Category: Sports News

The Mets once again failed to produce any offense, dropping the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, 3-0, to the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.

Kodai Senga failed to get out of the third inning, surrendering three runs on three hits and three walks with one strikeout while getting eight outs on 50 pitches (30 strikes).

But the story of Game 2 was the same as Game 1: The bats failed to produce. The Mets left seven runners on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and have now scored one run or fewer in 10 of 28 games this season. Rockies starter Chase Dollander was the beneficiary, allowing just five hits and two walks as he struck out seven batters in seven shutout innings.

New York, which scored just one run in 18 innings on 10 hits Sunday, fell to 9-19 on the season. Colorado improved to 13-16 with the three-game sweep in Queens.

Here are the key takeaways...

- Senga collected his first strikeout of the day on a good forkball in an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 first. The second was less successful with a hit batter and a walk to start the frame. After a fielder’s choice, a Senga 0-2 forkball hung over the plate and was ripped into right for an RBI single. But a pair of flyouts to left field stranded two runners. Through two innings, Senga had been leaning heavily on his fastball and forkball, with those two pitches making up 32 of his first 34 offerings.

Senga started the third with a first-pitch curve, and Edouard Julien lined it up the middle for a single. Senga then got stung by Hunter Goodman staying on a down-and-away fastball for a two-run shot to right-center on a ball that carried 390 feet (104.9 mph off the bat). It wasn't a bad pitch; Goodman just crushed it. 

A four-pitch walk followed, and pitching coach Justin Willad was out for a visit. After a flyout, Brett Baty made a good play down the line at first for an out, but threw the ball into left field trying to do too much, putting a runner at third with two down. After a third walk of the game, manager Carlos Mendoza came out to grab the starter.  

Senga, who was working on eight days' rest as the Mets looked to reset him after a tough outing in Chicago, just didn’t find his groove after the first and saw his ERA balloon to 9.00 through his first five starts. He’s now allowed 21 runs (20 earned) on 26 hits (five homers) and 13 walks to 23 strikeouts in 20 innings for a 1.950 WHIP.

- The bullpen then did its job shutting down Colorado's offense: Carl Edwards Jr. entered in his Mets debut with runners on the corners and two down, and walked the first guy he faced, but got a groundout to stop any further damage. Edwards issued a one-out walk but struck out the side in the fourth, with all three going down swinging at the curveball. He followed with a walk and strikeout in the fifth before adding a 1-2-3 in the sixth with another strikeout.

Luke Weaver allowed a one-out single, but picked off Mickey Moniak at first to get a clean seventh, Brooks Raley added a strikeout in a 1-2-3 eighth, and Devin Williams struck out the first two on the changeup in a 1-2-3 ninth to keep the Mets in the game, but the offense never arrived. 

- The Mets had a chance in the first inning against Dollander. Juan Soto ripped a bullet one-out single up the middle (106.5 mph off the bat) and Baty, who had a tough time in Game 1 with three strikeouts looking, walked on four pitches to put two on and two out. But MJ Melendez popped out a 3-2 offering to the shortstop in shallow center. 

- There was something really cooking in the fifth as Carson Benge grounded a ball up the middle and Ronny Mauricio yanked one through the right side to put two men on. But Tyrone Taylor looped a line drive at the first baseman to double off Mauricio at first, and Bo Bichette grounded out to short. It ended up being a 13-pitch inning for Dollander, getting the last two batters on four pitches. 

- Bichette was hitless in his first two at-bats with a strikeout looking, thanks to a Goodman challenge on a 3-2 pitch that just caught the zone down and away. He was robbed of a hit with one out in the eighth when Ezequiel Tovar made a diving stop at short on a ball he smashed 109.2 mph to finish the day 0-for-4 with a strikeout. 

Bichette, who played shortstop in Game 1, made a great pick at third on a hard smash off Brenton Doyle's bat (100.9 mph) for the second out in the sixth.

- Benge put a good swing on a 1-2 pitch to poke the ball the other way for a two-out hit in the seventh. He went 2-for-4 as he has looked much better at the plate in recent games, but popped out to left to end the game.

- Melendez, who was hitless in his first three times up with a strikeout swinging, dropped a double into the left field corner with one out in the ninth to finish 1-for-4. He also made a nice running grab tracking down a ball in the corner in left to start the fifth.

- Soto finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout swinging on a 100.4 mph heater from Dollander to start the sixth, after losing the Mets’ final challenge of the game on strike one.

- Marcus Semien blistered a single up the middle to start the second inning, but was caught stealing second a few pitches later. He went 1-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.

He made a nice play to start the seventh, ranging to the shortstop side of the bag to backhand the ball and make a nice throw to get Goodman running to first.

- Francisco Alvarez went down swinging on a letter-high 99 mph fastball from Dollander in his first at-bat and went down swinging on a low-and-away Dollander slider in the sixth. He finished 0-for-4.

- Baty finished 0-for-3 with a walk and a smashed liner (102.1 mph) but right at the centerfielder to end the sixth. 

- Mauricio finished the day 1-for-3 with a strikeout swinging.

- Taylor was hitless in three at-bats.

Next Up

The Mets have Monday off before opening up a three-game set with the Washington Nationals. 

Clay Holmes (2.10 ERA, 1.033 WHIP in 30 innings) gets the ball for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. first pitch in Queens. Zack Littell (7.56 ERA, 1.680 WHIP in 25 innings, who leads baseball with 11 home runs allowed) goes for the visitors.

Michael King was dealing in the second game of the Mexico City Series between the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander completed six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. King took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fourth inning and did not allow a run until the bottom of the fifth inning when Jose Fernandez hit a solo home run to make the score, 6-1. King allowed the second run of the game to Arizona in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ildemaro Vargas hit another solo home run. San Diego held a 7-2 lead when King walked off the mound after the final out of the bottom of the sixth inning, but that was when the game got interesting as the Padres bullpen imploded and the result was an 12-7 loss at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu on Sunday.

David Morgan took over on the mound for the Padres and recorded a flyout to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Morgan then allowed three singles to load the bases before Tim Tawa hit a grand slam home run to left field that made the score, 7-6. The reliever left the game after just 1/3 of an inning and Bradgley Rodriguez came on to try to get the final two outs of the frame.

Rodriguez had his own struggles and allowed a leadoff double before getting a groundout for the second out of the inning. With a runner on third base, Rodriguez walked Corbin Carroll to put runners at the corners. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a double to left that scored two runs and gave the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead and robbed King of a potential win. Rodriguez got the final out of the inning when James McCann grounded out to second base, ending the six-run frame for Arizona.

Ron Marinaccio came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning for San Diego and allowed three consecutive singles to load the bases to open the inning. Tawa flied out to shallow left field, which prevented any movement from the runners and gave Vargas another opportunity to put runs on the board for Arizona. He did just that with a triple to right field which put the Diamondbacks ahead of the Padres, 11-7. Ketel Marte followed with a single to right field, which pushed the score to 12-7 and knocked Marinaccio out of the game.

Wandy Peralta was called on to get the final two outs of the inning for San Diego but allowed a single to Carroll to put runners on the corners with one out. Peralta then walked Gurriel Jr. to load the bases before he induced a ground ball off the bat of McCann that was fielded by Jake Cronenworth, who tagged the runner and threw to first base for a double play to end the inning.

The Padres brought the top of their lineup to the plate in the top of the ninth inning and Ramon Laureano led off with a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a lineout to right field and Jackson Merrill flied out to right field. With two outs and Laureano on base Manny Machado stepped to the plate and hit a line drive to third that was caught by a diving Nolan Arrenado to secure the win for the Diamondbacks.

Manny Machado was the offensive highlight of the game for both teams in the early innings. He hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning and followed that with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to give San Diego a 6-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth. The Diamondbacks got on the board in the bottom of the inning and the Padres answered in the top of the sixth when Luis Campusano hit a solo home run to push the lead to 7-1.

San Diego returns to Petco Park to take on the Chicago Cubs on Monday at 6:40 p.m.

The first player to represent the Royals in the All-Star game, catcher Ellie Rodriguez, passed away last week at the age of 79. 

Rodríguez was born Eliseo Rodríguez Delgado, May 24^th, 1946, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.  His family moved to New York City in 1953, settling just 10 blocks from Yankee Stadium, where young Ellie and his brother would often go.  His first major league idol was Yogi Berra, a player that inspired Rodriguez to become a catcher. 

Before he committed himself to baseball, Rodriguez trained as a boxer and participated in Golden Gloves tournaments.  He gave up boxing after suffering a broken finger.

He caught the eye of a Kansas City Athletics scout during a high school tournament and signed with the Athletics shortly after graduation.

He hit well enough in the Athletics minor league system to interest the Yankees, who selected him in the First Year Player draft. From 1965 to 1968, he made a steady climb through the Yankee system before getting his first call up.

He made his major league debut on May 26^th, 1968, against the Chicago White Sox in a game at Yankee Stadium which for a New York kid had to be a dream come true.

His locker was next to Mickey Mantle, and Mantle and Bobby Mercer helped Rodriguez secure enough tickets to accommodate the 30 family members on hand to witness the occasion.  Classy move by the veterans.

Rodriguez went hitless in three at bats that day but did pick up his first career hit in his next game with an 8^th inning single off Mickey Lolich in Tiger Stadium.  Lolich was one of the best pitchers in baseball in those days, but Rodriguez seemed to have his number, tagging the hard throwing lefty for three of his 16 career home runs.

The expansion Royals selected Rodriguez with the 13^th pick in the expansion draft, and he immediately became their starter. 

Rodriguez was superb in the first half of the 1969 season, hitting a solid .260.  That earned him a berth on the American League All-Star team, though he didn’t see action in the game.

Rodriguez slumped in the second half of the season which opened the door for Ed Kirkpatrick. 

Rodriguez and Kirkpatrick platooned for most of the 1970 season, Ellie being the superior defensive catcher while Spanky was a better hitter.

Rodriguez best days as a Royal came during an early June series at Yankee Stadium.  Playing against his former teammates and in front of a large contingent of family and friends, Rodriguez went 5 for 13 with a three-run home run in the series opener, helping the young Royals win two of three.  He also threw out two would be base stealers. 

With Kirkpatrick and Buck Martinez emerging as their primary catchers, the Royals traded Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1970 season.   While in Milwaukee, he developed a friendship with and helped mentor another young catcher named Darrell Porter.  He spent three productive seasons in Milwaukee, often battling injuries.  He made his second All-Star team in 1972 but again didn’t see any playing time in the game.

With Porter ready to assume the catching duties, Milwaukee sent Rodriguez to the California Angels, where he spent two seasons and became Nolan Ryans favorite catcher.  Rodriguez caught Ryan’s 4^th career no-hitter and had arguably his best season as a player in 1974 when he appeared in a career high 140 games, hitting .253 with career highs in home runs and RBIs.  He later appeared in 36 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976.

He spent the entire 1977 season with the Pirates AAA affiliate in Columbus before closing his career with four seasons in the Mexican League.

Rodriguez will be remembered for two things in particular.  The first was his long running dispute with Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a feud which ended in fisticuffs on two different occasions.  The duo first fought in a Puerto Rican winter league game in 1970, in which Lee lost four teeth, and more famously in a May 1973 game at Fenway Park. 

The second was the fact that Rodriguez was an excellent defensive catcher.  He had terrific footwork behind the plate, often attributed to his time as a boxer.    He was one of the first catchers I recall that caught with his body at a slight angle, his left shoulder closer to the pitcher, so he could use that leverage on his throws.  He was also one of the first I remember seeing that held his right hand behind his body when catching to protect his throwing hand from foul tips.

After his time in the majors ended, Rodriguez stayed in baseball.  He did some coaching in the Mexican Leagues and held various jobs in the sport up until 2018. 

He passed away April 23^rd at the age of 79.  All of us at Royals Review extend our condolences to the Rodriguez family. 

A couple of weeks ago, the Atlanta Braves embarked on a 13-game run of games that were solely in the NL East. Initially, it seemed like a tough task considering that they’d be seeing the Philadelphia Phillies twice during that run. At the same time, the Braves had gotten off to an encouraging start to the season as well so it seemed like this was an opportunity for the Braves to make an early statement in the division if things went well.

So here we are: 13 games later and folks, the Braves have indeed made an early statement. Atlanta’s gone 10-3 over that 13-game stretch and half of those wins came against the Phillies. The sweep in Philadelphia was absolutely lovely and Atlanta also got to welcome in the Phillies with their ballclub in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. This was a golden opportunity for the Braves to really put a significant amount of space between the and the Phillies and now we’re going to look at how things went over this weekend series.

Friday, April 24

Braves 5, Phillies 3

The Braves found themselves in what was an increasingly familiar position once the third inning rolled around: Trailing the opposition. Indeed, Atlanta went behind in the top of the third inning after Trea Turner reached back to his days of being a regular Braves tormentor by hitting a two-run dinger off of Grant Holmes to break the deadlock. Fortunately for Holmes, his lineup responded immediately and got after Andre Painter with a leadoff single from Eli White and a two-run response dinger from Ronald Acuña Jr. to bring the game back to a deadlock.

Philadelphia once again went ahead in the fifth inning with another long ball — this time it was Bryce Harper hitting a solo shot as he began his usual routine of gleefully drawing the ire of Braves fans. Atlanta didn’t respond immediately but it didn’t take long, either. Once they did, it was a true game-changer and another example of Walt Weiss hitting nearly all of the right buttons to start this season.

With two outs in the sixth inning and two men on, Weiss went to the late scratch Michael Harris II for a pinch-hitting opportunity. The crowd erupted once Money Mike came out of the dugout and he repaid that excitement by hitting a deep fly ball that just about eluded the grasp of Brandon Marsh in left-center for a huge two-run double that gave the Braves the lead. Weiss promptly put in Jorge Mateo to run the bases, he stole third base and then ended up scoring after Andrew Painter uncorked a wild pitch. Both moves paid off in spades, Joel Payamps pitched a crucial scoreless eighth inning and then Robert Suarez finished things off in the ninth to give the Braves an exciting victory.

Saturday, April 25

Phillies 8, Braves 5

The pregame was all about Brian Snitker, who was rightfully inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place before the game started. Rain also pushed back the start by 55 minutes and while Walt Weiss and the Braves players never want to make excuses, their outfielders had a devil of a time dealing with the wet track on the field. The Phillies hit three triples in this game and aside from Ronald Acuña Jr. simply misjudging a jumping catch (which resulted in a run for the Phillies), the other two triples were aided by some literal slipshod defense.

Philadelphia went up 1-0 in the first inning thanks to Mike Yastrzemski coming up short on a diving catch that allowed Adolis García to scamper to third and then later on in the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber picked up a stand-up triple (good luck seeing that again) after Eli White never really looked comfortable trying to get to the ball.

This was all a bit of a crying shame for the Braves because had even one of those plays in the field resulted in outs, the Braves probably end up holding on to a slim win. The bats for the Braves continued to get it done, as they were able to get to Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning with a Michael Harris II sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Austin Riley that kept Wheeler from cruising and made it a tie ballgame. Ozzie and Mike linked up together again in the sixth inning as Ozzie’s double tied it at three and then Money Mike’s RBI single actually gave the Braves the lead.

Unfortunately, tonight ended up being The Bryce Harper Show. The man who apparently enjoys tormenting Braves fans as much as he enjoys raw milk ended up with four RBIs on the night and all four of them felt like big whammies. His RBI single off of Bryce Elder in the fifth made it 3-2, his sacrifice fly in the eighth inning made it 4-4 and then he came up with the big bases-loaded knock in extras to make it a 6-4 game for the Phillies. By the time the Braves had a chance to respond, it was 8-4 after Jose Suarez had a bit of a nightmare in the tenth. Atlanta actually got the tying run up to the plate after Drake Baldwin delivered an RBI single but the game ended with Michael Harris II grunding out to none other than Bryce Harper, who flipped it to a late-covering Kyle Bachus to end their miserable (joyful for us) 10-game losing streak.

Sunday, April 26

Braves 6, Phillies 2

Remember last season when it felt like the Braves couldn’t buy a win in rubber games? Boy, oh boy, times have sure changed. Not only did the Braves end up winning yet another rubber game to keep their streak of avoiding series losses going, it felt almost business-like. Chris Sale got the ball and with all due respect to Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes who delivered perfectly fine starts of their own, Sale proved why he’s at the top of the rotation with yet another great start. Sale went six innings without giving up a run and he only gave up a hit and two walks in the process. He struck out nine batters and at one point had a run where he struck out five-straight Phillies batters.

He even made an incredible heads-up catch where it seemed like he was either going to catch it or sacrifice a digit after the batted ball got through with him. Either way Philadelphia couldn’t do anything with Sale a week ago and they certainly couldn’t handle him on this particular Sunday.

While Sale was making things miserable for the Phillies, the Braves were making things miserable for Aaron Nola early on. Matt Olson got things going in the first inning after he crushed a three-run shot that may have landed in the actual city of Atlanta and then they added three more runs in the second inning. Mauricio Dubón hit a triple that felt eerily similar to the triples that they gave up the night before and then Eli White left no doubt by crushing one into the road bullpen to make it a 5-0 game. Drake Baldwin eventually came up to the plate with one out and Ronald Acuña Jr. at second base (following Acuña’s sixth stolen base of the season so far) and Baldwin duly delivered with a liner that found green and plated Acuña to make it 6-0.

The only two runs that Philadelphia could muster came in familiar fashion, as Kyle Schwarber got a hold of one in the eighth from Aaron Bummer and sent it to the Chop House for a typical Schwarber bomb that made it 6-2. Fortunately, that’s how it ended! Robert Suarez finished things off in a non-save situation in order to put the Phillies right back in the “L” column after a one-night respite.

The Braves and Phillies won’t see each other again until September, which makes it all-the-more sweeter that the Braves have already banked five wins in six opportunities against them. If the Phillies eventually wake up and start trying to seriously dig themselves out of this early-season hole, they’ll have to do it while relying on other teams helping them out against the Braves.

That is going to be a tough task in itself since the Braves have continued to rack up the wins. They’re the first team to reach 20 wins this season and although the Padres an Dodgers have gotten off to just as good of a start so far, it’s still just really nice to see that nice, round number on the leaderboard. This upcoming week could be tricky with the Tigers bringing in the top of their rotation for a three-game series starting on Tuesday and then going to Colorado is always an unpredictable situation (even if the Rockies are bad like usual).

With that being said, the Braves still have some breathing room to play with in the division with their scalding-hot start to the season. They’re already 10 games clear of both the Phillies and the Mets and earlier on in this 13-game NL East Gauntlet, the Braves took care of both the Marlins and the Nationals as well. The Braves are going to eventually slow down but their quality of play seems to indicate that whatever valleys they may reach likely won’t be as deep as they had been in both 2024 and 2025. That middle game against the Phillies was a great example, in my opinion — Atlanta didn’t play all that well and they still had a shot to keep the game going in the tenth inning with one swing of the bat. If you’re winning a ton of games and your losses look like that, that’s a sign that things are really clicking for you.

Hopefully they continue to click like this, since this is certainly a lot more fun than how things started last season. Atlanta didn’t win their 20th game of the season until May 12 and they didn’t go over .500 for the first time until nearly a week after that. That one day over .500 was all they had last season — now, this appears to be a matter of just how high and far the Braves can get over .500 this season. It’s a much better situation, isn’t it, folks?

Following a rough start against the Astros on Sunday afternoon in which he surrendered six runs on five hits and three walks in four innings including a pair of early two-run homers, Luis Gil has been demoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre. It is the second time this season he has been optioned to the RailRiders this season after getting sent down out of spring training when the Yankees’ schedule allowed for a four-man rotation for the first two weeks. He must remain there for a minimum of 15 days, meaning the earliest he can be called up is May 11th.

The move comes as no surprise given the impending returns of Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole from elbow surgery rehab and Gil’s poor form to start the campaign. Although he appeared to right the ship with 6.1 scoreless innings against the Red Sox at the start of the week, this latest stinker means he is 1-2 in four starts with a 6.05 ERA, 8.43 FIP, -0.4 fWAR, and more walks (11) than strikeouts (9).

Gil’s fastball velocity is still about two mph below his AL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024. Even more than the velocity, he hasn’t show the ability to command any of his pitches. This means his walk rate is creeping toward a career worst while also giving up almost three home runs per nine innings. He would certainly be served by an extended period to work on his mechanics in a lower pressure environment. As David Cone mentioned on the latest broadcast, Gil is throwing from a lower arm slot and cross firing instead of striding toward home plate, and you wonder how much he is continuing to compensate for the serious lat injury that cost him more than half of 2025.

That being said, it was always inevitable that Gil’s name would be the first called for a potential demotion out of the starting rotation as Rodón and Cole near their returns. Rodón is the nearer of the two to his season debut after an offseason procedure to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow. He tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his rehab start with the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades on Friday. He will likely require at least a couple more rehab appearances after throwing 65 pitches, but could theoretically be built up to join the major league team before Gil’s option window is up. Ryan Yarbrough could also make a spot-start if needed.

The Yankees are taking it more cautiously with the final stages of Cole’s Tommy John rehab. He has been up and down in his pair of rehab starts to date and will likely be a month behind Rodón’s timetable.

Going forward, it is hard to envision what Gil’s role could be on the major league roster. Will Warren and Ryan Weathers are clearly ahead of him in the rotation pecking order, and assuming health, one of that pair will have to be displaced once Cole returns. Gil’s issues with walks and the long ball make him a less than ideal candidate for the bullpen. And even then, it’s difficult to see him displacing Brent Headrick or Jake Bird at the moment while Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn do not have any minor league options remaining and would have to be DFA’d if Gil were to take their spot. For now, the focus for Gil should be to keep his head down and get his delivery right in the minors.

As the defending two-time champions, the Dodgers don’t exactly need litmus tests.

Still, this weekend gave them a chance to size up one of their biggest fellow National League contenders — and reaffirm their own status as MLB’s foremost World Series threat once again.

After dropping a Friday night series opener to the Cubs that ran Chicago’s win streak to 10 games, the Dodgers bounced back the way title-winning teams are supposed to, cruising to back-to-back victories at Dodger Stadium to rally and take the three-game set.

The series was decided Sunday, in a 6-0 Dodgers win keyed by another pitching gem from Justin Wrobleski and another resurgent day from the club’s relentless lineup.

Wrobleski spun six scoreless innings in his start, despite battling poor command, heavy traffic and a high pitch count early.

The Dodgers (19-9) gave him plenty of support by striking for three runs in the first (including two on a Miguel Rojas double), two more after Wrobleski left the mound in the sixth (which was keyed by a double from Andy Pages and RBI single from Dalton Rushing), then another in the seventh when Shohei Ohtani snapped his two-week home run drought with an insurance blast to the opposite field.

“I think it’s so important when you get good starting pitching, good defense,” Rojas said. “And the last couple games have been good for the offense. We’ve gotten an opportunity to work on the things we need to work on.”

Indeed, it remains early days of the season. Even the Dodgers (and some of their superstar hitters, in particular) are still working through some kinks.

But come October, it’s already looking likely that the Dodgers and Cubs could wind up crossing paths again. Earlier this week, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts predicted the Cubs to “be in the mix” as his team goes for a third straight championship.

“They can really defend,” he said. “And they can really hit.”

For now, however, the Dodgers’ supremacy remains undisputed. Even the hottest team in the majors couldn’t temporarily knock them from their perch.

“[We have a] really good way of manufacturing runs,” Ohtani told SportsNet LA after the game through interpreter Will Ireton. “And we have a really good pitching staff.”

Both were good enough this week for them to come back and take a series from the Cubs.

What it means

For starters, that there was once again a postgame toast in the Dodgers’ clubhouse to celebrate a series win — their first since sweeping the Mets during their previous homestand.

Before these last two games, the Dodgers had lost five of seven, failing to win either series during their recent road trip to Denver and San Francisco. For the first time, there were fears they might enter their first true skid of the season, especially in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s injury.

Two days later, so much for all that.

The Dodgers are now one win behind the Braves for most in the majors. They are also 11-4 on their home field, having won four of the five series they’ve played at Chavez Ravine this year.

Who’s hot

For the first time in a little while, Ohtani.

Entering Sunday, the two-way star was 1-for-his-last-15, had gone six games without an extra-base hit and was mired in a two-week home run drought –– his longest since joining the Dodgers three years ago.

Then, he turned in one of his best offensive games of the season, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a stolen base and his solo home run in the seventh.

“I talked to him a couple days ago, and he said his setup was a little bit off,” Roberts said.

So, on Saturday, he made an adjustment with his batting stance and saw the results immediately reappear.

“The at-bat quality over the last couple days has been fantastic,” Roberts said. “He got his setup, his direction better.”

It will take more such performances for the four-time MVP to get back to his typically atmospheric standards, of course. Even after Sunday, he is batting .262 with an .876 OPS.

However, once Ohtani finds his swing, it usually doesn’t take long for him to heat up. The last couple weeks, the Dodgers have been waiting for it. Sunday, they will hope, is a sign that plenty more is soon to come.

Who’s not

Now that Ohtani has turned a corner, the Dodgers will count on their other superstar sluggers to do the same.

So far, it hasn’t happened for Freddie Freeman. 

Freeman went 0-for-4 Sunday and is now 4-for-23 in his last six games. The last four of those contests have been with Freeman batting second –– continuing the Dodgers’ season-long production problems from that spot in the lineup (which was previously occupied by Kyle Tucker, who has three doubles in four games since dropping down to the middle of the order).

Up next

The Dodgers open a three-game set against the Marlins on Monday night, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.48 ERA) facing Chris Paddack (0-4, 6.38 ERA). Ohtani will also start as a pitcher in the series on Tuesday — notable, because the Dodgers decided against pushing his outing back to Wednesday so he could pitch ahead of Thursday’s off day.

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This series wasn’t going to be easy, we all knew that before it began.

And when Shōta Imanaga had a 32-pitch first inning in which he allowed a pair of walks and three runs, that made the Cubs’ task that much more difficult.

That, and the fact that the Cubs again had RISP issues, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 12 men on base, led to a 6-0 loss to the Dodgers, and the home-standing L.A. team took the series.

The first two Cubs got on base, Nico Hoerner on a single and Alex Bregman by walk, but they were stranded when Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki struck out and Carson Kelly grounded out.

Then the Dodgers worked those three runs off Imanaga in the bottom of the inning, the key hit a two-run double by Miguel Rojas.

The Cubs again had a chance in the second inning, when Michael Busch led off with a double. One out later, Matt Shaw walked. The runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch, an excellent scoring opportunity with just one out, and Pete Crow-Armstrong then walked to load the bases.

But Nico Hoerner then struck out, losing an ABS challenge in doing so. Nico thought he had walked, and look how close this pitch was for strike 2 [VIDEO].

The Cubs would have had a run if Nico had just laid off the next pitch, which would have been ball 4, but he swung and missed:

Sigh. Alex Bregman then grounded out to end the inning.

The Cubs did play some good defense in this game. Here’s PCA taking an extra-base hit away from Teoscar Hernández in the third [VIDEO].

Imanaga settled down through the fifth inning, keeping the score at 3-0. Suzuki gave Imanaga some defensive help [VIDEO].

Suzuki also made a nice sliding catch in the fifth [VIDEO].

The Dodgers extended the lead to 4-0 in the sixth on an RBI single by Dalton Rushing, and that was it for Imanaga, who threw 100 pitches, striking out six. He also walked three, which is unusual for him. More from BCB’s JohnW53:

This was only the fifth of Imanaga’s 60 career starts in which he walked at least three batters. The last was April 15 of last year. He walked four only once, on Opening Day of last season vs. the Dodgers in Tokyo. This was his 29th start since then.

Here’s more on Imanaga’s outing [VIDEO].

The Dodgers scored a fifth run in that sixth inning, charged to Imanaga, on a throwing error by Kelly. And they added a sixth run, in the seventh, on a solo homer by Shohei Ohtani.

Yacksel Rios, another of Jed Hoyer’s minor-league signings over the winter, threw two scoreless innings of relief, his first MLB appearance since he posted a 37.80 (!) ERA for the A’s in 2023. At this point the Cubs will take any sort of relief help they can get. Rios likely gets DFA when Phil Maton is ready to return, I’d think.

Here’s a second nice grab by Suzuki [VIDEO].

PCA also made a second good catch in this game, in the eighth [VIDEO].

So at least the Cubs outfield defense is still doing its job.

All told, the pitching wasn’t great, but the Cubs also missed several good scoring opportunities in leaving those 12 runners on base. Beyond that I don’t have much more to say about this one — just hoping the Cubs can start taking better advantage of the scoring opportunities that they have actually had. One last note on all those runners from John:

The Cubs had played only 17 previous games since 1901 in which they were shut out and left at least 12 runners on base in a nine-inning game.

The most recent of those had been Aug. 22, 2011, in a 3-0 loss to the Braves at home. The Cubs left 15, tying the record for their most in such a game, set in the first of its kind, at Boston on May 11, 1905.

The last on the road before Sunday had been vs. the Braves, too, by 2-0 at Atlanta on June 22, 2009. They had a dozen LOB that day.

Until Sunday, the Cubs never had been blanked by the Dodgers, home or road, while stranding at least 12.
Besides the two games with 15, there had been six with 13 and nine with 12.

The Reds also lost Sunday (as did the Cardinals and Pirates, the latter of whom lost to the Brewers), so the Cubs remain one game out of first place in the NL Central.

The Cubs head to San Diego to play a three-game series against the Padres beginning Monday evening. Matthew Boyd will start the series opener for the Cubs and Randy Vasquez will go for San Diego. Game time Monday is 8:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

There was a time on Sunday afternoon where the fates seemed to be doing just about everything they could to push the Cincinnati Reds to yet another improbable victory.

That wasn’t true of the Top of the 1st. Reds starter Rhett Lowder was tagged for three hits and a walk in a 30 pitch inning to begin his day, the big swing being a 2-run double off the bat of Kerry Carpenter that nearly cleared the bases. Cincinnati, despite coming into this one with a chance for a series sweep, was immediately in a hole.

Trailing, though, is something that just seems to be part of what this team has become in 2026. Falling behind early and working their way back in gradual fashion is now just part of their ethos. And, once again, Sunday saw them grind their way back with single runs in the Bottom of the 2nd, Bottom of the 4th, and Bottom of the 5th to eventually claim a 5-2 lead as Lowder settled in and once again looked like the budding rotation cog that we know he can be.

Problem was, though, that Lowder’s early grind meant he reached 94 pitches after clearing 5 IP, and that turned things over to the Cincinnati Reds bullpen. Despite their brilliant work to begin this season, Sunday simply was not their day.

Brock Burke managed to scatter a trio of Tigers on the bases without allowing a run in the 6th, though Sam Moll wasn’t quite so lucky when he was tagged for a homer by Hao-Yu Lee that flipped the scoreboard. It was Lee’s first career dinger, but wasn’t the final big blast of the day for the Tigers by any stretch of the imagination. Spencer Torkelson homered for the fifth straight game with a blast off Pierce Johnson in the 7th only for Gleyber Torres to put the game completely on ice wit his 2-run blast off Jose Franco in the Top of the 8th.

That put the Reds in an 8-3 hole that they would not climb out of on the day.

Other Notes

• Nick Lodolo breezed through 5 scoreless frames on his first rehab start with High-A Dayton on Sunday. He was originally slated to only through 4 IP, but was so pitch efficient that they rolled him back out there for another breeze of an inning. If his blistered finger can hold up for another five days, methinks he’ll potentially only need one more rehab start before returning to the Cincinnati rotation.
• Nate Lowe homered again, his fourth of the three-game series. He’s good, the Reds are better off when he’s in the lineup, and I suppose that’s a good problem to have.
• JJ Bleday made his Reds debut in this one with a start in LF. He homered and walked before being platooned with Dane Myers, but his efforts were good enough to take home today’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game. Welcome to Cincinnati, JJ!
• The Reds have a day-off at home in Cincinnati on Monday before opening a three-game series in GABP against the Colorado Rockies. Chase Burns will start the series opener, which is set for 6:40 PM ET.

Home plate umpire Ryan Blakney seemed to be in his feels after Brett Baty didn’t appear to like a call that ended the fourth inning.

The Mets’ third baseman was called out on strikes on a pitch that caught the bottom of the strike zone and tossed his bat in frustration as he walked out of the batter’s box. 

After he took off his batting gloves and helmet, Batty looked back in the direction of the plate and appeared to shake his head, prompting the umpire to shout at Baty. 

“Then challenge it,” Blakney said. 

"Don't look at me"

Brett Baty has a back-and-forth with the home plate umpire following a strikeout pic.twitter.com/naRGIg5Fyl

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 26, 2026

That comment prompted Baty to turn and tell Blakney that “I didn’t say anything to you,” which would appear to be supported by the mics that picked up the sequence of events. 

Blakney then shouted back to Baty, “you didn’t need to.” 

“Don’t look at me,” the testy ump barked back at Baty. 

Baty repeated that he didn’t say anything to the umpire and added that it was the umpire who instigated the situation, which Blakney denied despite the fact that the mics picked up him being the first person to say something after the strikeout call.

Eventually,  Mets third base coach Tim Leiper moved Baty away from the area and back into the field for the start of the fifth inning. 

It was certainly an odd moment for Blakney to instigate the argument, though he could have been frustrated after three of his calls were challenged in the first inning alone, including the first pitch of the bottom of the first. Two were overturned.

The introduction of the automated ball-strike system has largely been praised since MLB instituted it during this year’s regular season, but it has also led to some embarrassing moments for MLB umpires. 

C.B. Bucknor has found himself on the wrong end of a number of challenges, and on Saturday, he had six of eight calls that had been challenged by players overturned. 

In an article published last month by the Associated Press, former major league umpire Richie Garcia complained that it was “embarrassing to the umpires that are calling the game.”

“Nobody likes to be humiliated in front of 30,000, 40,000 people,” he said. “What Major League Baseball is saying is: I don’t trust the umpire’s strike zone, so I’m going to use something that’s going to be operated by some computer geek that knows nothing about baseball, and he’s the one that’s going to measure this and measure that because he’s got a Ph.D. in physics or whatever the hell he’s got a degree in.”