Tim David belted eight sixes in a blistering 70 not out to fire Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their second win of the IPL season, hammering Chennai Super Kings by 43 runs on Sunday.
Mickey, mouse offense: Rockies 4, Phillies 1
The Phillies were going for a sweep over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday. But two home runs by Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak and a second straight day of quiet offense from the Phillies allowed the Rockies to avert the sweep as they beat the Phillies 4-1.
Taijuan Walker was looking to rebound after a poor start his last time out, and after quickly retiring the first two batters of the game, it looked like he might. But then Mickey Moniak sent a ball into the right field stands, and after a Hunter Goodman single, T.J. Rumfield hit a home run of his own to put the Phillies in a 3-0 hole.
The Phillies got one of those runs back in the following inning when Adolis Garcia hit his second home run of the season.
Walker settled down after that and kept the Rockies off the board until the fifth. That’s when the player the Phillies took with the first overall pick of the 2016 draft hit another ball out of the park.
I’d say this was Moniak’s revenge game, but I’m not sure what he’s getting revenge for; Being a massive disappointment, prompting them to trade him for Noah Syndergaard? I guess good for him for establishing himself as a major league player, but this was annoying.
In Coors Field, a three-run deficit shouldn’t be insurmountable, especially since the Phillies’ bullpen chipped in three scoreless innings behind Walker. But since the early explosion on Friday afternoon, the Phillies’ bats have been quiet. The last two days have featured far too many meek at bats, and it seems like the few hard-hit balls have been hit to the wrong part of the park.
The top five of the Phillies’ order went 2-19 against Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano and three relievers, and that’s not good enough, especially in a hitter’s park.
It would have been nice to come away with another win, especially since the Phillies will travel to San Francisco for a three-game series. The Phillies haven’t won a series in San Francisco since 2017, and if the bats don’t show more than they did this weekend, that streak is likely to continue for another year.
Cubs Minor League Wrap: Iowa wins fifth-straight
Right-hander Ryan Jensen joins the I-Cubs to take Riley Martin’s spot.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs won their fifth-straight game, 6-2 over the Louisville Bats (Reds).
Starter Vince Velazquez got the win with five strong innings. He allowed just one run on two hits. He struck out seven and walked just one.
Tyler Santana bounced back from a terrible first outing of the year to throw three shutout innings of relief. He also allowed just one hit and issued one walk. Santana struck out three.
Third baseman James Triantos led off the game with a single. He then stole second, went to third on a bad throw and scored on a single by first baseman Jonathon Long.
Here’s Long’s single.
Center fielder Kevin Alcántara made it 2-0 in the third inning with his fourth home run in just eight games this year.
Velazquez gave up a solo home run to Michael Chavis in the bottom of the third, but Iowa struck back with three runs in the top of the fourth. Catcher Christian Bethancourt had an RBI single and then Triantos struck again with a two-run double.
Iowa’s sixth and final run came on a solo home run by right fielder Chas McCormick. It’s McCormick’s third game in a row he’s homered and his third home run in just four games this year.
Triantos was 2 for 4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base. He scored the one run and had the two RBI.
Long went 2 for 5 with the RBI single.
Alcántara was 1 for 5 with the home run.
McCormick was 1 for 4 with the home run.
DH BJ Murray Jr. was a perfect 2 for 2 with a triple and two walks. He scored on the Bethancourt single.
Bethancourt went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies were forced into peonage by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 10-5.
It was a rough start for Yenrri Rojas, who got hammered for ten runs, nine earned, on eight hits. Rojas walked four and struck out three.
The Smokies got 3.1 scoreless innings of relief out of Grant Kipp, although he did let three runners inherited from Rojas to score. Kipp gave up three hits, issued one walk and hit one batter. He struck out three.
Tyler Ras threw two scoreless innings of relief in his Cubs organizational debut. He allowed one hit. He didn’t walk anyone but he did hit one batter. Ras struck out two.
Second baseman Karson Simas hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Simas went 1 for 2 with two walks.
Seiya Suzuki played five innings in right field and was 1 for 2 with a walk and one run scored.
South Bend Cubs
Today’s doubleheader was postponed. The entire opening series for South Bend was postponed because of unplayable field conditions.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Off day.
2025-26 Gamethread #77: New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens
The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (39-34-3) versus the Montreal Canadiens (45-21-10)
The Time: 7:00 PM EST
The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network
The Game Preview: I had it here.
The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.
LGD!
Penguins/Panthers Recap: Pens take care of business, beat Florida 5-2, close in on playoff spot
Pregame
The Penguins use the same lineup from yesterday — including in net with Arturs Silovs playing. Taylor Gauthier got the quick call up from Wheeling last minute to serve as backup, Stuart Skinner was unavailable with an upper body injury.
The visiting Panthers are using this lineup, including starting Daniil Tarasov after he mopped up the second half of yesterday’s game.
First period
Pittsburgh strikes first, Tarasov clears the puck to the wall but unfortunately for him it serves as a pass almost straight to Elmer Soderblom. Soderblom accepts the gift and quickly fires it back into the unguarded cage.
Florida is able to even the score after a puck leaks through Silovs. 1-1.
Pittsburgh is able to answer right back 35 seconds later. Sidney Crosby shows off the jets streaking down the left side and scores from distance. 2-1, Pens back in front.
Parker Wotherspoon and Matthew Tkachuk drop the gloves in a fight, Tkachuk picks up an extra minor penalty and the Pens score a back-breaking goal before the end of period to extend their lead to 3-1. Rickard Rakell takes a feed from Crosby and whips it into the net.
Most of this period looked like a continuation from yesterday, a very good thing for the Penguins to keep taking care of business.
Second period
The teams go up and back the ice, in a way going through the motions while still bringing some level of chippiness. Rakell stays red hot and scores another goal late in the period, taking a pass from Evgeni Malkin and adding to the lead to 4-1.
Third period
The Pens tack on another, why not. Crosby makes a spinning backhand pass that isn’t particularly good but Bryan Rust has plenty of time and space to spin around and receive it. Rust then gets to the net and scores. 5-1.
Connor Clifton takes his second penalty of the period and the Panthers make them pay. Carter Verhaeghe makes his stats for the end of the season look a little better with the late goal. 5-2.
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Some thoughts
- The offensive production right now is just electric with 30 goals in the last five games, the first stretch for the franchise since the ‘Score Lords’ days of 1996 with Lemieux, Francis and Jagr. The wild thing about the current run is it’s not star-driven, it’s been incredibly balanced with every line pitching in and consistent contributions from all over the place.
- That being said, the big boys are starting to get it going. Malkin followed up his hat trick yesterday with two assists today. Crosby looked the best he has in a long while since dealing with his dual leg injuries of the last few months. Three-point night, which is great, seeing the captain showcase the skating ability and finishing touch to score from distance was an even better sign.
- Rakell, too, has been unbelievable lately. Go play center? No problem. Rakell has scored 10 goals in the last 10 games, and he has at least one goal in eight of the last 10 games.
- The goalie situation might have just gotten interesting. Skinner was able to serve as backup yesterday but apparently something happened recently that wasn’t allowing him to dress today. The team reportedly didn’t have enough time to physically get Sergei Murashov from Wilkes-Barre to Pittsburgh in time for the 3pm start, so they went somewhat local to bring Taylor Gauthier up from Wheeling to serve as something of a professional EBUG for the day. According to Josh Yohe at The Athletic, Murashov would be coming to Pittsburgh if Skinner is going to miss more time. That’s an area worth watching in the coming days, though since the next game isn’t until Thursday, there is some time to figure things out and see where it goes.
- Interestingly though, Silovs was decent enough today, certainly his best performance in a long while. It’s been well-documented that goalies see a drop off in stats when they’re asked to play two days in a row. But it’s goalies, right? So of course someone like Silovs who has struggled lately actually ends up playing his best game in a while on his second day in a row.
- Great weekend for the Pens to take care of business and win two relatively drama-free games against an eliminated opponent. Pittsburgh’s playoff magic number is down to just 2, and there’s a pretty good chance that the next time they take the ice on Thursday in New Jersey that they will have already officially clinched a playoff berth due to the outside results over the next few days.
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Electric Cincinnati Reds arms complete sweep of Texas Rangers
Chase Burns got the start for the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday in Arlington as the good guys looked to complete the three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers.
Brock Burke got the save for the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday in Arlington as the good guys did, in fact, complete the three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers.
Burns completed 6.0 IP of scoreless ball before finally yielding a run in the Top of the 7th, but Cincinnati’s offense managed to small-ball their way to runs on two separate occasions to make it a nervy, yet brilliant 2-1 win. The brilliance – timely singles by the middle of Cincinnati’s lineup aside – was in the deliveries of some of their electric young arms, who backed Burns on a day when some of their most proven relievers were unavailable.
Pierce Johnson and Sam Moll managed to get around an inherited runner left by Burns in the 7th, at which point things were turned over to Connor Phillips for the Bottom of the 8th inning with the heart of the Rangers lineup coming to the plate. Given that Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagan were gassed from holding things together in the previous two wins of the series, it was going to be up to Phillips – and eventually Burke – to get to the finish line in this nailbiter of a game.
Those two did so with aplomb, even though Phillips struggled a bit to get his third out after looking completely filthy getting the first two.
Both Phillips and Burke flirted with 100 mph on their heaters, and Phillips’ slider in particular looked to be moving as well as it ever has. And if you polled the poor Rangers hitters who were tasked with facing those two after 6 dominant innings from Burns, well, I’m not sure exactly who they’d say was the toughest to pinpoint as all three looked simply absurd.
Burns, who finished with an ER, 5 H, BB, and 9 K on 87 pitches, continued his ascent to the top of Cincinnati’s rotation with his second gem of the early going. He’s today’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game, and it won’t be the last of those honors he takes home this season.
Other Notes
- Elly De La Cruz went 2 for 5 with a run scored, a ribbie, and his first stolen base of the season.
- The Reds, who entered play today with just a lone steal on the season as a team, actually swiped four bags on the day as each of TJ Friedl, Elly, Sal Stewart, and Matt McLain got in on the action.
- The Reds actually struck out 15 Rangers on the day. That’ll do!
- Will Benson did not start today, and instead came on mid-game for Noelvi Marte when a right-handed reliever was on the bump. Benson doubled and singled in his pair of plate appearances.
- The 2026 Reds are now 6-3 despite having scored the second fewest runs of any National League team, to date.
- The Cincinnati Reds will head to Miami later this evening and on Monday they’ll begin a series against the Marlins. Brandon Williamson will get the start looking to improve significantly on his pretty dismal first outing since the 2024 season, and first pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET.
Panthers Dropped 5-2 By Penguins, Unable to Pick Up Any Points During Weekend In Pittsburg
The Florida Panthers wrapped up their weekend back-to-back in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Cats, the back-end of the weekend doubleheader didn’t go any better than the opener, as Florida fell again on Sunday by a final score of 5-2.
The Penguins picked up the game’s opening goal, and it came after a turnover off the stick of Florida’s goaltender.
Daniil Tarasov came up toward the slot to try and clear a loose puck, but a stick-check by Connor Dewar caused Tarasov to partially whiff on his clear. The puck then went straight toward Elmer Soderblom, who smartly one-timed the puck back toward the vacated net, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead exactly 11 minutes into the game.
Florida would get the equalizer at the 16:15 mark after a Gus Forsling keep at the Penguins blue line and a spinning pass by Vinnie Hinostroza led to a slot shot by Cole Schwindt for his fourth goal of the season.
The game didn’t stay tied for long, though.
Sidney Crosby netted his 29th of the year to put the Pens up 2-1, and then Rickard Rakell scored for the second day in a row to send Pittsburgh into the first intermission with a two-goal advantage.
That’s how the score would remain until late in the middle frame, with Rakell picked up his second of the night when a friendly bounce off the back boards gave him a high-danger look from the low slot, beating Tarasov over the glove.
Bryan Rust got in on the fun early in the third period, taking a pass from Crosby and going in along on Tarasov before firing a backhand that was stepped up Tarasov but still found a way to bounce into the net, making it 5-1 Penguins.
It wasn’t until late in the game, but Florida finally found a way to stop the bleeding thanks to a power play goal by Carter Verhaeghe with 5:45 to go.
Florida wouldn’t get any closer than that.
They depart Pittsburgh having been outscored 14-6 while visiting the Pens.
On to Montreal.
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Photo caption: Apr 5, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov (40) makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. (Mark Alberti-Imagn Images)
Brewers bounce back behind another strong Kyle Harrison start, top Royals 8–5
Kansas City made today’s game interesting a couple of times, but Milwaukee held on for the win. Kyle Harrison turned in another impressive performance and got plenty of run support, propelling the Brewers to their third straight series victory to begin the season.
Royals starter Kris Bubic retired Brice Turang and Luis Rengifo to start the game, but William Contreras walked to keep the inning alive. Up next was Christian Yelich, who worked a full count before flaring a line drive down the left field line. Kansas City outfielder Nick Loftin, sprinting down the left field line, laid out to catch the liner and just missed it. The ball landed in fair territory and kicked off the wall, allowing William Contreras to score easily as Yelich raced into third with a triple.
Gary Sánchez also took Bubic to a full count before squaring up a fastball up in the zone for a 109-mph two-run home run, already his third of the season.
Luis Matos struck out for the third out, but the damage was done — Milwaukee led 3-0 before Harrison even threw a pitch.
Harrison was dealing to start the game, allowing only one batter to reach (on a walk) through the first two innings. He finally gave up his first hit in the third; unfortunately, that hit was a Maikel Garcia two-run home run on a middle-in fastball that probably shouldn’t be thrown to Maikel Garcia. That brought the Royals within one run, but they weren’t done yet. Harrison didn’t want to give Bobby Witt Jr. anything good to hit, walking him on five pitches to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. After a mound visit, Witt stole second. Vinny Pasquantino lined a single into right field, but Matos — making his first start as a Brewer — nailed Witt at the plate with an absolute frozen rope. Just a beautiful throw:
Pasquantino took second base on a wild pitch, but Salvador Perez flew out to end the inning with the Brewers still ahead by a run.
It didn’t take long for Milwaukee to answer. Sánchez and Matos both struck out to start the fourth, but Brandon Lockridge walked to keep the inning alive. Blake Perkins then hit a fly ball over the head of Loftin that one-hopped off the left field wall, scoring the speedy Lockridge to give the Brewers an insurance run. Perkins promptly stole third, but Joey Ortiz was unable to capitalize, striking out on a foul tip to keep the Royals within two runs.
Harrison retired the side in the fourth and allowed only a single to Loftin in the fifth. Sánchez walked, and Matos singled off of old friend Nick Mears to start the top of the sixth, both advancing thanks to a Lockridge sacrifice bunt. Perkins grounded into a fielder’s choice at home, giving the Brewers runners on the corners with two outs. Up next was Ortiz, who hit a groundout to Witt for the third out.
Harrison was pulled after retiring Pasquantino with one out in the sixth. His final line: 5 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Other than the home run to Garcia, he was dealing today. It’s only his second start this season, but it’s hard not to think the Brewers may have found something in Harrison.
Grant Anderson came in to face Perez and immediately gave up a double, although he retired the next two batters to keep the Royals off the board. He came back out for the seventh and ceded a single to Starling Marte, then walked Jonathan India to put two runners on. Brewers manager Pat Murphy quickly made the call to the bullpen, bringing in relief ace Abner Uribe to face Isaac Collins. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to escape the jam in his usual fashion. Collins came through against his old teammate, singling to load the bases. Garcia followed with another single, as the runners went from station to station to score a run and keep the bases loaded.
Things looked like they could quickly get out of hand with Witt coming to the plate, but Uribe got him to stare at a fastball on the outside corner for the first out of the inning. With Pasquantino, a lefty, coming to the plate, Murphy pulled Uribe in favor of Ángel Zerpa. The move didn’t pay off, as Pasquantino singled to bring the Royals back within a run. With two on and still only one out, Perez squared up a Zerpa slider for a line drive that settled into the glove of Garrett Mitchell, who had come in as a defensive replacement for Matos. Zerpa then got Lane Thomas to ground out to end the inning and preserve the lead.
Kansas City didn’t score again, while Milwaukee got a couple of insurance runs in the top of the ninth thanks to doubles by Yelich and Jake Bauers (who also entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh) and a bloop single by Brandon Lockridge.
Those two runs would bring the game to its eventual final score: Milwaukee 8, Kansas City 5. Trevor Megill worked around a Witt single in the ninth to earn his third save this season.
Although this was the final game of this weekend’s series against the Royals, the Brewers won’t get to go home yet. They’ll be in Boston tomorrow for the first of three games at Fenway Park. Brandon Woodruff will go for the visiting team, with Brayan Bello scheduled to start for the Red Sox. First pitch is slated for 5:45 p.m.
4-5 – Joc’s swat goes for naught, Rangers swept by Reds
The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Cincinnati Reds scored two runs.
It was a battle between two heralded former No. 2 overall picks today with Texas’ 2021 first-rounder Jack Leiter dueling Cincy’s 2024 first round pick Chase Burns. The two memorable college stars both had electric stuff and nearly identical lines with Leiter pitching an inning fewer and allowing one fewer hit but both right-handers struck out nine and walked just one batter while each allowed one run.
The difference nearly was that Leiter made the regretful mistake of allowing a leadoff single to Elly De La Cruz in the top of the 4th and De La Cruz leveraged his speed to reach second base on a flyout to right field and then scored on a Eugenio Suarez RBI ground ball single.
The Rangers, meanwhile, had Brandon Nimmo reach on a leadoff single in the bottom of the 5th and the only speed he leveraged was getting forced out at second base on a bloop flyball that found grass behind first base. So instead of two on with nobody out, the Rangers were back to square one and eventually did not score.
They did an inning later, however, when Joc Pederson quieted the boo birds at The Shed with a solo home run off Burns to tie the game. The Rangers hadn’t scored in 17 consecutive innings this weekend before the dong, and Pederson hadn’t had a hit in 16 at-bats to begin the year. It didn’t seem likely that it would be Pederson to get the Rangers on the board but that’s why baseball is what it is.
One batter later, Evan Carter reached on an infield single and Burns exited. The Rangers eventually had two runners in scoring position with just one out but Andrew McCutchen K’d pinch hitting for Ezequiel Duran and Nimmo worked a full count before striking out to end the threat.
It then took the Reds exactly two batters to retake the lead in the top of the 8th as Skip Schumaker called on Robert Garcia who promptly walked leadoff hitter Matt McLain before McLain stole one of five bases that Cincy pilfered in this one and then scored on a De La Cruz single.
As far as chances for the Rangers the rest of the way, Carter sent one about 405 feet to the 407 center field following a two-out Jake Burger double and Pederson walk in the 8th, but former whipping boy Brock Burke effortlessly striking out the side in the 9th meant Texas lost back-to-back games in which the Reds were held to two runs.
With the sweep and four losses in a row overall, the Rangers are below .500 at 4-5 on the year after starting the season 4-1. They scored four total runs in their first home series of the year. Call it the curse of Captain Jay Banks.
Player of the Game: While it was nice to see Pederson finally do something at the plate, Leiter was Texas’ best performer today as the former Vandy standout tossed five innings of one-run ball with the aforementioned nine strikeouts.
Perhaps the next step for Leiter will be figuring out a way to be a little more efficient so that he stays in games longer but it’s clear that the Rangers have themselves a rare home grown established starting pitcher.
Up Next: The Rangers welcome in the hated Seattle Mariners for a three-game set with RHP Jacob deGrom expected to make the start for Texas in the opener opposite RHP Logan Gilbert for the M’s.
The Monday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be carried on the Rangers Sports Network.
Astros GM Brown on SCHN: Update on Hunter Brown, Rotation Plans
Astros GM Dana Brown joined Todd Kalas and Julia Morales in the SCHN broadcast booth in the top of the 4th inning during today’s game.
Kalas asked the GM about SP Hunter Brown going on the IL.
“We’re gonna remain optimistic,” Dana Brown said. “Hunter felt…pretty good. Ultimately, (Hunter) didn’t feel as bas as some of the …more devastating injuries feel. He felt pretty confident that he was gonna be ok. When a player shows confidence like that, I feel a lot better. Now, we won’t know, of course, until he gets back to Houston…on Monday and we get him looked at.”
Morales then asked Dana Brown about what he may be thinking as far as options for the Astros rotation with Hunter Brown out.
“It’s one of the reasons why we signed a lot of pitching last offseason. You gotta have depth. Last year, you know, we ran into a lot of injuries. This year, we loaded up with some arms…If we can get through this, you know, we gotta use some of our guys…maybe some of the guys in our pen right now, we can get them stretched back out.”
Kalas then asked if the injury to Hunter Brown changes the equation for the team, as they previously intended to go to a six man rotation when they begin a stretch of 13 straight games on April 10.
“Yeah, something that we’re gonna talk about, but…we can use (Kai-Wei) Teng in the…six man. We got (Spencer) Arrighetti in Triple-A, you know, we got (Ryan) Weiss who we could also put in the rotation…So we have some guys and some depth…We can…take (A.J.) Blubaugh out of the pen and put him in the rotation, so we still have depth. We have guys, you know, in Triple-A, (Jason) Alexander, we have (Colton) Gordon, so we do still have enough to go into a six man. It’s just something that we’re gonna discuss over the next few days…that’s the reason why we got all the depth this year.”
Cavs vs. Pacers open gamethread
A skeleton-crew version of the Cleveland Cavaliers is taking on a more skeleton crew version of the Indiana Pacers. This should be fun (depending on how you define fun).
Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!
Dealing with a busted bracket?
The Sweet 16 is almost here – who’s still alive? We’re reviewing the week that was in the first week of the NCAA tournament and turning our focus to remaining teams. How bad (or good!) is your bracket? Join us in the SB Nation March Madness Feed and let’s talk about who’s most likely to make a run to glory.
Go Cavs!
Yankees Social Media Spotlight: Let the good times roll
It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! When we last met, the Yankees had gotten off to a strong start, sweeping the San Francisco Giants while allowing just one run in three games. Since then, the vibes have continued to be great, for while the Bombers have suffered defeat, a strong pitching performance and some timely offense have gotten them off to a hot start. How have those good vibes transferred to the social media landscape? Let’s find out!
Welcome Home
The New York Yankees had themselves a very Good Friday (gotta get that Easter humor in there), as they celebrated their home opener with a dominant 8-2 victory on Friday over the Miami Marlins. Although it does not generate quite as much social media buzz as when it is the first game of the season, the home opener nonetheless was the biggest topic this week — particularly with Olympic gold medalists Jack Hughes and Aerin Frankel on hand to celebrate the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams with the ceremonial first pitch.
Behind the NY
The Yankees’ YouTube account has begun a new series this year, Behind the NY. This past week, the second episode released, titled “The Standard.”
Sightseeing in Seattle
While the Yankees took two out of three on the diamond in Seattle, the broadcasters had some fun sightseeing and hanging out with some old friends. Remember, Dave Sims spent 14 years calling games for the Mariners, and he was thrilled to be around to see soon-to-retire M’s radio voice Rick Rizzs.
Don’t Quit Your Day Jobs
Back in spring training, we got a glimpse of the Yankees engaging in some art behind home plate during drills, but never got to see the results. Well, with the off day on Wednesday, the social media team finally decided to grace us with the video, and, uh…yea, these guys aren’t exactly artists.
The Game Belt
The Yankees haven’t quite been as good as the Knicks are at posting their Game Belt exchanges on social media, but we still got to learn that Aaron Judge received the belt for his two-run homer in the first inning during the home opener.
Somerset Media Day
The Somerset Patriots shared pictures and videos from their own media day, which took place after the Yankees and their minor league system broke camp in Tampa.
Rays 4, Twins 1 (F/10): Eggs-cruciating Easter
On a day the Twins really needed some length, starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson gave the Twins everything they could ask for and more. Unfortunately, the bats didn’t do their part, leading to another loss that was well within reach.
Let’s start with the good. Woods Richardson looked sharp all day, despite his stuff being down a touch. Most importantly for him, he attacked the strike zone and was remarkably efficient, pitching into the 7th inning on just 88 pitches.
The lone run off of Sim came on a very well-placed splitter to all-world home run hitter Junior Caminero in the fourth inning. Up to that point, SWR faced only one batter over the minimum. He didn’t run into trouble again until the 7th when a couple of singles put runners on the corners with one out. Woods Richardson was able to get Jonny DeLuca swinging before fireman Kody Funderburk got Nick Fortes to hit a comebacker and end the threat.
Minnesota’s hitters were equally quiet for most of the day against Rays starter Nick Martinez. Martinez has had an up-and-down career, but his strength has always been a filthy changeup, a pitch that the Twins have particularly struggled with early on in 2026. The Twins’ lone run (and hit) off Martinez came from a patented Matt Wallner moonshot, his third of the season, that nearly hit some kids playing in the plaza over right field.
Their next hit didn’t come until the 7th off of old friend Griffin Jax. It was Wallner again who was able to beat out an infield single that rolled into first base, causing Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda to misplay the ball. Wallner immediately wiped that out with the classic Twins Boneheaded Base-running Play of the Day (TBBPoD, if you will. Trademark pending), where he took off for second base while Jax was still holding the ball, leading to an easy pick off.
Knotted at 1 the whole way, the game went to extras where things fell apart for the Twins. Known bad pitcher Justin Topa came in for the Twins in the 10th and immediately gave up a two-run blast to Richie Palacios, his third hit on the night despite having just one prior to this game. He followed that with a single and two walks to load the bases with one out, forcing Taylor Rogers out of the bullpen to get things in order.
Rogers was able to get Chandler Simpson to ground out, but walked Caminero to bring in the Rays’ third run of the inning and give them an insurmountable three run lead. Tampa’s Kevin Kelly retired all three Twins he faced and that was all she wrote.
This is normally the point of the post where I point out a few positives despite the loss, but other than Sim, there’s not much! The hitters only managed 6 hard-hit balls all game. Wallner’s homer was the only Minnesota hit that left the infield. The at-bats by everyone save Trevor Larnach looked pretty poor. Kaelen Culpepper is playing well for the Saints, so that’s something.
To put it simply, Derek Shelton’s go-to top 3 hitters have given them absolutely nothing all season and there’s not much you can expect from this team when that’s the case. We’re just over a week and nine games into the season, but Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall having an OPS under .500 is going to tank the rest of this lineup. Also, get Kody Clemens out of the leadoff spot. He’s a useful role player who can get incredibly hot, but there’s no reason he should be getting the most PAs on a day-to-day basis.
Don’t worry, things will get easier this next series where the Twins are scheduled to face (checks notes…) back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and All-Star Framber Valdez. No rest for the weary.
STUDS
- Matt Wallner, technically: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
- Simeon Woods Richardson: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K
DUDS
- Known bad pitcher Justin Topa: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 HR
- The rest of the lineup: 1-28, 2 BB
I’ll see you back here tomorrow where hopefully Kody Clemens is in the bottom half of the lineup.
Cavs provide injury update for Jaylon Tyson and Dean Wade
The Cleveland Cavaliers are racing to the finish line. With just a week before the regular season ends, the team is still waiting on two of its most important players to return to action.
Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson both missed Cleveland’s recent trip to the West Coast. Wade is out with an ankle injury that he suffered after falling on a ball boy during his pre-game warmup against the Miami Heat on March 25.
“[He’s doing] better,” said Kenny Atkinson before the game. “I watched Dean work out yesterday. It was a one-on-one workout, but he was moving at game speed, so big progress. I do think we need to get him a three-on -three, four-on-four [workout]… but I think that’s the next step.”
Tyson, meanwhile, is nurturing a bone bruise in his left great toe. The sophomore wing has been one of the biggest revelations of the season, averaging 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Tyson is also shooting 45.5% from downtown. That’s elite efficiency for a guy who wasn’t previously seen as a catch-and-shoot threat.
“Jaylon is on court, probably not at game speed yet, so maybe a step or two behind Dean,” said Atkinson. “Still some soreness, but again, love to think he’ll be ready by the playoffs.”
Time is running out for the Cavs to get healthy. The final game of the regular season is on April 12. From there, they have roughly a week to rest and recover before the playoffs begin the following weekend. Hopefully that’s enough time for both Wade and Tyson to get their legs under them.
Royals drop series finale 8-5 to Brewers
The Royals fell behind early and made a couple of pushes to cut the deficit to one run, but couldn’t overcome three and four run deficits, as they dropped the rubber match 8-5 to the Brewers.
Kris Bubic got two quick outs to start the game, but a four-pitch walk to William Contreras set the table for Milwaukee. Christian Yelich hit a slicing ball down the left field line that Nick Loftin dove for, but missed, resulting in an RBI triple for the former MVP. Gary Sánchez followed that up by blasting a two-run homer into the left field seats, and suddenly it was 3-0 Brewers.
Jonathan India led off the third inning, by taking a fastball off the elbow. After a Loftin strikeout, Maikel Garcia smashed his first home run of the season into the Brewers bullpen. A 388-foot shot for the WBC MVP.
Bobby Witt Jr. walked next and stole second. The Royals seemed poised to tie the game. Vinnie Pasquantino singled into right field, but Witt got gunned down at the plate, and the Royals still trailed 3-2 after three innings.
Similar to the first inning, Bubic got two quick outs in the 4th inning, however a two out walk to Brandon Lockridge spelled trouble. Blake Perkins did the damage this time, smacking a double off the left field wall, extending the Brewers lead to 4-2.
Fast forward to the 7th, Royals still down two, Matt Strahm made his first appearance of the series. A leadoff walk, followed by a Luis Rengifo double put the Royals in trouble. Contreras promptly smacked a single up the middle to score two, putting the Royals down 6-2. Despite allowing the first three to reach, Strahm buckled down and didn’t allow any further damage.
Starling Marte led off the bottom half of the inning for Kansas City and smoked a single, India walked and Isaac Collins pinch hitting for Loftin, loaded the bases with a single to right field. Nobody out.
Garcia drove in his third run of the day, singling to left. 6-3 Brewers, still nobody out and Witt, Vinnie and Salvy coming up. But credit to Abner Uribe, and maybe the Royals being out of ABS challenges, he struck out Witt looking.
Former Royal, Angel Zerpa would then get brought into the game, his first appearance against the Royals since being traded in the offseason. Pasquantino came through, perfectly placing a line drive into the left-center gap, scoring two runs. First and second, one out, Royals down 6-5, Salvy up.
Zerpa’s slider just got enough depth for Perez to fly out to deep center, instead of a go-ahead three run home run. 104.5 mph off the bat for Perez. Lane Thomas grounded out to third on the first pitch to end the threat.
After Steven Cruz, pitching for the fourth time in five days, worked around a lot of traffic, getting a scoreless top of the 8th, the Royals had a chance to tie or take the lead. With two outs, India walked, getting on base for the third time today, and Tyler Tolbert came in to pitch run. He got picked off during Collins at bat to end the 8th inning.
Lucas Erceg got the ninth, and similar to Strahm, it didn’t go well. Back-to-back doubles plated the first run and a two out single the second. 8-5 Milwaukee going to the final half inning. The Royals walked eight batters, and every one of them seemed to come back and haunt them. In the bottom of the ninth, the Royals got a two out single from Witt, but nothing else.
The loss puts the Royals back under .500, at 4-5. It was a 3-3 homestand as well. The Royals have been outscored 14-0 in the 9th inning this season so far. Michael Wacha starts in Cleveland tomorrow for the Royals. First pitch is set for 5:10 p.m. CT and can be streamed on Royals.TV.