NORTH PORT, FL- FEBRUARY 22: JR Ritchie #92 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins on February 22, 2026 at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At the end of the recap for tonight’s 8-6 Braves win over the Nationals, I mentioned that the process of getting through that game pitching-wise brought up some questions as to how they would deal with Thursday afternoon’s game. As it turned out, the Braves will be dipping into their prospect pool again in order to bring up one of the hottest prospects in the organization.
The 35th overall pick from the 2022 MLB Draft will be making his big league debut on Thursday night, as JR Ritchie has reportedly received the call and will be starting on Thursday afternoon against the Nationals.
The Braves are calling up No. 2 prospect JR Ritchie to start tomorrow against the Nationals. Ritchie ranks 71st overall on the most recent @BaseballAmerica Top 100 list.
The move makes sense, primarily because Ritchie will be making this start on regular rest. He’s also been lights out for the Gwinnett Stripers in Triple-A so far, as he’s made five starts and tossed 27.1 innings while only giving up three earned runs compared to 28 strikeouts. He’s sporting an ERA of 0.99 and a FIP of 3.66 at that level and with the rotation being in a tough spot, the time has come for Ritchie to make a spot start.
According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves will be sending Didier Fuentes right back down to Triple-A in a corresponding move. The Braves have a tiny bit of room to add Ritchie to the 40-man roster without designating anybody for assignment so that should be the official move once it’s eventually announced by the club itself.
For now, it’s time to get excited as we’re going to see what Ritchie has to offer at the big league level. He’s certainly coming up in a challenging spot as this Nationals roster is tough to deal with and it’s on relatively short notice. With that being said, this is why the Braves drafted him this high and he’s looked great as he’s made his way through the minors. There’s a reason why there’s a lot of anticipation to see what Ritchie can do at this level and Thursday afternoon will be his big chance.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 22: Starting pitcher Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 22, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Despite giving him the richest contract for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history, the Yankees didn’t sign Max Fried to be an ace. They envisioned pairing him with 2023 Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole atop a formidable rotation, but expected to see them together as a 1-2 postseason punch for years to come.
As Yankees fans know, that didn’t happen. Cole underwent Tommy John surgery last March, and that suddenly thrust the former World Series champion into the undisputed ace role for the foreseeable future. And with players not usually returning to top shape after returning from UCL reconstruction surgery, the balance of power was now firmly shifted to Fried being the ace of the New York Yankees.
Well, as he made his 40th start as a Yankee (playoffs included) on Wednesday night, he continued to show why that was a worthy moniker. After dealing against the rival Red Sox all year in 2025, he started 2026 with a bang, tossing eight shutout innings at Fenway Park on Wednesday, giving no room to breathe for a struggling offense. All the run support he needed came early on two big swings by Amed Rosario, as the Yankees secured a series victory, 4-1.
The Yankees jumped on Ranger Suarez right away. After the former All-Star retired two of the first three batters he faced, Giancarlo Stanton picked up where he left off last night by smacking a ball off the Green Monster in left field for a double to set up Rosario with second and third, two out. Shortly after Michael Kay noted the usual platoon bat’s reverse splits, Rosario evened those up in a hurry, pimping a three-run bomb over the Monster to give the Yankees a quick 3-0 lead.
Fried toed the slab in the bottom half of the inning and pitched around a one-out walk by Willson Contreras to produce a shutdown inning. Suarez settled in to retire 8-9-1 in the Yankees’ order in the second, and his offense looked to respond immediately with a leadoff walk by Andruw Monasterio and a double off the Monster by Jarren Duran.
With runners on second and third and nobody out, Fried gritted his teeth and pulled a Houdini act by striking out the bottom of Boston’s weakened lineup in order to somehow escape without allowing a run.
That big momentum swing allowed the same part of the Yankees’ lineup to further extend the lead. Aaron Judge singled, Stanton hit yet another double off the Monster, and Rosario lifted a long sac fly to the warning track in left field to make it 4-0. Fried would pitch around a two-out single by Wilyer Abreu to finish off the third.
Suarez got another 1-2-3 inning against the bottom of the order in the fourth, and Duran once again doubled off the wall, a fascinating development for a player who has not only struggled his entire career against Fried but also against lefties. Despite once again getting a runner in scoring position, though, Boston stranded it with a groundout and a routine flyout.
Judge walked with one out in the fifth, stole second, and got to third on a groundout, prompting Alex Cora to emerge from the dugout to bring in right-hander Zack Kelly against Stanton, who promptly induced an inning-ending pop fly. Fried continued to deal as Boston’s lineup flipped over once again, sitting them down in order in the fifth.
With the lefty out of the game, Aaron Boone deployed both Ben Rice and Trent Grisham in place of Rosario and Randal Grichuk, but both struck out against Kelly. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. due up, Cora summoned Eduardo Rivera, a World Baseball Classic standout from Puerto Rico, for his MLB debut, and he tallied his first career strikeout against the continually struggling Chisholm.
The game started to enter a lull as neither team’s offense could get going. Fried had back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to get through seven innings, while Rivera rolled along to save the bullpen, only giving up an infield single to José Caballero that was erased on a complicated rundown double play.
Fried stayed on to start the bottom of the eighth and got helped out by his defense. Ryan McMahon entered for defense in the sixth and made a Manny Machado-esque play on the third-base line, but made that look like child’s play to start the eighth. Isiah Kiner-Falefa ripped a liner down the line that McMahon sprawled out to make a spectacular catch on to take away a double.
After that, it was back-to-back strikeouts of Ceddanne Rafaela and Contreras to wrap up eight remarkable innings for the Yankee ace. Nine strikeouts, just three hits and two walks allowed, pure dominance. In five starts against the Red Sox as a Yankee (including his wasted Game 1 gem in the Wild Card Series), Fried has a 1.10 ERA in 32.2 innings. If nothing else, having an ace that always goes out and shoves against your biggest rival is a tremendous privilege.
After Rivera wrapped up an impressive 3.1 frames in his first career appearance, Brent Headrick got the call to pitch the ninth against the heart of the order. Of course, it wasn’t easy, as a pair of hits by Trevor Story and Duran (whose three hits today were approximately 60 percent of Boston’s offense) broke up the shutout and Caleb Durbin was a ball away from walking to bring up the tying run. Thankfully, a strong play by Caballero and a scoop by Paul Goldschmidt ended the ballgame.
The Yankees will go for their first three-game sweep in Fenway Park since September 2021 tomorrow night at 6:10pm EST. It’ll be the Walpole kid, Cam Schlittler, looking to provide an encore to his Wild Card heroics last October against a starter to be determined. Brayan Bello was initially scheduled to go, but was pushed back to Friday.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves hits a solo home in the third inning during the baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Washington Nationals have continued to show that their offense is plenty potent at the moment. However, the Atlanta Braves were able to out-slug the Nationals in this one as two massive homers from Michael Harris II helped power Atlanta to an 8-6 win over the Nats.
The fireworks started early for both teams — though one team in particular has grown quite used to getting off to quick starts here in 2026. Zack Littell has proven to be a bit prone to giving up the long ball and the Braves wasted no time in continuing to pour on that particular punishment, as Drake Baldwin hit a deep fly to right-center to put the Braves on the board early.
That solo homer ended up giving Didier Fuentes a chance to pitch with the lead. It didn’t last long, as the Nationals jumped on Fuentes and made it a very long first frame back in the bigs for him. Once the Nationals got to two outs, it’s as if their lineup collectively remembered “Hey, we’re the highest-scoring team in baseball in the first inning, we should act like it,” and started mashing. Daylen Lile got a straight heater from Fuentes and crushed it for a three-run shot that put the Nationals ahead and then an RBI double from Jorbit Vivas made it a three-run lead for Washington. The Nats now have 28 first-inning runs this season and it feels like just about half of them have come against the Braves in this series, alone!
While this did end up being a short outing for Fuentes, the 20-year-old did a good job of making sure that it wasn’t a disastrous outing as well. Fuentes only pitched three innings but the youngster was able to pitch his way out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam by striking out José Tena and Keibert Ruiz to end the inning and snuff out the scoring threat. That last strikeout was his seventh of the outing and while everybody would’ve preferred to have seen Fuentes get deeper into this game, it’s pretty clear that Fuentes has the talent to get it done based on the number of punch-outs alone.
It also helped that Fuentes got major backup from his teammates at the plate, as they made this another rough day at the office for Zack Littell. An error from Jorbit Vivas allowed Ozzie Albies to reach base safely to lead off the second and then Michael Harris II immediately made the Nationals pay for the mistake by crushing one into the upper deck in right field for a two-run shot that made it a one-run game. The line kept moving after that and then Ronald Acuña Jr. eventually made it a tie ballgame with his sacrifice fly to deep right-center. Just like that, the Braves had wiped out the three-run deficit in very quick fashion and we had ourselves another high-scoring contest right out of the gate.
The Braves weren’t done there, though. In fact, Money Mike wasn’t done there, either. Harris’ second dinger of the game may not have been as majestic as his first but it was more fun to witness since it put the Braves in front. The one saving grace for the Braves in this series has been that if they can withstand the early flurry of offense from Washington, the Nationals’ pitching staff will provide an opportunity for this team to get back in it. That’s why Didier Fuentes keeping Washington at just four runs was so important since it allowed the lineup a shot to stay in the game and eventually capitalize on some chances.
The big hits just kept on coming for the Braves as Atlanta ended up handing Zack Littell his second-straight outing with at least eight runs allowed. The final blow came from Matt Olson, who hit one into the bullpen out in right-field for a three-run shot that made it an 8-4 game for the Braves in the fourth inning alone. Littell has now giving up homers to Acuña, Harris, Olson and Riley — Riley in particular was probably cursing his luck that he wasn’t able to get in on the fun while he was out there!
Martín Pérez came in to pitch some relief after Didier Fuentes was done, which makes things a bit interesting for the Braves since Pérez was originally scheduled to start tonight’s game and then was pushed to Thursday when Fuentes got called up. We’ll probably see some more shuffling before tomorrow afternoon’s contest as Pérez ended up going three innings in this one. He stabilized things for about two innings before he ran into trouble in the sixth inning. That was when Joey Wiemer led off the sixth with a deep fly and then James Wood continued to mash the baseball as he crushed a solo homer of his own in order to make it an 8-6 game heading into the final innings of the contest.
The onus was now on Atlanta’s high-leverage relievers to get the job done in the late stages of this game. Dylan Lee got the seventh inning and sat down the Nats in 1-2-3 fashion in order to hand the baton to Tyler Kinley. Joey Wiemer and James Wood both reached base in the same inning but this time, it was a lot quieter than what happened in the sixth inning. Wiemer coaxed a one-out walk out of Kinley and then Walt Weiss decided that he wasn’t going to give James Wood a chance to make his presence felt once again and gave him the free pass to first with two outs. Kinley responded by striking out Curtis Mead to end the inning and ensure that the Braves could head to the ninth with the lead.
That set the stage for Robert Suarez to hopefully get the job done to finish things off in the ninth inning. Suarez gave up a leadoff single on the very first pitch he threw but the rest of the inning was similarly quick. It only took eight (8) pitches total for Suarez to finish things off and give the Braves at least a split of this four-game road series.
There are definitely some questions about how the pitching is going to be set up for Thursday afternoon’s game after Martín Pérez was pressed into duty early on in this one but the good news is that the Braves will be able to answer those questions after winning a ballgame [UPDATE: We now know how those questions will be answered. Hello, JR Ritchie!]. Washington’s lineup is no joke but the Braves have clearly found their footing as a collective at the plate so far and tonight was another example of that. Zack Littell was struggling heading into this one and sure enough, the Braves were able to make sure that he was unable to bounce back and stabilize things for this beleaguered Nationals pitching staff.
Instead, the Braves are now heading into Thursday afternoon with the idea that they could be able to slug their way out of any trouble that they may face. It’s not an especially great way to live as a baseball team (as the Nationals themselves are proving) but in this series, the power surge may help push the Braves to a pretty big four-game series win. Also, the more Atlanta can keep on winning while both the Phillies (currently losing 6-2 to the Cubs in the sixth inning as of publishing) and the Mets (tied 2-2 in the eighth inning) continue to struggle, the more they can start putting some increasingly-large distance between them and their two foes from the Northeast. Let’s keep this going!
Apr 22, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick (39) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
After a burst on offense in Tuesday’s game, it was hard to come by on Wednesday night. The opener strategy didn’t pay off this time for the Brewers, as Chad Patrick struggled and the Brewers’ offense couldn’t break through the Tigers’ pitching.
The game started quietly for the Brewers’ offense, going down in order against Casey Mize in the first inning. Meanwhile, opener DL Hall ran into some trouble. He walked the first two batters he faced, but got Jahmai Jones to ground into a double play for the first two outs. Hall escaped the inning with a strikeout of Riley Greene.
Mize continued rolling through the second, but did allow a single to Brandon Lockridge. That was it as he struck out two Brewers on his way to a scoreless second inning. Hall’s second inning went better, this time retiring the side in order as the game remained scoreless.
In the third, the Brewers scored first thanks to some two-out offense. After Brice Turang drew a two-out walk — extending his on-base streak to 21 games — he stole second to get in scoring position. On the next pitch, William Contreras singled to center, and Turang scored, putting the Brewers up 1-0.
That staked Patrick to a one-run lead as he entered the game. His day started well with a scoreless third, working around a walk of Jake Rogers. Meanwhile, Mize rebounded in the fourth with a 1-2-3 inning.
Patrick started to falter in the bottom of the fourth. Greene hit a one-out single to center, which set up Spencer Torkelson. He hit a sinker that was down the middle out to left-center field, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead. He continued to unravel in a rough 37-pitch fifth inning. After Javier Báez hit a leadoff single, a 10-pitch at-bat went to McGonigle, who doubled to drive in Báez. Colt Keith then brought in McGonigle with an RBI single, increasing the Tigers’ lead to 4-1.
As for Mize, the Brewers didn’t have another scoring chance against him. He finished the day after six innings with one run allowed on three hits. He struck out seven Brewers and walked three. Meanwhile, Patrick got through the sixth but it was his worst day so far this year. He allowed four runs on six hits and a walk in four innings. He only struck out two.
The Brewers did get a second run in the eighth, cashing in a leadoff single from Luis Rengifo. After he moved up on a Contreras groundout, Jake Bauers drove him in with a single to make it a 4-2 game. However, the Tigers responded with a solo home run by Kerry Carpenter off of Carlos Rodriguez, pushing it back to a three-run lead. That was the only run Rodriguez allowed in two innings of relief.
With one more chance in the ninth, the Brewers made it interesting against Tigers’ closer Kenley Jansen. Lockridge hit a one-out bloop single into right for the first baserunner. After Sal Frelick worked a nine-pitch at-bat into a fly out, David Hamilton and Rengifo worked back-to-back walks to load the bases and drive Jansen’s pitch count up to 33. Turang had a chance to tie it or take the lead, but a ground out to Torkelson at first ended the game.
The Tigers kept the Brewers’ offense mostly in check, limiting them to six hits and five walks. Lockridge was the only Brewer with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Turang also reached base twice with two walks, and Rengifo had a hit and a walk.
This sets up the rubber match for tomorrow afternoon, and the Brewers will have a challenge ahead of them. They will have to go through Tigers’ starter and two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to earn the series win. Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat will get the call for the Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up in the outfield before their game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on April 21, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers are looking to get back to .500 on the road trip, as they take on the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday. Shohei Ohtani makes his fourth start of the season against Tyler Mahle.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 22: Starting pitcher Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 22, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Red Sox feel absolutely hopeless offensively. Absolutely hopeless.
Was a slow start expected given the personnel at the plate? Yes. But this is borderline unwatchable.
Boston narrowly avoided another shutout in a 4-1 loss and dropped its first series of the year against the Yankees. New York has a sweep on the table with Cam Schlitter’s anticipated Fenway start on Thursday.
Here’s three takeaways from another lifeless loss Wednesday night.
WILL OFFENSE EVER SURVIVE?
Entering the season, I fell back on the same historical trend: the Red Sox have finished as a top-10 OPS team in baseball every season since 2018.
There’s been some question marks in that span, but the group always seemed to be a top-third lineup in the sport.
Well, that feels like a nearly-decade-long streak could come to an end in 2026. (It’s still April, but this is rough).
Boston mustered just eight hits in the first two games of the series. The Red Sox are tied for last in baseball with just 13 total home runs (for reference, the Dodgers already have 42). They hold the second-lowest OPS in baseball, second only to the Mets, who could have 13 consecutive losses by the end of the night.
Guys are scuffling, but there just isn’t enough here to be an offensive threat in this league.
If nothing else, Jarren Duran tallied three hits (two doubles, RBI single) against left-handed pitching. He’s right in the middle of several cold starts, so maybe that’s one trend that can turn around. His ninth-inning single also put a run on the board for the first time since the eighth inning of Monday’s win over the Detroit Tigers.
MAX FRIED SHOVES AGAIN
The counter-move still worked out because the Red Sox landed Garrett Crochet, but man, missing out on the other southpaw hasn’t been painless for Boston.
Fried entered with a 2.37 career ERA against the Red Sox and surely lowered that with eight brilliant innings and nine strikeouts. This team just cannot figure Fried out and continues to validate the 2021 World Series champion as one of the best starting pitchers in the game right now.
For that alone, cut the lineup a centimeter of slack.
RIVERA ROCKS
Eduardo Rivera rewarded Boston for his aggressive call-up after not pitching above Double-A so far. The 22-year-old lefty looked fantastic in his MLB debut with 3 ⅓ scoreless innings with a trio of strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
Welcome to The Show, Eduardo Rivera!
The @RedSox No. 26 prospect generates three whiffs of Jazz Chisholm Jr. to record his first MLB strikeout🚀 pic.twitter.com/vxNjPYkMVt
Payton Tolle should also be on the way this week, but Rivera already showed he can contribute with real stuff, including a fastball that jumped up to 97.5 MPH on the night.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 30: Blake Snell #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up in the outfield during batting practice before the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on March 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell pitched into the second inning in his first minor league rehab start for the Class-A Ontario Tower Buzzers on Wednesday night on the road against the San Jose Giants.
Snell was pulled with nobody out in the second inning after throwing 32 pitches. He threw 16 pitches in each frame, and didn’t retire any of his four batters faced in the second, though two of those batters reached on errors by Ontario infielders.
The Dodgers left-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in his one-plus inning, with one walk and no strikeouts among his eight batters faced. There is no radar gun info available from this game on Baseball Savant, but the site did show that Snell induced one swinging strike among his 32 pitches.
Snell had the approach that many veteran pitchers sometimes have during a minor league rehab appearance, in that he completely ignored the runners on base while pitching, and in doing so allowed three stolen bases in his brief time on the mound on Wednesday.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters in San Francisco on Tuesday that Snell would need at least three, most likely four minor league rehab starts, and would be stretched out to five innings before rejoining Los Angeles. Wednesday’s 32-pitch, three-out effort all but ensures Snell will need at least four rehab starts before returning.
That puts the left-hander right in line for returning in mid to late May.
Apr 22, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez (28) pours water on his face in the dugout after going from first to home on a double by teammate Kevin McGonigle (not pictured) against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
After a brutal outing against the Brewers on Tuesday, the Tigers were hoping to come back stronger in tonight’s game. They had Casey Mize on the mound, who has looked good this season, and the Brewers were opting to go the Opener route, something that would either mess with the Tigers completely, or work in their favor.
Mize got off to a good start, getting the Brewers out in order to open the game. In the home half, Kevin McGonigle walked, and Gleyber Torres walked right behind him. Jahmai Jones then came up and hit into a double play to eliminate Torres, and a Riley Greene strikeout ended the inning with two batters stranded and no runs scored.
With two outs in the second, Brandon Lockridge singled on a perfectly placed and unplayable bunt to third. The baserunner didn’t end up mattering as they finished off the side on the next batter. It was awfully quiet for the Tigers’ bats in the home half as they went 1-2-3.
In the third, Mize once again got through two before the Brewers got a man on base, with Brice Turang getting a walk. Turang then stole second. William Contreras singled into center, which was enough to get Turang home and put the Brewers on the board twice. The home half of the third saw the Brewers dip into their bullpen, replacing DL Hall with Chad Patrick. Jake Rogers got a one-out walk. The Tigers didn’t manage to convert the runner, though.
Mize was having a great game, getting through the fourth with a three-up, three-down inning. With one out in the home half, Riley Greene laced a double into center, finding the gap perfectly. Then, after a sluggish start to the season, Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run bomb over the outfield bullpens in left center, his first home run of the year. They’d have to settle for those two runs, but they managed to get the lead and end Tork’s slump all in one go.
In the fifth, Sal Frelick singled to start things off. Hamilton attempted a bunt, but fouled it off for an out. A lineout, and then a tagout on an attempted steal by Frelick ended the inning. Love to see Jake Rogers use his relief pitching arm to pick off runners. Heading into the bottom of the inning, Javier Baez got a leadoff single. Then, with one out and about a hundred attempts to advance on second for Baez, McGonigle doubled and Baez just hauled it from first to home. I got tired just watching him.
Riley Greene singled, sending Keith to third, but a Torkelson flyout ended the inning. They did get two more runs added to their lead, though, a nice buffer for Mize to work with.
Brice Turang continues to be a pest, getting on in the sixth with a leadoff walk. Three outs followed, but I’m going to be glad when the Brewers leave town, and we don’t need to see Turang for a good, long while. The Tigers went 1-2-3 so quickly in the bottom of the sixth that if you went to grab a drink, you would have missed the whole thing.
Garrett Mitchell got a leadoff walk in the seventh, something the Brewers seem to do well. That was the end of the day for Mize, who went 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K on 88 pitches. Man, I love healthy Casey Mize, you guys. Kyle Finnegan came on to replace him, and while Mitchell did steal second, Finnegan got three outs in a row to end the threat. Carlos Rodriguez was the new Brewers pitcher in the home half. Torres got a two-out single, then Colt Keith singled, getting Torres over to third. Unfortunately, a Riley Greene strikeout left them stranded.
Will Vest came out of the Tigers’ pen in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Luis Rengifo, but he got Turang to fly out, so that was a positive. With two outs, Jake Bauers singled, and Rengifo, who had advanced to second on a groundout, was able to get all the way home and score another run for the Brewers. It was all they’d get, though, as Vest collected the final out. In the bottom of the inning with two outs, Kerry Carpenter hit a solo home run.
Kenley Jansen came on for the Tigers in the top of the ninth. With one out, Lockridge singled. Then Jansen had quite a fight with Frelick before finally getting the out nine pitches later. Lockridge took second on defensive indifference. Hamilton took a walk, which offered Jason Benetti the perfect opportunity to drop, “It’s Quiet Uptown,” and I hope I’m not the only Broadway nerd who appreciated that reference. Rengifo drew a walk after working a full count, and suddenly this game wasn’t quite as fun anymore. The bases were loaded and Kenley was still hunting for his third out. In the end it was Turang to end our collective misery, grounding out to first to end the inning and the game. Phew.
Jack Dreyer stands on the mound after giving up a three-run homer to the Giants' Patrick Bailey, who rounds the bases. (Tony Avelar / Associated Press)
José Soriano leads the major leagues with a 0.24 earned-run average. It’s hard to think of something the Angels could do to make him better.
Shohei Ohtani ranks second with a 0.38 ERA. It’s not so hard to think of something the Dodgers could do to make him better.
On Wednesday, however, that might not have turned the Dodgers into winners. The San Francisco Giants won in the unlikeliest of ways: on one swing, a three-run home run from Patrick Bailey, a catcher who opened play batting .145 and had not hit a home run since the last week of last season. After Ohtani pitched six shutout innings, Bailey homered off Jack Dreyer in the seventh.
That was not the only unlikely performance: The winning pitcher was Tyler Mahle, who pitched seven shutout innings for his first victory in 10 months. Mahle started the game with an 0-3 record and 7.23 ERA.
That was the ballgame: Giants 3, Dodgers 0, with San Francisco clinching the series and the Dodgers losing for the fourth time in five games. In two games in San Francisco, the Dodgers have scored one run.
Ohtani went hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice. His on-base streak ended at 53 games, five shy of Duke Snider’s franchise record.
On the mound, Ohtani was brilliant, giving up five hits and walking none, striking out seven.
Ohtani threw seven pitches at 100 mph, including the first pitch to the first batter he faced and the first pitch to the 23rd and last batter he faced.
That came with two out and two on in the sixth inning, and immediately after the Giants got their only extra-base hit off Ohtani, a double by Rafael Devers.
Shohei Ohtani pitches against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. (David M. Barreda / Los Angeles Times)
On his final pitch, Ohtani stuck out Casey Schmitt, then twirled off the mound, pumping his fist and letting out a yell of delight.
There was no such delight when the Dodgers were at bat, triggering a renewed debate about whether Ohtani and his team might be better off if he did not hit on days he pitched.
In his career, Ohtani is batting .185 as a pitcher, with three home runs in 65 at-bats, according to Baseball Reference.
On the other hand, who could forget the three-home run, 10-strikeout show that Ohtani put on in the National League Championship Series clincher last October?
Even if his batting performance on pitching days might not live up to his usual otherworldly standards, would you really submit a lineup with nine batters, but not the one who hit 55 home runs last year and 54 the year before?
And, if not Ohtani, who would the Dodgers use as a designated hitter?
For now, manager Dave Roberts said, the Dodgers have not had a conversation with Ohtani about whether he should pitch and hit in the same game.
“I’m going to continue to keep my eye on it,” Roberts said. “I think everything should be on the table. But again, you have to look at what’s the alternative?
“For me, I don’t like having conversations that are open-ended where you don’t have an alternative. Tonight, what’s the alternative? I’m not trying to get into a discussion. But people can pose questions and unless you have an alternative, for me, I don’t really pay too much attention.”
The alternatives: Roberts said he understands the appeal of using the DH to give a position player a break from the field, the so-called “half-day off” that could be particularly valuable on a team with the oldest collection of position players in the major leagues.
He also could use backup catcher Dalton Rushing, who is batting .414 over nine games, with seven home runs in 29 at-bats. The only Dodger with more home runs: Max Muncy, with eight in 82 at-bats.
“Dalton is swinging the bat well, but no one was saying that two weeks ago,” Roberts said. “He’s on a heater. He’s swinging the bat well. Let’s just keep monitoring it. I’ll keep monitoring it and making decisions.”
Rushing downplays incident with Jung Hoo Lee
Jung Hoo Lee is tagged out at home by Dalton Rushing during the sixth inning Tuesday. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
The Dodgers concluded a peaceful if unsuccessful game here Tuesday, and then the waves hit: On social media, catcher Dalton Rushing had become the newest enemy among Giants fans.
In the sixth inning of Tuesday's game, Rushing tagged out Jung Hoo Lee at home plate to end the inning. Lee, who tried to step around Rushing and then reach behind him to tag the plate, then slid awkwardly and sat up in discomfort.
Television cameras caught Rushing, who walked toward the Dodgers' dugout, looking back toward Lee, shrugging and saying something.
The Bay Area news site SF Gate said Rushing was "crudely dismissing the injury with an NSFW phrase," with the first word a four-letter expletive. Rushing said Wednesday he said nothing disparaging toward Lee.
Lee left the game with what the Giants listed as a quadriceps injury but was in the starting lineup Wednesday. In an indication this might not be a crisis after all, neither Roberts nor Giants manager Tony Vitello was asked about it during their pregame interview sessions.
Rushing was not in the starting lineup Wednesday but is expected to be Thursday, and he planned to check in with Lee to ensure he was not seriously hurt. Rushing said he already checked with one of Lee's South Korean countrymen, Dodgers infielder Hyeseong Kim.
"To make sure he was OK. That’s the biggest thing," Rushing said. "That’s the only thing that matters. Hopefully, he did not take it the way it was put out. I’ll be sure to say something to him face to face [Thursday], making sure he’s OK. There was nothing really directed at him. He’s a great guy."
Rushing said he was unaware Lee was hurt.
"No, I thought it was just a weird slide," Rushing said. "As long as he’s OK and he doesn’t think that I’m coming at him or any of those guys over there, that’s the biggest thing for me. I don’t care what other people put out there or say. I was just trying to play the game, play the game hard."
"It was kind of an awkward slide, and that’s all it was," Rushing said. "There wasn’t anything else added to it."
If he was not frustrated with Lee, was he frustrated with himself? No, he said.
"I play with fire," Rushing said. "Everybody that has ever played with me, everyone that has watched me play knows that. Whatever people want to make of it, I hope it’s not negative. I just hope he’s OK."
Rushing declined to say exactly what the cameras caught him saying.
"I used a word, but it was not what was said that was said. I’ll just leave it at that. There was no direction toward him.
"I just think some people make something out of nothing."
CINCINNATI, OH - APRIL 15: Tyler Mahle #54 of the San Francisco Giants (wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson) pitches during the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Colten Strauss/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants continue this three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight from Oracle Park.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Tyler Mahle, who enters tonight’s game with a 7.23 ERA, 7.00 FIP, with 21 strikeouts to 12 walks in 18.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 8-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds last Wednesday, in which he allowed eight runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and five walks in four innings.
He’ll be facing off against Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani, who enters tonight’s game with a 0.50 ERA, 2.30 FIP, with 18 strikeouts to six walks in 18 innings pitched. His last start was in the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the New York Mets last Wednesday, in which he allowed one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks in six innings.
Max Fried baffled Boston batters for eight scoreless innings, Amed Rosario tallied all four runs batted in, and the Yankees grabbed a 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
New York (15-9) has now won five straight games. Boston (9-15) has now lost four of the last five.
Here are the takeaways...
- Fried, who came to the mound with a three-run lead, worked around a one-out walk with a pair of strikeouts on the fastball (one looking and one swinging). The lefty didn't look too sharp to start, issuing a leadoff walk in the second and leaving a fastball up and over the plate to Jarren Duran to double off the Monster. That’s when Fried went to the offspeed, getting Caleb Durbin whiffing on a pair of good changeups, Connor Wong swinging on a change below the zone, and ex-Yank IsiahKiner-Falefa fishing on a curveball in the dirt.
Fried had an easier third, allowing only a slapped two-out single the other way to Wilyer Abreu as another cutter found too much of the plate. The lefty got dinged by Duran with one out in the fourth as a 2-2 fastball over the plate was driven off the Monster in left-center for a double. But once again, the lefty pitched his way out of danger.
Fried then put his early-inning wildness to bed; he retired the final 14 batters he faced, adding four more strikeouts in the process.
His final line: 8.0 shutout innings with just three hits and two walks against him and nine strikeouts on 100 pitches (66 strikes).
- Rosario, after swinging through a first-pitch changeup, didn't miss the next change. A hanging Ranger Suarez offering was absolutely pummeled 416 feet (108.4 mph off the bat) over the Green Monster for a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the first. He added a fourth RBI with a sac fly to left in the third before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth.
- Giancarlo Stanton ripped a changeup into the left field corner and scampered into second with a double to put two in scoring position. Stanton hit a liner off the Monster for a double with one down in the third, this one 107.4 mph off the bat, six mph faster than his first extra-base hit. He had a two-out RBI chance with a man on third in the fifth, but the Red Sox went to the bullpen and righty Zack Kelly got him to pop out on the infield. He finished 2-for-4.
- Aaron Judge ripped a single into left to start the top of the third. He also worked two walks against Suarez, who was pitching the slugger very carefully. Judge swiped his fifth bag of the season in the fifth and finished the day 1-for-2.
- Randal Grichuk singled to the left side in his first at-bat and flied out to right before being pinch-hit for in the sixth. After starting the season hitless in his first 13 at-bats, he is now 5-for-13 in his last five games.
- Paul Goldschmidt, batting leadoff against the lefty, grounded out to first after a 10-pitch at-bat to start the top of the first. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts as his early-season struggles continue during his inconsistent playing time; he’s now 3-for-24 (.125) at the plate.
- Cody Bellinger went down swinging on a good low-and-away fastball in the first. He finished 0-for-4.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. popped out to left to end the first, popped out to left on the first pitch of the fourth, and went down swinging on a fastball above the zone to end the sixth against lefty Eduardo Rivera, who was making his MLB debut. He finished 0-for-4 and is now batting .173 to start the year (14-for-81).
- José Caballero went down swinging on a changeup in the dirt his first time up. He got an infield hit to start the seventh to go 1-for-3.
- Austin Wells popped up to the catcher in foul ground first at-bat, was caught looking to end the top half of the fourth, and grounded into a 3-6-4-5 double-play as Caballero made it interesting in a rundown.
- Aaron Boone made two pinch-hit decisions with the lefty starter out of the game at the top of the sixth, but neither worked out as both Ben Rice (for Rosario) and Trent Grisham (for Grichuk) went down looking. (Grisham finished 0-for-2.)
- Ryan McMahon, who took over at third base for the bottom of the sixth, made a nice play on the hot corner to end the inning with a nice backhand and throw across to end the inning. He made a better play to start the eighth, robbing a Kiner-Falefa double with a diving grab on a sizzling liner down the line. He struck out swinging in his only at-bat. McMahon's struggles at the plate continue – 6-for-48 (.125) with 20 strikeouts on the year.
- Brent Headrick allowed a one-out single before Duran snuck a single up the middle for his third hit of the night to end the Sox's scoreless run against the Yanks. After a mound visit from pitching coach Matt Blake, the big left-hander got Durbin to ground out to short to close the door.
Game MVP: Max Fried
The southpaw was sensational, dispatching a lousy-hitting Sox lineup (.643 team OPS through 24 games, tied for second worst in MLB). Fried had 20 called strikes and 18 whiffs (on 46 swings) for a 38 percent called-strike plus whiff rate. The changeup was his best of the bunch with seven whiffs on 11 swings.
The Yanks go for the sweep on Thursday night with a 6:10 p.m. first pitch.
Cam Schlittler (1.95 ERA, 0.759 WHIP with 36 strikeouts to three walks in 27.2 innings) gets the start for the Yanks. The home side has yet to announce a starter.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor suffered an injury that forced him from the game in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field.
He appeared to grimace in pain after rounding third base on Francisco Alvarez's RBI double. Lindor was also seen wincing after he slid into home plate to score. The Mets announced that Lindor was dealing with left calf tightness and would not return.
It was not made entirely clear if the injury occurred during his trip around the bases. "I knew right away something wasn't right," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, per Newsday's Laura Albanese.
Mendoza told reporters that Lindor will have an MRI on Thursday.
Francisco Lindor has been pulled from tonight's game after grimacing rounding third on Francisco Alvarez's RBI double pic.twitter.com/wi7PGalANx
This aerial view taken on January 7, 2026 shows downtown Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
WHITE SOX
DIAMONDBACKS
Chase Meidroth – 2B
Ketel Marte – 2B
Miguel Vargas – 3B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Munetaka Murakami – 1B
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Everson Pereira – DH
Lourdes Gurriel – LF
Edgar Quero – C
Jose Fernandez – DH
Colson Montgomery – SS
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Tanner Murray – LF
Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
Derek Hill – RF
James McCann – C
Luisangel Acuna – CF
Jorge Barrosa – CF
Anthony Kay – LHP
E. Rodriguez – LHP
Key to the game: avoid having a starting pitcher give up eight earned runs for a third game in a row. As mentioned in the GDT last night, the last – indeed the only – time consecutive 8 ER starts happened for Arizona was back in August 2005. This came during a six-game spell which was the most brutally bad for pitching in franchise history. From August 19-24, the D-backs allowed 68 earned runs over just 52 innings, an 11.77 ERA. That included eighteen home-runs. No other six games outside that have led to more than 58 earned runs. Somehow, the team won one of those: 6-2 in Cincinnati. But the rest? Hoo-boy.
Russ Ortiz was responsible for two of those games. The streak started with a 17-3 loss to the Reds, who enjoyed a six-run third – chasing Ortiz – followed by a ten-run fourth off Brian Bruney and Lance Cormier. After leveling the series, the D-backs dropped the rubber game 13-6, starter Brad Halsey being tagged for seven runs in the fourth inning. The series then moved to New York, beginning with a restrained 4-1 loss to the Mets. But the next night, Claudio Vargas allowed eight earned runs in a 14-1 defeat, though did at least get through five innings. That saved the ‘pen for the 18-4 walloping the next night – Ortiz also gave up eight ER, this time in only four frames.
Naturally, we will be hoping Eduardo Rodrigez breaks the chain which now sees our rotation ERA (4.49) surpass that of the much-maligned bullpen (4.40). By fWAR, the gap is bigger still: Arizona’s starters are ranked 26th, while our relievers are 18th. Right now, Mike Hazen has a rotation problem, it would appear. Kelly in particular is concerning to me. He only came off the injured list eight days ago, but is already just two off the team lead for walks, despite having thrown less than ten innings. Is he still hurt? At 91.8 mph, his fastball velo is only a couple of tenths down on last year. But he’s getting hit hard. At least we won’t have to worry about him pitching in Mexico City.
A dazzling century from Australian champion Steve Smith went in vain as the Multan Sultans suffered a tense four-wicket loss to the Hyderabad Kingsmen in Karachi on Wednesday.
And with the Pittsburgh Penguins captain in Philadelphia for a playoff game for the first time since 2018, they were prepared.
They booed whenever Crosby touched the puck on Wednesday, April 22, and booed when he picked up his first point of the series (getting an assist on Evgeni Malkin's goal as the Penguins ended their power play drought) for a 1-0 lead in the first period.
But the boos got louder at 18:47 of the first period. Crosby was lining up for a faceoff when Philadelphia's Garnet Hathaway caught him in the face with a high stick. Crosby dropped to the ice.
Hathaway high sticked Crosby before the draw, but Crosby was ALSO penalized for embellishment, we play 4 on 4.... pic.twitter.com/QcsGi9wg7J
Hathaway made the diving gesture and yelled at Crosby before being led to the penalty box as fans booed. On-ice officials consulted and the Penguins star was eventually called for embellishment.
TNT said it was the first time Crosby had been called for embellishment in his career.
The teams played 4-on-4 for the rest of the period and the start of the second period.
Crosby was called for two penalties in the Penguins' Game 1 loss in Pittsburgh, including a retaliatory slash that took him off the ice in the final minutes.
Flyers, Penguins penalty boxes fill up
It was standing room only in the penalty boxes in the second period when a scrum broke out, leading to 11 penalties being handed out. Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust received a double minor for roughing, leading to a Flyers' power play.
Trevor Zegras scored with the man advantage to tie the game 1-1. It was the Flyers' first power play goal of the series. Porter Martone, the 19-year-old Flyers rookie standout, picked up an assist.
Philadelphia added goals by Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
