LOS ANGELES — Emmet Sheehan had his best start of the early season, backed by early home runs in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers wore their city connect uniforms for the first time in 2026, and connected right away off Rangers starter Jack Leiter. Shohei Ohtani homered to start the bottom of the first inning, extending his on-base streak to 45 games, the fifth-longest in modern Dodgers history.

With two on and two out in the first, Teoscar Hernández broke things open with a three-run home run, his first home run at Dodgers Stadium this season after hitting two during the six-game road trip.

The four-run first inning erased the very early deficit for Sheehan, who allowed a leadoff home run to Brandon Nimmo and then not much else at all to any other Rangers hitter.

Sheehan had an uneven spring training, interrupted for a bit by the flu, followed by struggles with his mechanics, affecting both his command and his fastball velocity. He needed 83 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings in his first start of the year, then allowed three runs in the first inning of his second start before recovering to last 5 2/3 in Washington D.C.

Through it all, neither Sheehan nor the Dodgers expressed much concern, but rather were confident he’d turn things around. A slight rotation shuffle after Thursday’s off day saw Tyler Glasnow pitch the series opener, which pushed back Sheehan to Saturday, on seven full days of rest.

“I think what we’re looking for is just another step forward,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier Saturday. “He had a little extra time in between and the work he did in between, Emmet feels really good about it. The coaches feel good about the mechanics piece of it, so his entire pitch mix seems in a good spot.”

After the home run to Nimmo, Sheehan retired his next eight batters before Nimmo doubled with two outs in the third inning, but was stranded. He didn’t permit another run until the sixth inning, when Nimmo took him deep again, this time a two-run shot after a single by Josh Jung.

Nimmo had three extra-base hits and drove in all three Rangers runs off Sheehan. But the rest of the lineup had only one hit in 18 at-bats plus a walk, with six strikeouts. Sheehan got through six innings, his longest outing of the season, on just 77 pitches, and averaged 95.2 mph on his fastball after just 93.9 mph in his first two starts.

Jack Dreyer struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh, then Tanner Scott pitched a perfect eighth on just nine pitches, even retiring Nimmo.

Hernández doubled to open the eighth inning, and scored on a single by Andy Pages for some insurance. After throwing 23 pitches while allowing three runs in a blown save on Friday night, Edwin Díaz was not used in a save situation on Saturday, with a three-run lead to start the ninth inning.

Instead, Blake Treinen got the ball and saw two runners reach base, one by walk and one on an error by Max Muncy at third base. Facing the potential tying run at the plate, Treinen struck out Andrew McCutchen for the second out of the inning.

Rather than have Treinen face the left-handed Evan Carter, Roberts opted for left-hander Alex Vesia, who faced Rangers pinch-hitter Danny Jansen, a right-handed batter. Vesia ran the count full but struck out Jansen to earn the save on his 30th birthday.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (4), Teoscar Hernández (3); Brandon Nimmo 2 (3)

WP — Emmet Sheehan (2-0): 6 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeout

LP — Jack Leiter (1-1): 3 2/3 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

Sv — Alex Vesia (1): 1 batter, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers go for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon (1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with Roki Sasaki on the mound at the start. Jacob deGrom starts for the Rangers.

Clay Holmes’ next scheduled start is Wednesday against the Dodgers, and Mets officials are confident the right-hander will be healthy enough for it.

A day after Holmes departed his start against the Athletics with left hamstring discomfort, manager Carlos Mendoza indicated Saturday that he’s optimistic Holmes will return to the mound as scheduled. However, Mendoza added that Holmes’ side session between starts will determine if he can proceed.

Mendoza added that there hasn’t been any discussion about pushing back Holmes in the rotation.

“As of right now he continues to feel good, so he’s line to make his normal start” Mendoza said before the Mets lost 11-6 to the A’s at Citi Field.

Sean Manaea would be an option to fill that rotation spot if needed.

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The Mets also have Tobias Myers stretched out in a long relief role. Christian Scott and Jonah Tong are the primary options at Triple-A Syracuse, but the Mets likely wouldn’t recall either unless an extended rotation need arises.

Holmes has pitched to a 1.50 ERA in his three starts this season. On Friday he allowed one earned run on five hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings before his hamstring discomfort removed him from the game.

Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment to create roster space for Craig Kimbrel.

The lefty Lovelady has been DFA’d five times by the Mets since joining the organization last June. Overall, he’s been DFA’d nine times in his career.

Mets pitchers went 68 innings without allowing a homer before Kodai Senga surrendered a blast to Tyler Soderstrom on Saturday. The seven-game streak was the team’s longest since Sept.19-26 in 2013 when the Mets went eight games without allowing a home run.

Carson Benge stole his fifth base of the season, tying him for fifth in the major leagues in that category.

I was in Los Angeles for an MLB The Show tournament, eating dinner at my hotel with my eyes glued to the TV on the other side of the bar, when the Chicago White Sox drafted Noah Schultz, an 18-year-old left-handed reliever from Oswego East High School, for the 26th overall pick.

“That’s my rival high school! We drafted a hometown kid,” I exclaimed!

Like many other Sox fans, I have eagerly followed Noah’s journey and have been waiting for this day for just under four years.

The now 22-year-old is set to make his MLB Debut for the White Sox in Chicago against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, April 14 at 6:40 p.m. CT.

The South Side’s No. 2 overall prospect has been virtually lights-out in hist first three games with the Charlotte Knights this season, pitching to a tune of a 1.29 ERA across 14 innings with 19 punchouts. Not to mention, he’s induced a .129 BABIP and has only allowed two walks. Noah rocks a four-pitch repertoire: 4-seam fastball, slider, changeup and cutter. And most importantly, he’s healthy. After battling a knee injury that ultimately sidelined Schultz for much of the second half of the 2025 season, Noah is recovered and ready to impact the big league club.

Now, the question is, who’s next? Tanner McDougal and Hagen Smith can’t be too far behind when it comes to the rotation.

As Noah Schultz makes his way back to Chicago, I make my way back to South Side Sox.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Judge stood at third base as the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning Saturday when the Rays intentionally walked Ben Rice to bring up Randal Grichuk.

Aaron Boone let Grichuk hit for himself in the right-on-right matchup against reliever Hunter Bigge and did not have much of an explanation afterward for why he did not send up Paul Goldschmidt as a pinch hitter instead.

“Fair. Definitely could have, should have, whatever,” Boone said after a crushing 5-4, 10-inning loss at Tropicana Field. “But definitely some consideration.”

Grichuk, who had entered the game as a pinch runner for Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth inning, was off to an 0-for-9 start to the season and made it 0-for-10 when Bigge needed just one pitch to get him to fly out to end the ninth inning.

“Just felt like it was a good spot for [Grichuk] too,” said Boone, who confirmed Goldschmidt was available off the bench. “But fair question.”

Bigge has reverse splits for his career, which is likely why the left-handed-hitting J.C. Escarra did not pinch hit for Grichuk.

But neither did Goldschmidt, and the missed opportunity loomed large as the game went to extra innings and eventually turned into a fourth straight Yankees loss.

Signed during spring training to be a lefty crusher, Grichuk has started the season 0-for-10 with five strikeouts. Eight of those at-bats came against left-handers.

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“He’s played a couple games, hasn’t gotten results, [but] he’s hit a couple balls on the screws, hit one good to center [Friday] night,” Boone said before the game. “Then obviously to start the year, with all the righties we had initially, there weren’t a lot of opportunities. So physically, I feel like he’s in a good place. Not a lot of spring at-bats, but hopefully as we get settled into the season and he gets some opportunities against some lefties, he’ll produce.”

Judge could get his second DH day of the season Sunday, with Stanton heading to the bench for the series finale against the Rays. Boone had initially planned to do that Saturday, but after the Rays bumped lefty Shane McClanahan from Sunday’s start, Stanton will likely sit Sunday against righty Drew Rasmussen.

As Ryan McMahon works to get his bat on track — he went 1-for-2 Saturday before being pinch hit for by Amed Rosarioin the seventh inning against a lefty — the Yankees are still counting on him being a staple in the lineup at third base any time Max Fried is on the mound, given his propensity for generating ground balls to the hot corner.

“That’s kind of Ryan’s superpower, especially as he tries to get it going here offensively,” Boone said. “The one thing we can count on is how good he is on that left side. With Max going, usually he’s pretty busy over there.”

Carlos Mendoza’s changes worked for one day, even if the result was another loss.

The struggling Mets lineup broke out for 10 hits and three homers in an 11-6 loss to the A’s on Saturday at Citi Field.

The manager dropped Bo Bichette to the cleanup spot for the first time this year, and moved Luis Robert Jr. to second, with Jorge Polanco in between the two after being held out of the past two games.

“Just wanted to shake some things up.” Mendoza said. “We still have pretty good hitters at the top. I wanted to give them a different look here. Getting Polanco back in the lineup helps.”

The Mets entered Saturday’s contest against the A’s having managed just three runs in the past four games. They hadn’t scored in the previous 17 innings. There was another 17-inning scoreless drought earlier in this young season. The offense has been a major problem through 14 games.

The Mets hit on Saturday. Polanco, Bichette and Francisco Alvarez all went deep.

They cut a 7-1 deficit to 7-6, before Luke Weaver was tattooed for four runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

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“We were one at-bat away from [going ahead],” Francisco Lindor said. “We started putting together better at-bats as the game went on, but we just didn’t finish the job.”

Some of the hitting issues can be attributed to Juan Soto’s absence with a calf strain, and Polanco has been in and out of the lineup as well due to a case of left Achilles bursitis. But plenty of regulars have struggled, led by Lindor and his .167 batting average.

“I mean, these things happen, especially early in the season. It’s not something that we just fall back on, like it’s part of the game. We’re definitely going to get better and have better at-bats,” Bichette said. “Getting off to a hot start and everything rolling, I wouldn’t say it’s a normal thing.”

“Any team is better with those guys [Soto and Polanco]. But in this league, there’s no excuses. We have to step up and just have better at-bats as a team. I think we’re going to do that.”

Even in defeat, Saturday was a step in the right direction.

This game started like a chess match and ended like a street race, and once the Rays hit the gas, the Yankees could not catch a break.

For six innings, this one had all the tension of a real pitchers’ duel. Nick Martinez was not overpowering, but he was calm throughout, which against the Yankees counts for plenty. He opened the night by walking Trent Grisham, giving up a single to Cody Bellinger, then watching Bellinger steal second with Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton lurking. That looked like early trouble. Instead, Martinez struck out Rice, then got Stanton to line out. Crisis avoided.

Max Fried was doing the same thing on the other side, keeping the Rays from getting comfortable and making every baserunner feel important, especially after retiring the Rays in order in the first.

The Yankees struck first in the second when Austin Wells hit a solo homer to right, but the Rays answered right away. Junior Caminero doubled, Ben Williamson moved him over with a groundout, and Jonny DeLuca dropped a single into right to tie it at 1-1. That became the shape of the night. New York makes a move; Tampa Bay counters to keep victory within reach.

Martinez was solid through four innings in a game that felt like it might come down to whichever side blinked first. The Yankees nearly forced the issue in the fifth when Grisham walked, Bellinger singled, and Rice walked to load the bases with two outs. That ended Martinez’s night and brought Kevin Kelly in to face Stanton, which is not exactly a relaxing sentence to type, much less a situation for a reliever to face. Kelly struck him out swinging and kept the game tied. Crisis avoided again.

The Rays finally moved in front in the sixth, and Jonathan Aranda was at the center of it. Taylor Walls singled and advanced to third with some great baserunning on a Vilade single. Then Aranda lifted a sacrifice fly just shy of the warning track in left to score Walls and make it 2-1. It was exactly the kind of at-bat that matters in games like this, not trying to do too much, just a productive at-bat.

Of course, one-run leads against the Yankees never feel all that secure. In the eighth with Bryan Baker on the mound, Stanton walked, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled. The next at-bat went about as well as it could with Wells hitting a flyout to shallow left field, preventing the pinch-runner Randal Grichuk from scoring from third. Then former Ray José Caballero ripped a two-run double to left to put the Yankees back on top 3-2. Caballero advanced to third on a balk from Baker, who had no situational awareness to realize he was attempting to pick off a runner at first that was already at second. A Rosario flyout would stop the bleeding, but after all the careful work of the first seven innings, the Yankees had flipped the game late.

The Rays countered again.

Nick Fortes doubled to start the bottom of the eighth, and Chandler Simpson came in to run. That was when the game started putting on running shoes. Simpson changes innings just by existing on the bases. Seriously, the man is a cheat code. Walls bunted him to third, then Yandy Díaz chopped one with the Yankees’ infield all the way in. The hop forced Ben Rice off his feet, giving Simpson enough time to score and pulling Rice far enough off the bag for Díaz to beat it out, tying the game 3-3.

The ninth inning started with Judge getting walked and stealing second. With two outs, the Rays intentionally walked Rice, bringing Grichuk to the plate, who flew out to close the inning. A DeLuca single was the only offense the Rays could put together in the bottom of the ninth, taking us to extras.

The tenth saw another round of moves and countermoves in this game.

The Yankees scratched across a run in the top half on Caballero’s RBI single off Cole Sulser, so the Rays came up in the bottom of the inning down 4-3.

Cedric Mullins started at second as the automatic runner. Simpson led off and dropped a soft bunt single. He has now reached base safely in all 14 games the Rays have played this year. Then he stole second because he’s what the kids call “Him.” At that point, the Yankees were no longer defending an inning. They were trying to slow down a speed demon.

Walls followed with another soft bunt single, scoring Mullins to tie the game. That made it 4-4, put Simpson on third, and cranked the pressure all the way up.

And the Yankees knew it and felt it too.

They intentionally walked Yandy Díaz to load the bases and set up the force at any base. Hunter Feduccia struck out, giving New York a brief glimmer of hope. Then they brought Cody Bellinger into the infield as an extra defender, fully committing to stop the exact kind of play the Rays wanted. Everybody in the building knew the plan. The Rays were going to put the ball on the ground, make the Yankees move fast, and trust their legs.

It still was not enough.

Aranda chopped a ball to second that got past one Yankees defender, and Chisholm couldn’t come up with it cleanly. Had he fielded it cleanly, the Yankees might have had a slim shot at turning two.

Instead, Simpson raced home, and the Rays walked off with a 5-4 win after scoring two runs in the tenth in an inning where nothing left the infield and nothing needed to. That is the sort of ending Rays fans can appreciate on a spiritual level. The Yankees pulled Bellinger in, packed the infield, and still could not keep up once Tampa Bay turned the end of an MLB game into a 9U travel ball game. Just keep running.

Aranda was the clutch bat all night. His sac fly gave the Rays the lead in the sixth, and his grounder won the game in the tenth.

Simpson was the gas in the chaos engine. His speed helped spark the tying run in the eighth, then blew open the tenth. He turned soft contact into pressure, pressure into panic, and panic into two runs. Once he got loose, the Yankees looked like they were trying to catch smoke in a glove.

The win is the Rays’ first series win at Tropicana Field since September 20-22, 2024, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Rays and Yankees are back at it tomorrow as the Rays look to sweep the series. First pitch is at 1:40 pm.

Tonight was a weird one. The MASN broadcast booth got its second consecutive day off with Baltimore playing on national television. The Orioles defense added insult to some unfortunate injuries, and Chris Bassitt looked better despite experiencing some more bad luck. A runner was called out for interference, Ryan Helsley pitched in a non-save situation, and Colton Cowser made contact against multiple offspeed pitches. The O’s received production from some unlikely candidates, and the Birds evened the series with a 6-2 victory at Camden Yards.

The story of the night took place before the first pitch when Baltimore scratched Adley Rutschman from the lineup. The Orioles placed Rutschman on the 10-day injured list with left-ankle discomfort. Rutschman had looked like his old self with an .855 OPS over the first 10 games. Baltimore recalled Maverick Handley before the game, but the organization also pinch hit for catcher Sam Huff early in tonight’s Triple-A contest.

With Rutschman sidelined, it did not take long for Baltimore’s flawed defense to make an impact tonight. Rafael Devers led off the second with a single and quickly advanced to second on a passed ball by Samuel Basallo. Bassitt retired the next two batters, but Heliot Ramos managed a two-out single to center. Leody Taveras fired home, but the throw took Basallo up the third base line. Basallo—catching in place of an injured Rutschman—attempted to throw out Ramos at second, but his throw sailed into center field. Fortunately, Bassitt retired Patrick Bailey to limit the damage to only one run.

Baltimore shifted Basallo behind the plate when Rutschman went down and inserted Ryan Mountcastle as the designated hitter. Mountcastle made an instant impact by lining a ball to right center in his first at bat. San Francisco center fielder Harrison Bader bobbled the ball, and Mountcastle made the decision to keep running toward second. The bobble may have caught Mountcastle by surprise, and the veteran hitter began to stumble as he approached second. He arrived safely after a head-first slide but came up in pain. After a brief visit from the dugout, Mountcastle left the game with what the Orioles eventually called left foot pain.

O’s skipper Craig Albernaz sent Dylan Beavers to run for Mountcastle. Beavers advanced to third on a deep fly out by Taveras and reached third base with less than two outs. Colton Cowser has struggled to put the ball in play this season, but he got just enough of a low changeup to drive in Baltimore’s first run of the day with a soft dribbler.

Baltimore got its first run on a ball that traveled three feet, but the second run came on a ball that traveled much farther. Gunnar Henderson used his quick hands to turn around a high and tight cutter for his sixth home run of the season. The blast provided Baltimore a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third.

Unfortunately, Baltimore’s defense let the team down again in the fourth. Matt Chapman led off with an infield single, and Bassitt nearly wiped him out with a potential double-play. Baltimore had its defense setup with a legal shift, and Henderson fielded a ball deep behind the bag. Henderson flipped the ball toward second to third baseman Coby Mayo, but Mayo failed to turn the unconventional double play. The Orioles had Rafael Devers dead to rights, but Mayo skipped a ball that Pete Alonso failed to corral.

The missed opportunity cost Baltimore a run. Devers moved up to second, and again to third, on a pair of singles before eventually scoring on a slow ground out to first base. The weak grounder evened the score at two and provided some frustration for the Saturday night crowd.

An already weird game got a little weirder after Beavers worked a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth. Taveras grounded a potential double play ball to second, and Beavers had to jump to avoid being struck by the ball. Beavers dodged the ball, but his foot kicked the hand of Luis Arraez. Beavers was called out for interference, but Taveras was ruled safe at first. Arraez eventually exited the game with a right wrist contusion.

Cowser smashed a changeup to right field to put runners on first and third, and Coby Mayo drove in the go-ahead run by avoiding a double play on a grounder up the middle. Jeremiah Jackson followed with a double that nearly left the yard. Mayo raced around the bases and just beat the throw home to provide Baltimore a 4-2 lead. Mayo looked uncomfortable as he popped up from the slide, but the 24-year-old stayed in the game.

Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano and Rico Garcia kept the Giants off the board, and Jackson provided Baltimore some more insurance in the bottom of the seventh. The utility man went to left field this time and managed to clear the fence. Jackson’s first homer of the season extended the lead to three.

Anthony Nunez danced around a leadoff double to keep the score at 5-2, but Baltimore continued to add in the bottom of the eighth. Beavers punched a leadoff single to right before stealing second base. Taveras and Cowser both went down swinging, but Mayo came through with a two-out single for a 6-2 advantage.

Albernaz already had Helsley warming, and the skipper trusted his closer in a non-save situation. Helsley allowed the first two to reach before generating a double play ball and retiring Bader to end the game.

The win brought Baltimore back to .500 at 7-7. The Orioles will look to take the series tomorrow with Cade Povich set to face Adrian Houser.

Jeremiah Jackson finished 3-for-4 with a double an a homer, and Colton Cowser went 2-for4 with an RBI. Coby Mayo drove in two, and Dylan Beavers came off the bench to score two runs. Oh yeah, Gunnar Henderson hit his sixth homer of the season. Who is your pick for the most Birdland player of the day? Let us know in the comments below!

Thank the baseball GODs for that ninth inning.

The Red Sox came into the final frame with a tenuous one-run lead, after Garrett Whitlock gave up a solo shot to Jordan Walker in the bottom of the 8th. Trevor Story led off with a walk—something that hasn’t been a big help to the Red Sox with two GIDPs in the game so far. Marcelo Mayer flies out and this looks like another ho-hum inning for the men in red tonight.

No so fast.

It wasn’t anything flashy nor did it need to be. It was just put your head down, keep the lineup rolling baseball. Six singles in a row! Narváez, Rafaela, Anthony, Durbin, Duran, Contreras. I’m not sure what Ollie Marmol was doing other than staring into the abyss letting Matt Svanson languish on the mound. Maybe he knew this was a wash for the Cardinals but this hopefully turns into much more of a momentum turner for the Red Sox.

Kudos to Alex Cora for sticking with Durbin too and not pulling the trigger on a pinch hitter—either Monasterio or Yoshida.

Not so many kudos to Greg Weissert who looks almost opposite of the Italian workhorse he was in the World Baseball Classic—everything is trouble for him right now and Danny Coulombe bailed him out.

Still, three wins in four games isn’t something to wag your finger at. None of them have been truly pretty wins but they’re wins regardless. FOX made a lot of mention that it takes 40-50 games to really see the makeup of a team. Let’s hope that first 10 was truly the worst of it and this Sox squad is starting to find its footing.

What a nice Saturday night!

Studs

Ranger Suárez (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 ER)

Ranger was extremely frustrated after a 20+ pitch first inning and let it show in his final five. He looked extremely comfortable the rest of the way through. If this is the Suárez we’re getting on a more consistent basis, it’s very stabilizing for the rotation.

Willson Contreras (2-for-4, 3 RBI)

Against his old club, Contreras came to play. The game-winning RBIs in the fourth and another line-moving RBI single in the ninth.

Duds

Wilyer Abreu (0-for-4, 1 K)

I actually had Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin here for a while; their production in the 9th saved their skin. Just a quiet day for Abreu who had the rest of his team pick him up!

Play of the Game

For the better part of five innings, this was going to be Willy’s two-run double in the fourth. The ninth changed my mind, we’re going with Ceddanne’s RBI single to start the chain.

Things we predicted in the preview: a José Ramírez homer, and the Guardians fighting hard to even up the series. Both things would come to pass as the Braves were shut out for the first time this season, 6-0.

The Guardians put together a more complete performance on all fronts. Braves pitching issued a season-high eight walks but would mostly keep them in the game until late. Unfortunately, the hot bats from yesterday were as absent as Michael Harris II.

Martín Pérez’s only real blemish was the Ramírez solo home run in the first – but that one would turn out to be all Cleveland needed. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second and would settle in nicely for the rest of his five innings of work, lowering his ERA to 3.14.

Parker Messick was as dominant as advertised, working all six of his pitches efficiently to keep the Braves off the board for 6.2 innings and limiting them to four hits and two walks. His changeup was responsible for all five of his strikeouts.

Payamps and Bummer would combine for a stressful sixth inning. Payamps was yanked after facing the minimum, recording one out. Bummer jogged in, walked Chase DeLauter to load the bases, induced a run-scoring groundout, re-loaded the bases with another walk, and then mercifully got a groundout to end the inning.

The bottom of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th would be the Braves’ best chances to score. Scattered walks and singles would get the Braves on first and second each inning, but nothing more. The one hit in the fifth would by Ronald Acuña Jr. for a (mildly stressful) triple, but like all men who reached base before him, he’d be stranded. 

Messick got two outs in the bottom of the seventh before allowing a single to Jonah Heim. Walt Weiss countered the resulting pitching change with Dom Smith pinch hitting in Jorge Mateo’s spot. But no big Dom Smith moment here – just an immediate groundout that sent us to the eighth. 

Things would get silly (derogatory) in the top of the ninth. Osvaldo Bido had been lights out since joining the Braves, but was grinding here as his pitch count rose. After two outs, he’d walk Steven Kwan. Kwan stole second and came all the way home to score after a double whammy of a Bido wild pitch and Heim, after finally finding it, overthrowing to third. Weiss was forced to dip into the bullpen once more, summoning Tyler Kinley. Kinley joined the walk party but would be tagged with an earned run before ending the inning.

The bottom of the ninth started out promising with a leadoff double by Olson and a walk by Riley. But it wasn’t to be – Dubón struck out after hitting a home run juuust foul, Yaz looked at what he thought was ball four, and Heim popped out after an ABS challenge had him quickly 0-2. 

Not a fun one! It will all come down to tomorrow’s series finale, where Bibee and Sale will face off at 7:20 pm ET on NBC.

The Cardinals entered the night with a robust 8-5 record while the Red Sox were trying to avoid their 10th loss of the young season. The game was broadcast on Fox so we were given some Smoltz announcing action, which could be described as a mix of lackluster and uninformed.

Kyle Leahy was smooth and efficient in innings 1 and 2, not throwing any balls until the third batter, whom he retired in the first. The second inning was even more efficient except for a hit by pitch to none other than Willson Contreras… who was erased from the basepaths because the Winn/Wetherholt middle infield defensive machine turned a double play.

In the second inning Thomas Saggese lined a single into the outfield off of Ranger Suarez, the Red Sox starting pitcher of the night. However, the Cardinals were not able to do anything else, leaving Saggese on base.

Leahy had only pitched 19 pitches going into the third inning. Kyle finally gave up a single, to Mayer, who hit a dying quail into the outfield. The Red Sox had a man on first with no out, just as the Cardinals had prior. Similarly, JJ Wetherholt helped turn a double play and there were two outs in the 3rd. Victor Scott II sealed the deal by catching a fly to center.

Unlike Leahy, Suarez was at nearly 40 pitches at this point in the game. Wetherholt lead off the inning, but him and Herrera were quick outs. Busch Stadium had a good attendance from the fans tonight, but the offense was absent in the third.

Top of the order for the Red Sox in the 4th inning, and they drew a walk from Leahy. Instead of being efficient and exact, he was nibbling around the zone. It was like the blueprint for this game was to have Leahy let a guy on base and then induce a ground into double play, would they do it again in the 4th? Flyout to Walker. 1 out. Finally the Red Sox avoided the double play with a hit by Duran to the outfield. The Red Sox gained the lead when Contreras also got a hit which rolled to the wall. 2-0 Boston.

With only one out, Trevor Story, who was batting 6th, was up. Leahy had really lost his efficiency and maybe confidence by this point. He then challenged Story with one up and in, and he foul tipped it into Pedro Pages glove for the out. 2 out. With a full count, Leahy barely missed low and walked Mayer. It didn’t matter because Carlos Narváez flew out sharply to center fielder Victor Scott II.

The bottom of the 4th had a single by Urias, but that was all she wrote for the Cardinals offense that inning.

Gordon Graceffo relieved Leahy in the 5th. The 4th inning got Kyle’s pitch count up, gone was his efficient outing, but hey, only down by 2 here. Graceffo struck out Rafaela. He got Roman Anthony to fly out to Fermin in left field. Caleb Durbin grounded out to Nolan Gorman to end the top of the 5th.

Suarez faced the Cardinals bottom of the order to start, got two outs, then, in a 7 pitch inning, retired JJ Wetherholt. 2-0 Red Sox going into the top of the 6th. Suarez was locked in.

Gordon Graceffo was back on the mound in the 6th inning. He retired the first batter then faced Willson Contreras. Would he be able to contain the fury? Or would Willson knock Gordon around like a pinata spewing hi-chew? GG would persevere this time, striking out Contreras. Gordon Graceffo was superb tonight, succeeding in preventing runs for the 2nd inning in a row.

Suarez was absolutely dealing after his somewhat rough start tonight. With two outs in the bottom of the 6th, Gorman was up, 0-1. Ranger was still dealing though, and struck out Nolan Gorman. Surprise surprise (not).

7th inning: Graceffo getting sort of a piggyback start, as he began his third inning in a row with a Trevor Story groundout. Facing second baseman Mayer who had been on base two times already, Graceffo walked him. Narvaez singled moving Mayer up to third base with 1 out. Gordon then hit Rafaela with a pitch, loading the bases!

At this point Oliver Marmol went to the bullpen and brought in Justin Bruihl. Roman Anthony was up, and the count went 3-0! 3-1. 3-2. He got the K! Big pitch! Then with 2 outs, Bruihl got Caleb Durbin to pop up! Still only 2-0 Boston after some dangerous but clutchy bullpen action.

In an extremely rare occurrence, Oliver Marmol challenged a challenge about if Fermin was hit by a pitch, and it ended up being catcher’s interference! So after Fermin was NOT rewarded the base by a hit by pitch, he was rewarded first base because of catcher’s interference. I didn’t even know you could challenge a challenge, you learn something new every day if you pay attention.

With Fermin on first with one out, Burleson was summoned to pinch hit. Off the bench, Burleson drew a walk. Runners on first and second. Then Nathan Church was brought into the game. He avoided the double play but hit into the force out. Pozo was brought in and could not muster a hit, either.

Bruihl was out again for the top of the 8th, and he got the out. Marmol then brought in Matt Svanson to face Willson Contreras (eek!). Could Matt Svanson start to put his beginning to the season behind him? Yes! He struck out Contreras with some junk in the dirt. Would Svanson persevere? Yes! Wilyer Abreu flew out to Church. Did it look good, no.

Jordan Walker owned the 8th inning by hitting his sixth home run to dead center vs Garrett Whitlock! Amazing!

Jordan Walker’s 6 home runs leads MLB in his 14th game of the season!

In a move that probably freaked out most fans but at least built some confidence back into Matt Svanson, Svanson was brought back out to pitch another inning, in a game where Marmol appeared to be banking for extra innings. Or, just wanted to keep most of the bullpen fresh?

Would Svanson be up to the challenge, despite his struggles? He let Story on base, there was one out… 2-2 to Narvaez… he got a hit. Runners at first and third… Svanson still? yep… it would not be a good move, as Rafaela drove in a run, extending the lead to 3-1 Red Sox, erasing Jordan Walker’s solo shot.

With Svanson still out there in the 9th, Boston got another hit, loading the bases. Caleb Durbin nailed some nails into the coffin with yet another hit off of Svanson, this time two more making it 5-1. The wheels had come off. The victor was even insured against us.

The wheels not only fell off the vehicle, the vehicle flew off a cliff in the 9th inning. 6 straight singles by Boston. 7-1 Red Sox. Newcomer Jared Shuster was brought into the game, and put out the fire before any additional damages accrued.

The Cardinals did put a couple of runners on base in the 9th inning, but it didn’t amount to anything. Big bullpen loss and a quiet Cardinals offense tonight. 7-1 Red Sox.

• Red Sox outhit the Cardinals 10-5
• Player of the Game: Ranger Suarez shutting it down and with the most WPA (*win probability added)
• Matt Svanson ERA over 15.5 now
• Kyle Leahy looked ok tonight but gave up 3 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings, somehow… he was really good over the first two innings. Maybe he’s just a really good bullpen guy.
• Willson Contreras was the most opportunistic hitter tonight, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI against his prior team