Iowa Cubs

Rained out. The game with the Omaha Storm Chasers will not be made up. Maybe they shouldn’t have run towards the rain.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were left on the launchpad by the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 7-4 in ten innings.

Jake Knapp started and gave the Smokies four strong shutout innings. Knapp surrendered three hits. He struck out five and walked no one.

Erian Rodriguez then pitched two scoreless innings, but Nick Dean allowed a three runs in the eighth. Dean pitched 1.2 innings and gave up three runs on three hits and no walks. He struck out three.

But the Smokies managed to come back and send the game into extra innings. But Vince Reilly ran out of gas in the tenth and took the loss. Reilly’s final line was four runs, two earned, on three hits over two innings. Reilly struck out two, walked one and hit two batters.

Devin Ortiz connected on a solo home run in the fifth inning. It was his second of the season and second in as many days. Ortiz went 1 for 4.

DH Haydn McGeary sent the game to extras with an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth. McGeary went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Karson Simas was 2 for 5 with two steals.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs reassigned the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals), 5-4.

Koen Moreno bounced back from his disastrous first start of the year by tossing four scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. He struck out four and walked no one.

Kenten Egbert relieved Moreno and got roughed up for four runs in the fifth. That included a three-run home run to Tai Peete, who was a key part of the Brendan Donovan trade this winter. Egbert finished with four runs on four hits over two innings. He struck out two.

Marino Santy pitched the final three innings without allowing a run and got the win. Santy allowed two hits and one walk. He struck out two.

DH Owen Ayers gave the Cubs the lead with a two-run home run in the top of the ninth. It was his second home run this year. Ayers went 2 for 5.

Third baseman Matt Halbach homered in his second-straight game. His blast came with the bases empty in the fourth inning. Halbach went 1 for 5.

Center fielder Kane Kepley was 2 for 4 was hit by a pitch. Kepley doubled to lead off the top of the first and then scored when the next batter, right fielder Leonel Espinoza, singled him home. Espinoza went 2 for 5 with a double. He scored on Ayers’ home run in the ninth.

Left fielder Brian Kalmer was 3 for 4 with a double.

First baseman Cameron Sisneros was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Halbach’s home run.

Owen Ayers’ game-winning blast.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans had their wings clipped by the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 8-3.

Starter Riely Hunsaker was a last-minute replacement for Victor Zarraga and he may not have been ready as he was jumped on for four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Hunsaker took the loss after allowing four runs on one hit, three walks and one hit batsman over two-thirds of an inning. He did not strike anyone out.

Zarraga came to relieve Hunsaker in the first inning and he gave up four runs on three hits over 2.2 innings. Zarraga walked two and struck out four.

Third baseman Cole Mathis hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning. Mathis went 2 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. It was his third home run this season.

Right fielder Eli Lovich chipped in a solo home run in the top of the ninth. Lovich was 2 for 4.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn went 2 for 5.

After a three-hour rain delay, the Kansas City Royals blew a lead, dropping the series finale to the Chicago White Sox, 6-5.

The first three games all had final scores of 2-0, but this one was a fun, back and forth affair. The White Sox got on the board first, in the second inning. After Noah Cameron got two quick outs, Colson Montgomery smacked a double up the right field line, and Tanner Murray, who got his first major league hit yesterday, smoked his first major league home run to left field, and the Royals were down 2-0.

After the first seven Royals were sat down, Isaac Collins singled and Kyle Isbel walked. Jonathan Cannon then came in, the planned bulk pitcher today for the White Sox. Well, that didn’t go as planned. He came in and walked three straight Royals to help the KC offense tie the game at 2. Cannon would then leave the game with an injury.

The Royals were still 0 for their last 32 with a runner in scoring position after Salvy struck out. Carter Jensen came up, bases loaded, two down, game knotted at 2. Jensen broke the streak on a swinging bunt on the first pitch. A 40.4 mph exit velo, roller up the 3rd base line was picked up by the pitcher and he had no play. The Royals took the lead 3-2.

In the top of the fourth, Cameron gave up a one out single, but got a pop out to Jr. However, on the first pitch Montgomery blasted one inside the right field foul pole, 4-3 Chicago.

Jac Caglianone led off the bottom half of the inning for the Royals. He promptly smashed a double into the corner, and Collins smashed a single up the middle to tie the game again at 4. Isbel bunted Collins over to second, and Witt smacked a two out single to center to pull the Royals back in front 5-4. All of a sudden, the Royals were hot with RISP.

The 6th inning is where Cameron started to get erratic. After a quick first out, he walked Munetaka Murakami, Lenyn Sosa singled and a walk to Edgar Quero loaded the bases. Cameron would be relieved by Nick Mears. Cameron went 5.1 innings, giving up 6 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks and striking out 4.

Mears would go 3-1 with Montgomery, before getting him to pop up. However, he would walk Andrew Benintendi to tie the game back up at 5. Mears struck out the next batter to end the threat.

John Schrieber got the 7th, and as it has been for him all season, it didn’t go well, a leadoff double, hit batter and sac bunt, had the White Sox with 2nd and 3rd and one out. The Royals intentionally walked Murakami, the lefty to face Sosa. Schrieber threw a wild pitch to let the run score. He retired the next two hitters.

In the bottom of the 7th, Witt led off with a walk, but Vinnie, Salvy and Jensen couldn’t do anything with it.

Michael Massey looked to have tied the game to lead off the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer, but Dustin Harris reached over to bring it back. White Sox carried the 6-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Isbel struck out to start the inning. Maikel Garcia weakly flew out to center, and Bobby Witt Jr . walked, giving Pasquantino a chance with two out. Vinnie quickly struck out in an ugly at bat. Splitting series at home against the lowly White Sox is not a good omen for the season. The Royals have won just one series 16 games in, they have either split or lost every other series. The schedule doesn’t get any easier ahead either. Man, sometimes I hate how much I care and stock I put into this team.

The Royals drop to 7-9 on the season. They split the series with the White Sox. They are off tomorrow, before being back in action Tuesday in Detroit, with first pitch being at 5:40 p.m. CT. Cole Ragans will pitch against Framber Valdez. After a three-game series in Motown, the Royals will be in the Bronx for a three-game set against the Yankees next weekend.

Ray starter Drew Rasmussen appeared to feel bad about losing his cool at the Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm.

Rasmussen turned and yelled at Chisolm, who was on second after smacking a double, for not so subtly relaying pitches or where the catcher was setting up to Randal Grichuk during the second inning at Tropicana Field on Sunday.

Chisholm wasn’t doing anything illegal. In fact, tipping off pitch locations from second base has become an accepted form of gamesmanship in baseball. 

Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen apologizes to Jazz Chisholm Jr. after yelling at him for relaying pitches to the Yankees hitters pic.twitter.com/uX1A9GbPb9

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 12, 2026

But maybe the way Chisholm was doing it, lifting his right arm, must have annoyed Rasmussen enough for him to be furious at the Yankees’ second baseman, scolding him from the pitcher’s mound. Grichuk ended up striking out anyway. 

After some light jawing back, Chisholm appeared to shrug off Rasmussen, who eventually must have felt bad about his actions.

Rasmussen appeared to apologize to Chisolm in the fifth after he flew out to right. The pitcher looked like he was telling Chisholm his outburst was not like him. 

“He said, ‘I’m sorry,'” Michael Kay said on the YES broadcast. “Wow, you don’t see that very often.”

Rasmussen dominated the Yankees in the 5-4 win that completed the sweep and handed the Bombers a fifth straight loss.

He allowed one hit and struck out seven over six innings. Chisholm, who made a costly mental error in Saturday’s game, went 1-for-4 as his struggles at the plate continued. He is hitting just .179 on the season.  

Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. A pleasant breeze swirled around the baked brick of Camden Yards, carrying the warm tang of Old Bay seasoning. One would be forgiven if the pleasant atmosphere suggested a sedate affair, a leisurely stroll of a game.

The Giants had gone down in order at the top of the inning against Orioles starter Cade Povich, and after Pete Alonso swung heavily over a 1-1 change-up, their offense appeared about to do the same against Adrian Houser. And it’d carry on like that: quick at-bats, quick outs, quick innings… The two teams accumulating zeroes on the scoreboard with the competitive edge of an Easter egg hunt. One of those pleasant spring days in which nothing is expected, nothing needs to be fought for, or figured out quite yet. A day spent squinting up into the bright sun. A day in which a squirrel runs across the outfield. A day in which a leaf blower can be heard in the distance.

At least, it was supposed to be one of those days. Alonso whiffed at a 1-1 change-up, putting him in a 1-2 hole with two outs, and the inning felt over. One down. On to the next one.

Perhaps that sounds naive to say considering Alonso’ resume, but the slugger had moved down the coast for $155 million pocketed over 5 years and was off to the characteristically slow start for a player coming off free agency. He had been hitless in the first two games of the series, batting .167 with a .521 OPS so far on the season. He was getting settled, finding his footing, getting comfortable — he wasn’t yet a threat. Again, down in a 1-2 count, with the way Alonso has been struggling, the inning should’ve been over.

But then he took a pitch he wasn’t supposed to take.

Alonso had called time, found his breath and settled himself, and took a 1-2 sinker off the plate for a ball. No, the fastball wasn’t the most tantalizing offering, but the pitch’s location, paired with its back-door movement, was meant to tease. It was supposed to keep him in swing-mode, keep him defensive. Instead, Alonso let the pitch go, and it brought him back into the count. Maybe the players or fans weren’t completely cognizant of this the moment, but in retrospect, that was when the pastel-colored afternoon turned for the Giants. 

Houser spun an excellent 2-2 curveball that dropped out of the zone, and Alonso just let it go. A great, disciplined take that brought the count full. He then fought off another breaking ball before spitting on another sinker that came ’round just off the plate. Ball 4.

Should catcher Daniel Susac have challenged that call? According to the MLB Gameday and Baseball Savant zone, the ball looks like it may be a hair’s width from the corner, but those might not line-up with the stadium’s ABS zone. Still those are not the kind of dicey decisions you want to have to make in the 1st inning…and on a Sunday no less! 

Instead of a casual start to the game, Alonso’s walk made things stressful, and Houser didn’t handle it well. Two pitches later, Samuel Basallo (another scuffling big man) put the Orioles up for good. 

Disciplined at-bats from Baltimore hitters and clutch contact extended innings when it mattered most. The third strike, the third out proved elusive for Giants arms. 5 of the Orioles’ 6 runs on the day came with San Francisco pitching an out away from shutting down a frame.  

Another 2-run rally in the 5th against Houser similarly started with the bases empty and two outs already recorded. An innocuous single off the bat of Henderson kept the inning going. Down 0-2, Taylor Ward refused to bite at two pitches off the plate before flipping an inside fastball into right field for another single. And with runners on the corners, down 2-strikes again, Alonso dug out a curveball and pulled it into the left field corner for a two-run gut punch. 

The Orioles offense refused to go with the casual flow seemingly promised. This was not a day of rest, but a day of work. Every at-bat became an opportunity to assert themself on their opponent. The line-up worked 5 walks to go along with their 11 hits and struck out only 7 times.  Houser and subsequent relievers weren’t getting exposed on mistakes necessarily, either. Decent pitches were being spoiledby solid takes or contact-oriented swings.

(Synonyms for the verb spoil: thwart… ruin… upset… scupper… scotch… vitiate… muller… ) 

With a runner on second in the 6th, Coby Mayo thwarted a well-pocketed 2-2 slider from Ryan Walker. The spun bloop off a choked-up bat scored Baltimore’s fifth run, vitiating Walker’s chances of putting up a scoreless frame. In the 7th with two outs, Colton Cowser’s 2-out infield single off Erik Miller was hit just weakly enough to plate another run and scuppering the Giants chances of a comeback.     

The stubborn Orioles order was in stark contrast to the Giants’ offensive exploits against southpaw starter Cade Povich. While the line-up has been somewhat decent against left-handed pitching (117 wRC+, 6th in MLB) their Kryptonite has been 4-seam fastballs. Their collective 88 wRC+ against the straight heater is the worst in the league — and unfortunately, it’s a pitch Povich, and frankly a lot of other pitchers — likes to throw. The optics didn’t look great from the outset, then the early hole from the Basallo homer really put the line-up on the back foot. Resilience would not be the word I’d use to describe the make-up of these hitters. A lead has proved definitive against these Giants so far. They’ve only won one game this season when scoring second and that was only because the Mets got to hit first in their 7-2 win back on April 2nd.  

Povich retired the first 12 batters he faced in order, and he did it pretty fast. A lot of chased fastballs, flinched-at curves. A bushel of pop-ups. He fanned 5 with 0 walks over 6.2 innings pitched. 4 of the 5 knocks he allowed were singles. Heliot Ramos’s two out double in the 7th was the first extra base hit he allowed and ended up chasing him from the game. 

Daniel Susac continued to be a bright spot in his third start of the season. He threw out Colton Cowser from his knees to complete a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play in the 2nd. He’d record the only RBI against Povich with a 2-out punch up the middle in the 5th that at the time cut Baltimore’s lead in half. Batting clean-up and serving as the designated hitter for the fourth straight game, Casey Schmitt logged a 3-for-4 night of loud contact. His lead-off single in the 5th put Povich in the stretch for the first time and ultimately set-up the team’s first run, while his 9th inning solo shot gave him his fourth extra base hit of the series. Since the “catch the f***ing ball game” (7-1 loss to SD on 4/1), Schmitt has hit safely in each of his five starts, including three 3-hit games.  

San Francisco had their chances to close-out at-bats, close-out innings, and ultimately, close out this Baltimore series but couldn’t find a way to firmly shut the door. Now they’re 6-10 with more road series coming this week in Cincinnati and Washington.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Anthony Volpe is on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment, but he no longer feels like a rehabbing player.

Six months removed from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, Volpe could begin a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday with Double-A Somerset and is champing at the bit to get going.

“Probably the most excited I’ve ever been,” the shortstop said Sunday at Tropicana Field. “Just having that perspective [of missing time], it doesn’t matter, I’ll play anywhere, I’ll do anything.”

Volpe stayed back in Tampa when the season started to continue his rehab, which has included taking live at-bats in simulated games over the past week and a half. He is scheduled to see team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Monday, and if he gets the all-clear, will begin a rehab assignment, which comes with a maximum 20-day clock.

Despite spending most of the offseason rehabbing the shoulder, Volpe said he viewed it as a “blank slate” to analyze his swing and see how he could get better after three full big league seasons in which he has posted an OPS of .666, .657 and .663.

“Just cleaning up my bat path and just keeping it on plane for a lot longer,” he said. “We found some stuff where it kind of went wrong. I think the stuff we worked on is very objective, and I feel like I can make adjustments off of it.”

Cam Schlittler recorded a career-high 21 swings and misses while striking out eight but gave up three runs on a season-high seven hits (plus his first walk of the season) across five innings.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“Just made the wrong pitches,” Schlittler said. “Overall, just kind of embarrassing. Got to be better there.”

Giancarlo Stanton got his second day off of the season Sunday, allowing Aaron Judge to DH and stay off the outfield turf. That forced Aaron Boone to use Randal Grichuk in right field, despite a tough right-on-right matchup with Drew Rasmussen and the veteran outfielder starting the season 0-for-10.

Stanton came in to pinch hit for Grichuk in the seventh inning, grounding out but driving in a run that pulled the Yankees within 3-2. Instead of Stanton staying in to play the field, Boone had Amed Rosario play right field for the first time this season.

Boone had said before the game that Rosario could get some time in the outfield off the bench and the occasional start, if needed.

Before Stanton replaced him, Grichuk went 0-for-2, getting robbed of his first hit when second baseman Richie Palacios made a diving stop on his 102.7 mph grounder up the middle.

A rough week for the Yankees with the automated ball-strike system continued Sunday, as Ben Rice looked at Strike 3 in a full count leading off the fourth inning and lightly touched his helmet before instantly appearing to regret it. He tried to talk his way out of it, but home plate umpire Dan Bellino charged him with the challenge, which was unsuccessful.

This marked the first time the Yankees have been swept by the Rays since April 16-18, 2021.

With the Mets struggling to find their groove, they needed Freddy Peralta to step up and pitch like the ace he is in Sunday’s series finale against the Athletics. 

Peralta did just that, delivering his longest and most encouraging outing of the season, but New York’s offense failed to back him up as the losing streak hit five. 

The right-hander said postgame that he didn’t have his best stuff, but he was still good enough to hold the A’s to just one run on a Nick Kurtz homer in six innings of work.

“We made adjustments and got better as the game went on,” he said. 

Peralta certainly did, as he retired six of the final seven batters he faced, working around a two out walk in the top of the fifth and then finishing his day with a scoreless sixth. 

He walked three, gave up four hits, and struck out six.

“He was good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “They ran his pitch count up with foul balls and good at-bats, but still found a way to get us six innings -- except for the breaking ball on the homer, I thought he was very good.”

Sean Manaea was just as solid in relief of Peralta. 

The lefty did a tremendous job keeping the team in the game, cruising through the final three innings. 

Manaea’s velocity remained down from last season, averaging just 89.3 mph on his fastball, but he once again showed that he can still be effective. 

He retired all nine hitters he faced and struck out four. 

“Very good,” Mendoza said. “Attacked, threw strikes, fastball continues to have life. The delivery, the way he’s moving, I like the aggressiveness overall -- he not only gave us three innings, but he kept us there, he gave us a chance.”

The Mets will need more pitching performances like this as their offense looks to get back into a groove.

For the second straight series, the Dodgers were on the cusp of a sweep but dropped the finale again. This time it was the Texas Rangers avoiding a sweep, stealing the final game by a final score of 5-2.

It was another adventurous beginning for Roki Sasaki’s day on the mound, as he allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo and promptly walked Evan Carter to put two men on with nobody out. He got ahead in the count to Corey Seager, managing to strike him out on a fastball down the middle. He fooled Jake Burger on a high fastball to punch him out, and then got out of the jam by striking out Joc Pederson on a splitter outside.

Shohei Ohtani immediately helped Sasaki build some confidence by crushing the first pitch of the game from Jacob deGrom into the right field pavilion for his second consecutive leadoff home run against Texas. It was his 26th career leadoff home run, and it extends his league-leading on-base streak to 46 games.

Sasaki once again found himself in trouble with two men on base and less than two outs, but he kept the Rangers scoreless by striking out Ezequiel Durán and getting Nimmo to pop out in foul territory. Sasaki got bit by the home run bug immediately in the top of the third, as Evan Carter attacked a first pitch fastball around the heart of the zone for his second home run of the series, tying the game.

He was a strike away from allowing just the one run, but Pederson lined a two-out, two-strike single to right field, sparking a two-out rally from the Rangers where they put four straight men on base, with a single from Josh Smith giving Texas a one-run lead. Sasaki struck out Duran to retire the side, but only after throwing 32 pitches in the inning. The Dodgers responded by putting two men on base against deGrom, but with Andy Pages at the plate with two outs, the Dodgers tried to implement a double steal. Call hesitated going for third and was tagged out, allowing the Rangers to get out of the jam.

Sasaki bounced back with a scoreless fourth inning, including getting Burger to strike out for the third time, but he needed at least 20 pitches to complete each frame on Sunday, only lasting four innings while tossing 94 pitches.

The strikeout stuff was apparent, striking out the side in the first and totaling a season-high six on the day, but his command was still wildly inconsistent, as he walked five hitters and has now walked 10 over 13 innings of work. He was effective using his slider on his first pitch of the at-bat, landing the strike zone four out of six times, but could only get a 50 percent first pitch strike rate on the afternoon, a fall from his previous outing against Washington where he was ahead in the count 70 percent to begin. He now carries a slightly improved 6.23 ERA on the season and his WHIP stands at 1.846.

While the young Sasaki showed flashes of brilliance mixed with his repeated lack of command, Jacob deGrom was giving flashbacks of his days as a Cy Young award winner with the New York Mets, as the only blemish on his day was the leadoff home run against Ohtani. He held the Dodgers scoreless over his next 92 pitches, tossing a quality start by going six innings, allowing just four hits and three walks while striking out a season-high nine hitters.

Once deGrom departed, the Dodgers chipped into the deficit, as Kyle Tucker recorded his first hit of the series with an RBI single against left-hander Jacob Latz to trim the Texas lead to one run. It’s been a rough start to the season for Tucker, as he has only two extra-base hits on the year with a slugging percentage at .316. He has continued to work great counts at the plate as he carries a .343 on base percentage, but he has a 23.9 percent strikeout rate, a significant spike from the 14.7 percent clip he registered with the Chicago Cubs last year.

After Sasaki’s day was done after four, the bullpen struggled with their command as well, as Edgardo Henríquez, Ben Casparius and Will Klein combined for five walks of their own while allowing three runs, two of which being earned. The Dodgers’ 10 walks allowed on the day is the most they have allowed all season, and it’s the first time they have walked at least 10 hitters since Sept. 18 of last season against the San Francisco Giants.

Andy Pages continues to swing a hot bat, hitting safely in each of the three games against Texas while his average stands at a league-leading .429 clip. Pages now ranks second in baseball for multi-hit games, as Brandon Nimmo passed him on Sunday with another pair of hits against the Dodgers.

Sunday’s game saw the Dodgers run out of ABS challenges by the third inning, while Rangers catcher Danny Jansen singlehandedly had four successful challenges across five attempts.

For the second straight series (regardless of location), the Dodgers tally just seven runs over the two games following an offensive explosion in the opener. The Dodgers are now 6-3 at home, but they average just 4.33 runs per game at Dodger Stadium this season.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Evan Carter (2); Shohei Ohtani (5)
• WP— Jacob deGrom (1-0): 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts
• LP— Roki Sasaki (0-2): 4 IP, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts
• SV— Jakob Junis (3): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers continue their homestand as they open up a three-game series with the New York Mets on Monday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Justin Wrobleski makes his second start against left-hander David Peterson.

Roki Sasaki repeatedly averted disaster Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the rest of the team couldn’t do the same.

In a 5-2 loss to the Rangers, Sasaki was not sharp, giving up five hits and five walks over a four-inning outing marred by continued command issues. However, he somehow limited the damage to just two runs.

The bigger problems, at least in Sunday’s defeat, came from a string of sloppy mistakes made by the rest of the roster.

Sasaki might have been credited with the losing decision. But the team missed numerous chances to help get him off the hook.

Offensively, the Dodgers never got going against two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, despite a leadoff home run from Shohei Ohtani. 

They tallied only six hits while going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They left nine total men on base, including two stranded in both the fifth inning (when Kyle Tucker struck out on a changeup in the dirt) and the seventh (when an RBI single from Tucker was sandwiched around rally-killing pop-outs from Ohtani and Andy Pages).

More maddening, however, were the mental miscues that poured further salt into the wound.

There was a baserunning blunder that extinguished another two-on, two-out threat in the bottom of the third –– when Alex Call aborted a steal attempt at second base, but got caught in an inning-ending rundown anyway when Ohtani broke from first base after seeing his big jump.

Defensive breakdowns helped the Rangers (8-7) score insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings –– the first on an Edgardo Henriquez throwing error that put a runner at third base, setting up Brandon Nimmo for an RBI grounder; the next on a wild pitch from Will Klein that brought another run across the plate.

The Dodgers (11-4) also burned both of their ABS challenges in the third inning, the latter coming on an ill-advised appeal from Hyeseong Kim after he was correctly rung up on a called third strike.

Even the one time the Rangers gifted them an opportunity, on a dropped Freddie Freeman pop-up in the sixth, the Dodgers failed to take advantage.

With the chance to complete a series sweep, it was instead that type of day.

What it means

The Dodgers still won this weekend’s series and remain the majors’ winningest team with victories in seven of their last nine games.

But their two losses in that span –– including last Wednesday’s defeat in Toronto –– both resulted from poor fundamentals and self-inflicted mishaps.

Another factor in Sunday’s loss: The 10 total walks the pitching staff issued, with two of the three runs charged to the Dodgers’ bullpen coming via runners who reached on a free pass.

As good as the Dodgers are, it’s a reminder that their margin for error is only so big.

Who’s hot

Two days ago, manager Dave Roberts noted that –– despite reaching base in every game this season –– Ohtani “hasn’t really got going yet.” 

Two days later, the four-time MVP is looking a lot more like his normal self.

After hitting a leadoff homer Saturday, Ohtani did the same on the first pitch of Sunday’s game, clobbering his fifth total long ball of the season on an inner-half fastball from deGrom.

Later, he worked an excellent walk in the third inning, fouling off an elevated full-count fastball before laying off a slider. By the fifth, the Rangers had seen enough of him, electing for an intentional walk with a runner at second and two outs.

It wasn’t a perfect day from Ohtani, whose pop-out on a center-cut, first-pitch fastball in the seventh was one of several poor situational at-bats from the team. He also struck out in his final at-bat in the ninth.

Still, he finished the day batting .286 and with an OPS of .996. His on-base streak, dating back to last year, is also up to 46 games. 

Who’s not

On the bright side, Sasaki recorded an MLB career-high six strikeouts and held the Rangers to 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

He needed to do so, however, to avoid what probably should’ve been a nightmarish day.

Once again, the former right-handed phenom lacked command, dealt with traffic and was inefficient in his third start of the season. The 10 baserunners he put aboard were also an MLB career high. 

In the first and second innings, Sasaki narrowly wiggled out of two-on jams. But the magic ran out in the third, when Evan Carter smoked a leadoff homer and Josh Smith hit a two-out RBI single.

That Sasaki’s day didn’t spiral from there –– he stranded the bases loaded later in the third, then worked around another walk in the fourth –– was at least one silver lining.

Alas, there were few others from his outing Sunday, which left him with a 6.23 ERA through three starts this year.

Up next

The Dodgers welcome the Mets to town this week for a three-game series. Justin Wrobleski (1-0, 4.00 ERA) will start in Monday’s opener, opposite struggling Mets left-hander David Peterson (0-2, 6.14 ERA).

The Texas Rangers scored five runs while the Los Angeles Dodgers scored two runs.

In a game where it felt like the Rangers should have won by double-digits, they decided it would be more fun to keep you engaged all afternoon as they avoided a sweep at the hands of the defending champion Dodgers by a margin kept almost inexplicably close until late.

After today’s starter Jacob deGrom gave up his customary solo home run to Shohei Ohtani to give the Dodgers an early lead, the Rangers kept getting runners on base against LA’s wild young starter Roki Sasaki and then kept figuring out the perfect way to do anything but bring them in.

Overall, Texas turned seven hits, eight walks, and an LA error through the first seven innings into just three runs. The dam finally broke in the 8th, however, with two more walks, two more hits, and a wild pitch as Texas added a couple of insurance runs.

Those insurance runs came after deGrom had exited and Jacob Latz allowed his first non-Muncy run of the season as the game teetered on the brink of “how do you lose this one?” as the Dodgers were a potential swing away from taking the lead. Luckily Cole Winn came in and cleaned up and then a third Ja(c)kob on the day got the save with Jakob Junis tossing a scoreless 9th.

Despite not exactly making the most of their opportunities (10 hits, 10 walks, 2-14 with RISP, 12 LOB), the five runs proved to be plenty with deGrom tossing a gem and the bullpen making use of the 8th inning cushion to help Texas escape LA with a sweep avoided.

Player of the Game: Batters of note include Josh Jung who had two hits and two walks, Danny Jansen who walked three times (and used five ABS challenges behind the plate, four of them successful!), Josh Smith who had two hits and the go-ahead RBI, and Evan Carter who homered and reached two other times via base on balls.

But with the current road trip long and without respite, and with the bullpen soaking up a lot of innings in the season’s first few weeks, the Rangers really needed deGrom to be at his most deGromy for as long as possible. deGrom answered with six innings of one-run ball against baseball’s modern juggernaut.

Following Ohtani’s 1st inning homer, deGrom allowed just three more hits. The Rangers’ elder ace did walk three (including an intentional walk to Ohtani) but he also struck out nine as he picked up his first win of the year.

Up Next: The Rangers are forced to trudge to West Sacramento for a series against the formerly Oakland Athletics in their first look at their AL West rivals in 2026. RHP Nathan Eovaldi will make the start for Texas in the opener against RHP Luis Severino for the Northern Californians.

The Monday night first pitch from Sutter Health Park is set for 8:40 pm CT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.