Category: Sports News

In baseball, you’re only as good as your last game. The San Diego Padres lost four of the first six games in the 2026 campaign. The Friar Faithful were concerned about the starting pitching outside of Randy Vasquez. Speculation was growing over how much longer Craig Stammen can stick with the current rotation before making changes.

However, a weekend in Boston has changed everyone’s spirits. It is a small sample, but the Friars’ starting pitchers need to tread water until the bats come alive.

A starting rotation is a team’s life source

The Padres starters are well-equipped to take the lead and take down the opposing lineups this week. Not every pitcher needs to register a stellar performance, but everyone wants to see some consistency in their starts.

You want them to become more comfortable on the mound, but their control does not have to be sparkling. The hope is that the third start of the season ends on an upward trend. They must limit baserunners by throwing strikes and recording outs.

If not, you fall into the trap of pitching into hitters’ counts. Usually, the results are not good, as hard-hit balls occur, and runners cross home plate.

Friars are searching for SP consistency

The Padres’ rotation is in flux, as Joe Musgrove is working his way back onto the active roster. Moving forward, Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Walker Buehler and German Marquez need to become more reliable in their starts.

The Friar Faithful might have raised the white flag after Stammen brought in Kyle Hart after another poor outing from Buehler. But the move made all the sense, as Hart has put himself back into the conversation as a rotation replacement option. Shutting down the Boston Red Sox for two-plus innings has definitely opened some eyes. 

But to get on an extended winning streak, the Friars’ offense must hold up its end of the bargain. 

Bats must come alive

The Padres have one more game against the Pittsburgh Pirates before coming home to host the Colorado Rockies in a four-game series at Petco Park this weekend. It offers plenty of time for Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. to have more quality at-bats.

As proven run-producing hitters, both are expected to anchor the lineup. But their production has been spotty at best to start the 2026 season. Machado and Tatis Jr. have to make opposing pitchers dread the prospect of pitching against them, especially with runners in scoring position.

Together, they need to put fear back into the mind of opposing pitchers and give the impression they’re ready to breakout from their slow starts. 

Yes, there is a discrepancy between expectations and actual production done at the plate. 

It seems everything is going in the right direction. But it’s too early to tell.

The Yankees continue to roll to start the 2026 season, with different players putting their stamp on each game and Tuesday night wasn't any different.

Going up against the Athletics, Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided to start Amed Rosario (his second this season) at third base instead of Ryan McMahon. Despite the A's having right-hander Aaron Civale on the mound, the Yankees skipper chose Rosario instead of the left-handed McMahon because of Civale's reverse splits. And that proved to be the right move.

Rosario got the Yankees' scoring started with a solo shot in the second to put them up 1-0. But once the offense stalled, Rosario came to the rescue again in the eighth inning. Going up against former Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr., Rosario launched a three-run blast to give the Yankees the lead and the eventual win, 5-3. 

The 30-year-old launched the 0-1 splitter 414 feet (107.3 mph off the bat) into the second deck in left field. Rosario knew he got all of it and turned to his dugout to hype his team up.

"A lot of emotions there," Rosario said through an interpreter of the go-ahead homer. "Looking for a pitch that I could do some damage. I got it."

The Yankees traded for Rosario at the trade deadline last year to help bolster their bench. He provided that much-needed right-handed depth, hitting .303 with a home run, three doubles and five RBI in 16 games in 2025. The team re-signed him to give Boone that bench option again, and the skipper knew he could deliver when needed.

"One of the things that struck me about him last year, just how good he was at staying ready and prepared in the role," Boone said. "He’s really good at what he needs to be ready every single day. I liked him against Civale today, not only he hits one there, but a no-doubter to pull the victory out. Just a big night for him."

Another reason the Yankees brought back Rosario was his clubhouse presence. Even when he wasn't playing, he brought an energy to the dugout, constantly encouraging his teammates. He's become a favorite amongst his teammates. 

"We brought Rosie back not only because he’s a good player, but a tremendous teammate and sets an amazing example for everyone," Boone said. "He’s become beloved in that room in short order. They all get thrilled by his successes, too."

"He’s great to have on the team. Great to have someone like him on the team," Jose Caballero said of Rosario. "He never has a bad day. He always comes with high energy. It’s good for the clubhouse, good for him, and good for everyone." 

"He’s great. High-energy guy," Cam Schlittler added. "Goes out there and does something like that tonight. We don’t win that game without him.

Boone recalled last year when Rosario wound up on the IL after running into a wall in the outfield when he first came over in the trade. When Rosario was ready to come back after a short stint, he didn't need a rehab start; he told the team he was ready to go immediately, and that stuck with Boone. 

"Although I’m not playing every day, I try not to let that affect me mentally," Rosario said of staying ready. "Over the years, I’ve created a routine that’s allowed me to do my job."

That's why Boone is comfortable inserting Rosario in the lineup when needed, perhaps even more than last season. 

The decision is also made easier by McMahon's tough start to the season offensively -- 2-for-23 with an OPS of . 363. However, Boone isn't committing to a change after Rosario's performance on Tuesday. He likes the options he has in Rosario and McMahon and will create his lineup accordingly.

"There's certain matchups that I like [Rosario] in," Boone explained. "We've got a number of lefties coming up. Competition's always a good thing."

Tuesday was just the third instance where Rosario had a multi-homer game. As a Yankee, Rosario has hit .302/.295/.581 (13-for-43) with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI in just 20 games.

If McMahon continues to struggle, Rosario will have more opportunities to build on those numbers. 

 

The San Diego Padres signed a starter in the offseason that they knew would not be ready for at least a month to two months in Griffin Canning. With Spring Training well underway, they discovered that their rehabbing workhorse, Joe Musgrove, was not recovering well from his buildup and he was put on hold. Matt Waldron, who worked hard during the offseason to lose weight, increase strength and improve his velocity, suffered an infection of a hemorrhoid and needed surgery.

That left two reclamation projects, Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez, as the last two pitchers to fill out the rotation. Both left-handers JP Sears and Marco Gonzales, as well as righty Triston McKenzie, showed early that they didn’t have the needed command to break camp with the team.

At least Buehler and Márquez are experienced veterans who know how to pitch. Even with diminished stuff after elbow surgeries, they both showed the ability in spring games to develop into acceptable fill-ins for a while.

So, after two starts each, what have we learned about Buehler and Márquez?

Walker Buehler

In 6.2 innings pitched over two starts, Buehler has had two good innings to start each game. Then everything falls apart and he can’t get it back. In the first two innings of the two starts, Buehler has allowed two hits, no runs, one walk and has had six strikeouts. Over the next 2.2 innings pitched in the third and fourth innings of the two games, Buehler has allowed six hits, seven runs, three walks and has had one strikeout. He has a seven-pitch mix with a fastball that tops out at 93-94 mph. His command and execution are the issues, and it seems that he had to change his arm angle and mechanics to accommodate his injured elbow. Now that he is healed, going back to a previous arm angle has been a problem.

In his Padres Daily newsletter, San Diego Union-Tribune Padres beat writer Kevin Acee quoted Buehler on his struggles.

“By nature of doing new stuff for three or four days, I can hold it for a (while) and then it goes away. It’s just getting the new stuff into the throw…. I feel good about the first two innings. So net positive, I guess.”

All that is well and good if we were still in spring games. But these games count and a starter that can hold his delivery for only two innings is not a starter. That would be a bullpen pitcher, at best. The bottom line appears to be whether Buehler can bring his new mechanics into the games more consistently and soon enough so as not to cost the Friars too many games. Taxing the bullpen for five or six innings every fifth day is not a winning approach.

There will be an end line for this experiment. Matt Waldron is almost done with his rehab and Griffin Canning has begun his starter progression. Buehler’s 9.45 ERA is representative of how poorly he pitches after reverting back to old habits in his delivery. The Padres can’t afford to let that continue for too long.

Germán Márquez

In eight innings pitched over two starts, Márquez had one horrible performance and one really gutsy one. In his first start, he lasted three innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk. His locations on his pitches were missing and he was hit hard.

Then, in a Padres notebook by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Ruben Niebla revealed that Márquez was tipping his pitches and the hitters took advantage. They worked on his delivery in his between starts bullpen session. Márquez pitched through five shutout innings while scattering six hits with one walk and four strikeouts Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He benefitted from some good defense as well as some Pirates mistakes in the Padres win.

Márquez lives and dies by his knuckle curve. He used it 45% of the time versus the Pirates and his 94 mph four-seamer 47% of the time. He threw five sinkers and one changeup in his 92 pitches. The curve had a 38% whiff rate and the fastball a 25% whiff rate. His curve is the only pitch that rates out as a plus-pitch.

Márquez has to be almost perfect with his curve and fastball to be successful pitching this way. Mixing in other pitches would presumably make him less predictable but if he can locate the knuckle curve and it moves like it did on Monday, maybe a fifth starter job can work for him.

---

The conclusion for both of these veteran starters is that they have to hold onto their altered delivery and mechanics if they have any hope of sticking as MLB starting pitchers. Both are former ace pitchers who have lost velocity after elbow surgery and must now rely on command in order to be effective. It seems that both have the potential to succeed but time will tell if the adjustments they have made can carry them through to an effective second career as a finesse pitcher.

The Padres, luckily, have other options on the horizon if either or both of these pitchers are unable to adjust to their new realities. For the sake of the team, we can hope that at least one of them is able to succeed.

There was some serious angst in Anaheim as benches cleared during the Angels' game against the Atlanta Braves on April 7.

The baseball brouhaha broke out in the bottom of the fifth inning when Angels hitter Jorge Soler did not appreciate Braves pitcher Reynaldo López throwing some high heat. Soler — perhaps not noticing that López had a baseball in his hand — ran out to the mound and the two started throwing punches, though neither appeared to connect with López throwing hands while still holding the baseball. Angels and Braves players ran onto the field and the mayhem moved toward the first base line before the brawl was broken up.

Jorge Soler and Reynaldo López are throwing PUNCHES in Anaheim as a brawl breaks out pic.twitter.com/Uj4kOk07Ow

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 8, 2026

Watch as Soler and López exchange unpleasantries before throwing haymakers.

Benches cleared after Jorge Soler and Reynaldo López exchanged punches. pic.twitter.com/dQXlllqD5B

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) April 8, 2026

The groundwork for the benches-clearing brawl was laid earlier in the game. Soler homered in his first at-bat off López, a two-run shot that also scored Mike Trout. In the third inning, López plunked Soler. Two innings later, the two met again and the kerfuffle ensued. Both López and Soler were ejected by first base umpire Vic Carapazza.

The high pitch that angered Soler went over catcher Jonah Heim, and Nolan Schanuel — who had walked prior to Soler's at-bat — advanced to second base. Schanuel advanced to third base on a wild pitch by López's replacement, Tyler Kinley. However, Soler's replacement — Jeimer Candelario — struck out to end the threat.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angels Braves fight: Reynaldo Lopez and Jorge Soler incite brawl video

Blue Jays fans scarfed down an insane amount of hot dogs on Tuesday night while their team got beaten by the Dodgers, 4-1. 

The Jays sold hot dogs for 77 cents in honor of their inaugural season in 1977, which resulted in fans grabbing more than 100,000 hot dogs during the nine-inning game. 

The final total was reported as 100,204 by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times and 100,202 by the Toronto Star. 

Tuesdays are traditionally dubbed “Loonie Dog Night” when the hot dogs are sold for $1, but they cost even less this time due to the special occasion. 

“Back by popular demand, Loonie Dogs Night presented by Schneiders returns to Rogers Centre for every Tuesday home game of the 2026 season,” the Blue Jays website read. “On Loonie Dogs Night presented by Schneiders, fans will have the opportunity to purchase $1 hot dogs from various concession stands around the ballpark. Don’t miss out on this hot dog of a deal!”

Blue Jays fans seem to love their Loonie Dogs and set a record in 2025 of consuming 826,308, toppling the previous record (727,819) set the year prior. 

Tuesday’s game was also the second game of a three-game set between the Dodgers and Blue Jays, a rematch of last year’s World Series. 

The Blue Jays dropped their sixth straight game and fell to a 4-7 record to start the season. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six innings for the Dodgers, giving up one run on five hits and striking out six. 

Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI single in the third inning to drive in the first run of the game, and Will Smith was able to bring in a second run later that inning. 

Alex Freeland and Kyle Tucker hit RBIs in the fifth and ninth innings, respectively. George Springer drove in the only Blue Jays run in the sixth.

In the middle of the loss, Toronto skipper John Schneider was ejected from the game for arguing a balk call.

The Braves and Angels went from zero to 100 real quick on Tuesday night.

And it wasn’t exactly heavenly in Anaheim.

The teams got into a chaotic benches-clearing brawl during Atlanta’s 7-2 win that even saw Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler and Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez throw punches at each other.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Soler took a pitch up-and-in that went to the backstop, which allowed Nolan Schanuel to go from first to second base.

MASSIVE brawl breaks out in Anaheim as Jorge Soler and Reynaldo López throw punches at each other after Soler took exception to a high-and-in pitch. pic.twitter.com/SOHkZjVqNn

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) April 8, 2026

But things only escalated from there. Soler appeared to take exception to the pitch and stared down Lopez as he got a new ball for the next pitch. The starter held out both of his arms, seemingly in disbelief at the reaction. But before long, Soler dropped his bat and the two both threw punches as the dugouts emptied.

As the action veered toward the first base line, a few Braves players tackled Soler to the ground before he could inflict any real damage on Lopez. Angels star Mike Trout and Braves first base coach Antoan Richardson pushed Lopez back to keep him out of the fray as the rest of the teams converged around Soler.

Once the brouhaha was completely quelled, Soler and Lopez walked off and were done for the night, getting ejected from the ballgame. No other players were tossed.

Soler hit a two-run homer in the first inning, the only two runs Lopez allowed in his abbreviated outing.

Entering the ninth inning on Tuesday, Sandy Alcantara hadn’t allowed a single run this season.

And after recording the first out, he was two outs away from his second straight shutout.

But a double from Matt McCalin and a walk to Elly De La Cruz put two Reds runners on base, and even with Alcantara at 95 pitches, Miami skipper Clayton McCullough saw enough to bring in reliever Anthony Bender, leading to some boos from the loanDepot park crowd.

The decision quickly blew up in Miami’s face. And the Miami ace wasn’t particularly thrilled with the decision-making.

Bender blew the lead, and the Marlins fell to the Reds, 6-3, in 10 innings.

Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, said that at his pitch count and a right-handed hitter coming up for the Reds, he felt he could have stayed in for at least another batter.

“I’m just a player,” Alcantara told reporters. “I understand there’s a decision, and you cannot control it. It just happened. It just happened. So I’ll be there with my teammates and my coaches, but I think next time, they have to make sure to ask me before taking me out of the game.”

McCullough said he was ready to go to Bender after the walk to De La Cruz put the potential tying runner on base.

“I know he felt like he had plenty left to go finish that game out,” McCullough said, per the Miami Herald. “Didn’t give him that opportunity.”

It’s been a journey for Alcantara after he won the Cy Young, as he struggled in 2023 with an ERA over 4.00 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss all of ’24.

Last season’s return, while successful in the fact that he was on the field and threw 174 2/3 innings, did not provide great results with his 5.36 ERA and 1.271 WHIP.

All the while, Alcantara faced plenty of speculation and rumors that he would be shipped out of Miami.

This season has been a complete 180, with the two runs that scored in the ninth on Tuesday being the only ones charged on his ledger through 24 1/3 frames. The Marlins are 6-5.

There will come a period in this season when time unspools languorously, with the unobtrusive ease of a sport that plays a game nearly every day. The edges will soften, the agonies and exaltations abating in equal measure. You cannot sprint 162 times over.

Now is not that period. Now, time does not unspool. Time is a rusted coil of cables that has adhered to its massive spool on the docks through weather and neglect. It screeches when moved, an outraged howling against itself. Any ecstasy in progress makes the inevitable stoppage even more excruciating. Orange leeches onto hands, smears across wood, stains all it touches, etching its furious reluctance into everything it possibly can.

Eventually, it will not feel like this.

The Mariners are 12 games into the 2026 season, and…

…they have lost eight of those games.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers.)

…seven of those losses have been by two runs or fewer; five of them by one run.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers.)

…their starting pitching has looked so good.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when George Kirby went eight full innings with just 90 pitches, giving up three runs and no walks. He deserves to be Furious.)

…their defense has looked appalling.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when Brendan Donovan’s throwing error ultimately allowed a run to score. Which is never ideal, but is particularly not ideal when you lose a game by one run.)

…their baserunning has appeared wildly suspect.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when Luke Raley completely missed stepping on first base in the ninth inning and had to double back, which left him out of scoring position when J.P. Crawford singled in the next at-bat.)

…their offense has been putrid.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when they went an anemic 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Anyone remember Miles4RISP? Simpler times.)

…there are 150 games left in the regular season.

(Complimentary.) (Derogatory.)

…I have watched a lot of Rockies games.

(Go M’s)

There will come a period in this season when time unspools languorously, with the unobtrusive ease of a sport that plays a game nearly every day. The edges will soften, the agonies and exaltations abating in equal measure. You cannot sprint 162 times over.

Now is not that period. Now, time does not unspool. Time is a rusted coil of cables that has adhered to its massive spool on the docks through weather and neglect. It screeches when moved, an outraged howling against itself. Any ecstasy in progress makes the inevitable stoppage even more excruciating. Orange leeches onto hands, smears across wood, stains all it touches, etching its furious reluctance into everything it possibly can.

Eventually, it will not feel like this.

The Mariners are 12 games into the 2026 season, and…

…they have lost eight of those games.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers.)

…seven of those losses have been by two runs or fewer; five of them by one run.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers.)

…their starting pitching has looked so good.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when George Kirby went eight full innings with just 90 pitches, giving up three runs and no walks. He deserves to be Furious.)

…their defense has looked appalling.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when Brendan Donovan’s throwing error ultimately allowed a run to score. Which is never ideal, but is particularly not ideal when you lose a game by one run.)

…their baserunning has appeared wildly suspect.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when Luke Raley completely missed stepping on first base in the ninth inning and had to double back, which left him out of scoring position when J.P. Crawford singled in the next at-bat.)

…their offense has been putrid.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when they went an anemic 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Anyone remember Miles4RISP? Simpler times.)

…there are 150 games left in the regular season.

(Complimentary.) (Derogatory.)

…I have watched a lot of Rockies games.

(Go M’s)

There will come a period in this season when time unspools languorously, with the unobtrusive ease of a sport that plays a game nearly every day. The edges will soften, the agonies and exaltations abating in equal measure. You cannot sprint 162 times over.

Now is not that period. Now, time does not unspool. Time is a rusted coil of cables that has adhered to its massive spool on the docks through weather and neglect. It screeches when moved, an outraged howling against itself. Any ecstasy in progress makes the inevitable stoppage even more excruciating. Orange leeches onto hands, smears across wood, stains all it touches, etching its furious reluctance into everything it possibly can.

Eventually, it will not feel like this.

The Mariners are 12 games into the 2026 season, and…

…they have lost eight of those games.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers.)

…seven of those losses have been by two runs or fewer; five of them by one run.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers.)

…their starting pitching has looked so good.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when George Kirby went eight full innings with just 90 pitches, giving up three runs and no walks. He deserves to be Furious.)

…their defense has looked appalling.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when Brendan Donovan’s throwing error ultimately allowed a run to score. Which is never ideal, but is particularly not ideal when you lose a game by one run.)

…their baserunning has appeared wildly suspect.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when Luke Raley completely missed stepping on first base in the ninth inning and had to double back, which left him out of scoring position when J.P. Crawford singled in the next at-bat.)

…their offense has been putrid.

(including the game tonight, against the Texas Rangers, when they went an anemic 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Anyone remember Miles4RISP? Simpler times.)

…there are 150 games left in the regular season.

(Complimentary.) (Derogatory.)

…I have watched a lot of Rockies games.

(Go M’s)