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After a 12-run explosion yesterday, the Mariners couldn’t summon up a ton of offense, and their pitchers gave up three homers in a 6-1 loss against the White Sox.

Luis Castillo couldn’t wiggle out of some first-inning trouble after giving up a leadoff single to Sam Antonacci on a fastball that came in at 95 but right on the plate. Castillo was a pitch away from getting out of it when Colton Montgomery turned on a fastball in his lefty loop zone, squeaking it just 367 feet over the right field fence for a 2-0 lead the White Sox would never surrender.

Meanwhile, the Mariners couldn’t solve Anthony Kay’s changeup. He struck out three hitters on the pitch in the first two innings alone, while throwing a bunch of other soft stuff that the Mariners hitters just couldn’t make solid contact on. They got a little something going in the top of the third, getting two runners on without a hit, but couldn’t convert the gifts of free baserunners.

Castillo gave up his own gift in the bottom of the inning, grazing Sam Antonacci in a two-strike count and serving Miguel Vargas a first-pitch sinker right on the plate that he yanked into center field for another two-run homer. Castillo settled after that, limiting the damage to the two two-run homers, although with a little help from Cole Young:

The Mariners finally got a run back in the fifth, again without a hit: Mitch Garver led off with a walk, and Young reached on a fielding error by Munetaka Murakami. Leo Rivas sac bunted the two over into scoring position, which, sure, and Rob Refsnyder got the job done with a sac fly. That brought up Cal Raleigh who, to his credit, battled Kay for seven pitches but ultimately took a called strike three, fooled on a sinker that wound up right on the plate.

The White Sox then immediately took that run back, again with two outs, as Vargas – again – won an 11-pitch standoff with Josh Simpson, homering on yet another sinker that got too much plate. Sinkers are stinkers.

From there it was a bullpen battle for both teams. The Mariners threw the B-side of their bullpen: following Simpson was Nick Davila, who gave up a double but worked a scoreless bottom of the sixth, and José Suarez made his Mariners debut in the seventh, working around some trouble from a single and a walk but not able to get out of the eighth cleanly, striking out the side but also loading the bases on a hit and two walks and giving up the lone non-homer run for the White Sox. The White Sox bullpen fared much better, throwing four scoreless innings with an additional four strikeouts to add to Kay’s five. The Mariners will try it again tomorrow to secure a second series win in a row.

Dustin May had a great start to the game not allowing a hit to the San Diego Padres until the bottom of the 5th inning, but that’s when the wheels came off the no-hit wagon. The Padres would eventually outslug the Cardinals 4-2 Saturday night.

The bats of both the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres were quiet until the top of the 4th inning when Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman hit back-to-back singles. After Masyn Winn hit into a double play, Nathan Church belted a gap double to left center to score Walker and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Dustin May’s strong start did not end well. He didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the 5th inning, but that first hit left the park as Ty France tied the game with his solo blast.

May then walked the next batter Song. Fermin singled moving Song up to second base. Two batters later, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a bloop single that scored both runners giving the Padres a 3-1 lead. Dustin May did give the Cardinals a quality start by definition as he completed 6 innings allowing only 3 hits, but only 2 earned runs as Fermin had advanced to second on a passed ball against Pedro Pagés. May also struck out 7 while only walking 2.

Stop me if you’ve heard me say this before, but the St. Louis Cardinals were not done. In the top of the 8th inning, JJ Wetherholt was barely grazed by a pitch, but it counted which resulted in him on base again. Ivan Herrera then jumped on an inside pitch from reliever Morejon drilling it down the third base line scoring Wetherholt all the way from first base cutting into the Padres lead 3-2.

The good news is the Cardinals were only down a run. The bad news is it triggered the entry of super-saver Mason Miller. He didn’t strike out Jordan Walker, but did get him to ground out weakly to short to end the Cardinals 8th inning threat.

Justin Bruihl pitched a decent inning of relief in the bottom of the 7th not allowing a run and Matt Svanson pitched a respectable 8th with one very long exception. He gave up a no-doubt home run to Manny Machado to extend the Padres lead to 4-2.

The Cardinals were able to make Mason Miller sweat in the top of the 9th inning. His control of his four-seam fastball was questionable and both Nolan Gorman and Nathan Church took advantage of it as they were both walked putting the tying run on base. But, both Masyn Winn and Thomas Saggese were completely overmatched as Miller struck them out. Yohel Pozo also struck out, but the ball got away from Fermin to load the bases for JJ Wetherholt. He unfortunately was frozen by a Miller fastball to end the game on a strikeout looking. There’s always tomorrow, but at least we made Miller throw 29 pitches.

The St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their 4-game series versus the San Diego Padres Sunday at Petco Park. Kyle Leahy will start for St. Louis while Walker Buehler takes the mound for San Diego. First pitch is scheduled for 3:15pm central time.

Thus far in May, the Mets have done a much better job putting some wins on the board than they did in April. Despite that, it’s not as though all the problems we saw last month have magically gone away. Most notably, the offense continues to be a struggle on a fairly regular basis. In last night’s series opener against the Diamondbacks, the Mets struggled to score all evening (despite facing off against Ryne Nelson, a pitcher who had been previously been scuffling), but were able to finally get some clutch hits in extra innings to secure the win. Tonight, the offense was quiet once more, and this time those struggles doomed them to a 2-1 loss.

Like Nelson, Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly has struggled mightily in his four starts so far this season, as he entered tonight’s game with an unseemly 9.95 ERA. And the Mets did take a small early lead against him in the top of the second. After the first two batters of the frame were retired, Marcus Semien lined a single to left field, and he subsequently came home after Brett Baty smacked a double in the right field gap. Unfortunately, Francisco Alvarez grounded out to end the inning, and that proved to be the only offense the Mets would muster against Kelly all night. He hadn’t made it through six innings in any of his other 2026 starts, but he went seven tonight and did so tonight with relative ease, surrendering just the one run. The only other hit he surrendered aside from the two in the second was on a two-out double from Tyrone Taylor in the top of the fifth, and Kelly subsequently intentionally walked Juan Soto, giving the Mets two runners on for Bo Bichette. But he softly flew out on the first pitch he saw, and that was the extent of the danger that Kelly would face on the evening.

Meanwhile, Clay Holmes—who has arguably been the best pitcher on the Mets’ staff thus far in 2026—took the mound against Kelly tonight. After being given the lead in the second, he worked through a runners on first and second with one out threat in the bottom of the frame to preserve the 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Holmes would not be quite as successful in the following inning. He retired the first two batters he faced in the third, but he then loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Ildemaro Vargas—the current batting leader of the National League—then came up, and he grounded a 2-1 pitch through a hole on the left side of the infield to bring two runners home and give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. Holmes did retire the next batter to end the threat, and those two runs would be the only blemishes against him tonight—though a two-walk in the sixth did end his night before he was able to secure a quality start. Still, his final line—5.2 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, and 2 runs—would have been good enough to secure a win if the offense had provided more support.

The bullpen subsequently did its job: Austin Warren got the final out of the sixth and then pitched a scoreless seventh as well. Craig Kimbrel overcame two leadoff walks in the eighth to also keep the deficit at just one run. But the Mets bats, as they have done so often this year, were completely and utterly silent in the latter half of the game. Kelly retired the final seven batters he faced on his night, and Taylor Clarke and Paul Sewald then came out of the bullpen to both toss 1-2-3 innings of their own—making it thirteen straight Mets batters retired to close out the night. It marks approximately the 500th time that the Mets went 10+ batters without getting on base this season (that number might be slightly exaggerated, but you know damn well that it feels correct).

The Mets still have a chance to secure their third straight series victory tomorrow, though they will have to do so facing off against Eduardo Rodríguez, who—unlike the other two starters the Mets have faced this weekend—has pitched quite well thus far in 2026. It’s naturally a bit hard to feel overly optimistic that they’ll be able to generate some offense tomorrow after seeing how the previous couple games have done. And even if they do manage to secure the win and get another series victory, the hopes of a miraculous season turnaround will be awfully hard to realize if we don’t see a dramatic improvement in the lineup production soon.

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Box scores

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Austin Warren, +7% WPA
Big Mets loser: Mark Vientos, -16% WPA
Mets pitchers: +14% WPA
Mets hitters: -64% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brett Baty RBI double in the second, +11.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ildemaro Vargas two-run single in the third, -19.7% WPA

White Sox 6, Mariners 1

Giving up two two-run homers: Luis Castillo, -.22 WPA

18 whiffs: no one deserves praise, none of you are without sin

Game thread comment of the day:

There’s a new approach to how the Colorado Rockies front office is managing the prospect pipeline. In past years, some prospects were stuck behind a logjam of veterans who didn’t seem to fit the organization’s path forward, while other prospects were yo-yoed between the majors and various levels of minor league ball. Frustration grew among fans of the club as there never seemed to be a clear path forward in development.

Colorado Rockies President of Baseball Operations, Paul DePodesta, recently spoke about the team’s philosophy this year, embracing patience with players at all levels. The front office is trying to avoid being reactionary, offering a longer leash to players who are struggling out of the gate in the MLB season, while also giving prospects time to blossom in Triple-A or below without rushing them up the ladder.

DePodesta notably said that the team’s plan is to “call players up when they are banging down the door where we have to make room for them because they’re just playing so well,” along with a foundation of skills to survive at the major league level. Production alone is not enough; prospects must sustain that production and showcase an approach that will translate.

Fans this year seem to be more on board with that approach, seeing how prospects in past years were hurt by being rushed up to the majors. But there’s still an appetite to call certain players up when they’re hitting well and gathering accolades at the minor league level.

With all that said, how is this front office philosophy sitting with you? What, to you, constitutes “banging down the door?”

If you were calling the shots, who is the first prospect you’re calling up? And when would you do it?

Do you embrace the “let them learn in the big leagues” philosophy? Is there anyone on the farm that you would have already called up for a spot on the Opening Day roster?

Or are you a more patient roster developer who would bring folks up after the All-Star Break or even deeper into the season?

Let us know what you think in the comments!

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The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Chicago Cubs did not score a run.

Welcome to The Shed, Chicago.

Pure usual Rangers anti-scoring energy radiated from the Arlington den where the dreadful ley lines for impotent RISP ability seem deeply rooted. Luckily, those undesirable powers wafted from the home dugout over the visitors and the National League’s best and hottest club turned 13 scoring chances into zero runs while stranding eleven runners.

Meanwhile, the team that might as well hold the patent on runless scoring chances collected four hits with RISP in nine such opportunities to plate six runs. Those six runs equaled Texas’ home high-water mark along with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh back in late April.

Fresh off winning their tenth in a row last night in the series opener, the Cubs were made to take the place of the Rangers in run production misery. It was like watching two teams swapping fates akin to a zany ‘80s comedy where a straight laced nerd wakes up in the body of a charming popular kid.

It was an odd game in many respects as the Cubs wore down Rangers starter Jack Leiter with five walks and had him out of the game after 97 pitches and just 4 2/3 innings but they still came away with nothing to show for it.

Meanwhile, for Texas, several unlikely sources picked tonight to contribute. The top of the lineup went 0-for-11 with a walk but the bottom four produced six hits and five of the six RBIs.

As the Rangers sent the Cubs to the loss column for the first time in eleven games, they’ve earned a much-needed win and have a shot to claim the series in Sunday’s finale.

Player of the Game: Josh Jung had three more hits, including a home run. Alejandro Osuna had two hits and drove in two. Joc Pederson doubled and drove in a run.

But, No. 9 hitter Justin Foscue laced a solo home run for the first of his big league career. Foscue has notably had a pretty miserable go of it in the majors in a few stints over the last few seasons, so getting that first home run was special for the former first-rounder.

Congratulations, Justin!

Up Next: The Rangers close out this series and this treacherous 40-game stretch to begin the season with RHP Jacob deGrom expected to pitch for Texas against RHP James Taillon for Chicago.

The Sunday afternoon Mother’s Day finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

The Mets lost the second game of this weekend's three-game series at the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending up on the wrong end of a pitcher's duel in a 2-1 loss.

Takeaways

1. New York RHP Clay Holmes has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his eight starts this season. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out six and walking two in 5.2 IP. Holmes (4-3, 1.86 ERA) was the tough-luck loser after throwing 64 strikes on 103 pitches -- one short of his career-high 104 that he threw in last June's 7-1 loss at the Atlanta Braves -- and continuing to be nails as the Mets (15-24) struggle offensively. Ildemaro Vargas's two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning was the difference, but Holmes rebounded by retiring the next nine batters before Nolan Arenado's two-out single three frames later ended Holmes's night.
2. As a result of Holmes's quality start, New York did not need to dig into its bullpen much. It tapped Austin Warren, who recorded the sixth inning's final out before pitching a scoreless seventh and handing the ball to Craig Kimbrel for the eighth. Kimbrel walked the frame's first two batters before settling in and retiring the next three, including an inning-ending Lourdes Gurriel Jr. strikeout swinging on an 86.2 mph sweeper to keep the score at 2-1. Beyond Holmes, Warren and Kimbrel kept the Mets in the game and give the bullpen a breather entering Sunday's finale.
3. Batting seventh,Brett Baty bounced back from an 0-for-4 line in Friday's 3-1 win by driving home the Mets' only run of Saturday's game. With two outs in the second inning, Baty picked up Marcus Semien's single by splitting the right-center gap for an RBI double that drew first blood and gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.
4. Leadoff-hittingJuan Soto's back-to-back games without a hit featured an intentional walk in the fifth inning that took the bat out of his hands when he could have done some damage. After Tyrone Taylor's two-out double, the Diamondbacks put Soto on and Bo Bichette's flyout to left field stranded the Mets while staying down 2-1.

Who's the MVP?

Merrill Kelly, who outdueled Holmes by allowing one run on three hits in seven frames. Kelly fanned six and walked three while throwing 58 strikes on 96 pitches for the Diamondbacks (18-20), who lost seven of their previous eight games before they evened the series Saturday.

Highlights

Brett Baty doubles home Marcus Semien for the first run of the game! pic.twitter.com/7gxwucfsUb

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 9, 2026

What's next

Sunday's 4:10 p.m. game on SNY, the series finale between the Mets and Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, has southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 2.50 ERA) set to start for Arizona. New York manager Carlos Mendoza said before Saturday's game that the Mets would name a starter after assessing the bullpen's usage. After Saturday's game, New York announced Huascar Brazobán (2-0, 1.53 ERA) as Sunday's starter.

Coming into 2026, Michael Wacha had been the epitome of consistency for the Royals. If you saw he was starting, you could mark down ~6 innings and a couple of runs scored pretty much every time. Every once in a while, he’d get torched, slightly more often than that, he’d pitch a gem. 2026 has been different, though, at least in terms of what we can consistently expect from the 34-year-old.

Wacha made his eighth start tonight and pitched seven shutout innings. If you look at it primarily from an innings-pitched perspective, half of those starts have been 7+ innings with 2 or fewer runs allowed. If you focus on the runs-allowed perspective, he’s thrown 3 games where he didn’t give up a run and all were at least 6 innings. No matter how you slice it, 3/4 of his outings have been Quality Starts, allowing 3 runs or fewer and pitching 6 runs or more. None of those quality starts saw him give up more than 2 runs. It’s been a remarkable stretch. I keep meaning to dedicate a full article to describing how well he has pitched and why, but other things keep coming up. Now I’m a bit afraid to jinx him. But we can praise him liberally in this space, as we have had reason to do all year.

Matt Strahm pitched the eighth and gave up a run on two hits and a strikeout. It happens. Better to happen when you’re pitching with a five-run lead. Steven Cruz was given the ninth inning. In his first outing since he was demoted, Cruz looked like the guy we saw for so much of last year. He struck out a pair in a clean inning. It would be very nice to be able to slot him into the late-innings picture with Strahm, Daniel Lynch IV, and Lucas Erceg.

The Royals’ offense scored five runs, but I think we have to admit they got a little lucky with that. They did it on only 6 hits and 2 walks. The only way you accomplish that is with very good sequencing, which requires a fair bit of luck. That’s especially true when you take into account that they ran into 3 outs on the bases. Meaning they reached base 8 times, scored 5, and ran into bad outs 3 times. That’s a bit silly.

After Wacha pitched a very efficient first inning, the Royals decided to do some efficient scoring in the bottom of the inning. Maikel Garcia smoked a double into the left-center gap on the second pitch from opener and old friend Burch Smith. Bobby Witt Jr. smoked the third pitch he saw just fair down the first base line. It seemed a sure RBI double, but Kerry Carpenter whiffed on his attempt to cut the ball off, and it shot around the corner and into right field as balls like that often do. It became an inside-the-park home run for Bobby, his fifth dinger of the year.

Vinnie singled to right ahead of a Salvy flyout, and Smith was pulled for lefty Tyler Holton to face Carter and Cags. Carter Jensen hit a ball down the left field line that he and Vinnie hustled into a double, but Jac Caglianone hit a grounder to the right side, and Carter took off for third, allowing the Tigers to throw behind him. Eventually, Vinnie was tagged out heading for home.

In the fourth inning, after bulk man Ty Madden had come in, Salvy made another out, and Carter and Cags each singled to put runners at first and third with one out. Lane Thomas struck out swinging on a fastball down the middle, but Michael Massey picked him up.

Watching live, I thought that one had a chance to split the outfielders. But it kept not dropping, and I became convinced it was going to be caught. But then I saw the outfielders didn’t seem to be setting up to catch it, and it finally became a home run! It turns out that Massey smoked it at 103.9 MPH. Go watch that swing at that pitch above and tell me that looks like 104 off the bat. If you’re wondering why Massey plays, that’s why. He’s got some easy power for a middle infielder.

And those are all of the hits the Royals had. So, yeah, sequencing wins. So many of the Royals’ home runs this year have come with the bases empty. If the Royals had led 2-0 instead of 5-0, who knows how different the energy would have been and whether the Tigers might have been able to mount a comeback. But it was 5-0, the energy was completely sapped out of the Tigers, and the Royals won.

That guarantees the Royals a winning homestand. That gives them their third straight winning homestand or road trip. That, my friends, is how you make up ground. If the Royals lose tomorrow, remember that hit sequencing matters for scoring runs, but it doesn’t matter what order the wins come in and if you’d have been excited if the Royals lost Friday night and won the next two, be excited for the record following the homestand being a step better. If you need another way to understand it, the Royals are not only second in the division following this win, they’re firmly in the third AL Wild Card spot. That’s how ridiculous the season has been in the AL so far. This isn’t nearly over.

Of course, the Royals do have a chance to complete the sweep for the third straight weekend tomorrow. The game will be on NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball once again, scheduled at 6:20 KC time. Noah Cameron (5.40 ERA) will take the mound again after being cleared from his back tightness. The Tigers originally planned to have Framber Valdez go, but he’s currently serving a suspension for throwing at a player and inciting a brawl earlier this week. They’ve still got TBA listed on MLB, and I can’t find any rumors anywhere else. So your guess is as good as mine. Fingers crossed the Royals score a bunch of runs regardless.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs sent the Columbus Clippers (Guardians) to Davy Jones’ Locker, 13-6.

Jordan Wicks didn’t look great, but he did managed to keep the Clippers from scoring for four innings. So the results were great. His final line was no runs on two hits over four innings. He walked four and struck out four.

The win went to Zac Leigh because Wicks didn’t go five innings. Leigh allowed one run on one hit and two walks over 1.2 innings. He struck out three.

Iowa had 17 hits this afternoon and everyone in the lineup had at least one.

In the third inning, DH BJ Murray hit a solo home run, his sixth of the season. Murray went 2 for 5 with a walk, a double and the home run. He scored three times.

In the fifth inning, right fielder Kevin Alcántara hit his league-leading 13 home run 417 feet with the bases empty. Alcántara was 1 for 4 with two walks. He scored three times.

First baseman Jonathon Long went 3 for 5 with a double. Long drove home two and scored once.

Second baseman James Triantos was 2 for 4 with a sac fly and an RBI double. He drove in three runs total and scored twice.

Left fielder Owen Miller was 3 for 4 with an RBI triple and a walk. He scored once and had two total RBI.

Ben Cowles was was 2 for 2 with a double. He scored one run.

Some great defense from shortstop Scott Kingery, who was 1 for 2 at the plate.

Murray’s home run.

The blast by The Jaguar.

A double by Triantos.

The Columbus right fielder, Kahil Watson, was OK after this triple by Miller and stayed in the game. But this looks scary.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies overthrew the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 4-3.

Tyler Schlaffer put in a strong start with five scoreless innings and just one hit. He struck out seven and walked just one.

Jackson Kirkpatrick relieved Schlaffer and gave up three runs and the lead in the top of the sixth. But he ended up getting the win when the Smokies came back in the bottom of the inning. Kirkpatrick’s final line was three runs, but only one earned, on no hits and three walks. He struck out two.

Vince Reilly pitched the final two innings, didn’t allow a run or a hit and collected the save. Reilly struck out five and walked one.

The Smokies took and early 2-0 lead on DH Ariel Armas’ first home run of the year. Armas went 1 for 4 with a walk and the two RBI.

The Smokies tied it back up in the sixth on a solo home run by catcher Owen Ayers. It was Ayers’ tenth overall home run and fourth in Double-A. Ayers was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Right fielder Alex Ramirez tripled right after Ayers’ home run and scored the eventual winning run on an Edgar Alvarez sac fly. Ramirez was 3 for 4 with the triple and two runs scored. Alvarez was 0 for 1 with a walk and the sac fly.

The Armas home run. [VIDEO]

Ayers’ home run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend broke down against the Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics), 8-5.

Cole Reynolds got out of the first inning with no runs, but he let the first five batters of the second inning reach, and all five of them came around to score. Reynolds ended up getting the loss after allowing five runs on three hits and four walks over 1+ innings. He struck out one.

Shortstop Ty Southisene is having little trouble adapting to High-A. Today he was a perfect 2 for 2 with a triple and two walks. He also stole a base. Southisene is now hitting .417 with a .483 OBP over six games with South Bend. Southisene scored twice and drove in two.

Catcher Justin Stransky went 3 for 4 and scored one run.

Southisene’s triple.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Pelicans were in Hickory playing the Crawdads, but a fire broke out at their stadium last night.

So today and tomorrow’s games have been cancelled. They will not be made up.

ACL Cubs

Lost to the Athletics, 9-8 in eight innings.

After last night’s exciting extra innings win against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Colorado Rockies took the field at Citizen’s Bank Park today looking to have a three-game winning streak. It would have been a great way to rebound after their six-game losing streak they snapped earlier in the week.

Sadly, the streak was not to be.

A slump-busting Alec Boehm led the Phillies offense to a commanding nine-run victory, and the Rockies had little to offer as a response.

Freefall

After giving up a leadoff single and stolen base to the speedy Trea Turner, left-handed starter Kyle Freeland showed some of his best stuff, recording six straight outs with three strikeouts.

Then everything fell apart in the third inning.

Freeland allowed five earned runs on six hits in a third inning that started with a home run, two singles, and another home run before he recorded his first out. After his first out, he gave up a double and single for another run.

While eventually he stopped the bleeding, the Phillies had already rocketed ahead.

Freeland settled down somewhat in the next two innings. He did give up a solo home run to start the fourth inning—Alec Boehm’s second of the game. The Phillies did score a seventh run in the fifth inning, but it was unearned due to a defensive miscue at shortstop by Willie Castro. Freeland’s final line for the game saw him dinged for seven runs—six earned—on ten hits and three home runs over five innings before he was replaced by Tanner Gordon.

Second verse, same as the first

Much like Freeland, Tanner Gordon looked sharp through his first two innings of work. He gave up just one hit and struck out two batters without issuing a walk or giving up an earned run. However, also like Freeland, things fell apart in his third inning of work.

Gordon kicked off the bottom of the eighth inning by giving up two singles followed by a bases clearing Alec Boehm double. He sat down the next three batters in quick succession, including with another strikeout, but the damage was done and the game was severely out of reach for the Rockies offense heading into the top of the ninth inning.

The Rockies used up all the offense last night

Things started out on a relatively promising note for the Rockies against Phillies starter Aaron Nola. They struck out just twice over the first four innings and seemed to have some momentum after last night’s extra innings affair.

Willi Castro kicked things off with a solo home run in the second inning.

The Rockies then rallied in the fourth to keep the game within striking distance despite Kyle Freeland’s difficult third inning of work. A Troy Johnston single and a walk drawn by Jake McCarthy thanks to a well-used ABS challenge set the table for Kyle Karros. Karros doubled to plate both runners.

Unfortunately, the Rockies offense did very little of note the rest of the game. They had two runners on in the fifth but failed to plate a run from the opportunity. From the sixth inning onward, nine out of the Rockies’ final ten batters were set down—punctuated in the eighth when TJ Rumfield was hit by a pitch. Seven of those batters struck out.

Coming Up Next:

The Rockies still have a chance to bounce back and win the series tomorrow morning. The right-handed Tomoyuki Sugano will look to continue a string of strong starts against Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez. First pitch is scheduled for 11:35 AM MDT.

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Alec Bohm has been under fire lately and justifiably so. He’s been one of the worst hitters in the game this year and came under question, even in these here pages, about his viability as a regular in the lineup. Don Mattingly sat him down for two days to give him a reset, but openly wondered about his place in the starting lineup.

Tonight at least, Bohm was king. And the Phillies reaped the rewards.

After losing Bryce Harper early due to migraines and falling behind to the Rockies in the second thanks to a Willi Castro home run, the outcome looked bleak. When Aaron Nola, the starting pitcher, falls behind like that, it feels like a long night again is in store. Yet Nola was able to battle on the evening, giving his offense a chance to battle back on their part. In the third, Bohm did just that, tying the game with one swing.

When Bryson Stott and Trea Turner followed with singles, Kyle Schwarber broke the game open with his 14th home run of the season.

Adolis Garcia doubled, Edmundo Sosa singled and the lead stretched to 5-1. Who is this team?

Nola, though, did give a few back in the fourth when Kyle Karros hit a two-run double to make the score 5-3, yet that was where it would remain for a bit. Nola was actually pretty decent on the evening, a contrast to most of his April starts, and kept the Rockies at bay the remainder of his outing. Meanwhile, Bohm decided to have another.

A sacrifice fly by Brandon Marsh made the score 7-3 while the Phillies’ bullpen took over. Tim Mayza, Tanner Banks, Chase Shugart and Orion Kerkering combined to go 4 1/3 innings on the evening without giving up a hit or a walk. They were outstanding.

Then Alec Bohm hit another ball down the line to score two more runs and it was officially the “Alec Bohm Game” for this season.

Listen, the criticism levied at Bohm was, as said before, justifiable and fair. He just hasn’t been good this year, regardless of whatever is going on off the field. He has tried to work through it, but Mattingly wisely saw that maybe a few games off would be the best thing for him and the team. It worked tonight like a charm (an Elmo-sized influence notwithstanding). Will it continue? Let’s find out.