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The life of a backup position player isn’t a fun one. Sure, you get paid a lot to spend most of the game on the bench and have relatively little blame go your way any time your team loses, but any person who’s ever played sports tells you that it’s not fun to sit on the bench.

It was for that reason that Amed Rosario decided to take less money ahead of the 2024 season to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees reportedly offered him a $4 million contract in their pursuit of bench depth, but Rosario took a $1.5 million deal to get more playing time with the Rays. A year and a half later, fate brought him to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline as a right-handed platoon bat off the bench, where he got some big at-bats but ultimately sat in the backup role he once shrugged off.

After hitting free agency this offseason, he elected to accept that bench role and returned to the Yankees on a small deal to fill the same role. It would be rare that he would face a right-handed pitcher, but in the wake of Ryan McMahon’s deep slump to start the year, Aaron Boone decided to give Rosario a start against a pitcher with semi-reverse splits.

That decision may go down as one of Boone’s best-ever moves, at least on an individual game basis. Rosario blasted two home runs Tuesday night. Both against righties, both gave the Yankees the lead, and both induced emphatic celebration. His pair of long homers lifted the Yanks back up off the mat, helping them come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the (Sacramento) Athletics, 5-3, to open a three-game set.

Cam Schlittler started his outing on the right note, retiring the first six batters he faced with a trio of strikeouts, including one over the American League’s Luis Arraez, Jacob Wilson. Against Aaron Civale, the Yankees drew a couple of walks in the first two innings and had Aaron Judge reach on catcher’s interference, but the only real damage would come on a long home run to left field by Rosario to open the scoring. Amusingly enough, it was his first regular season homer at Yankee Stadium since he walked it off for the Mets in the most 2020 game of all time.

Schlittler unraveled in the third. Max Muncy nubbed an infield single, Jeff McNeil lined a hit to right field, and Schlittler was able to jump ahead of the light-hitting Denzel Clarke, 0-2. Despite having two strikes, Clarke laid down a successful bunt, which set up slumbering slugger Nick Kurtz to break out of his rut with a two-run double. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom ripped a double down the right-field line to make it 3-1, A’s.

Civale went back out and worked around a two-out walk to Ben Rice to get through the third and had a 1-2-3 fourth, while Schlittler settled back in after a rough third inning. The Yankees finally got something going off Civale in the fifth with a José Caballero double and a Judge walk, but the veteran righty was able to strand the tying run in scoring position.

Schlittler wrapped up his outing with two straight clean innings, ultimately finishing with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed in five innings. While it was his worst start of the year, and his velo was down because of the blistering cold, he continued an impressive walkless streak. Once considered his biggest weakness, the 25-year-old is now up to 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 16.2 innings on the season.

Jake Bird got the sixth for the Yankees, trying to bounce back from an awful outing on Sunday. It was a mixed bag, as he gave up a smoked single to Soderstrom, but bounced back to strike out Brent Rooker and retire Wilson. Boone elected to play to a matchup with Lawrence Butler due up with Brent Headrick, but the lefty walked him, and after a throwing error by Austin Wells on a stolen base, there were runners on the corners. Fortunately, Headrick rebounded to strike out Muncy to end the frame.

Justin Sterner was first out of the bullpen for the Athletics, and he got through the sixth cleanly, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and erasing a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single with an immediate 6-4-3 double play by Rosario. Boone elected to be aggressive with the matchups again in the seventh, taking out Headrick with two outs so Fernando Cruz could get Shea Langeliers. An update on Headrick’s odd reverse splits: righties are 0-for-12 with two walks and eight strikeouts against him, while lefties are 5-for-11 with two doubles, two walks, and two strikeouts.

Wells drilled a leadoff double at 111 mph into the gap to start the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded after Caballero, Grisham, and Judge all grounded out off Sterner. Cruz walked a pair of A’s in the eighth, but tip-toed his way out of a jam with a strikeout of Muncy.

I had a very soft spot for Mark Leiter Jr. last year, almost to a fault. The Yankees played unfathomably poor defense behind him, and he ran an impossibly high BABIP all season long. I believed in his stuff, which was still very strong (along with his peripherals) until a midseason injury. He was non-tendered in the offseason and picked up by the Athletics, where he’s one of their better relievers.

Leiter was tasked with holding the lead in the eighth, which he did not do. Bellinger and Rice hit two jamshot singles to start the frame before an absolutely baffling knuckleball single by Stanton that somehow evaded Wilson at shortstop brought in a run.

Whatever curse was put on Leiter at Yankee Stadium was clearly in full effect.

After the righty narrowly avoided a fourth consecutive bloop single on a diving play by Clarke in center, he faced Rosario, and this was his night. The veteran journeyman absolutely cranked a splitter that stayed up into the second deck, prompting one of the most emphatic home run celebrations I’ve seen from a Yankee in April, to make it 5-3. It’s just his third career multi-homer game and first in nearly five years.

After Caballero’s single and stolen base were stranded to end the inning, it was time for Renegade. David Bednar got the call to face 8-9-1. He fell behind McNeil, but rebounded to strike him out in a lengthy at-bat in what would be the only time he’d have to sweat. A pinch-hitting Carlos Cortes flew out, and Kurtz did the same to end it, with Bednar picking up his fifth save of the season.

The Yankees will look to win their fourth consecutive series to start the season in the middle game of this three-game set, as Will Warren faces former Yankee Luis Severino tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.

Box Score

The life of a backup position player isn’t a fun one. Sure, you get paid a lot to spend most of the game on the bench and have relatively little blame go your way any time your team loses, but any person who’s ever played sports tells you that it’s not fun to sit on the bench.

It was for that reason that Amed Rosario decided to take less money ahead of the 2024 season to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees reportedly offered him a $4 million contract in their pursuit of bench depth, but Rosario took a $1.5 million deal to get more playing time with the Rays. A year and a half later, fate brought him to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline as a right-handed platoon bat off the bench, where he got some big at-bats but ultimately sat in the backup role he once shrugged off.

After hitting free agency this offseason, he elected to accept that bench role and returned to the Yankees on a small deal to fill the same role. It would be rare that he would face a right-handed pitcher, but in the wake of Ryan McMahon’s deep slump to start the year, Aaron Boone decided to give Rosario a start against a pitcher with semi-reverse splits.

That decision may go down as one of Boone’s best-ever moves, at least on an individual game basis. Rosario blasted two home runs Tuesday night. Both against righties, both gave the Yankees the lead, and both induced emphatic celebration. His pair of long homers lifted the Yanks back up off the mat, helping them come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the (Sacramento) Athletics, 5-3, to open a three-game set.

Cam Schlittler started his outing on the right note, retiring the first six batters he faced with a trio of strikeouts, including one over the American League’s Luis Arraez, Jacob Wilson. Against Aaron Civale, the Yankees drew a couple of walks in the first two innings and had Aaron Judge reach on catcher’s interference, but the only real damage would come on a long home run to left field by Rosario to open the scoring. Amusingly enough, it was his first regular season homer at Yankee Stadium since he walked it off for the Mets in the most 2020 game of all time.

Schlittler unraveled in the third. Max Muncy nubbed an infield single, Jeff McNeil lined a hit to right field, and Schlittler was able to jump ahead of the light-hitting Denzel Clarke, 0-2. Despite having two strikes, Clarke laid down a successful bunt, which set up slumbering slugger Nick Kurtz to break out of his rut with a two-run double. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom ripped a double down the right-field line to make it 3-1, A’s.

Civale went back out and worked around a two-out walk to Ben Rice to get through the third and had a 1-2-3 fourth, while Schlittler settled back in after a rough third inning. The Yankees finally got something going off Civale in the fifth with a José Caballero double and a Judge walk, but the veteran righty was able to strand the tying run in scoring position.

Schlittler wrapped up his outing with two straight clean innings, ultimately finishing with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed in five innings. While it was his worst start of the year, and his velo was down because of the blistering cold, he continued an impressive walkless streak. Once considered his biggest weakness, the 25-year-old is now up to 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 16.2 innings on the season.

Jake Bird got the sixth for the Yankees, trying to bounce back from an awful outing on Sunday. It was a mixed bag, as he gave up a smoked single to Soderstrom, but bounced back to strike out Brent Rooker and retire Wilson. Boone elected to play to a matchup with Lawrence Butler due up with Brent Headrick, but the lefty walked him, and after a throwing error by Austin Wells on a stolen base, there were runners on the corners. Fortunately, Headrick rebounded to strike out Muncy to end the frame.

Justin Sterner was first out of the bullpen for the Athletics, and he got through the sixth cleanly, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and erasing a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single with an immediate 6-4-3 double play by Rosario. Boone elected to be aggressive with the matchups again in the seventh, taking out Headrick with two outs so Fernando Cruz could get Shea Langeliers. An update on Headrick’s odd reverse splits: righties are 0-for-12 with two walks and eight strikeouts against him, while lefties are 5-for-11 with two doubles, two walks, and two strikeouts.

Wells drilled a leadoff double at 111 mph into the gap to start the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded after Caballero, Grisham, and Judge all grounded out off Sterner. Cruz walked a pair of A’s in the eighth, but tip-toed his way out of a jam with a strikeout of Muncy.

I had a very soft spot for Mark Leiter Jr. last year, almost to a fault. The Yankees played unfathomably poor defense behind him, and he ran an impossibly high BABIP all season long. I believed in his stuff, which was still very strong (along with his peripherals) until a midseason injury. He was non-tendered in the offseason and picked up by the Athletics, where he’s one of their better relievers.

Leiter was tasked with holding the lead in the eighth, which he did not do. Bellinger and Rice hit two jamshot singles to start the frame before an absolutely baffling knuckleball single by Stanton that somehow evaded Wilson at shortstop brought in a run.

Whatever curse was put on Leiter at Yankee Stadium was clearly in full effect.

After the righty narrowly avoided a fourth consecutive bloop single on a diving play by Clarke in center, he faced Rosario, and this was his night. The veteran journeyman absolutely cranked a splitter that stayed up into the second deck, prompting one of the most emphatic home run celebrations I’ve seen from a Yankee in April, to make it 5-3. It’s just his third career multi-homer game and first in nearly five years.

After Caballero’s single and stolen base were stranded to end the inning, it was time for Renegade. David Bednar got the call to face 8-9-1. He fell behind McNeil, but rebounded to strike him out in a lengthy at-bat in what would be the only time he’d have to sweat. A pinch-hitting Carlos Cortes flew out, and Kurtz did the same to end it, with Bednar picking up his fifth save of the season.

The Yankees will look to win their fourth consecutive series to start the season in the middle game of this three-game set, as Will Warren faces former Yankee Luis Severino tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.

Box Score

The life of a backup position player isn’t a fun one. Sure, you get paid a lot to spend most of the game on the bench and have relatively little blame go your way any time your team loses, but any person who’s ever played sports tells you that it’s not fun to sit on the bench.

It was for that reason that Amed Rosario decided to take less money ahead of the 2024 season to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees reportedly offered him a $4 million contract in their pursuit of bench depth, but Rosario took a $1.5 million deal to get more playing time with the Rays. A year and a half later, fate brought him to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline as a right-handed platoon bat off the bench, where he got some big at-bats but ultimately sat in the backup role he once shrugged off.

After hitting free agency this offseason, he elected to accept that bench role and returned to the Yankees on a small deal to fill the same role. It would be rare that he would face a right-handed pitcher, but in the wake of Ryan McMahon’s deep slump to start the year, Aaron Boone decided to give Rosario a start against a pitcher with semi-reverse splits.

That decision may go down as one of Boone’s best-ever moves, at least on an individual game basis. Rosario blasted two home runs Tuesday night. Both against righties, both gave the Yankees the lead, and both induced emphatic celebration. His pair of long homers lifted the Yanks back up off the mat, helping them come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the (Sacramento) Athletics, 5-3, to open a three-game set.

Cam Schlittler started his outing on the right note, retiring the first six batters he faced with a trio of strikeouts, including one over the American League’s Luis Arraez, Jacob Wilson. Against Aaron Civale, the Yankees drew a couple of walks in the first two innings and had Aaron Judge reach on catcher’s interference, but the only real damage would come on a long home run to left field by Rosario to open the scoring. Amusingly enough, it was his first regular season homer at Yankee Stadium since he walked it off for the Mets in the most 2020 game of all time.

Schlittler unraveled in the third. Max Muncy nubbed an infield single, Jeff McNeil lined a hit to right field, and Schlittler was able to jump ahead of the light-hitting Denzel Clarke, 0-2. Despite having two strikes, Clarke laid down a successful bunt, which set up slumbering slugger Nick Kurtz to break out of his rut with a two-run double. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom ripped a double down the right-field line to make it 3-1, A’s.

Civale went back out and worked around a two-out walk to Ben Rice to get through the third and had a 1-2-3 fourth, while Schlittler settled back in after a rough third inning. The Yankees finally got something going off Civale in the fifth with a José Caballero double and a Judge walk, but the veteran righty was able to strand the tying run in scoring position.

Schlittler wrapped up his outing with two straight clean innings, ultimately finishing with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed in five innings. While it was his worst start of the year, and his velo was down because of the blistering cold, he continued an impressive walkless streak. Once considered his biggest weakness, the 25-year-old is now up to 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 16.2 innings on the season.

Jake Bird got the sixth for the Yankees, trying to bounce back from an awful outing on Sunday. It was a mixed bag, as he gave up a smoked single to Soderstrom, but bounced back to strike out Brent Rooker and retire Wilson. Boone elected to play to a matchup with Lawrence Butler due up with Brent Headrick, but the lefty walked him, and after a throwing error by Austin Wells on a stolen base, there were runners on the corners. Fortunately, Headrick rebounded to strike out Muncy to end the frame.

Justin Sterner was first out of the bullpen for the Athletics, and he got through the sixth cleanly, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and erasing a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single with an immediate 6-4-3 double play by Rosario. Boone elected to be aggressive with the matchups again in the seventh, taking out Headrick with two outs so Fernando Cruz could get Shea Langeliers. An update on Headrick’s odd reverse splits: righties are 0-for-12 with two walks and eight strikeouts against him, while lefties are 5-for-11 with two doubles, two walks, and two strikeouts.

Wells drilled a leadoff double at 111 mph into the gap to start the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded after Caballero, Grisham, and Judge all grounded out off Sterner. Cruz walked a pair of A’s in the eighth, but tip-toed his way out of a jam with a strikeout of Muncy.

I had a very soft spot for Mark Leiter Jr. last year, almost to a fault. The Yankees played unfathomably poor defense behind him, and he ran an impossibly high BABIP all season long. I believed in his stuff, which was still very strong (along with his peripherals) until a midseason injury. He was non-tendered in the offseason and picked up by the Athletics, where he’s one of their better relievers.

Leiter was tasked with holding the lead in the eighth, which he did not do. Bellinger and Rice hit two jamshot singles to start the frame before an absolutely baffling knuckleball single by Stanton that somehow evaded Wilson at shortstop brought in a run.

Whatever curse was put on Leiter at Yankee Stadium was clearly in full effect.

After the righty narrowly avoided a fourth consecutive bloop single on a diving play by Clarke in center, he faced Rosario, and this was his night. The veteran journeyman absolutely cranked a splitter that stayed up into the second deck, prompting one of the most emphatic home run celebrations I’ve seen from a Yankee in April, to make it 5-3. It’s just his third career multi-homer game and first in nearly five years.

After Caballero’s single and stolen base were stranded to end the inning, it was time for Renegade. David Bednar got the call to face 8-9-1. He fell behind McNeil, but rebounded to strike him out in a lengthy at-bat in what would be the only time he’d have to sweat. A pinch-hitting Carlos Cortes flew out, and Kurtz did the same to end it, with Bednar picking up his fifth save of the season.

The Yankees will look to win their fourth consecutive series to start the season in the middle game of this three-game set, as Will Warren faces former Yankee Luis Severino tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.

Box Score

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

Late night with the Phils#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/XLSyi3MrsU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 7, 2026

For the Giants:

Let’s talk about it.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

Late night with the Phils#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/XLSyi3MrsU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 7, 2026

For the Giants:

Let’s talk about it.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

Late night with the Phils#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/XLSyi3MrsU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 7, 2026

For the Giants:

Let’s talk about it.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Seattle Mariners scored two runs.

I have this impression that George Kirby is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live because I’ve mostly only ever seen him pitch against the Rangers and when Kirby pitches against the Rangers, he’s one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.

Coming into tonight’s game, Kirby was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.04 in his career spanning ten starts and 60 2/3 innings against Texas. Simply put, Kirby has been one of the all-time Rangers slayers on the mound.

So imagine my not-surprise when the offensively-challenged-at-home Rangers were getting shut down by Kirby on like 30 something pitches through four scoreless frames. I was certain the Rangers were going to get shutout on a turbo Maddux on like 65 pitches by Kirby and it would have been like maybe one of his second or third best outings against them.

But a weird little thing happened . In the top of the fifth, after Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi had shrugged off a first pitch home run by Brendan Donovan to give the Mariners an immediate 1-0 lead, Eovaldi got into a spot of trouble with three consecutive two-out baserunners that scored Seattle’s second run.

Eovaldi needed a ton of pitches to get out of the inning without further damage but for as brisk as Kirby was working, it offered a moment where he had to sit and wait. This effectively worked to ice Kirby as in the bottom of the inning the Rangers ambushed the righty for three runs and a lead.

Joc Pederson singled on a ball to third base that Donovan threw away. With Pederson at second base, Evan Carter drove in his first run on the season with an RBI single and then Kyle Higashioka had the big hit with a two-run dong that gave the Rangers their lead and the game its eventual final score.

Just like that, Kirby had proved to be mortal and the Rangers have their first win against Seattle’s Rangers killer despite the fact that Kirby went on to finish an eight inning complete game.

Player of the Game: Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K) bouncing back from not only two poor starts to begin the year, but also the lead off home run, was critical but there was no bigger moment than his battery mate Higashioka giving Texas the lead on the eventual game-winning two-run homer that turned what looked like another dominant Kirby start against the Rangers into a win.

Thanks to Eovaldi and Higgy, the victory guarantees Texas no worse than a series victory over Seattle in their first battle of the year and it also moved the Rangers back above .500.

Also, hat tip to the two Jac(k)obs Latz and Junis for three innings of scoreless ball with two frames from Jacob and a one-run save for a second consecutive night for Jakob.

Junis’ 9th inning was scary with the first two hitters reaching but after two flyouts, the game ended on a check swing grounder in the front of the plate off the bat of Donovan that Higgy pounced on for the out and a bit of poetry.

Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series eyeing their first sweep of the season with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle in the latest stellar pitching matchup between these two AL West rivals.

The Wednesday afternoon finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Seattle Mariners scored two runs.

I have this impression that George Kirby is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live because I’ve mostly only ever seen him pitch against the Rangers and when Kirby pitches against the Rangers, he’s one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.

Coming into tonight’s game, Kirby was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.04 in his career spanning ten starts and 60 2/3 innings against Texas. Simply put, Kirby has been one of the all-time Rangers slayers on the mound.

So imagine my not-surprise when the offensively-challenged-at-home Rangers were getting shut down by Kirby on like 30 something pitches through four scoreless frames. I was certain the Rangers were going to get shutout on a turbo Maddux on like 65 pitches by Kirby and it would have been like maybe one of his second or third best outings against them.

But a weird little thing happened . In the top of the fifth, after Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi had shrugged off a first pitch home run by Brendan Donovan to give the Mariners an immediate 1-0 lead, Eovaldi got into a spot of trouble with three consecutive two-out baserunners that scored Seattle’s second run.

Eovaldi needed a ton of pitches to get out of the inning without further damage but for as brisk as Kirby was working, it offered a moment where he had to sit and wait. This effectively worked to ice Kirby as in the bottom of the inning the Rangers ambushed the righty for three runs and a lead.

Joc Pederson singled on a ball to third base that Donovan threw away. With Pederson at second base, Evan Carter drove in his first run on the season with an RBI single and then Kyle Higashioka had the big hit with a two-run dong that gave the Rangers their lead and the game its eventual final score.

Just like that, Kirby had proved to be mortal and the Rangers have their first win against Seattle’s Rangers killer despite the fact that Kirby went on to finish an eight inning complete game.

Player of the Game: Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K) bouncing back from not only two poor starts to begin the year, but also the lead off home run, was critical but there was no bigger moment than his battery mate Higashioka giving Texas the lead on the eventual game-winning two-run homer that turned what looked like another dominant Kirby start against the Rangers into a win.

Thanks to Eovaldi and Higgy, the victory guarantees Texas no worse than a series victory over Seattle in their first battle of the year and it also moved the Rangers back above .500.

Also, hat tip to the two Jac(k)obs Latz and Junis for three innings of scoreless ball with two frames from Jacob and a one-run save for a second consecutive night for Jakob.

Junis’ 9th inning was scary with the first two hitters reaching but after two flyouts, the game ended on a check swing grounder in the front of the plate off the bat of Donovan that Higgy pounced on for the out and a bit of poetry.

Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series eyeing their first sweep of the season with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle in the latest stellar pitching matchup between these two AL West rivals.

The Wednesday afternoon finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Seattle Mariners scored two runs.

I have this impression that George Kirby is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live because I’ve mostly only ever seen him pitch against the Rangers and when Kirby pitches against the Rangers, he’s one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.

Coming into tonight’s game, Kirby was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.04 in his career spanning ten starts and 60 2/3 innings against Texas. Simply put, Kirby has been one of the all-time Rangers slayers on the mound.

So imagine my not-surprise when the offensively-challenged-at-home Rangers were getting shut down by Kirby on like 30 something pitches through four scoreless frames. I was certain the Rangers were going to get shutout on a turbo Maddux on like 65 pitches by Kirby and it would have been like maybe one of his second or third best outings against them.

But a weird little thing happened . In the top of the fifth, after Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi had shrugged off a first pitch home run by Brendan Donovan to give the Mariners an immediate 1-0 lead, Eovaldi got into a spot of trouble with three consecutive two-out baserunners that scored Seattle’s second run.

Eovaldi needed a ton of pitches to get out of the inning without further damage but for as brisk as Kirby was working, it offered a moment where he had to sit and wait. This effectively worked to ice Kirby as in the bottom of the inning the Rangers ambushed the righty for three runs and a lead.

Joc Pederson singled on a ball to third base that Donovan threw away. With Pederson at second base, Evan Carter drove in his first run on the season with an RBI single and then Kyle Higashioka had the big hit with a two-run dong that gave the Rangers their lead and the game its eventual final score.

Just like that, Kirby had proved to be mortal and the Rangers have their first win against Seattle’s Rangers killer despite the fact that Kirby went on to finish an eight inning complete game.

Player of the Game: Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K) bouncing back from not only two poor starts to begin the year, but also the lead off home run, was critical but there was no bigger moment than his battery mate Higashioka giving Texas the lead on the eventual game-winning two-run homer that turned what looked like another dominant Kirby start against the Rangers into a win.

Thanks to Eovaldi and Higgy, the victory guarantees Texas no worse than a series victory over Seattle in their first battle of the year and it also moved the Rangers back above .500.

Also, hat tip to the two Jac(k)obs Latz and Junis for three innings of scoreless ball with two frames from Jacob and a one-run save for a second consecutive night for Jakob.

Junis’ 9th inning was scary with the first two hitters reaching but after two flyouts, the game ended on a check swing grounder in the front of the plate off the bat of Donovan that Higgy pounced on for the out and a bit of poetry.

Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series eyeing their first sweep of the season with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle in the latest stellar pitching matchup between these two AL West rivals.

The Wednesday afternoon finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us. We’ll waive the cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night, I asked you what was worrying you most about the Cubs. Certainly we got more to be worried about today. Obviously the bad news about Cade Horton today plays into this, but 39 percent of you said it was injuries to starting pitching that worried you the most. Thirty-one percent of you said that the hitters struggles bothered you the most.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz, so let’s get to that now. You’re free to skip ahead.

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International Jazz Day is coming up on April 30, and here we have Herbie Hancock performing his song “Footprints” for International Jazz Day in 2023. International Jazz Day was Hancock’s idea when he was a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The United Nations agreed to celebrate the day in 2011 and every year since.

Hancock is on piano, Ambrose Akinmusire plays trumpet, Walter Smith III in on tenor sax, Ben Williams plays bass and Mark Merella is the percussionist.

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So you all know by now that Cade Horton is out for the year with elbow surgery. We don’t know whether or not it will be full Tommy John or a brace until they actually perform the operation. Horton previously had a full Tommy John operation in college at Oklahoma.

So there’s no good way to spin that except the say that there’s a solid chance that Horton will come back and be as good as ever some time in 2027. There’s always the risk that he isn’t, but the odds are in our favor.

So the Cubs need another starting pitcher. It doesn’t sound like the Matthew Boyd injury is serious, but as always, injuries to pitchers can sound minor until they aren’t. It’s another thing to worry about.

The Cubs planned for injuries to starting pitching this year with Colin Rea in the bullpen and Javier Assad down in Iowa. Neither one is as good as Boyd or Horton, but they are better-than-replacement-level pitchers who can get the Cubs into the sixth inning (or so) most times out.

The problem, however, is that the Cubs are less than two weeks into the season and they’ve already blown through their starting pitching reinforcements. Their top pitching prospect, Jaxon Wiggins, hasn’t established himself as major-league ready yet. Justin Steele should be back in six-to-eight weeks after missing almost all of last season with his elbow surgery, but “should” doesn’t mean “will.” There’s also no guarantee that Steele will return to what he was, although again, the odds are good that he will return to his former level, at least eventually.

There is one option that has been mentioned. Right-hander Lucas Giolito was a free agent this past winter who ended up not signing with anyone. Giolito had elbow surgery himself and missed all of 2024 in his first year of a two-year deal with Boston. He bounced back last year, going 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts. That performance turned a mutual option into a player option for one-year and $19 million for 2026. Giolito declined that option. The Cubs could certainly use that kind of performance this year.

Perhaps Giolito shouldn’t have declined the option because no one offered him a deal this winter that he thought was worth accepting. Giolito is still on the market. It seems odd that all 30 teams wouldn’t jump at a pitcher who put up such an impressive line the year before, but here’s where the advance metrics come in. Giolito succeeded last year despite not missing many bats. His swing-and-miss rates were at a career-low for him last year and his strikeout rate was down to 19.7 percent, which is way down from the 25.7 percent he had in 2023. The exit velocity on balls in play was up and the hard-hit rate was a below-average 40.9 percent. All of this says that while Giolito’s actual ERA was a good 3.41, his expected ERA, based on those metrics, was a poor 5.01.

Probably because of those concerns, no one offered Giolito a deal that he felt was worth accepting. After all, he had just turned down a $19 million player option. That was almost certainly a mistake, but one he’d like to correct.

It should be noted, however, that this was Giolito’s first season back from elbow surgery. It was a brace procedure and not full Tommy John, but pitchers do sometimes struggle in their first year back from surgery and are back to being as good as ever two years out. Giolito is also only 31 years old, so it’s not like he should be into his age-related decline quite yet.

There is one other problem. Giolito hasn’t gone through Spring Training. The Cubs can’t just sign him and plunk him into the rotation tomorrow. But I would assume that he’s staying in pitching shape as he markets himself to teams and that he wouldn’t need a full six weeks to be major league ready. I would think he would probably be ready after 2 or 3 minor league starts.

Maybe Giolito isn’t the solid mid-rotation starter that he was back in his glory days with the White Sox, but there’s a good chance that he’s still a good back-of-the-rotation pitcher. You might argue that he’s not much better than what Assad or Rea would give in the absence of Horton, but there are no guarantees that Horton is the last starting pitcher that goes down and they’ve already blown through their reserves until Justin Steele comes back. If the Cubs lose another starting pitcher, they’re looking at the possibility of Vince Velazquez being in the rotation. Velazquez hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023 and Giolito is likely to be a lot better than Velazquez.

I have no idea what kind of deal Giolito would accept. Obviously he is trying to make up for turning down the $19 million from the Red Sox. I don’t think he gets that unless its a two-year deal. But the Cubs payroll isn’t really your concern. They’re going to be over the first luxury tax limit and under the limit where they start getting draft pick penalties. Signing Giolito won’t affect that either way.

The Cubs aren’t the only team suffering pitching injuries in the young season, however. The Braves and the Blue Jays are two other teams who are expected to contend and are in bad shape with injuries to starting pitching. So there is likely to be at least some sort of bidding war for Giolito, even if it (probably) won’t get too crazy.

So should the Cubs sign Giolito? Does he still have something left to contribute? Or are you willing to risk Boyd staying healthy, Steele coming back and Rea and Assad contributing, at least until we get closer to the trade deadline and the Cubs could conceivably pick someone up in the trade market.

Thank you for stopping by tonight. We were glad to see you. Please get home safely. Let us know if you need us to call a ride. Don’t forget any personal belongings. Tip your waistaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us. We’ll waive the cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night, I asked you what was worrying you most about the Cubs. Certainly we got more to be worried about today. Obviously the bad news about Cade Horton today plays into this, but 39 percent of you said it was injuries to starting pitching that worried you the most. Thirty-one percent of you said that the hitters struggles bothered you the most.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz, so let’s get to that now. You’re free to skip ahead.

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International Jazz Day is coming up on April 30, and here we have Herbie Hancock performing his song “Footprints” for International Jazz Day in 2023. International Jazz Day was Hancock’s idea when he was a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The United Nations agreed to celebrate the day in 2011 and every year since.

Hancock is on piano, Ambrose Akinmusire plays trumpet, Walter Smith III in on tenor sax, Ben Williams plays bass and Mark Merella is the percussionist.

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So you all know by now that Cade Horton is out for the year with elbow surgery. We don’t know whether or not it will be full Tommy John or a brace until they actually perform the operation. Horton previously had a full Tommy John operation in college at Oklahoma.

So there’s no good way to spin that except the say that there’s a solid chance that Horton will come back and be as good as ever some time in 2027. There’s always the risk that he isn’t, but the odds are in our favor.

So the Cubs need another starting pitcher. It doesn’t sound like the Matthew Boyd injury is serious, but as always, injuries to pitchers can sound minor until they aren’t. It’s another thing to worry about.

The Cubs planned for injuries to starting pitching this year with Colin Rea in the bullpen and Javier Assad down in Iowa. Neither one is as good as Boyd or Horton, but they are better-than-replacement-level pitchers who can get the Cubs into the sixth inning (or so) most times out.

The problem, however, is that the Cubs are less than two weeks into the season and they’ve already blown through their starting pitching reinforcements. Their top pitching prospect, Jaxon Wiggins, hasn’t established himself as major-league ready yet. Justin Steele should be back in six-to-eight weeks after missing almost all of last season with his elbow surgery, but “should” doesn’t mean “will.” There’s also no guarantee that Steele will return to what he was, although again, the odds are good that he will return to his former level, at least eventually.

There is one option that has been mentioned. Right-hander Lucas Giolito was a free agent this past winter who ended up not signing with anyone. Giolito had elbow surgery himself and missed all of 2024 in his first year of a two-year deal with Boston. He bounced back last year, going 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts. That performance turned a mutual option into a player option for one-year and $19 million for 2026. Giolito declined that option. The Cubs could certainly use that kind of performance this year.

Perhaps Giolito shouldn’t have declined the option because no one offered him a deal this winter that he thought was worth accepting. Giolito is still on the market. It seems odd that all 30 teams wouldn’t jump at a pitcher who put up such an impressive line the year before, but here’s where the advance metrics come in. Giolito succeeded last year despite not missing many bats. His swing-and-miss rates were at a career-low for him last year and his strikeout rate was down to 19.7 percent, which is way down from the 25.7 percent he had in 2023. The exit velocity on balls in play was up and the hard-hit rate was a below-average 40.9 percent. All of this says that while Giolito’s actual ERA was a good 3.41, his expected ERA, based on those metrics, was a poor 5.01.

Probably because of those concerns, no one offered Giolito a deal that he felt was worth accepting. After all, he had just turned down a $19 million player option. That was almost certainly a mistake, but one he’d like to correct.

It should be noted, however, that this was Giolito’s first season back from elbow surgery. It was a brace procedure and not full Tommy John, but pitchers do sometimes struggle in their first year back from surgery and are back to being as good as ever two years out. Giolito is also only 31 years old, so it’s not like he should be into his age-related decline quite yet.

There is one other problem. Giolito hasn’t gone through Spring Training. The Cubs can’t just sign him and plunk him into the rotation tomorrow. But I would assume that he’s staying in pitching shape as he markets himself to teams and that he wouldn’t need a full six weeks to be major league ready. I would think he would probably be ready after 2 or 3 minor league starts.

Maybe Giolito isn’t the solid mid-rotation starter that he was back in his glory days with the White Sox, but there’s a good chance that he’s still a good back-of-the-rotation pitcher. You might argue that he’s not much better than what Assad or Rea would give in the absence of Horton, but there are no guarantees that Horton is the last starting pitcher that goes down and they’ve already blown through their reserves until Justin Steele comes back. If the Cubs lose another starting pitcher, they’re looking at the possibility of Vince Velazquez being in the rotation. Velazquez hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023 and Giolito is likely to be a lot better than Velazquez.

I have no idea what kind of deal Giolito would accept. Obviously he is trying to make up for turning down the $19 million from the Red Sox. I don’t think he gets that unless its a two-year deal. But the Cubs payroll isn’t really your concern. They’re going to be over the first luxury tax limit and under the limit where they start getting draft pick penalties. Signing Giolito won’t affect that either way.

The Cubs aren’t the only team suffering pitching injuries in the young season, however. The Braves and the Blue Jays are two other teams who are expected to contend and are in bad shape with injuries to starting pitching. So there is likely to be at least some sort of bidding war for Giolito, even if it (probably) won’t get too crazy.

So should the Cubs sign Giolito? Does he still have something left to contribute? Or are you willing to risk Boyd staying healthy, Steele coming back and Rea and Assad contributing, at least until we get closer to the trade deadline and the Cubs could conceivably pick someone up in the trade market.

Thank you for stopping by tonight. We were glad to see you. Please get home safely. Let us know if you need us to call a ride. Don’t forget any personal belongings. Tip your waistaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.