Category: Sports News

Folks. What was this baseball game???

I cannot believe what I just saw. The Orioles just won a game against the best team in baseball in which they were shut out until the seventh inning, then trailed by two runs in the 11th inning, then trailed by a run in the 12th, then trailed by two runs again in the 13th.

It was without question the gutsiest victory of the year for the Orioles, who badly needed one. At every turn, the O’s could have packed it in and accepted defeat. Instead they pulled out every trick in the book, battling back from every disadvantage — with help, admittedly, from a Rays team that couldn’t play defense — to scrape and claw their way back into the game. And Colton Cowser, for the second straight day, provided the decisive blow with a walkoff home run, finally bringing this roller coaster of a game to a close after 13 innings and 4 hours, 12 minutes of utter madness.

I suppose we’ll start at the beginning, but keep reading for all the fun stuff later on. Though both starters were long gone by the time this game ended, Kyle Bradish and Shane McClanahan were equally dominant today. Bradish showed a knack for making big pitches to get out of jams. In the third, with two on and two out, Bradish blew away Jonathan Aranda on a 3-2 fastball. A similar situation played out two innings later when the Rays put a runner at second before Bradish fanned the dangerous Junior Caminero on a 3-2 pitch, this time a nasty slider. If it hasn’t been said already, Kyle Bradish is so back.

The Orioles’ offense, though, had all sorts of trouble with McClanahan, and they didn’t do themselves any favors with dreadful baserunning. They were picked off not once but twice in the first six innings, starting with Blaze Alexander in the third. Later, in the sixth, with two on and one out, Gunnar Henderson drifted too far off second base. McClanahan fired to the bag and caught Henderson in a rundown, where he was eventually tagged out. Oh, come on, Gunnar. Pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo grounded out to end the threat, and the O’s had blundered themselves out of a great scoring opportunity.

As the scoreless duel entered the sixth inning, the only question was which pitcher would make a mistake first. Unfortunately, the answer was Bradish, who hung a slider to Aranda that he crushed into the right-field seats for his ninth home run. Sigh. One bad pitch amidst an otherwise great effort. Bradish ultimately worked six strong innings, giving up just one run. He struck out three and walked two, both of which were Cedric Mullins, who received a nice ovation from the Camden Yards crowd in his return to Baltimore as a visitor.

Happily, the bottom of the seventh also featured some baserunning adventures that turned out much better for the Birds, with help from terrible Rays defense. Leody Taveras led off with a walk and stole second base. With Alexander at the plate, reliever Hunter Bigge whirled around and tried to pick off Taveras — and truthfully, he would’ve had him out, for the Orioles’ third picked off runner of the day, if shortstop Taylor Walls had been able to catch the ball cleanly. But he didn’t, and it rolled into center field, allowing Taveras to scramble to third.

The O’s took full advantage of the lucky break. On the next pitch, Alexander laced a single to left to plate Taveras with the tying run, finally giving the Camden Yards crowd something to cheer about. But the fun didn’t stop there. With two outs, Taylor Ward roped a single to right. Alexander aggressively tried to get to third, and again a good throw would’ve gotten him, but Victor Mesa Jr. airmailed the ball so wildly that it sailed out of play, automatically awarding Alexander home plate. That’s a heck of a way to score the go-ahead run. I’ll gladly take it. The Orioles have been on the wrong end of shoddy defensive plays many times this year, so it’s nice when it happens to the other team.

The Orioles had taken an improbable lead and the ballpark was rocking, but the O’s immediately blew it. Manager Craig Albernaz made the curious decision to replace Yennier Cano (ERA: 1.40) with Anthony Nunez (ERA: 4.94), even though Cano had thrown just six pitches and faced one batter in the seventh. Make it make sense. Sure enough, Nunez coughed up a double and an RBI single, and with that the game was tied again.

Rico Garcia did his darnedest to keep the game tied, pitching both the ninth and tenth innings and throwing a season-high 32 pitches. Garcia pulled off a great escape in the 10th with the bases loaded and one out, striking out Richie Palacios before a Mullins sizzling liner was nabbed by Alonso at first. Again, the Orioles were fired up, the crowd was alive, and the O’s had every opportunity to win the game.

And again, they blew it, even with a free runner on second to start the bottom of the 10th. Colton Cowser tried to bunt Jackson Holliday to third, but his bunt landed so close to pitcher Ian Seymour that Holliday held at second, thinking it would be caught. So it just ended up as a useless out at first base. Come on, guys! Then the Rays elected to intentionally walk Ward to purposely face Gunnar Henderson with the winning run at second. How far Gunnar’s stature has fallen. Even worse: it worked, as Henderson flailed at an outside pitch for a strikeout, and Rutschman grounded out to send the game to the 11th.

The air had deflated from the Orioles’ balloon, and when Mesa led off the top of the 11th with a two-run homer off Tyler Wells, it looked like the Birds were cooked. But the game took another ridiculous turn in the bottom half of the inning. Alonso smacked a leadoff single to left. Rutschman, the automatic runner, was bizarrely waved to the plate, even though the O’s were down by two runs. I don’t know why Buck Britton sent him there, but it worked out, as Chandler Simpson’s throw was so off-line that Alonso got to second on the play.

The next batter, Jeremiah Jackson, ripped a shot off the glove of the third baseman and into shallow left. Once again Britton aggressively challenged Simpson’s weak arm. The throw to the plate beat Alonso, but catcher Nick Fortes couldn’t hang on, and Alonso slid in safely. WE ARE TIED! Unbelievable! What is this game??

The O’s had a chance to win it right there, as Taveras bunted Jackson to third with one out, but they couldn’t advance him the final 90 feet. The southpaw Seymour racked up a huge strikeout of Holliday and retired Cowser on a flyout to leave Jackson stranded. Spoiler: Colton would redeem himself later.

Right away, the Rays went back ahead in the 12th when long flyouts from Caminero and Aranda moved the automatic runner, Simpson, to third and then home. Again the O’s faced a deficit, 5-4. But again, they came rallying back. A Ward flyout moved Cowser, the Manfred Man, to third base with one out, giving Henderson a chance to redeem himself from his 10th-inning failure.

He did! …Sort of. Henderson smacked a hard shot to first, with Aranda making a quick-reflexed stop. He immediately fired home to Fortes, who tagged the sliding Cowser at the plate. Umpire Ryan Additon called Cowser out, but the O’s immediately challenged. Replay appeared to show that Cowser got his left hand in before the tag from Fortes, but since it didn’t seem 100% conclusive, I assumed they’d uphold the call. I’m happy to report that I was wrong. The call was reversed, Cowser was safe, and we were tied again. Holy moley. This became just the second MLB game this year to go to the 13th inning.

The Rays’ offense just kept coming. With Dietrich Enns on the mound in the 13th, Palacios reached on a bunt single and Mullins beat his former team with a soft RBI single to left. A Fortes sac fly later in the inning made it a 7-5 game, and this time, for sure, the Orioles were cooked. Right? …Right?

WRONG! The Orioles had one more, magical comeback left in them against Rays righty Jesse Scholtens. Taveras roped a double into the corner to lead off the 13th, scoring the free runner, and Alexander’s single to center set up runners at the corners with nobody out. Oh my gosh, are we doing this again? You bet we are. Holliday came through with a productive out, a sac fly to center to bring home Taveras. We are tied again, 7-7. This is insane.

It was about time for somebody to step up and win this game, and look no further than the guy who did exactly that just one day earlier, Cowser. On a 2-1 pitch — on a slider! — Cowser clobbered one to deep center field. He’s done it again! It sailed into the bleachers not far from where his Sunday walkoff landed. Home run. Orioles win, 9-7. The Orioles erupted out of the dugout with high-fives and hugs and Gatorade baths for the hero, in disbelief at the game they’d just played.

What. A. Win. The atmosphere at Oriole Park after the walkoff was electric, and that included the Orioles players, who celebrated on the field with the kind of childlike enthusiasm and sheer joy that we’ve so rarely gotten to see this season. This was the kind of game that the 2023 Orioles would’ve won, and I really hope it can spark some inspired, energetic, winning baseball from the O’s going forward. (I don’t want to hear that it’s unrealistic. Let me have my moment.)

Well, folks. Have you decompressed from this one yet? Who gets your vote for Most Birdland Player if not Cowser? Pete Alonso for his three clutch hits? Kyle Bradish for his impressive start? Rico Garcia for his two gutsy innings of relief? Let us know in the comments!

Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor left the team’s game in the bottom of the sixth inning this afternoon with what looked pretty clearly like a leg injury. It had looked like something was off earlier in the game, but he was very clearly unable to run all the way to first base on a ground ball he hit to third base.

Coming off a tough 2025 season, Taylor has struggled mightily thus far in 2026. In 104 plate appearances, he’s hit .186/.210/.320 with a 48 wRC+, and coming into the game this afternoon, he was at -0.6 fWAR.

Assuming he’ll be out for a while, the Mets figure to to continue playing their trio of young outfielders—Nick Morabito, A.J. Ewing, and Carson Benge—pretty regularly. And Juan Soto will get his starts in left field, too, of course, while the team will obviously call up someone from the minors to take Taylor’s place on the active roster once he hits the injured list.

Another ninth-inning meltdown wasted a great start from Michael Wacha in a 4-3 loss to the Yankees. This is just brutal to watch. It’s infuriating. The Royals held a 3-2 lead going into the 9th inning, which currently belongs to Lucas Erceg. I’m not sure it will for much longer.

In that inning, Salvador Perez was playing first base because Quatraro pinch-ran for Pasquantino earlier. Paul Goldschmidt hit a little pop-dribbler hybrid thing that Bobby Witt could not get to in time. With one out and a runner on first, Perez was hugging the line to protect against the grounder-down-the-line double. Unfortunately, Jazz Chisholm hit a line drive exactly to where a first baseman would normally be standing, but Perez could not reach it. With Tyler Tolbert in RF instead of Jac Caglianone, Chisholm hustled for a double. With one out and runners on second and third, Anthony Volpe singled to left field to bring both runners in. That put the Yankees ahead 4-3, and it felt like it was over with the bottom of the lineup coming in for the bottom of the ninth. The Royals got one guy on but could do nothing with him.

This hurts. Wacha threw yet another quality start – 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. The offense sputtered but put together enough runs to have a lead in the ninth. In the second inning, Perez led off with an ABS challenge to get a walk. He’s pretty good at ABS. Jac Caglianone went down 0-2 and then worked a walk. Isaac Collins went down 1-2 and also worked a walk to load the bases. Massey hit a lazy fly ball deep enough in the left-center field gap to bring in Perez on a sac fly. In the bottom of the 6th, Salvador Perez got a meatball that he hit almost into the fountains to tie the game 2-2. It was his 9th of the season. Bobby Witt Jr took a slider well beyond the left field fence in the 8th inning for a go-ahead solo homer to make it 3-2. It was Witt’s 8th homer of the season.

In the 7th inning, the Royals almost plated another run. Would have helped. Nick Loftin hustle-doubled a pop fly that CF Trent Grisham got a poor read on off the bat. He went backwards first and then sorta jogged for a sec before he made an attempt to charge in for the short fly ball. It dropped between three fielders and Loftin barely beat the tag at second. He advanced to third on a deep fly ball to left-center field. Garcia hit a weak grounder to the shortstop, but not weak enough to make it close at first base. The Royals were unable to score.

It wasn’t just the pitching either. The Royals flashed some leather too. Bobby Witt robbed a line drive up the middle from Ben Rice with a jumping, reaching catch. A double play got Wacha out of a jam in the third inning. Massey ranged to his right and threw on the run moving away from first base to get Jazz Chisholm out. Wacha was able to use his defense to work around runners on base in the third and fourth. He got a lot of quick outs and was at 93 pitches in the 7th inning. He was efficient and effective. His primary mistake was just a happy-zone four-seam fastball to Cody Bellinger that he blasted into the right-field bullpen. The Yankees put across another run with a walk and two singles.

Overall, it felt like a close game that the Royals had a real chance to win even with the relatively low offensive output. Just, once again, they cannot rely on anyone to close the game out with any sort of confidence. Erceg almost blew the game yesterday too.

The Royals are in a deep hole with the Guardians playing well above them as well as the upstart Chicago White Sox (??? How?). They cannot keep doing this and expect the season to end well.

The Royals move to 22-32. The Yankees move to 32-22. They play again tomorrow at 6:40pm US Central.

The Dodgers’ game on Monday, June 15 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium was added to ESPN’s collection of exclusive telecasts this season, the network announced on Monday.

That game against the Rays is the first game of a week-long homestand against American League East teams, with the Dodgers also hosting the Baltimore Orioles from June 19-21. Announcers for the ESPN telecast have not yet been revealed.

After 36 years of televising Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN now has occasional weeknight games on the schedule, part of a revised television contract with Major League Baseball that runs through 2028. NBC took over Sunday Night Baseball telecasts this season, including three such games for the Dodgers as well as opening day on Thursday, March 26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Dodgers’ first game on ESPN this season was Wednesday, April 15, against the Mets at Dodger Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day.

A potential future addition to the ESPN schedule is Monday, July 20 at the Philadelphia Phillies, though that hasn’t yet been finalized.

On Monday afternoon the Colorado Rockies announced multiple roster moves prior to their first of three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.

Left-handed veteran starting pitcher José Quintana has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow sprain.

Quintana, 37, had quietly been one of the Rockies’ more reliable rotation options since signing a one-year, $6 million contract this off-season. The well-traveled lefty had posted an ERA of 4.08 through his first eight starts in a Rockies uniform. He occasionally struggled with walks, issuing 17 free passes in 39.2 innings, but tended to avoid having those mistakes come back to haunt. Coming into Sunday’s game he had given up more than three earned runs in just one outing.

Unfortunately, Quintana struggled in 1.1 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. He gave up six earned runs and left the game with apparent discomfort in his throwing arm.

As a corresponding roster move, left-handed reliever Welinton Herrera (no. 17 PuRP) has been recalled from the Tripe-A Albuquerque Isotopes.

Herrera, 22, was signed as part of the Rockies’ 2021 international class out of the Dominican Republic and has quietly climbed up the prospect rankings for the organization. In 2025 he started the season with the High-A Spokane Indians and allowed just a single earned run over 15 appearances with an ERA of 0.49, six walks to 29 strikeouts, and ten saves over 18.1 innings of work.

He was promoted mid-season to the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats, where he posted a 3.50 ERA over 37 appearances with another seven saves over 46.1 innings. Herrera also played in the Arizona Fall League with the Salt River Rafters.

Herrera started the 2026 season with Triple-A Albuquerque, where he has a 5.16 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League over 16 appearances and has struck out 34 batters over 22.2 innings.

With Herrera already on the 40-man roster after being protected from the Rule-5 draft, there were no additional moves necessary. He will wear no. 59 and is likely to make his Major League debut during the series in Los Angeles.

The Rockies also announced one additional move on Monday. Left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist (no. 19 PuRP) has been traded to the Washington Nationals for cash considerations after being designated for assignment last week.

Palmquist, 25, struggled in the Rockies rotation after being called up to make his debut last season. He was eventually moved to the bullpen. In nine appearances—seven of which were starts—he posted an ERA of 8.91 and gave up ten home runs over 34.1 innings. Palmquist had continued to struggle this season in Triple-A Albuquerque, where he made 12 appearances—five of which were starts—with a 7.20 ERA, 19 walks, and 24 strikeouts over 25 innings.

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The Mets have suffered another blow in their lineup. 

Tyrone Taylor is expected to land on the IL after leaving Monday's loss to the Reds with right hip pain. 

Taylor pulled up coming out of the box on a groundout to third during his at-bat to end the bottom of the sixth. 

He slowly made his way back to the home dugout, then immediately went down to the clubhouse alongside trainers before being pulled in the top-half of the inning. 

MJ Melendez entered in his place playing left, and Nick Morabito slid over to right. 

Taylor will undergo an MRI on Tuesday morning to see what exactly he is dealing with, but the Mets expect that he is going to be forced to miss some time. 

This is just the latest loss for a club that is already without the majority of their Opening Day starting lineup. 

His absence could lead to MJ Melendez or Nick Morabito sticking around on the roster when Jared Young returns from his own stint on the IL within the next few days. 

Houston Astros @ Texas Rangers

Monday, May 25, 2026, 6:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

RHP Tatsuya Imai vs. RHP Kumar Rocker

Go Rangers!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone (unless you are a Canadian, like me, in which case, happy very belated Victoria Day). The Rays are facing familiar foes this week, as they head to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. The O’s were just in St. Pete last week, where the Rays swept them. However, Baltimore might be feeling a little more emboldened. They took on the struggling Detroit Tigers over the weekend and took two of three games in that series. The Rays had Shane McClanahan on the mound, up against Kyle Bradish for the O’s. I don’t mind telling you that every time someone says Bradish’s last name, I hear it as “Radish” and it’s adorable.

With two outs in the top of the first, Jonathan Aranda doubled, but the Rays weren’t able to bring him home. In the home half, the Orioles went down in order.

The second inning was a speedy affair on both sides, and each team went down in order. It is a good time to acknowledge a classy gesture from Orioles fans as they gave Cedric Mullins a big round of applause when he came out for his first at-bat. That speaks volumes about a player when they are still so beloved by a team after they’ve moved on to a new club.

In the third, with two outs, Chandler Simspon singled. Junior Caminero then singled right behind him. Unfortunately, the Rays simply weren’t able to bring their baserunners home. Blaze Alexander got the home half going with a leadoff single. With one out, Alexander was then caught stealing, eliminating the baserunner. Tyler O’Neill singled, but a lineout then ended the inning with no harm done.

Two outs into the fourth, Mullins got a walk, but the Rays were once again unable to convert the baserunner. McClanahan continued to deal in the bottom of the inning, working his way through the Orioles in order.

Taylor Walls got a one-out single in the top of the fifth. Once again, though, the Rays let an opportunity get by them. Bradish has been good, despite having some issues with command, and while the Rays were getting on base, they were also having a hard time finding opportunities to then score those runs. In the home half with one out, Leody Taveras singled on a bunt towards first that McClanahan tried to scoop toss towards first but ended up overthrowing and allowing Taveras to get to second. With two outs, Jackson Holliday walked, but McClanahan got redemption and the final out by making a much more secure toss to first after catching a soft comebacker.

The Rays finally broke up the scoreless game in the top of the sixth with a solo home run by Aranda. It bounced off the top of the outfield wall so there was some initial concern the O’s might challenge, but they didn’t.

With two outs, Mullins walked, his second of the game, but the Rays had to settle for just the one run. McClanahan returned for the sixth, only his second time all season going more than five innings. He’d likely be on a very short leash for the inning, though. With one out, Gunnar Henderson was hit in the back with a pitch. Shane was looking pretty fired up after the HBP, so Kyle Snyder headed out to cool him down (and likely give the bullpen a little extra time to warm up). He then walked Adley Rutschman, and that was it for McClanahan. His final line for the day was 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K on 84 pitches. Hunter Bigge came out of the pen to replace him and hopefully get the final two outs of the inning. The O’s went for a double steal, but Henderson got snagged going for third, getting the second out of the inning. They found themselves back in a similar situation, though, when Pete Alonso walked, putting two on again. Bigge managed to get himself out of a tight corner, though, getting the final out and keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard.

Grant Wolfram was in for Bradish in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Chandler Simpson doubled to center. Yennier Cano replaced Wolfram to get the final out of the inning. In the home half, the Bigge wheels kind of fell off. Taveras got a leadoff walk, then stole second. Bigge tried to pick him off at second and the ball went into center, Taveras ended up at third. Then, Alexander singled, and the Orioles managed to tie the game. This, of course, begs the eternal question: if a pitcher is the one who commits the error that ultimately causes a run to score, should they not still be responsible for the run? A question for the ages. Bigge’s day was done and he was replaced by Casey Legumina, who got the first out. With two outs, Taylor Ward singled into right and Victor Mesa Jr. did his darndest to get the ball over to third, but it went over Caminero’s glove and into the netting, putting it out of play and allowing another run to score. An error was charged to Mesa. The Rays got the final out of the inning at last, but the O’s had claimed the lead.

Sloppy fielding wasn’t restricted to the Rays for this game. Anthony Nunez came in to pitch and Yandy Diaz hit a one-out double to deep center, but Taveras bobbled the ball, dropping it before he could throw to second, and Diaz was able to get all the way to third. Taveras was charged with an error. Oliver Dunn came in to run for Diaz, and Richie Palacios singled to bring Dunn home. A Mullins groundout got Palacios to second, but a lineout by newbie Mesa Jr. ended the inning with a 2-2 tie. In the home half, Alonso got a one-out walk, but was eliminated in a double play to end the inning.

Rico Garcia was the new Orioles pitcher in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Simpson singled, but he was then caught stealing, killing the Rays’ chance at a tie-breaker unless the game headed to extras. Bryan Baker came in for the Rays in the bottom of the inning, and he got the Orioles out in order to force extras.

In the top of the tenth, with one out, Garcia intentionally walked Aranda to put two runners on. Oliver Dunn then walked to load the bases. In the absolute best scenario they could have had, Palacios struck out (and he was big mad about it) and Mullins hit a liner right to first base to end the potential rally. Ian Seymour was the new Rays pitcher. With one out, Taylor Ward was intentionally walked to put two on, but two outs followed to get the Rays out of the inning.

Tyler Wells came in for the O’s in the eleventh, and newbie Mesa Jr. finally got his redemption moment with a leadoff homer to score two runs. It was the only hit the Rays would get in the inning, but it was enough.

Pete Alonso singled to start the inning, and in an attempt to get the ball home, it actually ended up near the dugout, and the Orioles easily scored. Alonso moved to second. Chandler was charged with the error. Jeremiah Jackson singled to score Alonso with another poorly placed throw home. With one out, Alexander was walked intentionally. He then advanced to second on defensive indifference (more like fear of overthrowing another base), and while the Rays finally got out of the inning, they were right back to being tied.

In the twelfth, Caminero flied out to advance free runner Chandler to third, then Aranda hit a sac fly to bring him home and get the Rays back into the lead. They would have to settle for just the one run, but hopefully it would be enough.

Jesse Scholtens was the next Rays’ pitcher out of the pen, and all eyes were on him to keep the O’s from scoring. Ward flied out to advance the ghost runner Cowser to third. Gunnar Henderson reached on a fielder’s choice, but they got Cowser out at home. Henderson somehow ended up at third and Kevin Cash absolutely lost his mind. Henderson was forced to head back to first. Nick Fortes, meanwhile, was looking like he felt a little tender after getting plowed into by Cowser. The Orioles evidently decided on a Hail Mary play by challenging the safe call at home, claiming Cowser touched the plate before he was tagged out. Honestly, depending on what angle you look at, it could go either way. The call was then overturned, and the game was once again tied. Pete Alonso got a two-out single, but no additional runs scored and the game headed to the 13th.

Dietrich Enns came out, and Palacios singled, moving runner Dunn to third. Mullins then singled to bring Dunn home. A sac bunt by Mesa moved both baserunners into scoring position, then a Fortes sac fly scored Palacios. The Rays were up 7-5. Taveras started the home half with a double to score their free runner Jackson. Blaze Alexander singled, then a Holliday sac fly scored Alexander to re-tie the game for the millionth time. Cowser then homered, scoring two and walking off the game with an Orioles win.

Final: Orioles 9, Rays 7 (F/13)

Here’s the Nationals lineup:

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

After and exchange of long-ball offense early and then hanging on to a 3-1 win for the White Sox this Memorial Day. But the big play didn’t come from big bats but from 5´6´´ Rikuu Nishida, playing in his first major league game.

The Sox and Twins traded solo homers by Brooks Lee and Munetaka Murakani (No. 18 on the year, retaking the AL lead) in the first inning. Sox starter Anthony Kay was getting hit hard early, and in the second gave up singles to Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler before facing Minnesota catcher Alex Jackson — in only his second MLB game — who smashed a 107.1 mph liner to right for yet another single.

Enter Nishida:

Nishida’s bullet forced Arcia to slide wide, and Drew Romo stayed alert long enough to make the tag on a second try. The play not only kept the score 1-1 bit prevented Twins start Byron Buxton from coming up with two on.

Romo kept his own heroics going in the bottom of the second after Tristan Peters drew a four-pitch walk off Zebby Matthews.

Romo’s fly to right was only 93.4 mph and 352 feet, barely clearing the fence — but barely counts, and the homer made the score 3-1 Sox, where it would stay.

Kay settled down after that and went six innings, giving up just five hits and walking only one while striking out five. Grant Taylor, Bryan Hudson and Seranthony Domínguez each tossed a scoreless relief inning. The Sox were outhit 7-6, with Chase Meidroth the only batter to double up, but the long balls did the trick.

In addition to the big throw, Nishida got inundated with fly balls to right, catching seven and almost getting another on a dive. Peters didn’t fare so well on a play to center that was generously called a double, after which Colson Montgomery didn’t bother covering third on a foul pop behind the plate. But while that would no doubt have led to opposing runs in recent years, this year it didn’t matter.

The win moves the Sox to 27-26 (yes, really!!) with Shane Burke and Joe Ryan facing off in the second game of this four-game series tomorrow night.

For a while, getting to .500 has been the big issue for the Nats, but now getting over that bar has been the issue. They will have another chance to secure a winning record tonight against the Guardians. The Guardians are a tough opponent, but after winning a series in Atlanta, this team is not scared.

The Nats are making a couple changes to the lineup tonight. With a righty on the mound, Luis Garcia Jr. will be back at first base in favor of Andres Chaparro. Interestingly, Curtis Mead will stay in the lineup for this one. The only other change comes behind the plate, where Drew Millas is giving Keibert Ruiz a breather. PJ Poulin was quickly called up after Jake Irvin’s injury and he will be the opener. Zack Littell will get the bulk of the action.

In the past, the Guardians lineup has been so heavily reliant on Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. Those two are struggling to varying degrees, but this year the Guardians have more depth in the lineup. Rookies Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana are a big part of that. Angel Martinez and Brayan Roccio have both taken steps forward as well. Tanner Bibee may be 0-6, but he has thrown the ball well this year with a 3.75 ERA. He will be on the mound tonight.

Game Info:

Stadium: Progressive Field

Time: 6:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Heading into Memorial Day, the Nats are an impressive 27-27. They will have the chance to go over .500 in this one. Hopefully they can take advantage of that opportunity this time around. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Padres:

Let’s talk about it.