Sunday was a bad day all around for the Red Sox, who let a 4-0 lead slip away in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Padres scored three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. The Red Sox managed to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but they gave up two more runs through the final two innings in the loss.
The Red Sox, who do sport a $265 million payroll, are in last place in the American League East and 5.5 games back of the 7-1 first-place Yankees.
“We need to find a way to just bring more energy and just be better,” Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony told reporters. “This is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to the fans. It’s unacceptable to the standard we set for ourselves. It’s as simple as showing up and doing everything you possibly can.”
Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, center, and his wife Linda greet fans prior to the team’s home-opener baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park, Friday, April 3, 2026. AP
Fans of the Boston ballclub had become disillusioned with ownership and the way things have gone for the organization.
The Red Sox have made the playoffs a mere two times since the team won the World Series in 2018 and the decision to trade away Mookie Betts in 2020 has haunted the organization and fans.
Pitcher Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox leaves the mound after giving up three run during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park on April 5, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. Getty Images
Last season, when the Red Sox did make the playoffs, the team was bounced in the wild-card series by the Yankees.
The ballclub’s start to the 2026 season isn’t going to endear Henry to Red Sox fans.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 05: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Chase Field on April 05, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Say it with me, now: “You always take a four-game series split on the road.” With that being said, it sure seemed like this could’ve been more than just a split for the Atlanta Braves as they made their annual trip out to the desert. It especially feels like a bit of a bummer when you consider how this series opened up in such dominant fashion for the Braves as they brought out the boomstick early on in this series.
Despite the disappointing ending to the series, there’s still a lot to leave you encouraged as the Braves shift venues from Arizona to Anaheim. Let’s break it down, shall we?
It took the Braves nine attempts in 2025 to win their first road game. This season, it took only one and not just that, the Braves picked up their first road win in emphatic fashion. This was actually a close one through the early goings — though the Braves still had the advantage thanks to a first-inning solo homer from Matt Olson and a third-inning solo dinger from Dominic Smith.
Then the fifth inning rolled around and the floodgates opened. After Ozzie Albies got on with a leadoff walk (that was aided by ABS), the following events occurred for the Braves: Lineout, Walk, Fielder’s Choice Error, Bases Loaded Walk, RBI Groundout, RBI Double, RBI Double, Walk, RBI Single, RBI Double, Groundout. That, folks, is an eight-run inning.
Thanks to five strong innings from Reynaldo López, a scoreless inning fo relief from Tyler Kinley and three innings of long relief work from Osvaldo Bido, the Braves ended up cruising to a 17-2 win. Atlanta tacked on five runs in the ninth when the Diamondbacks waved the white flag by putting in catcher James McCann to go out there and soft toss, which is how we ended up getting to the really gaudy scoreline. Needless to say, this was fun! Matt Olson definitely had a lovely time in this one.
Grant Holmes and Eduardo Rodriguez engaged in an intense pitchers’ duel in this one. While Rodriguez ended up outlasting Holmes with seven shutout innings, Holmes certainly kept pace with Rodriguez and tossed six shutout innings of his own. Holmes also struck out four batters along the way and even carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. This was certainly a strong start from Grant Holmes and it’s definitely encouraging to see the way he (and the rest of this pitching staff) has started off this campaign.
This eventually came down to which team’s bullpen would blink first. Fortunately for all of us Braves fans, Ozzie Albies continued to exert dominance over Paul Sewald. Albies had two homers against Sewald in the past and on this night, he made it three as he crushed one out to right field for a solo shot that broke the deadlock. Matt Olson then proceeded to make it back-to-back jacks after he sent the third pitch he saw from Sewald flying into the seats in left-center. Raisel Iglesias locked things down in the ninth inning and just like that, the Braves had at least assured themselves. of a split out in the desert.
The Braves made history on Saturday! It’s not necessarily history that they’d want to make but they made history, nonetheless!
It’s been a long, long time since the Braves had such a feast-or-famine swing over the course of three games. I know there’s that old cliche of “Save some for tomorrow” but this was getting to be kinda wild. Either way, the only run of the game for the Braves came from an RBI single from Dominic Smith in the second inning. That was all the Braves could muster up and it wasn’t enough to overturn the two-run deficit that they entered the second inning with as the game eventually ended 2-1.
Arizona got those two runs in creatively frustrating fashion, as Jose Fernandez surprised the Braves went a bunt. Bryce Elder was certainly caught by surprise, as his error ended up proving costly. It’s a shame because Elder was once again in very good form on the mound — those two unearned runs would be the only blemish on his record for the day as he went seven innings and struck out eight batters. Elder certainly deserved better than what he got as the Braves were unable to really figure out old friend Michael Soroka and the rest of Arizona’s pitching staff on the day.
This was a back-and-forth affair between the two squads, as the Braves looked desperate to come away with the series win while the Diamondbacks were trying to make sure that they didn’t suffer the indignity of losing three games out of a four-game home series. Indeed, this game had a real ‘punch-then-counter punch’ feel to it as the two squads were unable to get real separation from each other as the game progressed. Drake Baldwin continued his hot start to the season with another home run in the first inning but then Arizona responded with two runs via a triple from Ildemaro Vargas in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Braves responded immediately with two runs in the fifth to make it a 3-3 contest heading into the second half of the game.
Arizona got the edge once again as they plated one run in the sixth and seventh innings while Atlanta’s lone run from the first inning (from a RBI groundout from Baldwin) meant that the Braves had their backs against the wall going into the ninth inning. That was when Jorge Mateo got a rally going with a leadoff single. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed that up with a single of his own and then (who else but) Drake Baldwin brought in the game-tying run in order to make it a tie game in the ninth inning. Raisel Iglesias kept the D-Backs quiet in the ninth and we got our first ManfredBall experience of the 2026 season partly thanks to Drake Baldwin’s heroics.
Extra innings didn’t go Atlanta’s way at all — Ghost Runner Michael Harris II got to third base but the Braves were unable to cash him in. After watching that painful experience of seeing the Braves leave the runner stranded at third, it was even more painful to see Ketel Marte take the first pitch he saw from Joel Payamps and promptly dump it into the outfield for the game-winning RBI that ensured that the Diamondbacks were able to salvage a split.
Again, this could’ve been an impressive series win for the Braves out in Arizona had just a few things gone Atlanta’s way. That’s baseball, though — opportunities come in a flash and if you can’t grab onto it, you usually get punished for it at the big league level. The power outage immediately following the 17-run game was particularly frustrating — it felt like one of those baseball clichés coming to life where the Braves did not, in fact, save some for the next game.
Still, the offense bookended this series with a pair of solid performances at the plate and the pitching was impressive for the most part. The fact that the Braves have three shutout wins already is impressive — they had a grand total of eight throughout the entire 2025 season, so they’re nearly halfway towards that mark and we’re still in the infancy of April. Reynaldo López and Bryce Elder were big question marks heading into this season and while it’s still very early, the fact that they’ve come out of the gates in such a strong manner is encouraging to see and could be crucial to this team’s level of success as we get deeper into the regular season.
There’s a lot to be happy about but it’s totally understandable to see this as a missed opportunity for the Braves to make a statement here in the early goings. Again, a split of a four-game series is always acceptable but it’s also acceptable to want more and it really feels like the Braves left more by the wayside here. Atlanta’s going to have a tricky series on their hands in Anaheim against the Angels and they’ll also be looking to exorcise some demons after the entire state of California bedeviled them to seemingly no end in 2025. The Braves played 13 games in the Golden State last season and won a grand total of one (1) game out there all last season. Here’s hoping that they can do better than that with a series win right out of the gates against the Angels so they can bounce back from dropping two straight in the desert. We’ll see what happens!
Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin (21) hits a two-run single during the second inning of their National League Division Series game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, October 4, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers, coming off their third consecutive series win to begin the season and now sitting at 7-2 on the year, are headed to Boston to take on the Red Sox this week. The Brewers and Red Sox are probably most tied together at this point thanks to a pair of trades in the last two seasons, as Milwaukee picked up Quinn Priester, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton from Boston in exchange for Yophery Rodriguez, a pair of draft picks, a player to be named later (John Holobetz), Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler. So far, it looks like Milwaukee has come out on top, as Priester and Harrison have both been solid for Milwaukee while the only major league pieces on the other side — Durbin and Monasterio — have struggled to begin the season.
Speaking of struggling, the Red Sox sit at the bottom of the AL East with a dismal 2-7 record through three series, as they lost two of three to the Reds, were swept by the Astros, and just lost two of three to the Padres this weekend.
Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio are the key injuries for Milwaukee, with Vaughn expected to be out until mid-May and Chourio out until late April. The latest injury is Sal Frelick, who exited the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader with left side tightness — something to monitor in the coming days, though he’s expected to be fine. Quinn Priester is targeting a May return as he deals with thoracic outlet syndrome, while Craig Yoho could be ready in April but may start the year with Triple-A Nashville. Rob Zastryzny suffered a setback in his rehab, and his return is now TBD. Outfielder Akil Baddoo is also out until midseason with a quad strain.
Boston’s injury list includes new acquisition Johan Oviedo, who is out with an elbow strain. Fellow pitchers Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck are also out, with Sandoval and Crawford expected to return in the coming weeks but Houck expected to miss most, if not all, of 2026. First baseman Triston Casas and utilitymen Romy Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler are also shelved.
Milwaukee’s offense has done the little things well thus far, as the only multi-homer hitters are Gary Sánchez (three) and Jake Bauers (two). Garrett Mitchell has gotten off to a solid (see: healthy) start, William Contreras, Brice Turang, and Christian Yelich are all hitting well, and even some of the utility guys like Blake Lockridge, David Hamilton, and Luis Rengifo have held their own. Frelick, who as mentioned above is dealing with some side tightness, has gotten off to a slow start, but he still boasts a .344 OBP, and Joey Ortiz has also looked at least slightly better from his very rough 2025. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .267/.369/.446 (.815 OPS ranks third), with 10 homers (tied for eighth), 60 runs scored (second), and 20 steals (first).
Wilyer Abreu is a key bright spot in Boston’s disappointing offense to this point, as he has 15 hits, including three homers, four doubles, and a triple, slashing .429/.444/.857. Roman Anthony has gotten off to a slow-ish start, as he’s hitting .235/.316/.382 with a homer. Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narváez, and Connor Wong are the only other hitters hitting over .250 (and all three have seven or fewer hits). Speedy Jarren Duran has two of Boston’s three steals, but he’s hitting just .200/.314/.267. The aforementioned Durbin is hitting just .071/.133/.071 with a pair of singles and a pair of walks over 28 at-bats, while Monasterio is 1-for-7 with a double and an RBI. As a team, Boston is hitting .226/.297/.372 (.669 OPS ranks 18th), with eight homers (tied for 20th), 30 runs scored (tied for 27th), and three steals (tied for 25th).
Milwaukee’s bullpen remains one of the best in baseball even with some under-the-radar names. Grant Anderson and Aaron Ashby lead the squad with five appearances each, while DL Hall has held opponents scoreless over five innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out nine. Trevor Megill is 3-for-3 in save opportunities with one run allowed and five strikeouts over four innings, and Abner Uribe has also been solid with one run allowed over 3 2/3 innings (2.45 ERA). Ángel Zerpa, Jared Koenig, and Jake Woodford round out the Brewer bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.38 team ERA (eighth), including a 3.98 starter ERA (15th) and a 2.75 reliever ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 103 batters (fifth) over 80 innings.
Boston’s bullpen is anchored by closer Aroldis Chapman, who is 2-for-2 in save opportunities with one run allowed and three strikeouts over four frames. Garrett Whitlock (currently on the paternity list, dating back to April 3) hasn’t allowed a run over three innings, and Justin Slaten’s allowed only an unearned run over 3 1/3 innings. Greg Weissert’s five runs allowed over 4 2/3 innings are pushing the bullpen’s ERA up drastically. Danny Coulombe, Zack Kelly, Jovani Morán, Tyler Uberstine, and Ryan Watson round out Boston’s bullpen, though one of them will have to be demoted upon Whitlock’s return. As a staff, the Red Sox have a 4.71 team ERA (tied for 23rd), including a 5.19 starter ERA (27th) and a 4.11 reliever ERA (14th). They’ve struck out 76 batters (tied for 18th) over 78 1/3 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Monday, April 6 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5.98 FIP) vs. RHP Brayan Bello (0-1, 9.64 ERA, 7.04 FIP)
Woodruff is lined up to make his second start of the 2026 season to open the series. He went five innings against the Rays his last time out, allowing a pair of solo homers but nothing else while striking out six on 67 pitches. Expect him to stretch out to 75-80 pitches this time around. Woodruff’s only career start against the Red Sox came back in 2022, when he picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits and a pair of walks with nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.
Bello, 26, is in his fifth MLB season, all with the Red Sox. He’s made 101 career appearances (98 starts) with a 4.14 ERA and 4.18 FIP. His only start this season came against Houston on the last day of March, as he was roughed up to the tune of six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks, striking out just two over 4 2/3 innings. Bello has made three career appearances (two starts) against the Brewers, with a 3.95 ERA and nine strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.
Tuesday, April 7 @ 5:45 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 3.91 FIP) vs. LHP Garrett Crochet (1-1, 3.27 ERA, 2.73 FIP)
Misiorowski is lined up for his third start of the year on Tuesday. In his first two starts of the season, he’s allowed three runs on six hits and five walks over 11 innings, striking out an NL-best 18 batters. He took the no-decision in his last start against the Rays, allowing two runs and striking out seven over six frames. This marks his first career start against the Red Sox.
Crochet, 26, is Boston’s ace, as he finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Tarik Skubal last season. In two starts this year, he’s allowed five runs (four earned) over 11 innings with 15 strikeouts. His last outing came against the Astros on April 1, when he allowed all five of those runs and struck out seven over five frames. He’s made two career starts against Milwaukee, one while with the White Sox and one with the Red Sox. Across 12 2/3 innings, he struck out 19 batters and allowed three runs (2.13 ERA), though he has an 0-1 record to show for it.
Wednesday, April 8 @ 12:35 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 4.36 FIP) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 3.18 FIP)
Patrick hasn’t been the most efficient this season, but his results have been solid. In a pair of outings against the White Sox and Royals, he’s spanned 9 1/3 innings, allowing one run (a solo homer), nine hits, and four walks with seven strikeouts for a sterling 0.96 ERA but 4.36 FIP. He started the first game of Milwaukee’s doubleheader against the Royals, going five scoreless innings with three strikeouts to pick up the win. He made his lone start against the Red Sox last May, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings.
Gray, now with his sixth MLB team in his 14th season, has made two starts with his new team in Boston. Over 10 innings against the Reds and Padres, he’s allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He picked up the win in his last appearance against San Diego, allowing two runs over six frames. A familiar foe from his five combined seasons with the Reds and Cardinals, Gray has made 20 career starts against Milwaukee, with a 5-6 record, 3.52 ERA, and 139 strikeouts over 110 innings.
How to Watch & Listen
Monday, April 6: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Tuesday, April 7: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Wednesday, April 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Prediction
The Red Sox have limped out of the gate this season, especially on offense. Even so, this is a tough battle at Fenway, but I’ll take the Crew to win two of three.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Cam Smith #11 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park on March 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Astros had an early lead, they had a late lead. Neither held up, and Houston fell to the Athletics in Sacramento 12-10 in 10 innings.
Brent Rooker entered the game with no extra base hits on the season. He would hit two home runs on the day, including a walk-off 3-run homer off Bryan Abreu to end the game.
Abreu, who came into the game with 2 outs in the 9th in relief of Bryan King, didn’t seem to have command coming back out for the 10th. He opened the bottom of the tenth walking Tyler Soderstrom on 5 pitches, the last 4 of which were nowhere near the strike zone. He then threw a knee high fastball middle in to Rooker, who blasted it at 104,8 MPH on a line over the wall in left field to send everyone home.
It wound up being a barn burner of a game, but it didn’t start that way. The score was 0-0 through the first four innings.
The Astros took an early lead in the top of the 5th on a Yordan Alvarez two-run homer. Yordan got an 89.4 MPH sinker from Jacob Lopez that he drilled 399 FT to right center field at 110.8 MPH off the bat.
Yordan’s homer made it 2-0. Later in the inning, after Carlos Correa walked and stole second, Cam Smith would single to left scoring Correa to make it 3-0.
That would seemingly be a solid lead for Lance McCullers Jr., who was the beneficiary of 2 double plays through 4 scoreless innings, but it was not to be. McCullers suffered a catastrophic loss of command in the 5th.
McCullers had thrown his cutter more than any other pitch through the first 4, and sporadically throwing his four-seam, sinker, and knuckle curve.
His first pitch of the fifth was an 89.9 MPH sinker. He would give up a single to Max Muncy later in that AB leading off the bottom of the fifth. He then walked Jeff McNeil on 5 pitches, 4 cutters and a change (three of the balls weren’t close), bringing up Carlos Cortes. Cortes would see 3 knuckle curves, and his the last one for an RBI double. That would end McCullers day after 79 pitches.
Steven Okert would come on in relief of McCullers and threw gasoline all over the place.
Okert’s first batter was Nick Kurtz, whom he walked on 5 pitches to load the bases. After getting Shea Langeliers to fly out, Okert allowed a bases-clearing triple to Tyler Soderstrom on a ball that CF Jake Meyers appeared to lose in the sun:
That would give the A’s a 4-3 lead and end the day for Okert, who faced the minimum 3 batters and threw 9 pitches. A.J. Blubaugh was then brought in to try to get out of the inning. Blubaugh allowed a sac fly to make the game 5-3 before getting out of the inning.
In the 7th, the Astros would tie the game again. Carlos Correa worked a 1 out walk, and then Christian Walker took a slider from J.T Ginn 397 feet to left center for his 2nd HR of the season.
The tie wouldn’t last as the Astros bullpen fell apart again.
After walking Soderstrom to lead off the bottom of the 7th, Blubaugh surrendered a 2-run homer to Rooker. Rooker took a 95.7 MPH fastball belt high and deposited it just over the wall in left to give the A’s a 7-5 lead.
Mark Leiter Jr. then replaced Barlow, and promptly walked Yordan to load the bases. He then got Carlos Correa to line to right and Walker to pop to first, but Cam Smith delivered a 2-run single to tie the game again.
Bryan King would work a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and neither team would score in the 9th.
In the top of the 10th, the Astros would take the lead.
Correa delivered an RBI single, scoring Allen, and gave the Astros a 10-9 lead. Despite loading the bases with one out, the Astros would not push across any other runs.
In the bottom of the 10th, Abreu would come undone, and the Astros would drop 2 of 3 to an A’s team that dropped 5 of it’s first 6 games entering this series.
The Astros fall to 6-4 on the season, the A’s improve to 3-6.
Tomorrow the Astros open a 3-game series in Denver against the 3-6 Colorado Rockies.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 05: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots over Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second quarter at Rocket Arena on April 05, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers beat an even more depleted Indiana Pacers team. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.
WINNER – Next Man Up
This was one of the larger injury reports you’ll see for an NBA game. That’s saying something in today’s age.
Cleveland wasn’t as banged up as the Pacers, who were missing more than half of their roster due to injury. But the Cavs were still knackered enough to be without five rotational players. That puts a strain on any team.
Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Jaylon Tyson, and Sam Merrill were all out today. That meant the Cavs would need a ‘next man up’ mentality to pull out this win, regardless of the opponent.
I can’t say it was perfect. Both the offense and defense struggled at various points. A few role players missed the mark and weren’t able to be super productive in their opportunities. But helpful contributions from Dennis Schroder, Craig Porter Jr., and Keon Ellis made up the difference. Even Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who is shooting 20.4% from deep this season, nailed a huge shot in the fourth quarter.
Thomas Bryant, who started as the lone big man in place of Allen and Mobley, put up 14 points and 10 rebounds on 6-9 shooting against his former team. His dunk at the end was a cherry on top.
Beggars can’t be choosers in these situations. Would you have liked to see the Cavs run up the score and obliterate an inferior opponent? Sure. Yet given the circumstances, this was a hard-fought win that was made possible by support from Cleveland’s deep reserves.
LOSER – Three-Point Defense
I don’t want to beat a dead horse. We’ll make this quick.
The Pacers opened this game by shooting 6-8 from downtown in the first five minutes. That’s… never going to be acceptable. The Cavs failed to set the tone in this game, and once a team gets rolling, it’s much harder to slow them down.
Per usual, it was a mixture of good shooting from the Pacers and poor defensive communication that led to Indiana’s hot start. But in this league, giving an inch often comes with your opponent taking a mile. Cleveland must do a better job of stopping this trend before it starts.
The Cavs eventually tightened up defensively and did enough to get this job done. It’s just worth mentioning that this has been a consistent issue for the team.
WINNER – Bagcourt
As mentioned, the Cavs were down key players for this game. That puts some onus on James Harden and Donovan Mitchell to carry even more weight than usual.
They handled that with ease.
Mitchell quickly made his presence felt by relentlessly attacking the paint. He finished with 38 points, 28 of which were in the paint, setting a new career-high for a single game.
The Cavs felt like they had an advantage inside, even without Mobley and Allen. That allowed Mitchell to knife into the lane and finish below the rim throughout the game. This is a skill that can be overlooked by Mitchell’s electric three-point shooting. He’s still one of the best below-the-rim finishers in basketball, and it’s always a treat when he makes an extra effort to attack the basket.
Harden took a different approach. He launched an aerial assault, bombarding the Pacers with step-back three-pointers and earning multiple trips to the line on jump-shot attempts. At one point, Harden had 21 points on just 9 field goal attempts. That’s pretty efficient.
In total, the two guards combined for 66 points and 13 assists on 24-44 shooting. With other stars across the league at risk of being ineligible for end-of-season awards, it’s possible the Cavs backcourt could both land All-NBA nods this year.
Everyone knows Giancarlo Stanton can knock the cover off the ball, but now Yankee fans know he can dent a wall, too.
The Yankees slugger hit a line drive off the left field wall in The Bronx, leaving a mark where the ball hit it during their series finale against the Marlins on Sunday.
Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) hits a single during the seventh inning when the New York Yankees played the Miami Marlins Sunday, April 5, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx Robert Sabo for NY Post
Stanton smacked a line drive in the bottom of the seventh with an exit velocity of 116.3 mph and dented the wall, YES Network pointed out on the broadcast.
“A blistering line drive that almost went through the wall,” play-by-play man Michael Kay said on air.
The ball bounced right to the left fielder, preventing Stanton from extending it to a double and keeping Ben Rice from scoring.
Giancarlo Stanton left a dent in the left field wall at Yankee Stadium with a hard-hit line drive on Sunday. @YES/X
The Yankees had been leading 4-3 at the time before the Marlins scored four runs in the eighth to go ahead 7-4.
Jerar Encarnacion reached first base on an error, until he didn't.
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello took exception and earned the first ejection of his MLB career in the process.
In the bottom of the seventh inning in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the New York Mets at Oracle Park, Encarnacion chopped a sinker from Mets pitcher Huascar Brazobán into the infield and took off toward first base. Brazobán fielded the ball and fired it to first baseman Mark Vientos, who couldn't hang on as the ball plopped out of his glove and hit the ground.
But first base umpire Nestor Ceja called Encarnacion out anyways, declaring that he failed to stay inside the runner's lane. The call itself though, was controversial because umpires usually only make it when a runner interferes with the ball or the throw, which Encarnacion did neither of.
“Jerar was on the grass,” Vitello told reporters postgame. “You’re not going to be automatically out for being on the grass only if the (umpire) sees that the runner impedes the throw. The throw didn’t hit the runner.”
Vitello immediately confronted Ceja on the field, the veins in his neck popping as he got in the ump's face and delivered an expletive-filled rant that's sure to get a lip reading from Jomboy in the next few days. Ceja entertained Vitello for a while, standing in front of him with his arms crossed as the two exchanged words before Ceja ultimately sent Vitello packing for the rest of the game.
“I said one last thing, just out of frustration or being all fired up. That was complete nonsense,” Vitello said. “I think it was misinterpreted a little bit. When you’re on the field that long, and you’re not a player, you’re probably out of place a little bit.”
As Vitello walked back through the dugout and into the clubhouse, he received pats on the backside in support from several of his players.
The last time Vitello had been ejected was just under a year ago on May 4, 2025 for arguing balls and strikes while he was coaching at the University of Tennessee.
Through the first 10 games of the season, the Giants are 3-7 under Vitello. The Mets, meanwhile, improved to 6-4 with Sunday's win.
"We had a great conversation about his future at Michigan and my commitment to him, his staff and his team," Manuel told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday evening. "Thrilled to have him continuing to lead our men's basketball team and to have Anna [his wife] and his family remain in Ann Arbor.
"His focus and mine is on the game Monday night versus UConn."
May fielded multiple questions about his name being tossed into the North Carolina job search at the Final Four in Indianapolis, but never named the Tar Heels directly in his responses.
"After last year, I decided I'll never respond to any job speculation. I had already agreed to terms with Michigan, was 100% done, and I made the comment that I was flattered about a certain job opening because of my background, and that was misconstrued, so I just decided I'm never going to comment on any job that I don't have," May said on Friday, April 3 in a media availability.
"I think it's well documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. I love it at Michigan, but you'll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go, and then I'll comment on every job."
In two seasons under May, the Wolverines have quickly jumped back up to the top of the Big Ten standings. Last season, Michigan improved its win total by 19 games under May from a year prior and made it to the Sweet 16, where it lost to Auburn.
This year, the Wolverines have been one of the top programs in the country for much of the season. He led the program to the Big Ten outright regular season title and a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance for the fourth time in program history.
As noted by USA TODAY, May signed a new contract with Michigan in February 2025, just under a year after he became the Wolverines' next coach. His current deal is through the 2030 season, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
His base salary for the 2025-26 season was $4.6 million and will see an increase to $4.85 million next season if his current deal doesn't change, which seems likely to happen after the type of season the Wolverines have had.
Monday night's national championship game at 8:50 p.m. ET inside Lucas Oil Stadium against No. 2 UConn will be the first May has coached in, and the program's first since they lost to Villanova in 2018. The Wolverines cruised through their Final Four semifinal over No. 1 Arizona, even with Yaxel Lendeborg sustaining multiple injuries and playing through them.
Should the Wolverines win April 6, it will be the first men's basketball title for the Big Ten in over two decades, with the last one coming from their in-state rival, Michigan State, in 2000.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Porter Martone capped a fantastic first week in the NHL with a power-play goal in the NHL to put the Philadelphia Flyers even closer toward ending a miserable playoff drought with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Martone — who just wrapped his season at Michigan State — is just the boost the Flyers needed down the stretch to earn that coveted playoff spot. His first career NHL goal in his fourth game put the Flyers into third place in the Metropolitan Division with five games left for them this season.
Flyers fans erupted when Martone capitalized on the man advantage — courtesy of David Pastrnak’s hooking penalty — with 2:29 left in OT.
The Flyers needed this win to get in Eastern Conference playoff position for the first time since Jan. 12.
The Bruins tied the score 1-1 only 35 seconds into the third period when Pavel Zacha knocked one past Dan Vladar on the power play for his 29th goal of the season.
Christian Dvorak took a perfect touch pass from Martone, the Flyers’ 2025 first-round draft pick, and finished a 2-on-1 with a wrister past Joonas Korpisalo for the early 1-0 lead. Still buzzing from the early goal, Flyers fans erupted only moments later when Travis Konecny and Boston’s Charlie McAvoy briefly scrapped near the net.
SENATORS 6, HURRICANES 3
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored twice and Ottawa beat Carolina to move into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa moved a point ahead of the New York Islanders for the last playoff spot with five games left. The Senators are five points behind Boston for the first wild card.
Carolina leads the East, two points ahead of Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes missed a chance to clinch the Metropolitan Division.
Both teams were playing the second half of back-to-back games, with Ottawa scoring twice in a 3:42 span in the third to take a 5-2 lead.
Shane Pinto made it 4-2 on a power play, beating Frederik Andersen to the short side. Ridly Greig then won a race to the net and, while Andersen made the initial save, the side was wide open for Tkachuk to bury his second of the game.
Carolina’s Taylor Hall wristed a shot past Linus Ullmark with 2:30 remaining to make it 5-3, but Claude Giroux added an empty-netter for Ottawa.
WILD 5, RED WINGS 4
DETROIT (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov completed the sixth hat trick of his NHL career on the power play with 1:51 remaining to lead Minnesota to a win over Detroit.
The Wild led 4-1 before allowing Detroit to score three times in the third period and tie it. A penalty on Patrick Kane paved the way for Kaprizov to score his third goal of the game.
The Red Wings led the Atlantic Division and were tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference the morning of Jan. 25, with a 12-point playoff cushion. They’ve lost 12 of 20 games since to fall out of a spot with five left to play.
Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello each had an assist on the go-ahead goal. Vladimir Tarasenko and Boldy each scored for the Wild after Albert Johansson had a goal in the first.
J.T. Compher, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Kane scored on Filip Gustavsson to rally back. Gustavsson finished with 18 saves, while Detroit’s Cam Talbot allowed five goals on 20 shots.
PENGUINS 5, PANTHERS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rickard Rakell scored twice, Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and Pittsburgh beat Florida.
Rakell scored his first goal for the Penguins with 48 seconds left in the first period on the power play, assisted on by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. His second came with 1:52 left in the second period.
Bryan Rust and Elmer Soderblom also scored for the Penguins. Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Schwindt each scored for the Panthers.
Davis Martin pitched a masterful game, for his second win in two tries. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images
By golly, they actually did it!
For the first time since 2004, the White Sox have swept their home opening series, by virtue of a 3-0 win over the Blue Jays. It what might have been Chicago’s cleanest game of the season so far—no errors, no baserunning mishaps, and most importantly, not a single blemish on any pitcher’s stat line.
What a difference three games makes, as the team’s calamitous 1-5 start somehow feels distant in the rear view mirror. For those thinking about it, it took until May 15 for the Sox to engineer their first three-game win streak of the 2025 campaign. Maybe things really are different this time.
It was a banner day for the Davis Martin Hype Train, of which I have considered myself the Engineer since late 2024. The righty delivered the Sox first true quality start of 2026 — Sean Burke’s outing Friday would have counted, had he actually started — and gave the team’s bullpen a much-needed breather as he moved to 2-0 on the season. Martin’s stuff was as crisp as we’ve seen it all year, sitting a solid 95 mph with his heater today after living in the 92-93 mph range his last couple times out. He made use of all six of his pitches against a dangerous Blue Jays lineup, and with the exception of a third inning that saw Martin escape a bases-loaded jam, Toronto just couldn’t quite time anything up, ultimately touching him for just four hits in his six innings of work.
This is essentially what the best of version of Martin looks like. The stuff isn’t overwhelming — it never has been — but there’s more than enough of it that, if he’s clustering his fastballs to the arm side and breakers to the glove side, he can give you a quality start and a win any day of the week. Having this many pitches clustered over the middle of the plate might seem less than ideal, but when those pitches are an even mix of four-seamers, sinkers and cutters, hitters are still going to have difficulty finding a barrel unless they know exactly what’s coming.
On the hitting end, this was the definition of a “chip away” effort. The Sox got on the board in the very first inning. Chase Meidroth’s embrasure of his role as a top-of-the-lineup spark plug got things going to a great effect, leading off the contest with a double before coming around to score on a Miguel Vargas single that turned into a triple thanks to a terrible read by Jays left fielder Nathan Lukes:
A few innings later, Lenyn Sosa rewarded Will Venable for finally having the guts to let the Sox leading home run hitter from *checks notes* eight months ago face a right-handed pitcher, as a double against Austin Voth doubled Chicago’s lead after Eric Lauer was chased from the game earlier in the inning:
The final offensive strike of the day came an inning later, in similarly non-explosive fashion, as Austin Hays continued a solid start to his Sox tenure with a single to drive in Luisangel Acuña (who had a nice day himself, reaching base twice and swiping his fourth bag).
In other notable action, welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Tanner Murray! The 26-year-old didn’t reach base in either of the first two plate appearances of his big league career. But Murray had his moment in the spotlight nonetheless, saving a run in the early going with a fantastic defensive stop — and equally impressive pick from Munetaka Murakami, whose play at first base has taken just the slightest amount of heat in recent days — that had Davis Martin appropriately hyped up, it seems:
Bryan Hudson gave us all a scare with a pair of hits allowed in the seventh inning. But in a refreshing change of pace from earlier in the weekend, Jordan Leasure managed to work around it, retiring all four of the hitters he faced. With Seranthony Domínguez having pitched on back-to-back days and apparent backup closer Jordan Hicks also unavailable, Chris Murphy got the ball to close things out. He did so with little difficulty, earning the second save of his big league career.
The Good Guys remain at home for their next series, a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles, who are off to another disappointing start and are probably the South Siders’ only competition for the most dramatic fall from grace in the post-COVID baseball era. In a fascinating twist, Grant Taylor has already been announced as the opener for Monday’s game, his third “start” in four games, while the Orioles have yet to announce a starter. No matter who it is, we’ll see you there!
CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 26: Cionel Pérez #51 of the Washington Nationals looks on during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Nats lost in a way that looked a lot like their final game of the Phillies series. It is also the kind of loss we have seen a lot in the last year. The Nationals bats were up for the fight, but they were let down by a bullpen that is not big league caliber.
This is a game the Nats really needed to win. It was a getaway day for the Dodgers, who had a lot of their starters sitting. The Nats also managed to take a 6-1 lead. That should be plenty of cushion, but not for this bullpen. Today proved that changes are necessary in the bullpen, and the Nats will need to churn through a lot of guys to find something resembling competence.
Changes need to be made to this pitching staff after this game. Unfair to an offense that is constantly battling
The game felt like it would be a feel good game, even if there was a feeling of dread in the back of your mind. Offensively, the Nats continued to look good, and even James Wood got in on the fun. In this series, the Nats scored 17 runs against a great pitching staff, but came away with nothing to show for it.
Back to Wood though, I liked his at bats today. Obviously, the homer was great, and it was a classic Wood opposite field shot. However, the way he was attacking pitches and balancing patience and aggression was good for the most part. We will need to see more before he is officially back, but today was a step in the right direction.
James Wood crushes a three-run shot off Roki Sasaki! It's 6-1 Nationals over the Dodgers pic.twitter.com/KqqmyiB5Ab
A lot of these guys are locked in offensively, and it sucks that they are getting overshadowed by an atrocious pitching staff. CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr. and even Jorbit Vivas are excelling right now, but it is tough to talk about them.
The story right now is pitching. In the first two games, the starters were the main culprits, but the bullpen laid an egg today. Foster Griffin was actually very good for a second straight start. The only run he allowed came on a solo homer to Shohei Ohtani, which is something that can happen even to the best of pitchers.
His pitch count got high, so he was only able to give the Nats five innings. You could already sense trouble in the 6th inning, when PJ Poulin allowed a two-run homer to make the game 6-3. To Poulin’s credit, he stopped the bleeding and gave the Nats another inning in the 7th.
It was now a three run game, and Cionel Perez came in to try and preserve the lead. He totally imploded, failing to get an out and allowing four runs. Perez, who looked so sharp in Spring Training, looks much more like the guy who posted an ERA over 8 last year.
Cionel Pérez looked really good this spring. He has not looked really good since the season began. Nats' lead is down to 6-5, still nobody out in the 8th and Pérez on an island out there.
On the season, the lefty has now allowed 6 runs in 2.2 innings. He just did not have it today, and did not give the Nats a chance. You have to wonder how much longer he will get to turn things around, and if the Nats make bullpen moves before tomorrow’s game.
Even without considering the poor performance, the Nats could use a fresh arm. Butera was non-committal when I asked him if changes were coming to the bullpen. For the sake of Nats fans’ sanity, I would hope for some changes.
This series was a real reality check after the Nats promising start. They have now lost five in a row. The boys cannot allow this to spiral and need to bounce back against a more manageable opponent in the St. Louis Cardinals. This was a tough one, but hey it is just game 9 out of 162.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored twice and the Ottawa Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Sunday night to move into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa moved a point ahead of the New York Islanders for the last playoff spot with five games left. The Senators are five points behind Boston for the first wild card.
Carolina leads the East, two points ahead of Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes missed a chance to clinch the Metropolitan Division.
Both teams were playing the second half of back-to-back games, with Ottawa scoring twice in a 3:42 span in the third to take a 5-2 lead.
Shane Pinto made it 4-2 on a power play, beating Frederik Andersen to the short side. Ridly Greig then won a race to the net and, while Andersen made the initial save, the side was wide open for Tkachuk to bury his second of the game.
Carolina’s Taylor Hall wristed a shot past Linus Ullmark with 2:30 remaining to make it 5-3, but Claude Giroux added an empty-netter for Ottawa.
Dylan Cozens and Tim Stutzle also scored for Ottawa, and Ullmark stopped 25 shots. Defenseman Jake Sanderson played his 300th NHL game. He had an assist.
Logan Stankoven and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina, and Andersen made 25 saves.
Monday represents an unwanted milestone for the Knicks.
It marks one month since they beat a team above .500. Their last such win came against the Nuggets in Denver on March 6. Since then? They’ve gone 0-5 against teams with winning records. All of those games were on the road against the Lakers, Clippers, Hornets, Thunder and Rockets.
Monday starts a final four-game stretch against teams above .500 to close the regular season, beginning in Atlanta against the Hawks, followed by home games against the Celtics, Raptors and Hornets.
Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks and guard Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks speak on the court during the first half at Madison Square Garden, Friday April 3rd, 2026, in New York, NY. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
“For us, I think it’s just making sure we’re locked in and focused,” Josh Hart said after practice Sunday. “Obviously this is a good little stretch to end the season to make sure we’re as sharp as we can be going into the playoffs. The past is the past, nothing you can do about it now. Our focus is on tomorrow being 1-0 against playoff teams, and then we move on to the next one, and then we want to be 1-0, and then we want to move onto the next one and be 1-0. Nothing in the past really matters. It’s about what we do moving forward that we’ll be judged on and what we judge ourselves on.”
Those five losses are sandwiched between seven- and two-game winning streaks against teams well below .500 and, for the most part, tanking. And they are part of a growing concern that the Knicks have struggled against higher quality opposition for a while now.
The NBA, this year more than ever, has clear haves and have-nots in team quality. A few wins or blowouts over bottom-feeders composed of youngsters or G-Leaguers don’t quell the alarm bells regarding how the Knicks fare in real tests.
And it’s not just the results that are troubling, it’s how the Knicks lose. Their offense becomes more stagnant and Jalen Brunson-heavy. There are particularly bad starts to games, which they might be able to overcome against lowly teams but find much harder to overcome against quality teams. Their transition defense is shoddy, betraying so much of their improvement on that side of the ball in the second half of the year.
“You gotta give Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Houston credit, they played well,” coach Mike Brown said. “I said it postgame, we did not play well in some areas. … We didn’t play well in those three games and we deserved to lose, as much as you hate to say it. And hopefully we’ll play better going forward because we’ve got a couple of teams above .500, so we’ll see.”
Beyond simply being above .500, all four of the Knicks’ remaining opponents will be Eastern Conference playoff or play-in teams. One thing Brown acknowledged is that they don’t want to show these potential playoff opponents everything and that they want to keep a few looks in their back pocket to unleash during the postseason.
It creates a weird dynamic this final week.
Knicks guard Landry Shamet puts up a shot as guard Josh Giddey #3 of the Chicago Bulls defends during the first half at Madison Square Garden, Friday April 3rd, 2026, in New York, NY. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
“It’s a challenging stretch that not a lot of people talk about,” Landry Shamet said Sunday. “This last stretch of the season, these last few games, you’re kind of gearing up for the playoffs, you know what you’re building for, but you gotta be here and locked in each night, each team, each challenge in front of you. I think it’s more about approaching each game with the right mentality. Make it more about us than who we’re playing. We’re working on something bigger and building for something bigger, keeping that top of mind while still taking each game seriously and approaching them as you should.”
Last year, the Knicks’ struggles against top opposition in the regular season — particularly with the Celtics — didn’t really translate to the postseason. But they should not just be ignored or considered meaningless.
Just relying on everything changing once the playoffs start is a risky mindset.
“It’s not something you can just flip a switch in the playoffs and say, ‘OK the playoffs are here, let’s go out there and do our thing,’ ” Hart said. “We gotta make sure that we take these next four games as serious as we can, make sure we lock in mentally and physically to what the game plan is and to what this team wants to do moving forward and execute.”
Four more games means four final chances for the Knicks to quiet a worrying narrative that has recently begun hovering over them.
OTTAWA, CANADA - APRIL 05: Tim Stützle #18 of the Ottawa Senators celebrates his first period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with Fabian Zetterlund #20 at Canadian Tire Centre on April 05, 2026 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the pregame hype reel was released on social media for Sunday’s game against Ottawa, the sight of Nicolas Deslauriers walking in and his jersey being hung ended up being a signal that Carolina was prepared to have at least one player sit out. It turns out two players didn’t make the trip to Ottawa—Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook—and the effort on the ice showed that the Canes had moved into preservation mode as Ottawa ran away with the game 5-2.
The loss means that Carolina failed to clinch the Metropolitan Division as Pittsburgh won in regulation for the second day in a row against a Florida team that has given up on the season.
Ottawa meanwhile was looking to at least salvage some points to stem the bleeding from dropping four of their last five and take advantage of other results during the day to stay in the Wild Card 2 spot and inch closer to Boston in the first spot.
The game started well for the Hurricanes, as Carolina reacted to losing their Power Play Goal games streak on Saturday by starting a new one. The Canes earned the penalty when Seth Jarvis went down the ice on a breakway and was held by Jordan Spence to the point where he ended up in the goalie net, hitting the cross bar. Jarvis was OK, and on the ensuring power play a red hot Nikolaj Ehlers was able to get close to the net, thread a great pass over to Logan Stankoven who potted it to put the Hurricanes up 1-0.
Once that power play was finished, though, the Senators basically took control of the game. There wasn’t a period where the Senators were outshot by the Canes, and less than two minutes after Stankoven gave Carolina the lead Ottawa tied it back up on a Power Play goal of their own by Dylan Cozens. Less than a minute later, Tim Stützle took advantage of a misplay on the puck, skated in on goalie Frederik Andersen, and made a great move at the crease to push the puck by the goalie to give the Senators a 2-1 lead.
Carolina still had some fight, though, as the first period wound down. Carolina was able to keep possession of the puck in the Ottawa zone in the last few seconds, and when a shot went toward Linus Ullmark he was unable to fully cover it in sight of the referee and Andrei Svechnikov kept batting at the puck to get it into the goal and knot the score right at the end of the period.
The good vibes for the Canes were over after that, though, as Ottawa took control of the game. Brady Tkachuk provided the dagger 8:33 into the period with a tip in from a point shot by Artem Zub. While Carolina didn’t surrender another goal in the second, the mood and play on the ice indicated that the Canes went into self-preservation mode.
The third period put the final nail in the game when Carolina was unable to take advantage of another power play, and Shane Pinto would score a few minutes later to put the game out of reach for Ottawa at 4-2. The rest of the goals were window dressing as Tkachuk made it 5-2, and then Taylor Hall finally got his 300th career goal late in the period to bring Carolina back to within two. The goal came with some netfront presence by the veteran, and it did give Carolina a shred of hope with a little over two minutes left.
The Hurricanes would pull Andersen and try to stage a rally, but Claude Giroux nailed the empty net, and Carolina heads back home with their winning streak snapped at three, 6-3.
Ullmark was able to make 25 saves on 28 shots playing the second night in a row after backstopping the Senators against Minnesota on Saturday. Andersen was a victim of the missing stalwarts of Staal and Martinook, making 25 saves on 30 shots.
Carolina heads back to Raleigh to face off against another desperate playoff team in Boston on Tuesday night for their last regular season home game. They’ll once again have a chance to clinch the division, and this time they’ll so without keeping an eye on Pittsburgh as the Penguins somehow scored three days off and won’t play again until Thursday.
PRODUCTION - 27 March 2025, Berlin: An Easter egg and chocolate eggs lie in bowls and on a table. Photo: Hannes P. Albert/dpa (Photo by Hannes P. Albert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Record 5-5. Pace: 81-81. Change on 2025: 0.
The D-backs blew leads of 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4, but managed to prevail in the bottom of the tenth inning. Ketel Marte swatted the first pitch he saw over the head of the Atlanta right-fielder, driving in Manfred Man Jorge Barrosa from second for our first walk-off win of the year. That gave them a split of the four games against the Braves, despite being outscored 25-10 overall. It also returned the team to .500, and Arizona now gets a day off tomorrow, to rest before a tough upcoming road-trip to the East coast.
Brandon Pfaadt started this game, and it was another underwhelming experience. He seemed to be throwing an inordinate number of curveballs in the early going. But it didn’t help in the first, as new nemesis Drake Baldwin homered off a thigh-high sinker with one out in the top of the inning. However, the Answerbacks showed up, tying the game in their half. Ketel Marte led off with a double to left, and productive outs proved to be productive. Marte advanced on a groundout to second by Corbin Carroll, and Geraldo Perdomo was able to get the run in from third with a sacrifice fly to left, making it 1-1.
The bottom of the second saw Carlos Santana gets his second single of the year, therefore avoiding the dishonor of lowest batting average by a D-back through ten games. However, he tweaked his groin earlier in the at-bat – not even on a swing – and was clearly hobbling as he was going down the line to first. He was lifted from the game, replaced at first by Ildemaro Vargas. But if an IL stint is needed – and it didn’t look good – it’s going to be interesting. Because the Diamondbacks literally do not have any other healthy position players on the 40-man roster. Jordan Lawlar, Tyler Locklear, Pavin Smith and Lourdes Gurriel are all hurt.
Today, at least, this proved to a blessing in disguise. The next time that spot came up, in the bottom of the fourth, two men were on base: Carroll had singled and Nolan Arenado walked. Vargas then drove them both in with a two-run triple into right (above). I feel fairly confident in saying that Santana would not have done that. Not least because since the start of 2020, he has hit precisely one triple in 3,133 plate appearances. That gave the D-backs a 3-1 lead. However, Pfaadt was unable to hold it. Three hits, a walk and a wild pitch, while recording only one out, let the Braves tie things up, and one out later, Pfaadt’s day was over.
The final line for Brandon: six hits and two walks over 4.2 innings, with three runs (all earned allowed) and just two strikeouts. The last is perhaps the most immediate matter of concern. In 10.2 innings of work, Pfaadt has struck out just five batters: that 6.75 ERA seems earned. He will get one more start, with the news today that Merrill Kelly needs an additional rehab appearance. But when Kelly is pronounced fit to return, on the evidence of the first two spins around the rotation, it would probably be Pfaadt, and not Michael Soroka, who makes the transition to pitching long relief out of the bullpen.
Thereafter, it was a case of punch and counter-punch. In the sixth inning, Carroll singled, stole his first base of the year and eventually scored on Arenado’s first RBI of the year, making it 4-3. But Nolan then blotted his copy-book with an error in the seventh, while trying to look the runner on third back to the bag. That extended the inning, allowing that runner to score: 4-4. The Answerbacks answered back immediately again, on a Jorge Barrosa double, followed by a Carroll triple (above): 5-4. Kevin Ginkel pitched a scoreless eighth, but three straight hits off Jonathan Loaisiga, in to save the game (because Paul Sewald pitched Friday and Saturday) blew that lead.
Indeed, it could have been worse than just a tying, but Loaisiga then avoided further damage from a situation of two on, with nobody out. This took Arizona into extras, and all the was left in the bullpen for the D-backs was either Taylor Rashi or Andrew Hoffman. Torey Lovullo went with the former, and the key play came with one out, after the Manfred Man had been advanced to third. The Diamondbacks had their infield in, and it paid off as a hot smash (102 mph) off the bat of Mauricio Dubón, was smothered by Perdomo. He looked the runner back, threw to first for the second out, and Rashi finished off the inning, putting up an invaluable zero.
Ketel Marte: one pitch (above). Any questions? It was Marte’s first walkoff hit in almost seven years, and gave him two doubles on the day. Carroll had three hits – all coming off left-handed pitchers – while Arenado and Vargas each reached base twice, with a walk and a hit. Credit must also go to the bullpen. While they were credited with a pair of blown saves, they allowed one earned run over 5.1 innings of work. Taylor Clarke and Ryan Thompson worked in addition to those mentioned above. While their collective ERA is still 6.50, it’s worth noting that half of the 26 earned runs they have allowed belong to Joe Ross and James McCann.
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com Eggs Benedict: Corbin Carroll, +33.5% Eggs-ultation: Marte, +33.4%; Vargas, +22.6%; Rashi, +14.0%; Clarke, +13.4%; Ginkel, +12.2%
Rotten Egg: Jonathan Loaisiga, -19.5% Walking on Eggshells: Tawa, -18.0%; Pfaadt, -12.7%; Thompson, -10.4%; Fernandez, -10.2%
An interesting decision about who should get the SnakePit W today. Unofficially (based off the Fangraphs figures, which are slightly different from Baseball Reference), this game goes to Carroll. The hitters picked up +53% in total, while the pitchers combined for -3%. But Carroll and Marte are so close at the top, that we will have to wait for the B-R results tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, in the Gameday Thread, we went past two hundred comments, with today’s winner being chwalter. While there were more-rec’d comments, this was the most relevant to the outcome!
All told, given how this series started, I’m more than happy to walk away with a split, and the team back at .500. Fingers crossed they will come back from this nine-game road-trip to the Mets, Phillies and Orioles no worse than one game below even. Things get under way at City Field on Tuesday, with Zac Gallen on the mound for the Diamondbacks, facing Freddy Peralta.
