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Joe Ryan was good enough to win, but the Twins were 0-for-everything with RISP and you don’t win too many games that way. Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Joe Ryan’s Express sends the Reds down on 11 pitches. Brandon Williamson does the same with 14.

Von Ryan’s Express was a late-60s Frank Sinatra movie involving Toughness and Action to prove Sinatra was still a big star. It did make money. This was around the same time Sinatra was hanging around the set of Rosemary’s Baby to make sure his wife Mia Farrow didn’t have any sexy scenes with co-star John Cassavetes. Sinatra was a talented dude but he definitely had… issues.

2: Rookie star Sal Stewart leads off with a single, but doesn’t score, leaving him Only The Lonely at 2B.

Radio Guy Kris Atteberry says that “none other than Pat Reusse told me” Williamson making the majors is the biggest news to hit Sherburn, MN, since some other sports thing that happened in Sherburn. To which my thought was “wait Pat Reusse is still around?” To be fair, when he writes Twins history he generally does a good job. Twins hitters do not do a good job.

3: This game is sure zipping right along, which means the last three innings will have about 50 pitching changes and replay challenges. Byron Buxton makes a nice catch. He is very good at The Routes.

Matt Wallner gets HBP. That’s his third on the season. Backup catcher Victor Caratini has four. Former Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski always used to get HBP a lot, but it wasn’t because he leaned out over the plate or anything. It’s ‘cause A.J. was a mean little trash-talking pest. On the field, that is. Maybe off the field he rescues lost puppies. And then eats them.

Anyhoo Buxton smacks a two-out single to move Wallner up. Austin Martin gets an eight-pitch walk. Bringing up Luke Keaschall, who is having a hard time getting going so far this year. He’s still having a hard time. He takes Strike Three, challenges the call, loses the challenge. It WAS really, really close, barely nicking the corner.

4: A one-out double by Snoop Dogg’s favorite Red, Elly De La Cruz. Stewart hits one right to Ryan Kreidler and he makes the throwing boo-boo; De La Cruz advances. Stewart steals second. Eugenio Suárez whacks a hanging breaking ball for a double, and Atteberry tells us “that error really hurts the Twins,” which is helpful because otherwise we wouldn’t have known. Ryan does strand Suárez, so the Twins don’t have to give up out of futile despair just yet. Be nice if they hit something against the bottom of the Cincinnati rotation, though. I spelled Cincinnati right on only two tries.

They do not hit anything against the bottom of the Cincinnati rotation. Reds 2-0

5: I put too much mustard on my hot dog and slopped a big amount on my shirt. I’m going to take this as an omen. We’ve piled too many early-season hopes on the Twins and it’s all gonna start oozing away. OR, because it’s a black shirt, the mustard won’t stain, AKA that 2-run-inning won’t stain this game. That’s the fun with omens, you can always read ‘em any way you want to.

Also, IS there such a thing as too much mustard on a hot dog?

Leadoff walk to Wallner. Ryan Kreidler tries bunting for a hit but it goes foul; he ends up taking the walk, though. Then Buxton walks. Austin Martin hits one hard into the alley and Will Benson makes a nice sliding catch to keep it just a sac fly; Wallner scores.

Then still-struggling Luke Keaschall says “the mustard was a BAD omen” and grounds into the inning-ending DP. Redlegs 2-1

6: Atteberry and Dan Gladden are having a fascinating argument about whether a whole bat just flew into the stands or just MOST of the bat because it broke real close to the handle. I am lying about this; it is NOT a fascinating argument. 1-2-3 for Ryan.

The OTHER Ryan, Jeffers, somehow pops up a pitch below the strike zone, and Josh Bell singles. Williamson now gone; Connor Phillips comes in with a 2.38 ERA. The Reds’ pen has been good so far this year. They do have old friend Emilio Pagán on the staff, but he’s got “a tight hammy and probably will be unavailable considering the chilly conditions,” per falcolntimmy. Alas. Bell doesn’t get any further.

7: Justin “On” Topa “Spaghetti” in for the Twins. Suárez greets him with a single. Then Buxton does his Jumpman thing at the wall for a loud first out. Jumpman was a 1983 video game I played on a Commodore 64; I copied it from a friend. On tape. Yes, you could load programs via cassette tapes in those days. I am older than most of you. Topa starts a nice 1-4-3 DP.

Graham Ashcraft (1.80 ERA) in. Gets one out, then Trevor Larnach (pinch-hitting for Kreidler) takes a walk; Tristan Gray (whoooo?) pinch-runs. Austin Martin singles… bringing up Keaschall again. I don’t need to tell you what happens next.

8: Kody FunderburK pitching. Keaschall at least makes a nice fielding play on a bunt.

Tony Santillan (0.00 ERA) in. Jeffers singles; Bell flies out. Caratini moves up Jeffers on a FC; James Outman now running for Jeffers. Matt Wallner (also struggling) on with two outs. Hits it hard (110.3) but it’s still an easy flyout.

9: Cole “Alberta Tar” Sands pitching. De La Cruz takes a one-out walk. Stewart beats out the back end of a DP; the guy can hit dingers (7 so far) and be fast, too. Suárez takes Strike Three for the last out. Atteberry with an actual useful fact; the Reds are 8-0 on games decided by two runs or less. I mean I saw their ERAs on BRef and I knew the bullpen was doing well, so it’s not THAT useful, but it’s not arguing about bat shards.

Guess what! It IS Pagán!

Brooks Lee pops up the first pitch. Gray strikes out. Buxton is fast but not fast enough on a grounder; Twins lose.

Studs: Joe Ryan (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K), Minnesota boy Brandon Willamson, and both teams’ bullpens. Duds: Keaschall, Wallner.

COTG go goose for reacting to to the early (incorrect) news that Pagán was unavailable: “Noooooooooooooooo (our one shot at winning!),” SooFoo for the ninth-inning “Can’t believe Pagán is about to ruin another twins game,” and sandwiches for “50 Shades of Tristan Gray”

History COTG to Nagurski for “The reds to me are a kind of mirror of the cowboys in the nfl… both teams become good in the late 60s but are kept from winning the whole enchilada, for the cowboys it was the Packers and colts and the reds were blocked by the pirates, Orioles and the A’s until both broke thru in the 70s. The big red machine was loaded and played in the second best world series ever, the 75 red sox series which was one of the last I remember with Gowdy broadcasting”

See, there’s ONE of you older than me. Thanks to everybody who joined in on the gamethread.

Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10, featuring something called an Andrew Abbott against red-hot Taj Bradley.

When Ryan McMahon stepped to the plate in the eighth inning of a 2-2 game for his first at-bat of the game, the Yankee Stadium crowd showered him with boos.

McMahon had become the embodiment of Yankees fans frustrations in the early weeks of the season, and it's hard to blame them. Entering Friday's game, the third baseman had just five hits, all singles.

When the team got off to an 8-2 start, McMahon's struggles weren't a big deal. A losing streak and inconsistent offense have turned the Yankees' record closer to .500 and every out made by McMahon was magnified.

Heck, the Yankees said before Friday's game that McMahon was benched for the Royals series and probably the upcoming Red Sox series so he can continue to tinker with his swing.

The plan wasn't for McMahon to get an at-bat, let alone a meaningful one. But baseball seems to always find you, and it did on Friday night.

McMahon launched a 2-1 changeup down in the zone over the left field wall for the game-winner of the Yankees' 4-2 victory. Those boos quickly turned to cheers as McMahon rounded the bases with a roar and his teammates waited to celebrate with him.

"You get excited for people and that was a huge at-bat, obviously," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "I think he was hitting for about the whole game down underneath, so obviously ready for it and put a good swing on it on a crazy night."

"Felt good," McMahon said of the moment. "Just to do something to help the team win. It's no secret. I've been struggling a little bit, so I get that off my chest and feel really good about it.

"God's got a funny way of working, huh? I was excited. Excited for the opportunity. And yeah, just happy to put a good one up."

RYAN MCMAHON IN THE CLUTCH!

YANKEES LEAD 4-2! pic.twitter.com/PVW79dJXxp

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 18, 2026

McMahon was down in the cages for most of the game, practicing his swing in case he was called upon to pinch-hit.

That work is why Boone was encouraged by what he had seen from McMahon. While the results weren't there, the Yankees skipper felt McMahon had "moved the needle" in terms of his at-bats.

McMahon has reached base safely in five of his last six games (since April 11) and is now 4-for-14 (.286) in that span.

SNY's Chelsea Janes reported that during spring training, the organization had been working with McMahon on his swing and mechanics. Even Aaron Judge has had a hand in trying to get his teammate on the right track.

"It's just figuring out how to get off the right way, you know, so I can go put up more productive at-bats," McMahon said of his behind-the-scenes work. "We came up with them together, sat down this offseason and had a nice long meeting about it. So, yeah, it was a group effort."

The Yankees hope Friday's heroics can catapult McMahon to more consistency on the offensive end. They acquired McMahon during the deadline last season for his glove, mostly, but also for that sneaky power that he can deliver.

McMahon has hit at least 20 homers in seven of his last eight non-shortened seasons, including last year.

That's why the Yankees have not lost faith in their third baseman.

"He’s had success in the league for a while, so he knows he’s capable, but when you’re going through it, it can be tough," Boone said. "Just excited for him to come up in such a big spot.

"This game will bring you to your knees, even the best of the best. It’s tough and the good ones handle it and deal with it, but you’re always grinding."

"This game's super humbling. All you can do is just keep working and whatever happens happens," McMahon said. "You go out there, play the game as hard as you can. Try to win and back to the drawing board the next day."

With the Royals deploying two southpaws for the remaining two games of the weekend series, it's unlikely McMahon will start. But if anything, Friday showed that McMahon is capable of delivering whenever he's called upon.

Before Ryan McMahon's huge home run in the eighth, it was Cam Schlittler who was deserving of all the praise as the right-hander pitched another gem for the Yankees in their 4-2 win over the Royals.

Although he didn't get the win after the bullpen let the tying run to score, Schlittler still turned in a masterful performance, allowing an unearned run on three hits and two walks, and is quickly becoming one of the best young arms in the league.

With just barely over 100 innings in the majors under his belt, the 25-year-old has looked like a veteran on the mound and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since he burst onto the scene last season.

In fact, had Schlittler gotten help from his defense in the sixth inning when Trent Grisham dropped a fly ball in center field, he could’ve been in line to secure a much-deserved win. But just like a veteran would do, the youngster brushed it off and was able to pick up his teammate, allowing a run to score on a groundout before getting a strikeout to end the inning.

“Being able to pick [Grisham] up there was a good feeling,” Schlittler said.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning where manager Aaron Boone thought his pitcher started to lose some gas, leading to a leadoff walk followed by a single that ended Schlittler’s night.

While Schlittler said he didn’t feel fatigued at the end there, he did say that he’s still building up and that it was the most pitches (93) that he’s thrown this season so he’s "just trying to get used to the environment."

Regardless, Boone thought Schlittler pitched great and thought that overall "he was on point."

“Business as usual for him,” said Ben Rice. “He was really good, just so aggressive with all of his stuff in the zone.”

This is the sixth walk-off in the Fenway Greens in their season+ lifetime and that’s kind of absurd. They must be made of magic. Did the offense look absolutely inept against Casey Mize? Yeah, Mize mowed this lineup down for seven innings. Thankfully, Ranger Suárez was on par if not better, creating one of the better pitching duels of the season thus far.

Aroldis Chapman got into two litttle jams but by the grace of the baseball gods, worked himself out of it with a vintage threw fastball strikeout of Dillon Dingler. 101.3 on the final blow is pretty nice.

Garrett Whitlock did his job, Jarren Duran did Jarren Duran things advancing to third on a wild pitch by Will Vest, and Masataka Yoshida showed up at just the right time.

A six-game win streak for the Tigers snapped by the Green Sox (this may have to stick until they normalize) and kicks off the weekend on a nice note. The next game is tomorrow at 4:10pm back on local TV; you may not want to watch it since it’s Tarik Skubal. Unless you’re a masochist, then fine. Still, you can revel in the win Friday night!

Studs

Ranger Suárez (8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks)

What an incredible outing for Suárez. Just sheer dominance to muscle through 8 frames on less than 100 pitches. This is the type of workhorse performance that helps save the bullpen for tougher games.

Masataka Yoshida (1-f0r-1, 1 RBI, walk off single)

You gotta be warm when you’re called upon, eh? Yoshida just needed to bounce the ball over the five-infield in and that was the ballgame.

Alex Cora (2 challenges won)

How about two important challenges for Cora and crew? Nabbing Jahmai Jones at second trying to stretch a single into a double, and then catching Javier Báez stealing in the 10th. Both were extremely close calls and absolutely clutch by the video crew to signal it was the right call.

Duds

Most of the offense otherwise (4 total hits)

Play of the Game

How do you not walk-off and give that the play of the game?

CHICAGO — Jorge Polanco’s ankle by all accounts was feeling better Friday, but the Mets have a new concern with the veteran slugger.

Bothered by right wrist soreness, Polanco underwent an MRI exam, the results of which were still under evaluation before the Mets lost 12-4 to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Polanco didn’t play for a second straight game. He was also inactive on Wednesday, but that was due to the Achilles bursitis in his right ankle, which has been an issue for almost three weeks.

“We’re waiting to see what we’re dealing with now with the wrist,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, noting there was a chance Polanco would be placed on the injured list.

With Polanco sidelined, Mendoza went with Tyrone Taylor (a right-handed bat) against right-hander Edward Cabrera. Two other lefty hitters, Juan Soto and Jared Young, are on the injured list.

“You don’t have that balance, especially from the left side,” Mendoza said.

If Polanco is placed on the IL, it’s possible the team will recall Ronny Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse. Mauricio is a switch-hitter.

Mendoza juggled the lineup, moving Carson Benge into the leadoff spot and sliding Francisco Lindor to third. Benge went 1-for-4 with a single. Lindor went 2-for-4 with a double and a single.

“With a lot of our left-handed hitters missing from the lineup, we’re just trying to space them out,” Mendoza said. “I just thought with Benge’s skill set, the way he’s putting together some at-bats of late, we’re trying to create some traffic for Francisco.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

Soto was scheduled to receive additional at-bats at Citi Field on Friday and run with high intensity during his rehab from a right calf strain.

Mendoza said it was unclear if Soto will receive another MRI exam before the team decides on activating him from the IL. The Mets are expecting Soto back in the lineup during the next homestand.

MJ Melendez produced two hits in a second straight start. On this day, he reached base three times.

Kodai Senga (who lasted just 3¹/₃ innings) threw only 65 pitches, the second fewest of his career in a start. Senga threw 59 pitches in a start at Boston on July 21, 2023, also lasting 3 ¹/₃ innings.

After a spotless homestand, the Tigers hit the road and headed to Boston for a four-game wrap-around series against the Red Sox. Sadly, Detroit’s winning streak would end with the opening game of said series, after falling to Boston 1-0 in 10 innings.

Making his fourth start of the season for the Tigers was Casey Mize. His first three starts were good, then bad, then good — thankfully, the pattern wouldn’t repeat on Friday night.

Making his fourth start of the year on the other side was Ranger Suárez. Unlike Mize, two of his starts were lousy, but his most recent effort, in St. Louis, saw him throw six shutout innings and strike out six.

Mize started off great, retiring the first eight batters before Connor Wong hit a deep ground-rule double to right-centre. With Wong on second, though, Mize bore down on Roman Anthony and struck him out on three pitches. In the fourth he plunked Willson Contreras to lead off the inning, and he stayed at first until Trevor Story grounded into a double play to end the frame.

Similarly, Suárez was in control early too: the Tigers got Kevin McGonigle to third in the first inning, but aside from a Dillon Dingler walk, the Tigers couldn’t get a whole lot going against him. Hao-Yu Lee (more on him below) gave a fastball a ride to straightway centre in the fifth, but that was hauled in by Ceddanne Rafaela for the third out.

Rafaela walked with one out in the fifth, and he tried to steal second. Look at this throw. LOOK AT IT.

Now, I played a little catcher back in the day. I enjoyed it back there: got the best view of the field, involved on every pitch, kind of a unique place in the game. But if I’d made one throw like that in my life to gun out a runner at second, my goodness, I’d never have let my teammates forget about it, ever. And it’s not like that was a high fastball, in which the catcher’s already up out of his crouch as he gears up to throw: it was low, at the batter’s ankles. We’re very, very lucky to have Dingler on our team, folks.

Caleb Durbin doubled to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth for Boston; with one out Anthony flew out to left-centre and Durbin was able to advance to third. But Mize reached back and got Contreras to strike out on an outside fastball and the side was retired.

Mize carried on into the seventh, as he’d only thrown 79 pitches through six innings. He’d get the first two outs of the inning until Jarren Duran legged-out an infield single to Lee at third. Kyle Finnegan took over and Duran took off for second; Dingler would’ve had him but the ball popped out of Gleyber Torres’ glove. But Finnegan got Rafaela to hit a grounder to third, and Spencer Torkelson made a great scoop on an in-between hop at first to get the third out of the inning, and the game remained scoreless.

Suárez himself carried on into the eighth and he barely broke a sweat, getting a pair of popouts and a strikeout. He finished the inning with 93 pitches; would he be allowed to try to finish the ninth?

Finnegan’s eighth inning featured some nasty sliders and splitters, but with two outs he walked Wong and Brant Hurter was brought in to face Anthony, a left-handed hitter. (Mr. Burns would call this “playing the percentages.”) Anthony hit the ball hard, but Javier Báez tracked it down in centre for the third out, and the game would enter the ninth in a scoreless tie.

But, no, Suárez would not be allowed to start the ninth, as Aroldis Chapman — who, in the past, the Tigers have occasionally gotten-to — took over. Báez singled sharply to right to lead off the inning, the first Detroit hit since the first, but he was thrown out trying to steal second. Torres followed with a one-out walk, and he traded places with Kevin McGonigle at first after he hit a grounder to first. With two out, Jahmai Jones ripped a double to left to put runners on second and third; that short left field probably kept McGonigle at third on the play. That proved crucial as Dingler struck out on three pitches, the last of which was a brutal 101-mph sinker.

Will Vest came on for the bottom of the ninth, and the first pitch he threw to Contreras was hit towards the Pesky Pole in the right-field corner; luckily Wenceel Pérez was ten feet in front of said pole to haul in the fly ball for the first out. After Wilyer Abreu struck out, Lee fielded a tough grounder at third but sailed the throw over Torkelson’s head to put a runner on first. It was all for naught, though, as a more-routine grounder to Lee was fielded cleanly, and the throw to first was much less eventful.

And thus, the first Tigers extra-inning action of the season was about to take place.

Dingler started the tenth on second base, and advanced to third on pinch-hitter Riley Greene’s fly ball to right against Garrett Whitlock. Pérez then struck out for the second out, and Torkelson grounded out to shortstop to strand Dingler.

Duran, a speedy runner, started on second and took third on a ball in the dirt; with that runner on third, AJ Hinch decided to go with a five-infielder look; Vest then struck out Rafaela for the first out. He then walked Marcelo Mayer to bring up pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida, who hit a single to right, scoring Duran and ending the game.

Final score: Red Sox 1, Tigers 0

Notes and Observances

• Tigers prospect Hao-Yu Lee made his major-league debut tonight. (What a place to make a debut!) He was called up from Toledo when Zach McKinstry was placed on the Injured List after a couple of collisions in Wednesday’s game against the Royals resulted in some hip inflammation.
• The Red Sox wore their green City Connect jerseys. They’re better than the old powder blue and yellow ones, but holy mackerel, am I the only one that thinks teams should have exactly two uniforms, one white and one grey? Sheesh.
• One of my favourite podcasts, The Ongoing History of New Music, is in the middle of a five-part documentary series on one-hit wonders of new rock (i.e., alt-rock after the punk explosion of the late ‘70s). I could never recommend this podcast enough, but this series is especially bringing back the big ol’ memories.
• On this day in 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion started in Cuba. That did not turn out particularly well for the US.

Ryan McMahon started Friday night’s game against Kansas City on the bench thanks to one of the worst starts to the season of any hitter in the majors. 

He entered as a defensive replacement, with the Yankees clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the eighth. 

So, naturally, he came up in the most important at-bat of the game. 

And this time, McMahon — who hadn’t had an extra-base hit all season or driven in a run since Opening Day — delivered in a 4-2 win in The Bronx. 

McMahon’s opposite-field two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth came after Camilo Doval gave up the lead in the top of the inning and following Ben Rice’s two-out single. 

“It’s no secret I’ve been struggling a little bit,’’ said McMahon, who entered with the second-worst slugging percentage in the majors of anyone with more than 40 plate appearances. “This game is super humbling. All you can do is keep working.” 

That’s what McMahon did, hitting in the cages throughout the first half of the game before he replaced Amed Rosario at third to start the eighth and the Yankees up by a run. 

His approach didn’t change, even when Aaron Boone told him heading into this series his playing time would be sparse, as the Yankees are set to face lefty starters against both the Royals and the Red Sox in Boston next week. 

“He’s had success for a while,” Boone said. “He knows he’s capable, but when you’re going through it, it can be tough. … This game will bring you to your knees. The good ones handle it.” 

David Bednar closed it in the ninth as the Yankees won for just the third time in their last 10 games. 

It came against a Royals team that’s in a five-game losing streak and has dropped nine consecutive games to the Yankees — dating back to the 2024 ALDS. 

Cam Schlittler provided another excellent start, allowing just an unearned run in six-plus innings. 

The right-hander retired the first 11 batters he faced, perfect until Vinnie Pasquantino singled to left with two outs in the fourth. 

In the sixth, holding a two-run lead provided by Rice’s homer in the fourth off the excellent Michael Wacha, the Yankees faltered. 

Schlittler walked Maikel García with one out — just Schlitter’s second walk of the season. 

But Schlittler then got Bobby Witt Jr. to hit a fly ball to deep center, where the slumping Trent Grisham camped under it — and had it bounce off his glove for a two-base error. 

With runners on second and third and one out, Pasquantino grounded to first to score García and make it 2-1 before Schlittler got Salvador Pérez to finish the inning. 

The first two batters reached in the seventh off Schlittler and lefty Brent Headrick entered. He struck out Jac Caglianone, got pinch hitter Jonanthan India to pop out and, after making a throwing error into center on a pickoff attempt, got another pinch hitter, Starling Marte, on a comebacker to preserve the one-run lead. 

But Doval took over in the eighth and allowed a game-tying, two-out solo shot to Pasquantino that just reached the stands in right. 

The Yankees bounced back, as Rice continued to mash and delivered a two-out single to set up McMahon. 

“You want to play [well],” McMahon said. “It doesn’t feel good letting your brothers down. I’ve been sick and tired of it, honestly.” 

Despite the lengthy drought, McMahon said his attitude hasn’t changed: “It’s always the same. Go win the game.” 

On Friday, he — and the Yankees — did.

The Royals have now lost five straight. Those five losses all have a lot in common. The most obvious similarity is that they were all close games decided in the seventh inning or later. Tonight’s was the first game where they lost by more than a single run. It did, unfortunately, continue the streak of a different reliever blowing the game. John Schreiber blew it on Sunday, then Nick Mears blew it on Tuesday, Eli Morgan lost it on Wednesday, Lucas Erceg lost it on Thursday, and tonight it was Alex Lange’s turn.

Of particular note to me is that Matt Strahm has only pitched in one game this week. It’s not an excuse, but with him unavailable, guys are being forced to pitch innings they otherwise wouldn’t and throwing off routines like that or asking guys to pitch in higher leverage than they’re used to could be a contributing factor. Since we haven’t heard of any injury, I’ve wondered if he (and other pitchers in the bullpen) might be ill and that could be contributing as well. But we won’t know unless someone asks manager Matt Quatraro and he gives an honest answer.

OK, so those are the negatives. I want to spend some time on the positives for a bit before we call it a night.

• Michael Wacha pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. That raised his ERA to 1.00. He has been otherworldly good and doesn’t show any signs of stopping.
• Vinnie Pasquantino hit a home run for the second game in a row. This one was as impressive as some of the outs he hit in Detroit, but we’ll take what we can get.
• Jac Caglianone struck out three times, but also had a line drive, opposite-field single.
• Cam Schlittler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball to this point and the Royals forced him to triple his season walk total and to exit the game after 6+ innings by exhibiting patience – especially as the game went on.
• Carter Jensen didn’t let the pressure of Yankee Stadium or the game situation deter him from walking twice.
• The losses get easier to bear the more we’re exposed to them. I’m a lot less frustrated about tonight’s game than I was the last four losses.

OK, yeah, that’s probably enough. The Royals will try again to snap the skid tomorrow. Noah Cameron (3.94 ERA, 4.15 SIERA) will face off against Will Warren (2.45 ERA, 3.29 SIERA). Don’t forget it’s an East Coast afternoon game, so first pitch will be at 12:35 Kauffman time.

WASHINGTON – Jen Pawol was behind the plate for her first major league game in the automated balls and strikes challenge system era. And the first woman to serve as an ump in a Major League Baseball game stood her ground against the so-called robots.

Pawol called balls and strikes for the San Francisco Giants-Washington Nationals game Friday, April 17 and withstood a pair of challenges from Giants catcher Daniel Susac, with a pair of ball calls upheld quickly by the ABS system.

By the third inning, the Giants were out of challenges, while the Nationals successfully appealed a pair of calls during San Francisco’s 10-5 victory.

To be sure, this was a solid standoff early in this ABS era.

Entering Friday’s game, players were successful on 54% of their challenges to umpires, and the typical game averaged 4.05 challenges. Pawol saw exactly four challenges and won two of them.

Of course, ABS is relatively old news for those umpiring in Class AAA in recent years, where ABS was first deployed on a trial basis.

Even after last year’s trade with the Rockies, we all should’ve known to some degree that Ryan McMahon wasn’t exactly going to be an Alex Rodriguez-type of third baseman at the plate. That being said, his struggles to start 2026 have gone way below what anyone could’ve reasonably hoped for. He’s even lost a lot of at-bats to Amed Rosario, who was signed specifically just to play against lefties.

However on Friday night, McMahon played the hero at the dish, as his go-ahead homer gave the Yankees a 4-2 win over the Royals, and avoided them wasting another good start from Cam Schlittler.

The Yankees’ offense was mostly held in check through the first couple innings, but eventually they broke through in the fourth. With Cody Bellinger on after a single of his dropped in for a hit, Ben Rice took Michael Wacha deep for his sixth homer of the season.

The Royals got one of those runs back in the sixth, although you could hardly blame it on Schlittler. With one out, he walked Maikel Garcia but then got Bobby Witt Jr. to hit a deep fly ball that should have been the second out. However in the windy conditions, Trent Grisham took an awkward route to the ball and then couldn’t fully glove it, as the ball went in and out, allowing Witt to reach safely and Garcia to go to third. That led to Garcia scoring when Vinnie Pasquatino grounded out in the following at-bat. Schlittler did a good job after that, striking out Salvador Perez to strand Witt.

However, Schlittler then allowed the first two Royals’ batters in the seventh to reach base, leading to Aaron Boone going to the bullpen. Brent Headrick came in and eventually got out of the inning, but not before a scare of his own making, as he committed an error while making a pickoff throw to second base.

For the game, Schlittler ended up going six innings, allowing one run on three hits. He did triple his walk total on the season, but that number just went from one to three.

The Yankees missed out on a chance to add back to their lead in the bottom of the seventh, but Aaron Judge, of all people, grounded out to end the inning. Camilo Doval then came in for the eighth. He got two quick outs and seemed to be headed towards a clean inning, but Pasquatino got him for a porch job homer to tie things up.

In the bottom of the eighth, it appeared that the lineup was going to go down quickly in order, as they mostly had in the time since Rice’s homer. The inning was left up to Rice again, who came through with a single to keep it alive. That brought McMahon to the plate, as he had come in as a defensive replacement for Rosario prior to the top of the eighth.

Despite all that’s been said about his slow start to the season, we can give him a break on this day. McMahon homered to left, just getting one to clear the top of the wall for a two-run, go-ahead blast.

With the lead back, the Yankees brought David Bednar in for the top of the ninth. He issued a leadoff walk, but came back to get the next three outs, striking out the final two batters to seal the victory.

The series against the Royals will continue tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 pm ET. Will Warren is expected to take the ball for the Yankees, with Noah Cameron going for Kansas City.

Box Score