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A month ago at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees won the first game of their three-game set against the A’s before dropping the next two in a row for a disappointing series loss. More recently, they won on Friday in West Sacramento and then lost last night thanks to an up-and-down Ryan Weathers and an offense that once again refused to give him run support. So the Yanks must win this afternoon with Will Warren on the bump to avoid history repeating itself. The A’s aren’t a bad team, but the Yanks really should fare better. We’ll find out soon enough.

Today on the site, Jake will pinch-hit on the minors recap, Scott will interview Triple-A Scranton reliever Danny Watson on his Yankees fan roots and unusual delivery, Peter will run through the Rivalry Roundup, and John’s Yankees Birthdays post will focus on Kenny Lofton, who spent a year in pinstripes as his career wound down in the mid-2000s. Later, John will return for the weekly Social Media Spotlight.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees at Athletics

Time: 4:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, NBCSCA

Venue: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA

Questions/Prompts:

1. How damaging do you think the decision was last night to leave Ryan Weathers in to face Nick Kurtz late? Or do you think it wasn’t that consequential because the Yankees’ offense did so little on the whole?

2. Have you been watching any of the College World Series regionals this weekend?

Columbus Clippers 3, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)

Sawyer Gipson-Long posted his best outing of the season, but the Hens’ bats slumbered on Saturday.

The right-hander has been up and down since rehabbing a preseason injury, and is still not far removed from rehabbing the Tommy John surgery that cost him the 2024 and most of the 2025 seasons. If he was back throwing 93-95 mph we’d be pretty enthusiastic about giving him a look, but his fastball is still sitting around 92 mph this spring.

Gipson-Long gave up three singles that led to two runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday, and then locked down the Clippers entirely the rest of his outing. He went five innings, allowing just two more hits and no walks, while striking out eight. He racked up 12 whiffs on 44 swings, getting them with his fourseamer, slider, and changeup for the most part.

In the bottom of the first, Gleyber Torres led off by lining out to second baseman Juan Brito. Kerry Carpenter drove a ball 380 feet to center field, but Kahlil Watson was there to haul it in.

Ben Malgeri led off the second with a solo shot, his seventh homer of the season. 2-1 Clippers.

Torres struck out on a high fastball in the third, while Carpenter walked. The latter was then pinch-run for by Tyler Gentry, and appears set to return to the Tigers on Sunday. Torres grounded out in the fifth and took a called third strike in the seventh.

In the top of the seventh against the Hens’ Matt Seelinger, Nolan Jones tripled and then scored on an Angel Genao sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. Tanner Rainey spun the final two innings for the Hens, allowing just a walk while striking out two.

Malgeri: 2-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, K

Gipson-Long (L, 2-3): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 2:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday.

Erie SeaWolves 4, Chesapeake Baysox 0 (box)

Sean Hunley tossed a good short start, while Izaac Pacheco provided the power as the SeaWolves won on Saturday.

The SeaWolves got started in the bottom of the second when Justice Bigbie led off with a walk. Andrew Jenkins singled him to second, but Pacheco grounded into a force of Jenkins at second. E.J. Exposito walked to load the bases, and Bigbie scored on a Bennett Lee ground out. That was all they got but it was 1-0 SeaWolves.

Hunley went 4.1 innings of scoreless ball, scattering four hits and no walks, while striking out three. Tyler Owens followed with five straight outs, three by strikeout.

In the bottom of the fifth, Seth Stephenson, who has been scuffling the past week since returning from injury, singled with one out and the Baysox’s third baseman threw the ball away. The lightning fast Stephenson raced all the way around to score on the play, as the Baysox right fielder had to collect the ball and then fired wildly for his own throwing error.

In the bottom of the sixth, Bigbie was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Pacheco smashed towering shot to right center field for his fifth homer of the season, and it was 4-0, where it would end.

Yosber Sanchez, Trevin Michael, and Wandisson Charles were all solid in relief, allowing no hits the rest of the way.

Pacheco: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, K

Bigbie: 1-2, 2 R, BB

Graham: 1-3, BB, 2 K, 2 SB

Hunley: 4.1 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves can split the series with a win on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. ET.

Lansing Lugnuts 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 6 (box)

The West Michigan Whitecaps are, like their parent club, a disaster area. Winners of just four games in May, they dropped another one on Saturday, and also parroting the Tigers, they were yet again walked off. The Whitecaps bullpen has been the major culprit all along.

The ‘Caps lineup got right to work. Ricardo Hurtado walked with one out, and Garrett Pennington singled. Bryce Rainer smashed a missile high off the big wall in right center field for a two-run double. That ball was estimated to have flown 435 feet if not interrupted by said high wall. The double was undercut by the fact that Mr. Rainer had never hit a ball like that and not gotten a home run out of it, and he should have been standing on third base on the play instead. A Clayton Campbell single got Rainer to third, and a Jackson Strong sac fly made it a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Woody Hadeen drilled a single to right field and Hurtado doubled him to third. Pennington stepped in and roped an opposite field double to score both runs and make it 5-0.

Rayner Castillo was better in this one as well. The right-handed sinkerballer hasn’t recovered the mid-90’s velo on his sinker fully yet, but he allowed a solo shot in the third and no more. Castillo punched out six, walking two and allowing three hits total in his outing.

Preston Howey, freshly rehabbed in Lakeland, handled the fifth and sixth, allowing a solo shot in the latter that made it 5-2. He got the first two outs of the seventh before departing.

In the top of the seventh, Hadeen, also freshly rehabbed, led off with a single and Hurtado was hit by a pitch. The Lugnuts went to Luis Carrasco out of their pen, and he punched out Pennington and Rainer. However, Campbell and Strong both drew walks to force in another run. 6-2 Whitecaps.

The ‘Caps Juanmi Vasquez took over in the eighth. The lefty was the return from the Blue Jays for Connor Seabold. He gave up two unearned runs in the inning after a Pennington error.

In the bottom of the ninth, Jalen Evans took over for the save. He gave up a leadoff single, and with one out, wild pitched the runner to second. Still, it was a 6-4 lead, and he struck out the next hitter. Needing one more out, Evans surrendered an RBI single, and then a two-run walkoff shot from Dylan Fien.

Pennington: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 K

Hadeen: 2-5, 2 R

Rainer: 1-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 K, SB

Castillo: 4.0 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:05 p.m. ET start on Sunday with the Lugnuts up 3-2 in the series.

Palm Beach Cardinals 7, Lakeland Flying Tigers 6 (box)

Palm Beach locked up a series victory, walking off the Flying Tigers on Saturday.

Caleb Leys was shaky in his start, giving up three runs over the first 2.1 innings of work. Jan Carabello cleaned up the third, threw a scoreless fourth, and then allowed two runs in the fifth.

At that point it was 5-2 Palm Beach after the Flying Tigers scored two in the fourth. Zach MacDonald had led off with a single, then stole second and third base. Jude Warwick plated him with a sacrifice fly. Edian Espinal then followed with a solo shot to right. The second baseman turned catcher has been an interesting story to follow in Lakeland this spring.

Jordan Yost walked to start the sixth inning and MacDonald was hit by a pitch. They were each given 90 feet on a balk, and after Nick Dumesnil struck out and the Cardinals went back to the bullpen, Warwick came through with a lined single to center to plate both runners and took third on an error on the play. Espinal lifted a sac fly to score Warwick and tie the game 5-5.

Carson Rucker was then hit by a pitch and left the game. Jack Goodman was plunked next, and Javier Osorio walked to load the bases with two outs. Unfortunately, Jesus Pinto grounded out to strand all three.

In the seventh the Flying Tigers seized the lead briefly when Yost walked to start the inning and took second on a wild pitch. MacDonald and Dumesnil both struck out, but once again it was Warwick with an RBI single to center to give them a one run lead.

Unfortunately, Eliseo Mota allowed a run in the seventh that tied things at 6-6, and in the ninth, Luke Hoskins blew the save.

Warwick: 2-3, R, 3 RBI

Yost: 0-2, 2 R, 3 BB, SB

MacDonald: 1-4, 2 R, 2 K, 2 SB

Leys: 2.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 0 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 12:30 p.m. ET start on Sunday with the Cardinals up 4-1 in the series.

FCL Tigers 5, FCL Blue Jays 3 (F/7)(box)

The rehabbers helped carry the day on Saturday. Jack Penney cracked a two-run shot with fellow rehabber Nolan McCarthy aboard in the first inning.

Owen Hall gave up two runs, one earned, in 3.1 innings of work. He walked one and struck out one on the day.

It was 3-2 Blue Jays, but in the seventh Martin Tamara and Angel de los Santos singled, and McCarthy walked this one off with a three-run shot.

De Los Santos: 1-3 R, BB

Penney: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR

McCarthy: 1-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB

Hall: 3.1 IP, 2 R, ER, 2 H, BB, K

Sports Illustrated | Joseph Randazzo: The Yankees bullpen remains the team’s most wobbly unit and it could be getting an exciting internal reinforcement soon. Relaying a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Randazzo noted that Brian Cashman is considering calling up top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange to provide a boost to a relief corps that could use some more swing-and-miss. Lagrange dazzled in spring with a fastball that reaches as high as 103 mph as well as a much improved slider and changeup. He still has a ways to go in the command department with just a 46.5-percent first-pitch strike rate and 11.5-percent walk rate in 11 appearances at Triple-A, but his high-octane raw stuff is certainly MLB-ready, and his potential call-up is being likened to Joba Chamberlain’s 2007 debut.

MLB.com | Thomas Harrigan: Much of the Yankees’ success this season can be tied to the performance of three homegrown stars. Cam Schlittler, Aaron Judge, and Ben Rice are currently the three most valuable players in baseball by fWAR. Since the start of free agency in 1976, the Yankees have only ever had one season where three homegrown players eclipsed the 5.0 fWAR mark: Andy Pettitte, Alfonso Soriano, and Jorge Posada in 2003. Judge, Schlittler, and Rice are well on pace to eclipse five wins each and could wind up with the greatest ever season by a trio of homegrown Bombers.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: The Yankees raised eyebrows when they decided to bring back Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year, $4 million pact, but so far they have been vindicated in their decision. The 38-year-old has stabilized the DH role with Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez out injured (enabling Rice to slide over to the DH spot, if not occupying it himself), with six home runs, 18 RBIs, and a 146 wRC+ in 32 games. For his part, Goldschmidt says he is learning to enjoy the small moments of what he called the back nine of his career, and relished the opportunity of getting to suit up for a World Series contender, one of the few prizes that has eluded him in his long and distinguished career.

The Sacramento Bee | Sean Campbell: Last Thursday, Sacramento officials lodged their proposal for an expansion MLB team, and Aaron Judge is a fan. Judge was born outside Sacramento and grew up 40 miles south in Linden, and has enjoyed the opportunity to play in front of family in friends with the A’s playing in West Sacramento the last two seasons. He met with Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarthy prior to their current series against the A’s and learned some of the details of the city’s proposal, Judge calling West Sacramento “great baseball town” deserving of an expansion franchise after the A’s complete their move to Las Vegas.

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The heavily favored New York Yankees look to secure a series win against the Athletics on Sunday.

Will Warren takes the mound after a strong start to the season, and our Yankees vs. Athletics predictions expect his ground-ball profile to help produce a low-scoring game and a comfortable Yankees victory.

Read on for my MLB picks for Sunday, May 31. 

Who will win Yankees vs A's today: Yankees -1.5 (+105)

The New York Yankees send Will Warren to the mound against an Athletics lineup heavily vulnerable to high-spin horizontal movement.

Warren owns a 3.17 xERA through 11 starts, with his newly optimized 29-degree vertical release slot allowing his 3,005 RPM sweeper to break an elite 17.3 inches horizontally away from right-handed barrels.

Athletics starter Jacob Lopez carries a 3.90 xERA and has struggled to miss bats consistently.

With New York's bullpen leading the majors with a 54.2% rolling groundball rate to insulate the late innings, the cushion is there. Play the Yankees -1.5 to -105. 

COVERS INTEL:Jacob Lopez (3.90 xERA) sits in the bottom fifth percentile for fastball velocity at 90.5 MPH. A Yankees lineup running a 128 rolling wRC+ will punish that early and often. 

Yankees vs A's Over/Under pick: Under 10.5 (-130)

Warren's 29-degree release slot doesn't just generate horizontal break; it suppresses launch angle. 

His ground ball profile, combined with New York's bullpen leading the majors at 54.2% rolling groundball rate, means the score is built to stay low.

Lopez sits in the bottom fifth percentile for fastball velocity at 90.5 MPH, but allows soft contact, not hard damage. His slider-heavy approach produces the same result from the other side.

Two ground-ball-oriented staffs, two contact-suppressing starters, and a 10.5 total that assumes both offenses perform at peak level. They won't on this pitching. Play the Under to 9.5. 

Yankees vs A's odds

• Moneyline: Yankees -144 | A's +138
• Run line: Yankees -1.5 (-100) | A's +1.5 (-104)
• Over/Under: Over 10.5 (+108) | Under 10.5 (-122)

Yankees vs A's trend

The Yankees are 9-2 when Will Warren starts a game in 2026. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. A's.

How to watch Yankees vs A's and game info

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It was a rough game for the Guardians on Saturday. Travis Bazzana went 2-4 with two doubles, and José Ramírez went 1-3 with an RBI double and a walk. Petey Halpin also went 2-4 with a double. Other than that, it was a really tough day for the offense. I’m not worried about them long term, but a lot of guys are in slumps at the same time which isn’t ideal.

Parker Messick did typical Parker Messick things, his ERA is down to 2.21 after allowing just one earned run in his 5 innings pitched. Matt Festa continues to struggle this year, he kind of got bailed out tonight by a weird home run overturn. Will Dion had a pretty rough outing that put the game way out of reach for the Guardians.

The Guardians will look to take the series Sunday at 1:40 pm ET. It will be Tanner Bibee vs Ranger Suarez.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As someone who played the game himself, Aaron Boone knows that diagnosing and fixing a hitter’s slump is easier said from the dugout than done from the batter’s box.

But as Austin Wells has continued to sink deeper into an offensive rut, Boone believes he knows what is ailing the Yankees catcher.

“I feel like he’s making a conscious effort to go the other way so much,” Boone said. “When that happens, sometimes you end up waiting, and you don’t get started, you don’t make your move. Everyone’s a little bit different in how they load and things like that. But sometimes you can get stuck and it’s just, ‘Go.’ So I don’t feel like he’s been as accurate as he should be on some pitches.

“From my eye, and sometimes it gets easier from the side or whatever, I feel like it’s as simple as that. I feel like if he gets started and gets on time, he’s got the ability to be impactful. That’s my expectation and hopefully he can string some at-bats together where he starts to feel that and he can take off.”

Boone had Wells out of the lineup Friday — with J.C. Escarra continuing to eat into some of his playing time of late — following Thursday’s team off day, hoping that the double day off could serve as a reset of sorts.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Because as important as Wells has been behind the plate and in calling games for one of the best pitching staffs in the majors, his lack of offense has become increasingly troubling.

Going 1-for-2 in Saturday night’s 6-4 loss to the Athletics raised his average and OPS to .180 and .568, respectively, through 43 games.

Wells’ underlying metrics do not suggest he has just been unlucky, either. He was hitting balls hard and drawing his fair share of walks during the first month of the season, but both of those areas have taken a downturn in May.

“As a hitter, you got to get started, you got to have a move, you got to have a hitch or a load that allows you to be aggressive,” Boone said. “I’m getting way in the weeds and it’s not going to make sense, but you got to be able to shut down and have brakes, as I would call it. He’s got that ability, but I feel like he’s been a little stale and trying to be too, ‘Wait, see it, go the other way,’ and then it’s just, ‘Go,’ and you end up beat.”

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Yankees nearly pulled off a miraculous ninth-inning comeback Saturday night by almost never swinging the bat.

It ultimately fell short, making for a tough 6-4 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health park, but not before a wild finish.

The Yankees entered the ninth inning trailing 6-1 and A’s reliever Jack Perkins got it started by striking out Paul Goldschmidt. Ryan McMahon then hit a bloop single and J.C. Escarra walked before Anthony Volpe struck out.

From that point on, over the final 28 pitches of the game, the Yankees swung just twice and it almost proved to be a winning recipe against the wild A’s bullpen.

Perkins walked Trent Grisham on five pitches to load the bases before Scott Barlow entered and walked Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, each on a full count, to force in three runs. Of that group. Judge had the only swing, taking a big hack through a curveball in the zone.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. then worked a 2-2 count on Barlow before grounding out, stranding the tying run on second base.

“Just great at-bats to give us a chance there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “To not only get the tying run to the plate but then have the go-ahead runs on base there at the end, just a lot of patient, real quality at-bats, forcing them to come into the zone.”

The Yankees’ six baserunners in the ninth inning came after they had nine through the first eight innings combined.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“There was a lot of belief that we were going to come through and do it,” McMahon said. “It didn’t go our way, but putting pressure on a team like that, they’ll remember that, and next time we’re down, hopefully we come through.”

The Yankees played a man short Saturday night and likely will again on Sunday after Amed Rosario was placed on the paternity list shortly before the game.

The utilityman left clubhouse in street clothes a few hours before first pitch to head home for the birth of his child, and because of the timing, it did not make sense to fly a replacement cross-country just for Sunday’s series finale before the Yankees return home for an off day Monday.

Players may take up to three days on the paternity list, meaning Rosario could be back on the active roster by the time the Yankees open a homestand on Tuesday against the Guardians.

Since going through an 0-for-24 skid earlier this month, McMahon finished Saturday batting 9-for-29 (.310) with a .965 OPS over his last eight games.

“Just trying to trust it,” McMahon said. “This game’s extremely hard. Just trying to work every single day so I can go out there and try to do things to help the team win.”

With a pair of walks, Grisham has now reached base multiple times in each of his last four games and seven of his last nine.

His on-base percentage was up to .329, the highest it had been since April 13.

Luis Severino landed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right shoulder strain after leaving Friday’s game against his old teammates before the second inning started.

Welcome back to the best version of Roki Sasaki.

And, in a frustrating setback for the Dodgers, the worst version of Tanner Scott.

Entering the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night in Los Angeles, the red-hot Dodgers seemed to be rolling to a seventh-straight win and a series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

They had gotten 5 ⅓ spectacular innings from Sasaki, who rediscovered 100 mph life on his fastball for the first time this year. They were also protecting a two-run lead, thanks to some big outs from relievers Alex Vesia and Kyle Hurt in the prior two innings.

That’s when Scott came trotting in, trying to extend a 12 ⅓ inning scoreless streak that resembled nothing of the career-worst campaign he endured last season.

Instead, the veteran left-hander quickly imploded in a 4-3 defeat, succumbing to the exact same two-strike issues that plagued him through so much of his 2025 struggles.

He got leadoff man Justin Crawford in an 0-2 hole, before throwing a low slider that was hit for a single.

With two outs in the inning, he was ahead of Bryce Harper in a 1-2 count, but threw a down-and-in fastball that the two-time MVP ripped to right for an RBI single.

In the next at-bat, Scott got to two strikes again against Edmundo Sosa, this time trying to climb the ladder with a putaway fastball. His heater, however, stayed in Sosa’s “wheelhouse,” as manager Dave Roberts acknowledged. 

Sosa walloped it to left for a go-ahead two-run home run.

“We were trying to go up and I thought I could get it high enough, [but] I left it too much in the zone,” Scott said. “Just a bad pitch.”

Just like that, the Dodgers had squandered a lead they had held since Santiago Espinal’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and extended on an RBI single from Mookie Betts in the seventh.

Even worse, they let Sasaki’s one-run, three-hit, seven-strikeout gem go to waste, snapping a season-long winning streak that had seemed so certain to continue.

What it means

For the first time since the start of the Dodgers’ recent 13-3 tear, their bullpen finally faltered.

In the previous two losses of that stretch, lackluster offense had been to blame. The bullpen, meanwhile, had been almost flawless, at one point setting a club record with a 38-inning scoreless streak.

On Saturday, however, the loss fell most squarely on Scott, marking the first time this season he took the mound with a lead and failed to protect it.

“[When] you get count leverage, then you have to be able to put them away,” Roberts said. “And tonight we couldn’t do that.”

Who’s hot

Sasaki, especially with his fastball.

From the very start of the night, the right-handed phenom had found renewed life on his four-seamer. In his very first at-bat against Kyle Schwarber, he hit 99 mph twice, then eclipsed 100 mph for the first time since he was pitching out of the bullpen in last year’s playoffs.

Sasaki would keep lighting up the radar gun the rest of the game, averaging a season-best 98.5 mph with his heater.

It allowed him to attack the Phillies’ star-studded lineup in a way he has rarely been able to as a big-league starter, bouncing back from a second-inning home run from Alec Bohm by retiring the next 13 batters he faced consecutively.

Sasaki’s night only ended after back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth, forcing manager Dave Roberts’ hand with a couple left-handed hitters on deck. But Alex Vesia escaped that jam, preserving what was only Sasaki’s third one-run start this year.

In his last three outings overall, Sasaki has now posted a 2.08 ERA in 17 ⅓ innings, while striking out 19 batters and walking only three.

For the first time this season, he had 100 mph heat to go along with it, marking the most encouraging step yet in his continued growth process in the big leagues.

Who’s not

While Scott was the main culprit, the Dodgers’ offense didn’t help matters either.

Despite racking up nine hits –– including three from Betts –– the club failed to cash in on several chances and went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Kyle Tucker’s 0-for-4 loomed particularly large, especially after he took pregame batting practice on the field for the first time this season in hopes of finding a better feel for his swing.

Instead, he left two runners aboard by grounding out to end the first inning, then failed to get Betts home after a one-out double in the third. He also recorded the final out of the seventh, rolling over to second base again right after Betts had pushed the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1.

With that, Tucker’s season batting average is back down to .236, amid a 1-for-16 slump since the start of this homestand.

“It’s a work in progress,” Roberts said of the $240 million slugger. “I think he’s frustrated with his swing [and was] really getting beat on some pitches today, not hitting it hard.”

Up next

The Dodgers will try to salvage this series in a Sunday afternoon rubber match, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-4, 3.09 ERA) faces off against right-hander Andrew Painter (1-5, 5.40 ERA).

Well, there’s honestly not so much to say about this one. Ryne Nelson was going for us today, which I actually felt pretty good about, given that the Ryno had pitched at least seven innings in his last three starts, and was rocking an ERA right around 2.70 for the month of May. He was going up against Bryan Woo, a very talented Seattle right-hander who’s been pretty good but who has had a middle-of-the-road performance so far this year, much like the rest of the Mariners’ ballclub.

Sadly, though, tonight it was no contest.

It started off okay, or it seemed to. Ketel Marte led off the game by making good contact on the first pitch Woo threw him for a fading liner into shallow right. I thought it was going to drop for a hit, but Mariners’ right fielder Luke Raley made a nice diving-ish catch to snag it just before it landed in the right field grass. Corbin Carroll then struck out looking, and Geraldo Perdomo struck out looking, getting Woo out of the top of the first with all of ten pitches thrown.

Ryne Nelson matched him, sorta, and even did better, sorta—he gave up a leadoff single, but then induced a one-pitch double play and then a lineout to Tommy Troy in left to face the minimum with only eight pitches thrown. So that was cool….maybe it would be a pitching duel.

Woo came out for the second, however, and promptly struck out Gabriel Moreno, Adrian Del Castillo, and Ryan Waldschmidt on fifteen total pitches. So, six batters faced, and after what turned out to be a lineout he struck out the next five. Yeah. It was all like that.

Meanwhile, Ryne Nelson stumbled in the bottom of the second. After getting a one-pitch flyout to start things off, he allowed a solo home run to Raley, who sent a middle-middle fastball over the wall in right center. One out later, he threw a hanging curveball to old friend Dominic Canzone for the same result. 2-0 Seattle

Woo recorded three more outs in order against the bottom of our lineup in the top of the third, though in what seemed like it might be a hopeful sign (SPOILER: it wasn’t), there were no strikeouts involved. In the bottom of the inning, though, Nelson pretty much repeated what he’d done in the previous inning, surrendering his third solo homer to Mariners’ rookie and nine-hole hitter Colt Emerson, and then his fourth one out later to Julio Rodriguez. 4-0 Seattle

But the real story, aside from all the jokes that erupted in the Gameday Thread about “solo homers won’t lose you the game” and so forth, was really Bryan Woo, who continued to deal. He retired the top of our order again in the fourth, continuing what was to that point a perfect game. That, thankfully, was broken up with one out in the top of the fifth, as Adrian Del Castillo lined a single to center, and then, after Waldschmidt grounded to third but beat the throw that would have resulted in an inning-ending double play, Ildemaro Vargas singled to center. That was that, though, as Jose Fernandez, playing third after Nolan Arenado was a late scratch from the lineup, struck out looking to end our one threat. Woo then retired the Diamondbacks in order in both the sixth and the seventh. We could do nothing against the dude.

Nelson, meanwhile, settled down, I suppose, at least insofar as he stopped giving up solo dingers to random Mariners. He pitched around traffic in both the fourth and the fifth, but managed to put up zeroes in both frames, and given that he’d actually been very efficient, he was only at 78 pitches after five innings of work so he came out to start the sixth. Sadly, however, it did not go well, though this time it was not entirely his fault. Randy Arozarena hung a seven-pitch AB on him to start the frame, but hit an easy grounder to Jose Fernandez for what should have been the first out of the inning. Fernandez, however, air-mailed the throw to first, putting Arozarena on second on the two-base error. Luke Raley then singled to left to advance Arozarena to third, and a Cole Young sac fly to right scored him. All that mishegaas brought Nelson to 99 pitches, and with only the one out recorded, Torey Lovullo swapped him out for Ryan Thompson. Thompson gave up a double down the left field line to Canzone, but recorded the last two outs without any further damage. 5-0 Seattle

And you might think that that would be your ballgame—I expected it to be, myself. Woo was basically unstoppable through his seven innings of work, and our offense, which was basically everywhere all the time when they were needed over the last three series, were nowhere to be found. Their bullpen did their job, our bullpen did its job, with Thompson pitching a second scoreless inning for us and Taylor Clarke putting up a zero in the bottom of the eighth, and us squandering a leadoff single from Waldschmidt in the eighth and then going down to our last out with Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll making easy outs on the infield to start the ninth.

But no! While everyone else on the team would have liked nothing more than to simply put this one to bed and absquatulate back to the hotel with all speed, Perdomo decided that he was having none of it. Facing Mariners reliever Alex Hoppe, Gerry drew an eight-pitch walk, then promptly took second on defensive indifference. Hoppe then uncorked a pitch that I thought was wild, but was scored a passed ball instead. It rolled to the backstop, Gerry advanced to third, and when Hoppe forgot to cover home plate, Gerry just kept on going:

Moreno promptly grounded out to short to end things after that, but at least Gerry’s hustle spared us the indignity of a shutout loss? 5-1 Seattle

Loss Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Good Rhinos: NONE
Bad Rhino: Ryne Nelson (5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 K, 4 HR, -26% WPA)

So, yeah. That was pretty much that. Only one Diamondback had a positive WPA contribution, and that was Ryan Thompson, who managed to contribute a whopping +1%. Adrian Del Castillo and Taylor Clarke at least managed to be neutral, contributing 0% apiece in total. But, well, it was that sort of game.

Perhaps surprisingly, given that, we had a pretty well-attended Gameday Thread tonight, with 274 comments at time of writing, so that was nice. Comment of the game goes to Fearless Leader for this one that got the most rec’s, though to be fair it was one of many that appeared around the same time that worked the same theme:

To be fair, it wasn’t the solo home runs that beat us, I don’t think. It was more that we couldn’t score any runs of our own. Well, at least not until the very end.

Anyway.

Tomorrow we will try to avoid being driven back to the desert by sailors brandishing brooms, I guess. Merrill Kelly goes for us, Bryce Miller takes the mound for Seattle, first pitch is scheduled for an actually reasonable time for a weekend game, which is to say 1:10pm AZ time. Join us if you can, we hope to see you!

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!