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Mariners 3, Cardinals 2

Space Needle: Eduard Bazardo, +.24 WPA

St. Louis Arch: Julio Rodríguez, -.11 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

Hey, it’s only a bad slide if it doesn’t work.

For a second there, it seemed like South Side Sox recaps might simply turn into Munetaka Murakami home-run watches. Based on the flat start to Friday’s game, a fairly hapless team effort against a mediocre opponent, perhaps.

But the Good Guys rallied late, scraping and scrapping their way to four runs in their final three frames to eke out the win, 5-4.

But let’s get right to the shot that stopped the fizzless White Sox offense, back in the fourth inning.

Already down, 1-0, Murakami reached a tie atop the MLB home run leaderboard with a ball that, off the bat of 99% of hitters in the game, had no business leaving the park:

Murakami left the yard on a changeup, weight fighting to stay back on the ball — and off of the end of the bat, to boot! It’s the kind of swing you might lay out in a backyard Wiffle ball game, only Mune took his in the majors and sent it 415 feet away on 104 mph contact. The rookie is, simply, a beast.

Better, Murakami’s homer broke a streak of 10 straight hitless at-bats against a ragtag assemblage of Nationals bullpen arms. But Washington came right back in the fifth, after a single, (another) catcher’s interference from Edgar Quero and walk packed the sacks. The lead run came home on another walk, although in starter Erick Fedde’s defense, the lead was lost on a poor check-swing call on a full count. A second Nationals run later scored on a failed 6-4-3 double play.

The White Sox did creep to within 3-2 (Colson Montgomery rallied to not give up on an at-bat that saw him crush an RBI single to right field with two strikes) on their own recognizance. But for all the credit due to the White Sox for rallying for the win, the game was handed to them by Washington rookie Riley Cornelio, making his MLB debut.

In the bottom of the seventh, Cornelio entered the game and might as well have pulled his shirt up over his head and shouted FIRE FIRE, as his meltdown inning started with two walks (the second particularly egregious given Luisangel Acuña was showing sac bunt as early as possible) and was secured by throwing a Tristan Peters sac bunt into right field:

Then, with the score tied and runners on the corners after Cornelio’s error, Andrew Benintendi clubbed a sac fly to give the White Sox a 4-3 lead.

Tee-hee, the White Sox held the lead for two pitches in the eighth before Jordan Leasure room-serviced a slider to Brady House to knot the game back up.

For some reason, Cornelio came back out for the eighth, and though slightly more composed still handed the lead right back. Miguel Vargas hustled out an infield single to start things, chased by a Montgomery walk on pitches that weren’t close. Quero sacrificed the runners over (on another ball that the rookie almost threw away), and eventual winning margin came home on another battling at-bat from Sam Antonacci that ended in a deep fly to left for a sacrifice fly:

Seranthony Domínguez flirted with another tie in the game, but left a runner on third base after a one-out double and productive ground out by muscling up for a game-ending K against W’s slugger James Wood:

The White Sox improved to 11-15, and 5-5 in their last 10 games. Tomorrow is Noah Schultz Day, and we’ll see you right back here for more scrapin’ and scrappin’.

For much of the night, it looked like a step forward. And this time, they finished it.

Behind a quietly brilliant outing from Michael Lorenzen and a lineup that adjusted as the game went on, the Colorado Rockies (11-16) defeated the New York Mets (9-17) 4–3 on Friday night at Citi Field.

Lorenzen set the tone early and never really let it slip.

He wasn’t overpowering. He wasn’t racking up strikeouts.

But he was in control.

Working efficiently and generating consistent contact, Lorenzen leaned on his defense and kept the Mets from building anything sustained. Aside from a few isolated moments — including a 114 mph single from Juan Soto — he managed traffic, avoided big innings, and pitched deep into the game.

His final line told the story: 7 innings, 7 hits, 1 earned run, no walks, and three strikeouts on 90 pitches (55 strikes). Lorenzen improved to 2–2 on the season while lowering his ERA to 5.97.

It wasn’t flashy.

But it was exactly what Colorado needed.

The defense backed him up throughout. Ezequiel Tovar made a standout play up the middle, and the Rockies turned multiple double plays — including a key twin killing after Soto reached — to erase potential threats before they could grow.

Speaking of defense, check out this incredible catch from Carson Benge:

Freddy Peralta was sharp on the other side.

The right-hander worked 5.2 innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs while striking out eight, leaning heavily on a devastating changeup that generated plenty of swings and misses. He threw 95 pitches (67 strikes) and, for long stretches, looked in control. Peralta’s changeup was absolutely nasty and really played off the fastball well.

And the strikeouts never really went away.

Colorado finished with 15 on the night — eight against Peralta and seven more against Sean Manaea, who struck out seven over 3.1 innings of relief.

But they didn’t let it define the game.

Instead, the Rockies chipped away.

They mixed in patient at-bats, forced Peralta into uncomfortable spots, and capitalized in small ways. TJ Rumfield delivered one of those moments, battling through a bases-loaded at-bat before tapping a slow roller that brought home a run to tie the game. TJ made the heads-up decision to stop running up the line, forcing Peralta to toss the ball to first for the out. Smart baseball.

It wasn’t a big swing. It was just enough.

Staying alive

The Rockies stayed persistent, continuing to put the ball in play and forcing action. They scratched across another run — the first time all season Peralta had allowed a hit with a runner in scoring position — and eventually pushed him out of the game.

Once into the bullpen, they found their opening.

In the seventh, Colorado finally created separation. After putting runners in scoring position, Troy Johnston delivered a clutch two-run hit off Manaea to extend the lead.

They didn’t blow the game open. They didn’t need to.

The Mets made things interesting late, but the Rockies didn’t lose control.

Jaden Hill ran into trouble in the eighth, allowing four hits and two earned runs as New York cut into the lead and brought the game back within reach.

For a moment, the pressure returned.

But Antonio Senzatela stepped in and restored order.

Working 1.2 innings out of the bullpen, Senzatela stabilized things and didn’t let the game drift any further. He worked quickly, got outs, and ultimately finished the game with authority — blowing a 98 mph fastball MJ Melendez to seal the win.

Lorenzen gave them the game. Senzatela made sure they didn’t give it back.

Functioning just fine

For a team that entered the night 3–10 on the road, this was something more than just a win.

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t dominant.

But it was controlled, complete, and, most importantly, it traveled.

And for one night, at least, the Rockies didn’t just compete away from Coors. They finished.

Up Next

The Rockies will look to keep things rolling as they continue the series at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon.

First pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. MDT, with José Quintana (0–2, 6.23 ERA) getting the ball for Colorado against Kodai Senga (0–3, 8.83 ERA) for New York.

On paper, it’s another matchup where both teams are searching for stability on the mound.

For the Rockies, it’s a chance to build on a complete performance and carry some momentum into the rest of the series.

Let’s keep the good vibes going.

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The A’s sure needed that day off apparently. They marched into Texas this evening and looked like the better team in every facet of the game against the Rangers. That allowed the A’s to romp to a series-opening win and reclaim sole possession of first place in the AL West. Life is good.

A’s ambush Eovaldi

Entering tonight’s game, Texas starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, a veteran of 15 years in the major leagues, had generally had the A’s number over the years. He came into tonight’s contest with a 2.54 ERA in 15 career starts against the Green & Gold.

Well the A’s really didn’t wait around for him to get comfortable tonight. On the very first pitch of the game, leadoff man Nick Kurtz took Eovaldi deep to right field to take the quick lead:

After Shea Langeliers grounded out, it was Carlos Cortes’ turn at the plate and he took the third pitch he saw and delivered it over the wall in right field as well for a solo home run to double the lead for the A’s:

Think they were done there? Think again. On the very next pitch from Eovaldi, Tyler Soderstrom got in on the fun and blasted his own solo shot to make it a 3-0 game just four batters into this contest:

What a start! That is the first time the Athletics have hit three home runs in the first inning in franchise history! That’s quite a stat to think about considering how long this team has been around for.

Cortes adds insurance

Clinging to a 3-1 lead, the A’s were on the lookout for some insurance. Carlos Cortes, who was the backup outfielder to begin the season but has steadily increased his playing time, had already hit one homer this evening. But here he comes, our #3 hitter striding to the plate with two on and two outs in the top of the fifth inning. And what does he do?

He does it again! Except this time a 3-run shot to double the A’s lead and really blow this game open. Cortes is now hitting .339/.403/.625 with four long balls. Quite the production from someone considered the backup. When Brent Rooker returns from the IL (which seems like it could be sooner than later), Kotsay is going to have to find a way to keep Cortes’ bat in the lineup. Butler to center, Cortes to right, Rooker DH?

Severino bounces back

On the other side of things, the A’s had Luis Severino on the hill for them to start this series off. He was coming off a pair of tough outings that saw him allow nine total runs so he was in dire need of a rebound performance this evening.

The team got just that from their expensive right-hander. Sevy sat down the first three batters of the game on just seven pitches, and over the next 5 1/3 innings only allowed one run in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a pair of doubles. That was all the damage that they could ultimately do against him tonight though as he absolutely smothered the Texas offense this evening. Of course, he got some serious help from his defense tonight too, from Nick Kurtz…

… to Max Muncy:

It was only once he gave up back-to-back singles and was approaching the 100-pitch mark did Kotsay finally elect to take him out and turn this game over to the bullpen. A respectable move, even though Severino probably didn’t want to leave quite yet.

• Luis Severino: 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 98 pitches

That’s what we’ve been missing right there. Severino was dominant tonight as he held down a Texas offense that has some serious weapons in their lineup. This is what was expected of him when he signed that massive contract and he delivered on it tonight. Hopefully he can take this momentum with him into his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to be next week against the Kansas City Royals.

Adding on

After Severino came Hogan Harris and he got a couple strike outs, but also gave up a couple hits. Righty Justin Sterner relieved him and escaped that jam, bringing us to the final frame of the game.

Still up 6-1 and with one inning to go, the A’s still didn’t let their foot off the gas. A leadoff base knock by Jeff McNeil started things off and after a quick couple outs it seemed like this was almost it from the bats tonight. Except new center fielder Zack Gelof had something else to say about that:

That blast was his first of the season for the big league squad and it wasn’t even his best highlight of the night. That would be his leatherwork in center field earlier in the game:

He ultimately finished 2-for-4 on the evening. With that two-run homer plus the robbery, he was worth at least three runs this evening and is hitting .250 so far in the early going. He’s yet to draw a walk though compared to seven strikeouts already. The concerning trend from the past couple of seasons is continuing in that regard.

Anyway, that home run all but sealed tonight’s outcome. Luis Medina came on for mop up duties in the ninth and had a perfect frame, shutting down the Rangers 1-2-3 to finish them off and reclaim first place in the AL West for the Athletics.

Good game all around. Severino finally showed what he can do on the mound with a dominant performance against a division foe. The offense continues to rely on the long ball even while missing their All-Star DH in Brent Rooker. Though they seem to have a new middle of the order bat in Carlos Cortes, who had two home runs and four RBI’s this evening. The bullpen did it’s job and the defense flashed some leather, especially Gelof in center on that robbery. And for all their efforts this evening, the A’s are rewarded with a night’s sleep knowing that they are in first place in the AL West.

We do it all again tomorrow, same place, different time. It’ll be an afternoon matchup between left-handers Jeffrey Springs for the A’s and MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers. Springs has been the Athletics’ best pitcher this year but is coming off easily his worst outing of the season when he allowed seven earned runs against the Chicago White Sox. Gore meanwhile has also been solid for the Rangers for the most part but is also coming off a down performance that saw him yield five runs to the Mariners. Will either or both bounce back, or are we in store for another offensive night?

The Texas Rangers scored a run but the West Coast Athletics scored eight runs.

The Rangers donned their new Oklahoma Sooner college baseball uniforms and then Nathan Eovaldi allowed three home runs in the game’s first seven pitches and then like two and a half hours later here Texas is back at .500.

Player of the Game: Our lone star Josh Jung doubled in the Rangers’ lone run.

Up Next: The Rangers and A’s are back at it tomorrow in a battle of left-handers with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to pitch for Texas against LHP Jeffrey Springs for the formerly-Oaklands.

The Saturday afternoon first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

It was a second straight heartbreaker as the Philadelphia Phillies (8-18) blew two leads en route to their 10th straight loss and fourth within that span to come at the hands of the rival Atlanta Braves (19-8) by a score of 5-3 on Friday Night Baseball.

Andrew Painter made his fifth career start, his second on the road and his second consecutive against the Braves.

The Phillies opened the scoring against Braves’ starter, Grant Holmes, in the top of third inning when Trea Turner followed a Garrett Stubbs’ leadoff single with a two-run home run to right field, his third of the year.

Ronald Acuña, Jr. answered Turner’s shot in like-fashion in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff single by Eli White to tie the game at two.

In the top of the fourth, walks to Alec Bohm and Turner and Stubbs’ second hit of the night loaded the bases but Kyle Schwarber struck out to end the inning.

Bryce Harper continued his productive April with a tie-breaking opposite field solo shot to begin the fifth inning, his sixth of the season.

Other than the mistake to Acuña, Painter kept the Braves in check until the bottom of the sixth inning, when he allowed a one-out infield single to Dominic Smith and a walk to Mauricio Dubon. After Painter got Mike Yastrzemski to fly out, Michael Harris II, who was 2-2 with a home run against Painter last weekend, pinch hit for Eli White and stroked a two-RBI double to give the Braves the lead. Another run would come across the plate on a wild pitch before Rob Thomson finally took Painter out of the game, having surrendered five earned across five and two thirds.

Kyle Backhus, Chase Shugart and Tim Mayza held the line in relief of Painter, with Mayza withstanding a bases loaded threat in the eighth.

A leadoff walk by Turner and a one-out hit by Adolis Garcia provided a glimmer of hope against Braves’ backend stopper, Robert Suarez, but Brandon Marsh hit a weak grounder to end the threat and seal the loss.

The ten-game skid is the Phillies’ longest such streak since September of 1999 when Rico Brogna & Co. lost 11 straight.

Garcia grew his hitting streak to five games with three hits on the night.

The teams are back at it tomorrow night as Zack Wheeler is scheduled to make his first start since being shut down last August with the shoulder injury which required offseason surgery. Wheeler will be opposed by Braves’ right-hander, Bryce Elder.

Guardians 8 Blue Jays 6

I really hated them signing Max Scherzer again this season (even if it was cute that his daughter wrote to the Jays to plea for them to sign him). I didn’t think Scherzer had much left last year, I couldn’t imagine he’d be any better this year. So far, I’m thinking I was right.

He was just awful today. He gave up five in the first. Got out of the second without giving up a run. And then gave up two more in the third. Max gave up two home runs in the first and another in the third. He likely should have come out sooner, but I can understand John hoping to save a few pitches for his bullpen, with this being the first game of the series.

In all Max went 2.1, with 6 hits, 7 earned, 3 walks, and 0 strikeouts. I’m not sure I would have done worse (well, I am sure I would have been worse, but it is nice to dream).

As it was, the Jays used five relievers. And they did a great job:

• Joe Mantiply got five outs, giving up two hits with a strikeout.
• Spencer Miles got six outs, giving up two hits, with two strikeouts and one fun, coming in his second inning. He was impressive, likely out there too long, but we had to cover a lot of innings with the bullpen.
• Tommy Nance struck out the side in his inning.
• Mason Fluharty struck out two in his clean inning.
• Braydon Fisher had a walk in his shutout inning.

The run against Miles came with a running on third and one out. The Jays had the infield in, and got a soft grounder to Vlad, who fired home, but it was just too soft to get the out.

Our offense had a good night. We got homer from Jesus Sanchez (solo) and Kazuma Okamoto (solo). Both crushed to dead center. Sanchez at 111.8 mhp and 422 feet. Okamoto 109.9 mph and 430 feet (good to see him getting his bat going).

Andrés Giménez went 3 for 4, with a double and 2 RBI. Okomoto had 2 hits. Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes, Sanchez and Lenyn Sosa each had a hit. 0 fors go to Vlad (0 for 4 with an RBI), Daulton Varsho (0 for 4), Tyler Heineman (0 for 3).

Lukes doubles in the first but limped into second and left the game with a sore hamstring. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if it is serious. We have been very unlucky with injuries this year.

We had a shot in the ninth, when Okamoto and Giménez each singled to start off the inning, giving us the tying run at first, winning run at the plate, with no outs. But Eloy Jiménez bounced into an easy double play.

Jays of the Day: Giménez (.29 WPA) and Okamoto (.19). And give an honourable mention to all the relievers.

Other Award: Scherzer (-.48, I would think he will have to come out of the rotation when Yesavage comes back. Could be used as a long man/inning eater from the pen), Davis (-.10 for his 0 for 3, with a walk and two runs scored) and Jiménez (-.28, for his double play ball in the ninth).

Tomorrow is game two of the three games. Kevin Gausman (2.54) vs. Joey Cantillo (3.20). A win would be nice.

It wasn’t the stars, but the supporting cast that stole the show as the Royals knocked off the Angels 6-3 on Friday night. The 5-9 hitters in the lineup went a combined 7-for-18 and drove in all six runs, as the Royals scored six runs for the third consecutive game.

Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi mowed down nine of the first ten Royals hitters he faced, but the boys in blue piled it on in the fourth. Bobby Witt Jr. led off with a double, moving to third on a Salvador Perez flyout. After Lane Thomas walked, Starling Marte lifted a ball into shallow right. Angels right fielder Jo Adell ran in on it and slid, but was unable to corral the ball. Witt scored, but Lane Thomas was caught heading back to first, thinking it had been caught, and the Angels threw to second for the force out.

But the rest of the lineup picked him up. Carter Jensen singled to move Marte to third, setting up an RBI single by Isaac Collins. Elias Diaz doubled to drive home two, and Michael Massey followed with another double to plate a run. When the dust settled, the Royals had a five-run inning.

Meanwhile Noah Cameron cruised through the first six innings. He also retired nine of the first ten hitters, and tossed goose eggs through the sixth. But in the seventh, he gave up a one-out double to Vaughn Grissom, then walked Logan O’Hoppe. Bryce Teodosio hit a hot shot to third that Nick Loftin was unable to handle for an infield single to load the bases. Zach Neto singled to put the Angels on the board and end Noah Cameron’s night.

The Royals’ bullpen has been the worst in baseball so far, and they continued to have their struggles tonight. Nick Mears walked Mike Trout to force in another run. Jo Adell hit a slow chopper that Loftin fielded and elected to try to turn a double play, but was only able to get one out, allowing another run to score to cut the lead to 5-3 Royals. After Mears walked Jorge Soler, Daniel Lynch IV was brought in and wriggled out of the jam by striking out Yoán Moncada.

The Royals added an insurance run in the eighth off Angels reliever Drew Pomeranz. Starling Marte singled with one out, and pinch-runner Kyle Isbel stole second, his fifth of the year already. Isaac Collins singled to drive him home, his second hit of the night, making it 6-3, Royals. Lucas Erceg came on to pick up his sixth save of the year, and the Royals improved to 9-17. Noah Cameron picked up his second win of the year, giving up three runs in 6.1 innings.

The Royals have a chance to take just their second series win tomorrow evening when they face the Angels again. Cole Ragans takes on 22-year-old right-hander Walbert Ureña at 6:10 CT.