, who said Wednesday he was battling some fatigue at the end of a long road trip.

Either way, MLB’s rules are clear –– which means the Dodgers won’t apologize even if it’s disproportionately helping their four-time MVP.

As Roberts said, Ohtani is different, right down to the way in which the rulebook applies to him.

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Christian Scott's second start of the year for Triple-A Syracuse went a lot better than his first.

The Mets right-hander, who is continuing to stretch out innings-wise after being out since September of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, fired five scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out seven.

Scott's four-seam fastball, which he relied on heavily, topped out at 97.2 mph. He also threw plenty of sweepers while mixing in his cutter and split-change.

Four of Scott's strikeouts came when he got batters to chase his sweeper, while one came looking on a slider. The other two came swinging on four-seamers. 

There wasn't much hard contact against Scott, who threw 76 pitches (52 strikes).

The 26-year-old impressed during spring training, when he had his first game action since 2024.

Along with Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger, Scott is a vital part of the Mets' starting pitching depth, and should impact the major league club at some point this season.

If the Mets have a need and Scott is performing well, it's possible he will be the first pitcher called upon. 

Tong has only made five career starts at Triple-A and is working to refine his secondary pitches, while Wenninger has yet to make his big league debut (and is not on the 40-man roster). 

The Mets, who are not planning to go to a six-man rotation any time soon, are using a five-man rotation that consists of Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Kodai Senga.

After tossing 5.1 shutout innings in his first start of the season, Peterson has struggled, allowing 11 runs (six earned) on 15 hits over his last two starts spanning 9.1 innings.

Manager Carlos Mendoza addressed Peterson's difficulties after Wednesday's game, saying the club was not considering a change in the rotation.

Peterson, who has been jumped by hitters early in counts a lot in his last two outings, believes part of his issue has been pitch sequencing.

Right-hander Christian Scott was excellent in his second start for Triple-A Syracuse

5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. He threw 76 pitches (52 strikes) and generated 14 swing & misses

His fastball touched 97.2 mph and he also threw his sweeper, gyro slider and split-change pic.twitter.com/zI3ZECAhML

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) April 9, 2026