Category: Sports News

The Dodgers were on the verge of ending their first road trip undefeated, but the Blue Jays rallied against the bullpen for three unanswered runs to avoid being swept as the Dodgers fell 4-3.

Before Shohei Ohtani took the mound for the second time this season, he drew a lead-off walk to extend his on-base streak to 43 games, tying Ichiro for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player. His on-base streak is now tied for sixth for the longest such streak in Dodgers history. Kyle Tucker followed Ohtani with a walk of his own to put the first two men on base with no outs, but Toronto starter Dylan Cease struck out Will Smith for his first out and induced a line-drive double play from Freddie Freeman to end the threat.

Ohtani was in danger of having his scoreless streak snapped as he allowed a pair of singles to George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but he was able to get Jesús Sánchez to pop out on a 3-0 count and struck out Kazuma Okamoto to keep Toronto off the board.

After a scoreless second inning, the Blue Jays proceeded to snap Ohtani’s scoreless streak at 25 1/3 innings as Sánchez lined a two-out RBI double down the left field line to give Toronto their first lead of the series.

The Dodgers were left struggling for answers against Cease after the first inning walks, as they went down quietly over three innings until Smith reached on an infield single in the top of the fourth, advancing to second on a throwing error from Okamoto. Freeman brought him home with a single up the middle to give him his team-leading 13th RBI and erase a short-lived Toronto lead.

The Dodgers got to Cease to begin the top of the sixth inning, as he allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Cease was pulled after 96 pitches and he was accounted for a Teoscar Hernández sacrifice fly off of Louis Varland to put the Dodgers back in front by a run.

The Blue Jays threatened against Ohtani in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Guerrero lined a lead-off double to put the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Sánchez followed Guerrero with a hard ground ball to Rojas at short, but he gunned down the lead runner at third for the first out, and Ohtani kept Toronto at bay to end his day on the mound. It was another quality start for Ohtani, and he maintains a spotless earned runs average after allowing just the unearned run. His two strikeouts on Wednesday are a career low for any start of at least six innings in his big league career.

Game 7 heroes Miguel Rojas and Smith combined to give the Dodgers an insurance run in the top of the seventh, with the latter driving an RBI single up the middle against Tyler Rogers to make it a two-run game.

Jack Dreyer came in to face the bottom of Toronto’s lineup in the bottom of the seventh inning, and he faced trouble early by walking Davis Schneider and allowing a single to Tyler Heineman to put the tying run on base. George Springer narrowly missed hitting an opposite field go-ahead home run, but still connected for his second RBI double of the series to bring the Blue Jays to within a run. Dalton Varsho got Cease off the hook for the loss with a base hit up the middle to tie the game at three and knock Dreyer out of the game.

Blake Treinen came in to face the righty Guerrero, but walked him on four pitches to load the bases and put the go-ahead run at third. He bounced back to strike out Sánchez for the second out and then got Okamoto to roll over to third to keep the game tied.

Ben Casparius took over in the bottom of the eighth inning, and after getting Ernie Clement to fly out on one pitch, he walked Schneider and allowed a base hit to Andrés Giménez to put men on the corners, once again with the go-ahead run at third. Giménez took off for second base on a 1-0 pitch to Brandon Valenzuela, and Smith’s throw kicked away from Rojas, allowing Schneider to score and giving the Blue Jays the lead.

Kyle Tucker connected for his second straight single against closer Jeff Hoffman to put the tying run on first base with one out in the top of the ninth inning, and Smith walked to put the potential go-ahead run on base. Hoffman got Freeman to strike out on a high fastball and induced a weak ground ball from Max Muncy as the Dodgers suffered their first defeat away from home in 2026.

It was a rare struggling performance from the red-hot Andy Pages, as he went 0-4 with four strikeouts while snapping an eight-game hit streak dating back to March 30.

Three runs are the lowest total the Dodgers have had in any road game this year, although they are still averaging 8.67 runs per game away from Dodger Stadium. Now they’re set to return back home, where they last struggled mightily against the Cleveland Guardians combining for just seven runs in the three-game series.

Game particulars

• WP— Tyler Rogers (1-0): 1 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
• LP— Ben Casparius (0-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
• SV— Jeff Hoffman (2): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are off on Thursday but are back at home to open a three-game series with the Texas Rangers on Friday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tyler Glasnow kicks off the series for the Dodgers against right-hander Kumar Rocker.

The base runners were there. The result? Same old story.

White Sox lose 5-3 to the Orioles, swept again, because of course they are. Sean Burke did his best Houdini act, chewing through 23 pitches in a clean first. More traffic in the second — plunked a guy, walked another, but somehow left them both standing. It was ugly, but it kept the Sox in it.

For a hot second, the bats woke up in the second. Colson Montgomery whiffed, but Andrew Benintendi smoked a triple, Dustin Harris knocked him in, swiped a bag, and scored on Luisangel Acuña’s single. With the bases loaded and one out, a double play killed the rally. They scored two runs, but you could already feel the missed chance hanging in the air.

Naturally, the lead vanished. Burke handed out a free pass to Gunnar Henderson; Tyler Ward doubled him home; wild pitch; groundout; tie game. Blink, and the lead’s gone.

The South Siders snatched the lead back in the fifth, and it was pure White Sox. Walk, walk, another walk, bases loaded. Then Rutschman lobs one back to the mound, Bradish boots it, and Meidroth sneaks home. Free run, thank you very much. Didn’t matter. The lead was gone before you could even enjoy it.

Burke’s afternoon: five innings, two runs, nothing flashy, but he did his job. Then, the bullpen comes in, and the lead walks out the door.

Lucas Sims took a winnable spot and set it on fire with a double, single, and walk to load the bases. Will Venable yanked him for Bryan Hudson, but it was already unraveling. Passed ball, tie game. Sac fly, Orioles up for good.

The Sox had their chances, but don’t they always? Traffic in the sixth and seventh, Vargas bunts his way on, Montgomery takes one for the team, but the bats go silent. Eighth inning? Three up, three down. Just enough left for one last cruel tease in the ninth.

Tyler Schweitzer made his debut and looked a little jittery, but he flashed something. Then, back-to-back doubles in the ninth for an insurance run that nobody needed but everyone expected.

Down two in the ninth, the Sox mock us with a pulse. Tristan Peters walks, Miguel Vargas walks, tying run up in Montgomery. You already know: soft roller, game over. Going 3-for-11 with RISP and striking out 12 times usually isn’t going to go well. And it didn’t.

The White Sox are now 4-8, and honestly, that feels generous. The problems aren’t rocket science as the bullpen coughs up leads, the lineup leaves runners everywhere, and close games are just a formality. Remember when they were 4-5? Feels like ancient history.

No day off tomorrow as the team heads to Kansas City for a four-game trip. The boys haven’t won on the Royals’ home turf in I don’t know, 100 years? It will be Anthony Kay against Seth Lugo to kick off the series at 6:40 p.m. CST. See you then!

Ready for Round 2? The A’s and Yankees are set to go at it again tonight in New York. The Green & Gold dropped the first game yesterday evening in heartbreaking fashion with another late-game meltdown so the club will try to run through the finish line in their second try against the team with the best record in the sport.

On the bump tonight for the good guys will be Luis Severino. The right-hander will be going up against the team he began his big league career and spent the first decade-plus with. The Athletics’ Opening Day starter was good in his first game of the year but struggled in his most recent outing, not even able to give four full innings in a loss to the Braves. In two career starts against his former team (both coming last year), Sevy has gotten rocked for 15 runs in just 7 2/3 innings so he’ll be looking to conquer his old team.

The starting nine tonight looks like this:

Mostly the same regular lineup, save for one change from yesterday’s order. Center field will be manning by Lawrence Butler this evening, spelling Denzel Clarke up the middle. That means we’ll see backup outfielder Carlos Cortes draw another start tonight.

The Yankees meanwhile will have right-handed Will Warren on the mound for tonight’s game. He’s off to a quick start this year allowing just three runs in his first two starts. The A’s will hope to give Warren his first bump in his season. They’ve had some poor performances against his in the past though as he’s only allowed one run against the A’s in two starts.

The Yankee lineup tonight:

The A’s did well holding down this potent offense for most of the game last night. Will they be able to do it again? Tall task for the boys tonight but we got this. Let’s go A’s!

Every baseball game has a story. That’s what makes the game so great. Here were some of the narratives working their way through my head as we entered today’s Orioles-White Sox contest:

Will the Orioles get back to .500 and keep pace in the AL East?

Will the offense find itself against a bad Chicago rotation?

Does a post-Tommy John Kyle Bradish still have his ace stuff?

Well, we have some answers for you: Yes. Sort of (Ward and Henderson look pretty amazing). And I think so, but it’s still a work in progress.

Of those queries, the stuff and health of Bradish may be most important. Entering today, the one-time Top 5 Cy Young Award finisher hadn’t quite been himself, with an 0-2 record, a 6.23 ERA, and a 6.23 BB/9 rate in two starts. Today, he was better, but you can tell he doesn’t feel 100%. Bradish threw five innings on 96 pitches, allowed three runs (two earned), struck out seven, walked three, and also made two errors (totally gratuitous—more on those later).

But this was enough, as the Orioles scored four runs off Chicago starter Sean Burke, added a fifth in the ninth, and a bullpen outfit of Tyler Wells, Grant Wolfram, Anthony Nunez and Rico García held the line. The result gave the Birds their first series sweep of 2026, and pushed them back to the .500 mark, at 6-6. Things feel much better in Birdland right now.

Bradish managed to complete five innings today, which is progress. But he won’t be happy with this one, either. The second inning is becoming a thing for him: he allowed four runs his last time out against Pittsburgh, all in the second, and the Second-Inning Blues continued today, as the White Sox scored two off Bradish on five consecutive hits, and the results really could have been worse.

With one out, Bradish hung a slider to Andrew Benintendi, who tripled into the right-field corner while outfielder Tyler O’Neill tried to fish the ball out, looking like somebody rummaging around in the toolshed for a screwdriver. Chicago’s five-through-nine hitters made it 2-0 with the bases loaded, and it felt like Bradish was spiraling. But then, the gods smiled on him: Chase Meidroth grounded into a double play, getting us out of the inning and keeping the lead to just two.

This was key, as the O’s immediately tied the game the next inning. As on Tuesday, when Blaze Alexander, Taylor Ward, and Gunnar Henderson led a game-winning rally, it was the Birds’ hottest hitters who got the job done. In the leadoff spot, Gunnar Henderson walked, setting up No. 2 hitter Taylor Ward, who responded with a run-scoring double (the first of three today). A wild pitch moved Ward over, and a productive grounder by Adley Rutschman brought him home.

Bradish left the game furious after giving back a third run in the fifth, one of the strangest runs you’ll see. After walking two batters with two outs, he walked a third, Colson Montgomery, by a hair, to load the bases. A frustrated Bradish turned his back while catcher Adley Rutschman tossed the ball back to him, only to see it roll off his glove, and into the grass. As the runner on third took off for home, Bradish finally realized his mistake, fired way wide of the plate, and now the White Sox had a 3-2 lead. It was stupid. A run-by-tantrum, if you will.

Baseball is weird, though, because while Bradish left the game frustrated, he also left as the winning pitcher, courtesy of a rally the next inning off Chicago’s Sean Burke. Pete Alonso’s one-out hustle double (coupled with a dive into the second base bag) lit the way. “Let go of that anchor and get there, big fella!” said Ben McDonald from the booth, inimitably. Echoed Kevin Brown, “A belly flop for the Polar Bear!” Then Taylor Ward reached on an infield single and Ryan Mountcastle loaded the bases on a walk. The White Sox went to Bryan Hudson, a sidearming lefty, against rookie Dylan Beavers, and it backfired as Hudson fired one that got by the catcher. Alonso scored, showing more hustle. Then Beavers gave the Birds their first lead with a solidly hit sac fly.  

Now, it was time for the bullpen to try to make a 4-3 lead stand. This is not something you can take for granted these days, especially with closer Ryan Helsley out of action today. But they made it work.

First came Tyler Wells for the sixth, and it was a really weird inning. He walked Dustin Harris, gave up a stolen base, which the O’s lost their last challenge of the day contesting. Then Wells threw an inside pitch to Chicago catcher Reese McGuire, who tapped his left arm, alleging he’d been hit, and took first base. I didn’t see any contact, and neither did the MASN booth. Would the dugout have challenged this call if they could have? The world will never know, because two flyouts made the question moot, and got us out of the inning.

Grant Wolfram hit a batter and allowed a bunt single in the seventh, but he got a crucial double play to end the inning: Gunnar-to-Blaze-to-Mounty (just like Tinker to Evers to Chance, but with sunglasses, and more facial hair).

After him, Anthony Nunez continued his charmed rookie season with a clean eighth inning, aided by a great pick-and-throw by Gunnar, and a high swinging strikeout.

The Orioles scored a huge insurance run in the ninth with back-to-back doubles from Gunnar and Ward against the Sox’s Tyler Schweitzer, freshly added to the Chicago roster. That Ward-for-Grayson-Rodriguez trade in the offseason starts to look better when your outfielder is hitting .383 and leading the league in doubles (9).

That left only the ninth. In at closer for the first time in his MLB career, Rico Garcia turned in a ridiculous performance—I mean that in the best way possible. He opened the inning with seven straight balls, looking completely lost, then struck out two in a row, walked another guy, then got a groundout to end the game before things got cockeyed. Congrats on your first career save, Rico!

The Orioles offense is still a mysterious thing, the bullpen is weird, and Kyle Bradish’s command is still a work in progress. But you know, the team is back to .500 and working with something like momentum after handling the White Sox this last series.

So who is your Most Birdland Player of the Game? A gritty Bradish, showing improvement? Rico García with his first career save? Taylor Ward, who went 4-for-5 with three doubles? Henderson who scored two and also did it with the glove? Maybe a write-in nod for the Polar Bear, who hit a hustle double and scored on a passed ball?

The Red Sox needed 12 games to do it, but Boston secured its first series victory of the season. The 5-0 getaway day win over the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the series over the reigning National League Central champions.

Starting pitching did indeed prevent runs and the offense did its job in a productive third inning. 

Here are three takeaways from Boston’s series finale. 

Sonny Days

Sonny Gray clearly found his rhythm once Boston began its 2026 Fenway slate.

The veteran right-hander tallied six innings of two-run ball to down the San Diego Padres last Friday. Gray followed that with 6 ⅓ shutout frames Wednesday afternoon. The Brewers mustered just three hits against the Red Sox starter, who added two strikeouts. 

In the third inning with rare trouble, he made a big pitch to end the third with a sweeper to strike out Jake Bauers. 

Gray talked his way back to the mound after a post-sixth inning chat with Alex Cora. Gray pitched like the competitor the Red Sox hoped they acquired. For the second straight outing, Gray impressed.

Dro’s Woe’s

Shane Drohan ran through two stints in the Red Sox organization. At 27, he finally made his MLB debut in Boston, though he did so with the Brewers.

The lefty looked strong for two innings before the Red Sox wore him down in the third. Boston forced eight three-ball counts while Drohan walked four hitters. 

The home team tallied three runs in the inning with opportunistic offense: a bases-loaded walk for Willson Contreras, an infield laser for Wilyer Abreu and a sacrifice fly for Trevor Story. 

Mets prospect Jonah Tong gave up a pair of early runs, but settled in for a fine outing, striking out seven batters over five innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon.

Tong's third outing with Syracuse went much better than his last one, as he allowed two runs on just one hit and two walks while getting 15 outs on 83 pitches (53 strikes) in what would be a 4-3 defeat to Buffalo in a seven-inning affair to close a doubleheader. 

The runs came early, and then zeros followed for the Mets' No. 4 prospect in Joe DeMayo's most recent rankings.

After hitting the first batter he faced when a 1-2 breaking pitch lost its way, Tong left a 2-1 changeup right over the plate to Rafael Lantigua, and he hammered it 100.7 mph off the bat for a 382-foot home run to left. 

After a one-out walk was erased with a caught stealing, the righty issued a second walk, both on 3-2 counts, and it was an early mound visit from pitching coach A.J. Sager. A called strike three on a 96 mph fastball got him out of the inning, but not after throwing 30 pitches (16 strikes). 

And that was it as Tong rebounded for a 12-pitch second, adding a strikeout thanks to a generous call on the outside corner for the first out. And after a lengthy spell on the bench as Syracuse scored three in the top half of the third, the righty got a shutdown inning, including getting Lantigua looking at a slider that just caught the corner. 

Tong would close his afternoon by making it 13 straight batters retired with a two-strikeout fourth and a two-strikeout fifth.

On the afternoon, he was fastball-heavy, throwing the heater 59 percent of the time, and with some good effect, with a 33 percent called strike plus whiff rate. Emblematic of the 22-year-old settling in, his average fastball velocity ticked up to 96.2 for the fifth inning, after hanging at 94.8 mph in the first and second.

His cutter, a new pitch for him, was his second most used offering, 13 of 83, and almost exclusively to right-handers, and got five called strikes and whiffs.

Tong's ERA now stands at 5.06 through his first 10.2 innings to go along with 13 strikeouts, seven walks, and a hit batter.

Jonah Tong today for Triple-A Syracuse:

5 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K pic.twitter.com/wnfR71ySRI

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 8, 2026

Jack Wenninger strikes out five in Game 1

Wenninger, making his second start at the Triple-A level, had a decent outing in the first half of the Wednesday twin bill, a 2-0 Syracuse loss.

The 24-year-old allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks over 4.1 innings, throwing 85 pitches (50 strikes). And like his first outing of the year, the right-hander struck out five batters.

He sported an effective fastball, getting 11 called strikes and four whiffs on 11 swings for a 42 percent called strike plus whiff rate. His slider, which he threw primarily to righties, was hard to touch with five whiffs on 11 swings.

Wenninger, the No. 8 prospect on DeMayo’s list, has posted a 1.00 ERA and 1.333 WHIP through his first nine innings of the year with 10 strikeouts to four walks.