Category: Sports News

After a mostly ugly series at San Francisco, a return home to play the Arizona Diamondbacks should have helped get the Phillies back on track. But the ugly play largely continued against Arizona, and a slew of self-imposed mistakes caused the Phillies to lose the game – and the series – on Sunday by a score of 4-3.

The game had a strange vibe from the start when Andrew Painter was scratched from the start by a migraine. Zach Pop got the start in his place, and gave up one run in two innings, partly due to a throwing error by Brandon Marsh.

The Phillies’ offense didn’t do much early on in the game against veteran righthander Zac Gallen. Bryce Harper hit into a double play in the first, and Rafael Marchan flew out with two on, two out in the second. In the fourth, Harper led off with a single but was thrown out at second on an ill-advised attempt to make it a double.

The Phillies got a lift when Painter’s headache cleared up and he was able to enter the game in the third inning. He gave them five strong innings, giving up just one run in five innings. And that one run was partly due to Adolis Garcia playing a single into a double, and Trea Turner unable to catch up to a blooper past the infield.

The Phillies have done this “fun” bit this series where they only score in one inning of each game. And apparently, they chose the sixth on Sunday. Justin Crawford led off with a double, and then Turner hit a shot to right that replay showed just cleared the fence for a two-run home run.

Schwarber and Harper followed with doubles to give the Phillies the lead.

When Marsh’s ensuing single gave the Phillies runners at the corners with nobody out, and it looked like they were on the verge of a big inning.

In came reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, and that pitching change served to kill the Phillies’ momentum. With the infield in, Harper went on contact on Brandon Marsh’s ground ball to second base (why?) and was easily cut down. Garcia then popped up, and then Alec Bohm lined out to end the threat.

The Phillies called upon Jose Alvarado for the eighth. Most of the focus has been on how bad some of the Phillies’ hitters have been, but Alvarado has been pretty shaky in his own right. He gave up a leadoff single, and after a strong play by Marchan got the runner for a fielder’s choice at second, a stolen base and single by Jose Fernandez tied the game up.

Jonathan Bowlan relieved Alvarado and was not any better. He walked the first batter he faced and then surrendered a go-ahead single to Adrian Del Castillo.

The Phillies looked like they might respond by actually scoring in a second inning of the game. Harper led off the eighth with a walk, and Marsh singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. But Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel overpowered Stott for a strikeout, and then the Phillies showed exactly what it looks like when a team is playing poorly.

Marsh attempted to steal second and didn’t seem to realize that Garcia (0-10 in the series) had popped the ball up. He was easily doubled off first base to end the threat.

That probably didn’t matter because Alec Bohm was the next batter, and I’m not sure if he could hit the ball off a tee at the moment. (Hitless in his last 17 at bats.) He struck out to start the ninth, Marchan followed with a pop up, and Justin Crawford ended things with an ABS-reviewed strike three on the very edge of the zone.

The Phillies are clearly not playing well right now. Maybe they’re all trying too hard, or maybe this is just one of those “we can’t get out of our own way” funks that teams go through during a long season. The homestand will continue on Monday against the Cubs, and hopefully the Phillies will get their act together and start playing winning baseball.

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers found themselves on the wrong side of a few late-inning rallies by the Nationals on Sunday afternoon, as Washington put up six runs against Milwaukee’s bullpen to pick up a sweep and extend the Brewer losing streak to five.

Brandon Woodruff started the afternoon out looking fantastic, setting the top of the Washington lineup down in order with a pair of strikeouts. Brice Turang started the bottom of the inning with a single, but would be wiped out on a force out from Christian Yelich, who just beat out the throw to first upon review. The lead baserunner would go for naught, though, as Garrett Mitchell followed with a three-pitch strikeout to end the inning.

Both teams then traded 1-2-3 innings until Turang slugged a two-out homer into Milwaukee’s bullpen in the bottom of the third to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead after three.

James Wood responded right away in the top of the fourth, hitting a solo shot of his own for the Nationals’ first hit and first run. The Nats wouldn’t stop there, though as Luis García Jr. reached on a fielding error by Jake Bauers at first before moving to third on a Daylen Lile double and scoring on a CJ Abrams sac fly, putting Washington up 2-1.

The Brewers knotted it back up in the bottom of the inning with another solo shot, this time from Jake Bauers. Woodruff worked around a single and a walk in the fifth to keep the game even at 2-2, and Turang would give Milwaukee the lead right back in the bottom of the inning with his second solo homer of the day, this time to right-center.

Two batters later, though, Gary Sánchez entered as a pinch-hitter for Yelich in an unexpected move. He would pop up, and it was reported by Sophia Minnaert just an inning later that Yelich exited with left hamstring tightness. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more, but hopefully it was just a precautionary move.

After the two teams traded scoreless half-innings in the sixth, things quickly went awry when Abner Uribe took over for Woodruff in the seventh.

Jacob Young started things off with a double into the gap, and after a misplay by Mitchell off the wall, Young coasted into third. Uribe was able to get the next hitter to pop out, but pinch-hitter José Tena got a single through the pulled-in infield to tie it up at 3-3 with still just one out.

Uribe got the next batter, Nasim Nuñez, to line out, and Pat Murphy opted to replace Uribe with lefty Angel Zerpa with the lefty Wood at the plate. After a wild pitch moved Tena up to second, Wood would reach on a walk. Another pinch-hitter, Curtis Mead, entered to face Zerpa, and he dumped a single into center to score the go-ahead run and put runners at the corners with two outs.

Now at 4-3, the Nationals looked to extend the lead with a delayed steal of home, as Mead took off for second and Wood went home on the throw. The throw home was late, but home plate umpire Carlos Torres inexplicably called Wood out. Upon review, it was very clear that Wood beat the throw, and the call was overturned to give Washington a 5-3 lead. Brady House followed with another RBI single to make it 6-3 before the inning was all said and done, and Milwaukee’s offense would have to dig itself out of a hole in the final three frames.

Ken Waldichuk, who had already pitched a scoreless sixth, came back out and got two quick outs. During Turang’s plate appearance, however, Waldichuk fell into a 2-0 hole and, on the second ball, he came up grimacing and clenching his throwing arm. Not a good sign.

Waldichuk was immediately removed, and his replacement, Cole Henry, proceeded to walk Turang, walk Contreras, and fall into another 2-0 hole against Sánchez, the second ball of which was overturned upon a Sánchez-initated review. The next pitch, a cutter near the bottom of the zone, promptly found a home in the left-field bleachers as Sánchez gave the Crew some life and tied the game at 6-6.

PJ Poulin took over for Henry and gave up a single to Mitchell before retiring Bauers to end the inning. It was a long, high-scoring inning, as the Nationals put up four runs before Milwaukee’s three runs to tie it — brand-new ballgame with just two innings left in regulation.

Zerpa remained in for the eighth, but he continued to struggle, giving up back-to-back singles to Abrams and Young to put runners at the corners with one out. Jorbit Vivas followed with a sac bunt that moved Young to second but didn’t score Abrams from third, as Zerpa was pulled in favor of Aaron Ashby.

Ashby got Keibert Ruiz into a 1-1 count before Ruiz was able to fight off a pitch below the zone for a single up the middle, scoring both runners and allowing Ruiz to move to second on the throw. Ashby was able to set the next two hitters down, but the damage was done with Washington now ahead 8-6.

The Brewers went down in order in the bottom of the inning, and Jake Woodford worked around a pair of singles in the ninth to keep the deficit at two.

Former Brewer Gus Varland came on for his first career save opportunity with the Nats up by two, and he made quick work of Joey Ortiz, Turang, and Contreras with a strikeout, groundout, and flyout, respectively, locking up the game and series sweep for Washington.

Woodruff got a quality start with six innings of work, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out six. Uribe and Zerpa both got roughed up, as Uribe allowed two runs and Zerpa gave up four. Ashby and Woodford both had scoreless afternoons for the bullpen.

Offensively, the Brewers once again got all of their runs via the long ball, with Turang slugging a pair of solo shots, Bauers adding a solo homer, and Sánchez hitting the big game-tying three-run shot that gave Milwaukee some late life. Turang led the squad with three hits and a walk today, while Bauers was the only other player with multiple hits.

It was another rough series for the Brewers after they lost two of three in Boston to begin the week, and they’re now in the midst of a five-game skid. They’ll get another off day on Monday to try to shake off the boogeyman before welcoming the reigning AL Champion Toronto Blue Jays to town for three games beginning on Tuesday night. First pitch in that one is set for 6:40 p.m., with Jacob Misiorowski slated to face Kevin Gausman.

A stellar start by Cade Povich, supported by key contributions at the plate from the previously slumping Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo, led the Orioles to a 6-2 win at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon. They have now won five of six and are tied for first place in the AL East.

This was the peak version of Povich. The lefty pounded the strike zone, mixed pitches, and limited damage. That combination allowed him to put together one of the best outings of his big league career. Over 6.2 innings, Povich allowed just one run on five hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. Not a bad way to celebrate your 26th birthday.

That one run came in the fifth inning. Casey Schmitt opened the frame with a single, moved to second on a ground out, and then eventually scored on a two-out single. But credit to Povich for keeping things right there. He got Jerar Encarnacion to fly out and conclude the inning. That’s all they would manage against the starter.

Most would have expected O’s manager Craig Albernaz to pull Povich after that. He had gone through the order twice, was in the position to get a win, and he was exiting on a relative high. Instead, Albernaz stuck with him through the sixth inning. Then, he let him start the seventh, and even stayed with him after a lead-off single. Povich rewarded him with a double play before a double from Heliot Ramos pushed Albernaz to finally make a change. He went with Anthony Nunez, who made quick work of Daniel Susace to wrap up the inning.

This felt like a significant performance from Povich. There is pressure on him to perform and become the preferred rotation understudy, in front of guys like Brandon Young, Albert Suárez, or even Trey Gibson this year. There is more work to be done before the lefty can actually cement himself into that role, but his first 12.1 innings of the year are good steps in that direction.

What helped Albernaz make the decision to stick with Povich as long as he did was an Orioles offense that felt more threatening today.

The scoring for the O’s started early. After Pete Alonso worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the first inning, Samuel Basallo gave the good guys a 2-0 lead with a line drive home run to left-center field, his second long ball of the season.

It took until the fifth inning for the Baltimore bats to come back alive. Gunnar Henderson got the two-out rally going with a single into right field. Taylor Ward did the same, scooting Henderson over to third base in the process. Then it was Alonso that broke his cold streak, yanking a two-bagger down the third base line to drive in both runners and make it 4-1 Orioles.

They added on to that lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Leody Taveras set the table with an inning-opening double to right field. He then sprinted home on a Coby Mayo flare into shallow center, giving the Birds a 5-1 advantage.

The Orioles’ final run of the day came home in the seventh inning. Back-to-back singles from Ward and Alonso got the inning going. A one-out walk for the newly promoted Johnathan Rodríguez loaded the bases. Following a strikeout by Taveras, Colton Cowser knocked in Ward with a bouncer that got past the pitcher and became an infield hit.

This was a complete performance from the Orioles lineup. They collected 11 hits, walked five times, and struck out seven times. All but one starter had a hit. Key contributions from Alonso and Basallo in the middle of the lineup made a world of difference. That duo was responsible for four of the six RBI on the day.

Because Povich tossed 6.2 big innings, the bullpen only had to record seven outs. Nunez got the first one, and then Tyler Wells handled the final six. Wells did give up a solo homer to Casey Schmitt, who had three of San Francisco’s seven hits, but the reliever was otherwise fine. Most crucially, the Orioles didn’t have to use any of Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram, or Ryan Helsley, who seem to be becoming the squad’s high-leverage arms of the moment. That’s important during this stretch without an off day.

The American League is a jumble of mediocre teams right now, and the Orioles are included. Their win today, paired with a Yankees loss to the Rays, means that those three are tied for first in the East at 8-7. Not bad for a team that seemed to be falling apart in Pittsburgh last weekend. Baseball is funny like that.

The O’s will welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Yard for a three-game set beginning on Monday. First pitch is set for 6:35, though we do not yet know who will be throwing that pitch for the O’s. Speculation suggests that it will be Dean Kremer. We shall see.

Most Birdland Player – April 12, 2026

Leave a comment down below with your vote for the “Most Birdland Player” in the Orioles 6-2 win. You can pick whomever you would like, but here are a few worthy nominees:

• Cade Povich (win, 6.2 innings, one run, five hits, no walks, five strikeouts)
• Pete Alonso (2-for-4, double, two RBI, walk, breaking out of his slump)
• Samuel Basallo (1-for-3, two-run homer, walk, breaking out of HIS slump)
• Taylor Ward (2-for-4, two runs, walk)

Jordan Walker continued his torrid start to the 2026 season, but Andre Pallante had a disappointing start while Brayan Bello was impressive as the Boston Red Sox clobbered the St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 Sunday afternoon.

The Red Sox didn’t wait long to get on the board as former Cardinal Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer to deep right-center field making it 2-0 Red Sox.

The Red Sox would add to their lead in the 2nd inning as Trevor Story singled followed by Mayer. One out later, Rafaela was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Story would score on a groundout by Roman Anthony making it 3-0.

Jordan Walker would get the Cardinals on the board in the bottom of the 3rd inning when he waited on a pitch and drove it to deep left centerfield for his 7th home run of the season. Jordan Walker has accounted for 31.3% of the runs produced by the Cardinals this season.

Andre Pallante allowed the Red Sox to load the bases in the top of the 4th inning which set the stage for Duran to double in everyone scoring Durbin, Wong and Rafaela making it 6-1 Red Sox. Willson Contreras stayed hot singling in Duran to make it 7-1 Red Sox. Pallante was able to finish 5 innings, but gave up 10 hits and 7 earned runs with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Brayan Bello, on the other hand, impressed going 6 2/3 innings only giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits.

The Cardinals would show signs of life in the bottom of the 6th inning when Ivan Herrera walked, Alec Burleson singled to right followed by and laser single by Jordan Walker into centerfield. Herrera would score on a sacrifice fly by Nolan Gorman to deep right-center making it 7-2 Red Sox.

Alec Burleson would add one more tally in the bottom of the 8th inning when he hit a no-doubt home run to deep center field making it 7-3 Red Sox.

Trevor Story added a two-run RBI single in the 9th inning off reliever Jared Shuster making it 9-3 Red Sox which ended up being the final score.

Sunday’s loss brings the Cardinals to 8-7 on the season. According to MLB.com, Matthew Liberatore will start Monday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians at Busch Stadium. Game time is 6:45pm central time.

News out of the Atlanta Braves clubhouse this afternoon is that starting pitcher Martin Pérez has been designated for assignment and left-handed reliever Dylan Dodd has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Pérez, who the team brought in as a minor league free agent, didn’t make the Opening Day roster but was brought-up to the big leagues shortly-there-after and has appeared in three games – starting twice, including last night’s loss to the Guardians.

Dodd, who had minor league options remaining, was a it of an odd-man out for the Opening Day roster. He will give the team another left-handed option in the bullpen.

Pérez, a 16-year veteran, could get claimed given his effectiveness with Atlanta – 14.1 innings pitched with a 0.907 WHIP, despite only striking out six batters. If he does make it through waivers, the Braves would likley try to stash him with the Stripers as depth.

Dodd pitched in 28 games out of Atlanta’s bullpen last season.

Because of scheduled off-days, the Braves don’t need a fifth starter for another 10 days, at which time they will need to make a move given they currently only have four starters. Along with Pérez, if he stays in the organization, it is possible starter Spencer Strider may be activated from the IL by that time.

Didier Fuentes, who was excellent in his lone appearance with Atlanta earlier this year, could be another option.

As the game thread intro indicated today, the Minnesota Twins historically do not fare well against the previous year’s American League champions. Fortunately, they were able to flip the script this afternoon against veteran starter Max Scherzer and take the rubber match in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

Twins SP Taj Bradley was extremely shaky in the first inning—unable to find his command and leaving numerous pitches in the fat part of the plate. Fortunately, a successful challenge from his C Victor Caratini and a DP turned behind him let him hop off the mound only surrendering one Blue Jays run (a Daulton Varsho single scoring Ernie Clement).

The offense put traffic on the base paths (Josh Bell BB, Matt Wallner HBP) immediately in T2, then Tristan Gray allowed them to jog home after crushing a 396-foot dong off Scherzer!! For some fun context, Gray was 12 years old when Scherzer was debuting in MLB.

Kody Clemens was also 12 years of age when Mad Max hit the scene—and he also homered off the old man in T3! Not content to only let the unexpected young guys contribute, a Wallner RBI single and a Caratini sac fly chased Scherzer to the showers before he could complete the third inning.

Max’s replacement Joe Mantiply fared similarly—plunking Gray and then seeing Brooks Lee crank a 2-run double down the LF line. Add all this up and the visitors finished T3 up 8-1 over the defending champs!

Bradley wasn’t sharp this afternoon—not locating his breaking pitches anywhere near the strike zone. But staked to the large early lead, he generated enough swings and misses (7 K) to toss five innings of one-run ball.

A great moment in B6: with his parents cheering (and crying) from the Rogers Centre seats, Andrew Morris made his Twins debut. He’d cover three innings and allow one run.

Justin Topa would close it out for Minnesota.

Your Final: Minnesota Twins 8, Toronto Blue Jays 2

After sweeping the Detroit Tigers at Target Field earlier in the week, the Twins take two-of-three from the Blue Jays and are a Cleveland Guardians loss away from an early share of first place in the AL Central!

Zach’s Zealot

• Of all the folks I would have never expected to do the infamous Morgan Wallen concert walk-out (he played U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend), Joe Mauer topped that list (hahaha).

Zach’s Zombie

• James Outman: 0-4, 2 K, yet to collect a hit on the ‘26 season

Egg-cellent Elocution

• Brandon Brooks branding this contest the Max Scherzer Game

Who’s Got Next:

• Right back home—through customs—to host a three-game series (Mon. night, Tues. night, Wed. afternoon) with the Boston Beaneaters Red Sox.

Yesterday’s loss—the Mets’ fourth in a row—sucked. No doubt about it. But we could at least comfort ourselves with the knowledge that the bats momentarily came alive, hitting three homers after falling behind early in the game. “Maybe,” we told ourselves with all the optimism that April carries, “this will be the turning point for the bats.”

Well, maybe that turning point is still to come, but it sure as hell didn’t happen today. Instead, the Mets squandered two very strong pitching performances and were held scoreless by the Athletics pitching staff, getting just four measly singles in the process. In a homestand filled with lackluster offense, today’s 1-0 loss to give the Athletics the series sweep might well have been the worst of them all.

Freddy Peralta took the mound for his fourth start as a Met, and his new team desperately needed him to be the stopper they acquired him to be. We saw some of the same inefficiency issues that are fairly commonplace for Peralta early on today, as a lengthy second inning in which he gave up a leadoff single and a two-out walk quickly ballooned his pitch count. He managed to get out of that inning unscathed, but the Athletics got on the board in the following inning when reigning Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz deposited an 0-2 curveball into the right field stands for a solo shot, giving them the 1-0 lead that they would hold for the rest of the afternoon.

Another laborious inning followed in the fourth, when a one-out walk and a double by Jeff McNeil (who has feasted on his former team this weekend) put runners on second and third with one out. The Mets were once again able to escape the damage, however—with the assistance of Carson Benge, who made a sparkling diving catch in center field with two outs to end the frame and save two runs. And to his credit, Peralta ultimately managed to bounce back from his early struggles and have one of his better outings of the season. He made it through six innings for the first time as a Met (and finished strong, with his final inning being his first 1-2-3 frame of the afternoon). He surrendered just the one run, walking three but striking out six. All things considered, the Mets would have happily signed up for this outing coming into the day.

But alas, the offense did not support him. Aaron Civale took the mound for the Athletics, and the Mets had no answer for him all afternoon. Following two singles in the first inning (one of which was erased on a strike him out, throw him out double play), Civale subsequently held the Amazins without a baserunner for the next four innings. They were finally able to get a real threat going in the sixth inning, when Civale surrendered singles to Luis Torrens and Lindor to put runners on first and second with one out. After inducing a fielder’s choice groundout to Jorge Polanco, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay went to his bullpen and brought in lefty Hogan Harris with Jared Young on-deck. Carlos Mendoza chose to respond by sending Mark Vientos to pinch-hit (despite his recent struggles following some BABIP-fueled success in the early goings of the season), and Vientos rewarded his manager for his faith by meagerly flying out to right field to end the threat and keep the Mets scoreless.

Sean Manaea took the mound after Peralta exited, and here we reach another of the silver linings from today, as it was probably the best outing of the season for the veteran lefty. He tossed three innings and retired every single batter he faced—four via strikeout—to keep the Mets in the game. But just like with Peralta before him, the offense did nothing to back up the pitching performance which gave them a chance. A combination of Harris, Scott Barlow, Elvis Alvarado, and Joel Kuhnel shut the Mets out for the final three innings of the afternoon, with just one runner reaching base (on a two-out walk in the eighth). For his part, Kuhnel required just four pitches to earn the save in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Polanco, Vientos, and Bo Bichette all weakly grounded out in their at-bats. Not exactly showing a lot of fight at the end there.

The Mets thus end the homestand at 7-9, and now they have to venture into Los Angeles to face the Dodgers. Not exactly a comforting thought right about now. We could tell you that it’s still early (and well, it is) and that Juan Soto will be back before too long, but you probably don’t want to hear it. At least many of us will be asleep for the 10:10 start times the next three days.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Freddy Peralta, +17% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jorge Polanco, -25% WPA
Mets pitchers: +31% WPA
Mets hitters: -81% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Torrens leadoff single in the sixth, +6.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Nick Kurtz solo homer in the third, -12.3% WPA

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees may want to just sweep this weekend’s series against the Rays under the rug.

But the stench of it will stick with them as they fly back to New York, owners of a five-game losing streak.

A miserable week came to a fitting end as a late comeback fell just short and the Yankees lost to the Rays 5-4 Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep at Tropicana Field.

After they were dominated by Drew Rasmussen for six one-hit innings, the Yankees (8-7) tried to come back against the Rays bullpen, getting within 3-2 in the seventh inning and then 5-4 in the ninth when Aaron Judge crushed a two-run homer. But those rallies stalled out before they could flip the score as the Yankees dropped their sixth one-run game of the season.

“Bad weekend for us, obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Staying in some close games, we got to find a way to get over the hump and obviously do a better job finishing these games off. Good compete today as far as finishing and taking some tough at-bats there down the stretch and giving ourselves a chance, but obviously we can talk all about it — we got to go out and finish off some games.”

The Yankees finished with seven hits Sunday — six in the final three innings — while mustering only 13 runs and 25 hits across their five-game losing streak, undoing much of their dominant 7-1 start to the season.

“Every game matters, we know that,” Judge said. “We talk about it every season, we’ll talk about it every single month when we have tough losses like this. It’s nothing new for us. But it’s baseball. We just got to show up the next day and right the ship. You got to have a short memory and move on to the next one. It’s tough, but that game’s over with. Nothing we can do about it.”

The speedy, pesky Rays (8-7) outplayed the Yankees all weekend — leaning especially on their well-executed small ball — and Sunday was no exception. They had no problem catching up to Cam Schlittler’s heat, touching him for a season-high seven hits and three runs across five innings to build a 3-0 lead.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Then, after the Yankees got within 3-2 in the seventh inning, the Rays added on with single runs in the seventh (against Ryan Yarbrough and Camilo Doval) and eighth (against Brent Headrick) innings, refusing to give up any kind of momentum — in line with what they did all weekend. Of the six innings (that included bottom halves) in which the Yankees scored this series, the Rays scored at least one run in five of them.

After Judge’s two-run shot in the top of the ninth, Rays reliever Mason Englert retired the next two batters before Amed Rosario came within a few feet of tying it, instead settling for a double off the center field wall. The Rays then intentionally walked Austin Wells to bring up the scuffling Ryan McMahon, who had singled and smoked a flyout in his last two at-bats.

With Paul Goldschmidt the last man left on the bench — using him to pinch hit him would have meant moving Amed Rosario from right field to third base and losing the DH so Judge could play right — Aaron Boone stuck with McMahon, who grounded out on the first pitch he saw to end it.

“I’ve been a little late on the fastball, so I was trying to get ready for the fastball and he threw a changeup on a good line for a heater and I was a little bit out front,” said McMahon, who is now 4-for-35 to start the season, but far from the only Yankee yet to take off.

The Yankees had rallied in the seventh inning after Rasmussen — who now owns a career 1.03 ERA in 43 ²/₃ innings against them — retired 14 straight to end his outing. They got an RBI single from Cody Bellinger and an RBI groundout from pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton to get within 3-2 in the seventh.

Austin Wells then pinch hit for J.C. Escarra and put a charge into a ball at 106.6 mph, but the line drive went right to left fielder Chandler Simpson (who killed the Yankees all series with his bat and legs) for the final out.

“It’s a tough game and we’re expected to go out there and win,” Judge said. “We’re expected to go out there and put our team in the best position. When things aren’t going your way, guys try to do a little extra. We’re going to be in a good spot. It’s been an up-and-down year so far but it’s still early. Guys are having great at-bats, I see a lot of bright things going on in the season and we’re going to change it.”

For a sport that obsesses over mountains of data, and analyzes players on the most minuscule of scales, baseball can still be full of mysterious performance issues and physiological disconnects.

The one facing the Dodgers right now: What to make of Edwin Díaz’s decreased fastball velocity early this season?

Coming off his blockbuster $69 million signing over the winter, Díaz has begun his debut Dodgers campaign facing a familiar –– yet disconcerting –– battle with his heater, which has averaged only 95.8 mph in his first six appearances.

That’s a notable drop from the 97.2 mph the pitch averaged last year. It was especially glaring during the three-run blown save he suffered Friday night, in an outing also marred by several hanging sliders.

Thus, as manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, the team is taking a more cautious approach with the right-hander’s workload for now, “treading lightly” with how they use him as he works to regain his typically dominant form.

“It’s a day-to-day thing,” said Roberts, who bypassed Diaz in a save situation Saturday following his 23-pitch effort the night prior. “Just trying to also, like we’ve done many times, play the long game with our guys.”

While the Dodgers didn’t have a save opportunity in Sunday’s loss to the Rangers, Roberts was asked postgame if Díaz would have been available.

“I don’t know,” Roberts said. “I’m gonna keep that one to myself.”

For Díaz, such early-season fastball problems aren’t anything new.

Since returning from a knee injury that cost him all of the 2023 season, he has dealt with a drop in fastball velocity at the start of each of the last two years.

FWIW, Díaz said he's had early-season velo issues since his 2023 knee injury –– but has always gotten his fastball to tick back up as the year goes on

It's lower than usual this month (95.8 mph), but he remained unconcerned

Here's how his velocity progressed the last two years: pic.twitter.com/RjzOpHNEXC

— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) April 12, 2026

In April 2024, the pitch averaged just 96.9 mph, before ticking up to 98 mph by June. Last April, Díaz’s heater was only sitting at 96.3 mph, before getting back to 98 mph in August.

“The last couple years, it’s been like that,” the 32-year-old veteran said. “It starts kinda slow. And then as the season goes, my velo comes back to normal.”

Because of that, Díaz said Sunday morning that he was confident his stuff would eventually improve –– even though he couldn’t put his finger on exactly why his fastball has become a recurring early-season problem.

One factor he unequivocally ruled out: An injury, repeatedly stating that he feels “great” physically while refuting a suggestion he might be dead-armed after pitching in this spring’s World Baseball Classic.

“I don’t think my arm is dead,” Díaz said. “It’s just something that I’ve been bothered by the last couple years getting into it. And then, like I said, when the season starts going, I feel way better.”

For now, the Dodgers are trying to be similarly optimistic.

While Roberts said Díaz’s issues weren’t mechanical, he also downplayed any injury worries Sunday, saying his concern level was low and that “it’s not an IL thing we’re talking about.”

Instead, he framed the Dodgers’ approach as simply an opening-month precaution, explaining that the team wants to be careful with its closer until he starts throwing the ball as advertised once again.

“I am confident right now,” Roberts said. “Everything I hear is that he feels fine. I think for me, you hear it, you want to completely trust it. But then you’re also looking at the gun and making sure. So we’re kind of treading lightly and giving him the benefit of the doubt. But still watching.”

Over the last several seasons, the Yankees have attempted a teambuilding approach that is less reliant on pure power and more resilient against the kinds of teams which have given them fits: speedy teams that put the ball in play and cover ground in the field. A team like, say, the Tampa Bay Rays. And yet despite their greatest efforts, every season has at least a few series where Tampa crushes their souls by simply getting runners on, over, and in — while doing just enough to keep the Yankee offense at bay. They continued their futility in close games with a 5-4 loss to cap off a weekend from hell at Tropicana Field. The Yankees have lost five consecutive games, nearly eradicating their 8-2 start and destroying their early lead in the AL East.

After the Yankees built and squandered early leads the previous two nights, I suppose they were thinking differently this time around. The top of the order went down easily against Drew Rasmussen, then back-to-back singles off Cam Schlittler set the table for a Yandy Diaz RBI groundout to immediately put the Rays ahead. A leadoff double in reply from Jazz Chisholm Jr. was wasted when Randal Grichuk and J.C. Escarra, who had a combined zero hits entering action, both failed to scratch one across.

Tampa didn’t see what was so hard about it. Cedric Mullins led off the home second with a triple, then sprinted home on a Richie Palacios grounder. Annoyingly, the Yankees had pulled the infield in to cut down Mullins at the plate, but José Caballero failed to handle the transfer cleanly, allowing the former Oriole to score without a play.

The torment continued. Eternal pest Taylor Walls slapped a single, then stole second, continuing a theme of the Rays running roughshod on New York all series. That meant all Chandler Simpson had to do was flip a ball to the opposite field, scoring Walls ahead of Cody Bellinger’s throw. As ever, the Rays’ offense was agile, maneuverable, and at its best with opportunities to score baserunners. The Yankee offense continued sleepwalking, waiting for a perfect pitch that never came.

The top of the fourth was a perfect example of their malaise. Ben Rice and Aaron Judge worked full counts against Rasmussen, only to both go down looking on the payoff delivery. Rice even volunteered an extremely ill-advised challenge in a vain attempt to earn a walk, burning the Yankees’ first ABS review and giving them no margin for error the rest of the way. If we weighed this team on the sliding scale between aggression and passivity, the scale would be tilted all the way to the right.

Chisholm’s double was the Yankees’ only hit until a home run from — who else — Ben Rice finally got the Yankees on the board. Well, that’s what I would say, but following a review, the home run was reverted to a double. Thankfully, the loud sound off Rice’s bat finally woke the Yanks up. After Judge walked, Cody Bellinger plated the run which was promised with a base hit to left. A productive out from Jazz put the tying run in scoring position.

Kevin Cash made the call to relieve righty Cole Sulser with lefty Kevin Kelly, at which point Aaron Boone responded by pinch-hitting Giancarlo Stanton in Grichuk’s spot. While he didn’t bring the thunder, his grounder to second was sufficient to score Judge and bring the Yanks back within one. Austin Wells drew in for Escarra and nearly tied the game with another opposite field knock, but Simpson, the villain du jour, tracked it down to retire the side. He immediately led off the following half-inning with a triple. Junior Caminero followed with a sac fly. It really is as simple as that.

You’ll never believe what happened in the eighth. The Rays got a runner on, advanced him into scoring position, then scored him on a bunt single… sorry, what? You’re telling me that’s exactly what you expected? You’re telling me that you could not have pictured a more typical possible occurrence in a Yankees-Rays game? Well… fair enough. But you deserve to know it happened. The scoreboard read 5-2 after Brent Headrick finally got himself out with a double play.

That insurance run loomed large in the ninth, when Aaron Judge took his frustrations out on a Mason Englert fastball. Judge’s fourth home run of the season snuck over the right field wall — just about exactly where Rice’s non-homer landed, except beyond the fence. There was even a runner on base when he did it, but because of that Caminero sac fly, the Yankees still trailed 5-4.

Jazz was robbed of a hit by second baseman Ben Williamson to bring the Bombers down to their final out. Then Amed Rosario, bless his heart, doubled to center to give the Yankees a pulse. That was where the fun ended. Another of this team’s consistent killers, the bottom of the order, came home to roost yet again. Ryan McMahon took a mighty hack at the first pitch. The ball trickled easily to second base, and the Yankees lost. No wonder.

Tomorrow, the Yankees return to the Bronx to host the Angels. Will leaving the house of horrors known as Tropicana Field break them out of this funk? The Yanks will give the ball to Will Warren against veteran lefty Yusei Kikuchi. First pitch is due for 7:05 pm on YES.

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