Apr 11, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Thank the baseball GODs for that ninth inning.
The Red Sox came into the final frame with a tenuous one-run lead, after Garrett Whitlock gave up a solo shot to Jordan Walker in the bottom of the 8th. Trevor Story led off with a walk—something that hasn’t been a big help to the Red Sox with two GIDPs in the game so far. Marcelo Mayer flies out and this looks like another ho-hum inning for the men in red tonight.
No so fast.
It wasn’t anything flashy nor did it need to be. It was just put your head down, keep the lineup rolling baseball. Six singles in a row! Narváez, Rafaela, Anthony, Durbin, Duran, Contreras. I’m not sure what Ollie Marmol was doing other than staring into the abyss letting Matt Svanson languish on the mound. Maybe he knew this was a wash for the Cardinals but this hopefully turns into much more of a momentum turner for the Red Sox.
Kudos to Alex Cora for sticking with Durbin too and not pulling the trigger on a pinch hitter—either Monasterio or Yoshida.
Not so many kudos to Greg Weissert who looks almost opposite of the Italian workhorse he was in the World Baseball Classic—everything is trouble for him right now and Danny Coulombe bailed him out.
Still, three wins in four games isn’t something to wag your finger at. None of them have been truly pretty wins but they’re wins regardless. FOX made a lot of mention that it takes 40-50 games to really see the makeup of a team. Let’s hope that first 10 was truly the worst of it and this Sox squad is starting to find its footing.
What a nice Saturday night!
Studs
Ranger Suárez (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 ER)
Ranger was extremely frustrated after a 20+ pitch first inning and let it show in his final five. He looked extremely comfortable the rest of the way through. If this is the Suárez we’re getting on a more consistent basis, it’s very stabilizing for the rotation.
Willson Contreras (2-for-4, 3 RBI)
Against his old club, Contreras came to play. The game-winning RBIs in the fourth and another line-moving RBI single in the ninth.
Duds
Wilyer Abreu (0-for-4, 1 K)
I actually had Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin here for a while; their production in the 9th saved their skin. Just a quiet day for Abreu who had the rest of his team pick him up!
Play of the Game
For the better part of five innings, this was going to be Willy’s two-run double in the fourth. The ninth changed my mind, we’re going with Ceddanne’s RBI single to start the chain.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 11: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves slides in the fifth inning during the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Truist Park on April 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Things we predicted in the preview: a José Ramírez homer, and the Guardians fighting hard to even up the series. Both things would come to pass as the Braves were shut out for the first time this season, 6-0.
The Guardians put together a more complete performance on all fronts. Braves pitching issued a season-high eight walks but would mostly keep them in the game until late. Unfortunately, the hot bats from yesterday were as absent as Michael Harris II.
Martín Pérez’s only real blemish was the Ramírez solo home run in the first – but that one would turn out to be all Cleveland needed. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second and would settle in nicely for the rest of his five innings of work, lowering his ERA to 3.14.
Parker Messick was as dominant as advertised, working all six of his pitches efficiently to keep the Braves off the board for 6.2 innings and limiting them to four hits and two walks. His changeup was responsible for all five of his strikeouts.
Payamps and Bummer would combine for a stressful sixth inning. Payamps was yanked after facing the minimum, recording one out. Bummer jogged in, walked Chase DeLauter to load the bases, induced a run-scoring groundout, re-loaded the bases with another walk, and then mercifully got a groundout to end the inning.
The bottom of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th would be the Braves’ best chances to score. Scattered walks and singles would get the Braves on first and second each inning, but nothing more. The one hit in the fifth would by Ronald Acuña Jr. for a (mildly stressful) triple, but like all men who reached base before him, he’d be stranded.
Messick got two outs in the bottom of the seventh before allowing a single to Jonah Heim. Walt Weiss countered the resulting pitching change with Dom Smith pinch hitting in Jorge Mateo’s spot. But no big Dom Smith moment here – just an immediate groundout that sent us to the eighth.
Things would get silly (derogatory) in the top of the ninth. Osvaldo Bido had been lights out since joining the Braves, but was grinding here as his pitch count rose. After two outs, he’d walk Steven Kwan. Kwan stole second and came all the way home to score after a double whammy of a Bido wild pitch and Heim, after finally finding it, overthrowing to third. Weiss was forced to dip into the bullpen once more, summoning Tyler Kinley. Kinley joined the walk party but would be tagged with an earned run before ending the inning.
The bottom of the ninth started out promising with a leadoff double by Olson and a walk by Riley. But it wasn’t to be – Dubón struck out after hitting a home run juuust foul, Yaz looked at what he thought was ball four, and Heim popped out after an ABS challenge had him quickly 0-2.
Not a fun one! It will all come down to tomorrow’s series finale, where Bibee and Sale will face off at 7:20 pm ET on NBC.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 10: Caleb Durbin #5 of the Boston Red Sox is hit by a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium on April 10, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cardinals entered the night with a robust 8-5 record while the Red Sox were trying to avoid their 10th loss of the young season. The game was broadcast on Fox so we were given some Smoltz announcing action, which could be described as a mix of lackluster and uninformed.
Kyle Leahy was smooth and efficient in innings 1 and 2, not throwing any balls until the third batter, whom he retired in the first. The second inning was even more efficient except for a hit by pitch to none other than Willson Contreras… who was erased from the basepaths because the Winn/Wetherholt middle infield defensive machine turned a double play.
In the second inning Thomas Saggese lined a single into the outfield off of Ranger Suarez, the Red Sox starting pitcher of the night. However, the Cardinals were not able to do anything else, leaving Saggese on base.
Leahy had only pitched 19 pitches going into the third inning. Kyle finally gave up a single, to Mayer, who hit a dying quail into the outfield. The Red Sox had a man on first with no out, just as the Cardinals had prior. Similarly, JJ Wetherholt helped turn a double play and there were two outs in the 3rd. Victor Scott II sealed the deal by catching a fly to center.
Unlike Leahy, Suarez was at nearly 40 pitches at this point in the game. Wetherholt lead off the inning, but him and Herrera were quick outs. Busch Stadium had a good attendance from the fans tonight, but the offense was absent in the third.
Top of the order for the Red Sox in the 4th inning, and they drew a walk from Leahy. Instead of being efficient and exact, he was nibbling around the zone. It was like the blueprint for this game was to have Leahy let a guy on base and then induce a ground into double play, would they do it again in the 4th? Flyout to Walker. 1 out. Finally the Red Sox avoided the double play with a hit by Duran to the outfield. The Red Sox gained the lead when Contreras also got a hit which rolled to the wall. 2-0 Boston.
With only one out, Trevor Story, who was batting 6th, was up. Leahy had really lost his efficiency and maybe confidence by this point. He then challenged Story with one up and in, and he foul tipped it into Pedro Pages glove for the out. 2 out. With a full count, Leahy barely missed low and walked Mayer. It didn’t matter because Carlos Narváez flew out sharply to center fielder Victor Scott II.
The bottom of the 4th had a single by Urias, but that was all she wrote for the Cardinals offense that inning.
Gordon Graceffo relieved Leahy in the 5th. The 4th inning got Kyle’s pitch count up, gone was his efficient outing, but hey, only down by 2 here. Graceffo struck out Rafaela. He got Roman Anthony to fly out to Fermin in left field. Caleb Durbin grounded out to Nolan Gorman to end the top of the 5th.
Suarez faced the Cardinals bottom of the order to start, got two outs, then, in a 7 pitch inning, retired JJ Wetherholt. 2-0 Red Sox going into the top of the 6th. Suarez was locked in.
Gordon Graceffo was back on the mound in the 6th inning. He retired the first batter then faced Willson Contreras. Would he be able to contain the fury? Or would Willson knock Gordon around like a pinata spewing hi-chew? GG would persevere this time, striking out Contreras. Gordon Graceffo was superb tonight, succeeding in preventing runs for the 2nd inning in a row.
Suarez was absolutely dealing after his somewhat rough start tonight. With two outs in the bottom of the 6th, Gorman was up, 0-1. Ranger was still dealing though, and struck out Nolan Gorman. Surprise surprise (not).
7th inning: Graceffo getting sort of a piggyback start, as he began his third inning in a row with a Trevor Story groundout. Facing second baseman Mayer who had been on base two times already, Graceffo walked him. Narvaez singled moving Mayer up to third base with 1 out. Gordon then hit Rafaela with a pitch, loading the bases!
At this point Oliver Marmol went to the bullpen and brought in Justin Bruihl. Roman Anthony was up, and the count went 3-0! 3-1. 3-2. He got the K! Big pitch! Then with 2 outs, Bruihl got Caleb Durbin to pop up! Still only 2-0 Boston after some dangerous but clutchy bullpen action.
In an extremely rare occurrence, Oliver Marmol challenged a challenge about if Fermin was hit by a pitch, and it ended up being catcher’s interference! So after Fermin was NOT rewarded the base by a hit by pitch, he was rewarded first base because of catcher’s interference. I didn’t even know you could challenge a challenge, you learn something new every day if you pay attention.
With Fermin on first with one out, Burleson was summoned to pinch hit. Off the bench, Burleson drew a walk. Runners on first and second. Then Nathan Church was brought into the game. He avoided the double play but hit into the force out. Pozo was brought in and could not muster a hit, either.
Bruihl was out again for the top of the 8th, and he got the out. Marmol then brought in Matt Svanson to face Willson Contreras (eek!). Could Matt Svanson start to put his beginning to the season behind him? Yes! He struck out Contreras with some junk in the dirt. Would Svanson persevere? Yes! Wilyer Abreu flew out to Church. Did it look good, no.
Jordan Walker owned the 8th inning by hitting his sixth home run to dead center vs Garrett Whitlock! Amazing!
Jordan Walker’s 6 home runs leads MLB in his 14th game of the season!
In a move that probably freaked out most fans but at least built some confidence back into Matt Svanson, Svanson was brought back out to pitch another inning, in a game where Marmol appeared to be banking for extra innings. Or, just wanted to keep most of the bullpen fresh?
Would Svanson be up to the challenge, despite his struggles? He let Story on base, there was one out… 2-2 to Narvaez… he got a hit. Runners at first and third… Svanson still? yep… it would not be a good move, as Rafaela drove in a run, extending the lead to 3-1 Red Sox, erasing Jordan Walker’s solo shot.
With Svanson still out there in the 9th, Boston got another hit, loading the bases. Caleb Durbin nailed some nails into the coffin with yet another hit off of Svanson, this time two more making it 5-1. The wheels had come off. The victor was even insured against us.
The wheels not only fell off the vehicle, the vehicle flew off a cliff in the 9th inning. 6 straight singles by Boston. 7-1 Red Sox. Newcomer Jared Shuster was brought into the game, and put out the fire before any additional damages accrued.
The Cardinals did put a couple of runners on base in the 9th inning, but it didn’t amount to anything. Big bullpen loss and a quiet Cardinals offense tonight. 7-1 Red Sox.
Red Sox outhit the Cardinals 10-5
Player of the Game: Ranger Suarez shutting it down and with the most WPA (*win probability added)
Matt Svanson ERA over 15.5 now
Kyle Leahy looked ok tonight but gave up 3 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings, somehow… he was really good over the first two innings. Maybe he’s just a really good bullpen guy.
Willson Contreras was the most opportunistic hitter tonight, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI against his prior team
KNOXVILLE, TN - APRIL 01: Grant Kipp #11 of the Knoxville Smokies poses for a photo during the Knoxville Smokies photo day at Tennessee Smokies Stadium on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Randy Sartin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Right-hander Zac Leigh was activated off the Development List and assigned to Triple-A Iowa.
Starter Vince Velasquez gave up two runs in the top of the first inning, but settled down after that. The final line on Velasquez was two runs on four hits over 4.1 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Luke Little relieved Velasquez in the fifth and improved his record to 3-0 after the I-Cubs scored three runs in the bottom of the inning. Little’s final line was no runs on two hits over 1.2 innings. He struck out three and walked no one.
Second baseman James Triantos singled home Iowa’s first run of the game in the fifth inning. He also had an RBI groundout in the sixth. Triantos finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored and the two RBI. He also stole a base.
Shortstop Ben Cowles hit a two-run double in the sixth inning. He went 2 for 4 and also scored once.
Left fielder Jonathon Long doubled home Justin Dean in the seventh inning for the seventh and final Iowa run. Long went 2 for 4. Dean went 1 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. He drove in two runs and scored one.
Starter Grant Kipp shut down Rocket City with five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Kipp struck out four and walked no one.
Jace Beck kept the Trash Pandas off the board for two more innings, but when he came out for the top of the eighth, he gave up a three-run home run. But Dawson Netz struck out the side in the order in the top of the ninth and got the win when the Smokie scored twice in the bottom of the frame.
Second baseman Karson Simas singled home Jordan Nwogu to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth and then third baseman Devin Ortiz hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to end the game.
Ortiz also hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, his first in the Cubs organization. Ortiz went 1 for 2 with the home run, the sac fly and the two RBI. He also scored twice.
Simas was 1 for 4 with a stolen base. Nwogu went 0 for 3 with a walk and the run scored.
Some Grant Kipp highlights.
Grant Kipp in Double-A tonight: 5.0 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 4 K
He faced just one over the minimum. Up to 8.1 innings of scoreless baseball so far this season. pic.twitter.com/PzPUyskfFV
Starter Cole Reynolds surrendered two runs on four hits over three innings. He struck out five and walked two.
The comeback started when first baseman Cameron Sisneros led off the top of the seventh with a home run. Later in the inning, Sisneros walked with the bases loaded. He finished the game 1 for 4 with the two RBI.
South Bend took the lead when center fielder Leonel Espinoza cranked a three-run home run later in the seventh. Espinoza went 2 for 5.
Third baseman Matt Halbach walked with the bases loaded in the seventh and hit a solo home run in the eighth. Halbach went 2 for 4 with a walk. He had the two RBI and scored twice.
South Bend drew six walks and was hit by a pitch in that eight-run seventh inning.
The home runs by Cisneros and Espinoza.
Hello. We just scored 8⃣ runs in the seventh inning.
Pelicans starter David Bracho was tagged for four runs on four hits over 2.2 innings. Bracho walked three and struck out three.
Braylon Meyers relieved Bracho and pitched quite well as he did not allow a run and only one hit over 3.1 innings. Meyers struck out two and walked no one.
The wheels came off in the bottom of the eighth when Columbia scored six runs. Aiden Moffett had walked the bases loaded in the seventh inning and escaped unscathed, but when he came out to pitch the eighth, he walked the first three batters of the inning. At that point he was relieved by Mason McGwire, who walked the first two batters he faced and then gave up a two-run double. McGwire got the loss after being charged with three runs, but only one earned, on one hit over one inning. He walked two and struck out two.
Catcher Jairo Diaz hit his first Pelicans home run in the the top of the eighth inning with two men on. Diaz finished 2 for 3 with a walk. In addition to the three RBI, Diaz acored twice.
Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple. Hartshorn drove in two runs and scored one run.
First baseman Cole Mathis was 2 for 4 with a double. He scored twice.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist and Noah Cates added a short-handed goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.
Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also scored for the Flyers (40-27-12), winners of four of their last five games. Michkov added an assist, and Rasmus Ristolainen finished with two assists. Dan Vladar had 27 saves.
Hadyn Fleury scored for the Jets (35-31-12), who entered the game with a three-game winning streak and victories in five of their last six games to keep their playoff hopes alive. Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to three games with an assist, giving him four points over that stretch.
Connor Hellebuyck, who made his 20th start in the last 22 games, allowed five goals on 20 shots before being replaced for the third period. Eric Comrie allowed goals on his first two shots against and finished with one save.
With the victory, the Flyers complete a two-game series sweep of the Jets. Philadelphia earned a 5-2 win on home ice back in October.
Philadelphia earned a valuable two points to maintain its grip on third place in the Metropolitan Division and remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Winnipeg is trying to secure the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. With just three games remaining, its hopes for a spot in the postseason remain slim.
Apr 11, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Kyle Harrison (52) walks off the field after the first inning against the Washington Nationals at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers’ offense is struggling hard. After scoring in the first inning in their loss on Friday night, they didn’t score for the rest of that game, and that streak made it another eight innings—in which the team had only one hit—tonight. Washington’s Forrest Griffin, who spent the last three years pitching in Japan, no-hit the Brewers through five, and though starter Kyle Harrison and bulk reliever Brandon Sproat combined for eight pretty good innings tonight, Milwaukee’s offense looked inept for most of the game and couldn’t overcome even a small deficit.
It was an inauspicious start for the Brewers. The first batter of the game, James Wood, should’ve struck out looking but got a favorable call (that William Contreras did not challenge, puzzlingly), then hit a grounder over to first base. Gary Sánchez (who was starting at first base for the fifth time in his 12-year career) didn’t field it cleanly—he knocked it down, but had to rush his throw to Harrison, who was covering the bag. Sánchez put way too much juice on the throw and it hit Harrison in the knee, and he then stumbled over the base. There was a long delay as the Brewers’ training and pitching staff checked on Harrison, but he ultimately stayed in the game with Wood at first. Wood made it to third after a fielder’s choice and a fly ball to right, and a Daylen Lile groundout stranded the opening run at third.
After a Brice Turang groundout started the game, Luis Rengifo—who is having no batted ball luck at all, and came in 0-for-his-last-13—hit a ball hard into the right field gap, but Joey Wiemer was able to run it down despite a .550 expected batting average via Statcast. Contreras hit a ball to fairly deep center field, but he got too far under it, and the Brewers were retired in order in the first.
It’s always a question whether a player will come back out after an injury like the one Harrison suffered in the first, but he was indeed back on the mound to start the second and started things off by striking out Wiemer on three pitches. CJ Abrams and Jacob Young were both aggressive early in the count and both hit line drives right at Rengifo, and Harrison was through the second on just eight pitches.
After a Christian Yelich groundout, Sánchez became the Brewers’ first baserunner after he successfully challenged a strike three call on 0-2 and then took three more balls to draw a walk. Sánchez was erased at second when Brandon Lockridge hit into a fielder’s choice, and Frelick flew out to right field to end the inning.
The third inning started with a bizarre play: Nasim Nuñez hit a grounder to first, but Harrison didn’t seem interested in covering first, so Sánchez had to wait for Turang to get over there from second base. The second bad throw of the night (and second throwing error) from Sánchez went past Turang but hit the first-base umpire…but Nuñez tried to go to second, and Sánchez picked up the ball (which was still in the infield after hitting the ump) and threw him out at second. Not something you see every day. Keibert Ruiz grounded out to third for the second out, but Washington got a couple of two-out baserunners when Wood was hit by a 2-2 pitch (that he nearly swung at) and Curtis Mead worked a walk. Brady House, though, flew out to center, and Harrison had a third scoreless inning.
Credit an assist to the ump, if you ask me.
But here's the ruling from official scorer Tim O'Driscoll: Runner is safe at first on an E3, runner is out trying to advance on a 3-6 pic.twitter.com/EJcxLo5UrS
In the bottom of the third, Blake Perkins hit a weak grounder back to Griffin, Ortiz golfed a flyout to left, and Turang struck out looking.
It was a little misleading because it felt like there’d been a lot of action, but neither team had a hit through the first three innings. That finally ended when, after two quick outs in the top of the fourth, Abrams got the game’s first hit on a bloop single to left. But with Young at the plate, Harrison threw over to first behind Abrams, who took off too early for second—Sánchez’s throw to second was wild and nearly his third throwing error of the game, but Ortiz snagged it and applied the tag for the third out.
Gary Sánchez is having some kind of night at first base. It's Joey Ortiz to the rescue this time, making a slick pick to get the final out of the fourth. pic.twitter.com/bQVSXxEtYG
Yelich drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the inning, but Milwaukee would have to wait to get their first hit, as Yelich didn’t make it past first.
Young led off the fifth with a single to right, and Nuñez followed that with the game’s first extra-base hit when he lined an 0-2 pitch down the right-field line (one pitch after just missing on nearly identical batted ball that went just foul). Frelick was able to cut it off, which held Young at third for the time being, and on the next pitch, Ruiz hit a fly ball to shallow-left center. Young did not test Frelick’s arm, and the Brewers had the first out. Unfortunately, Wood smoked the first pitch he got into the left field gap for a two-RBI double.
Harrison’s pitch count was still in decent shape, but Pat Murphy made a move with one out in the fourth and brought in Grant Anderson to try to clean things up. A Mead grounder advance Wood to third but gave the Brewers the second out, and Anderson struck out House to end the inning. Harrison’s line was thus final: 4 1/3 innings, four hits, one walk, but only one strikeout, and the two Nationals runs. Not bad for a guy who looked like he might have to leave after the first batter, but he needed some help from his offense.
Lockridge made some of the better contact of the night to start the bottom of the fifth, a line drive to the warning track in right, but Wiemer tracked that down, too. Frelick got a hanging curveball on 1-2 but hit a harmless groundout to first, and on just Griffin’s 70th pitch, Perkins flew out to shallow right. Griffin was up to five no-hit innings, and the Brewers’ offense was up to 13 straight innings without scoring a run.
Brandon Sproat, whose turn in the rotation was skipped (not eliminated, according to Murphy), came out of the bullpen in the sixth. It wasn’t a great start, as Lile lined a 105 mph single past the diving Turang. But Sproat struck out Wiemer, and on the next pitch Contreras threw out Lile trying to steal second, and suddenly there were two outs with nobody on. Abrams hit a grounder up the middle that Ortiz fielded; Ortiz’s throw was in the dirt, but Sánchez made a nice pick, balancing the scales from Sánchez’s near-error earlier.
The nice turnaround in the top of the sixth felt almost like it gave the Brewers some momentum. Who knows, but Ortiz did lead off the sixth with a base hit up the middle, ending the no-hit bid. A nice piece of hitting, even if he did try to bunt but missed on the first pitch. Turang drew a walk, and given how long it’d been since the Brewers had scored, it felt like a real rally was cooking. But Rengifo popped out, and the Nationals decided to make the switch to a right-handed pitcher to face Contreras. Contreras swung at the first pitch and hit a grounder to the right side; it was far enough away from Nuñez that it at least advanced the runners and wasn’t a double play, but there were now two outs. Washington walked Yelich with first base open, and Murphy made a move as well, to Jake Bauers, who came on to pinch-hit for Sánchez. Bauers swung at the first pitch and grounded out to second, and the rally flamed out.
Sproat continued in the seventh, and Young battled in the first at-bat of the inning but grounded out to Ortiz. Nuñez battled, too, and his at-bat ended when he hit a weak grounder that snuck past a diving Sproat—Turang got it and still maybe could’ve gotten Nuñez (who is very fast) but the throw went into the dugout and Nuñez was awarded second base. Sproat, though, picked Nuñez off at second (technically a caught stealing in the scorebook) before throwing a pitch to the next batter, Ruiz. But with the intensely hot Wood on deck, Sproat lost the strike zone and threw three straight balls to Ruiz, the number nine hitter; Contreras saw something he didn’t like, and called out the training staff. After a couple of minutes, Sproat stayed in, walked Ortiz, but struck out Wood to end the threat.
Lockridge, Frelick and pinch-hitter Garrett Mitchell struck out in order in the bottom of the inning against right-hander Brad Lord.
Sproat kept going in the eighth. He walked Mead to lead things off, but got the next three. The Nationals went to Cionel Pérez in the bottom of the inning, and he also retired the Brewers in order, on groundouts from Ortiz and Turang and a strikeout by Rengifo.
Sproat, who is obviously stretched out for longer outings, was back out for his fourth inning of work in the ninth. Abrams made pretty good contact but his fly ball hung up in center for Mitchell, and after Young hit a one-out single, he was picked off by Young—the fifth time tonight that a National made an out on the basepaths. A good thing, too, as Sproat issued his third walk of the evening to Nuñez. Unfortunately, when Sproat was one strike away from a badly needed four scoreless innings, Ruiz reached down and got a 2-2 changeup that was about a foot below the strike zone and hit it into the right field corner for an RBI double. That was all for Sproat, as the Brewers brought in DL Hall to face the left-handed Wood. Hall walked Wood on four pitches—first base was open, though Hall did not have the platoon advantage against the right-handed Mead. It didn’t matter, as Mead hit a routine fly ball to center that ended the inning. But the Nats’ new three-run lead felt more like a 12-run lead with the way the Brewers’ offense had been performing.
Clayton Beeter was on for the ninth, and Contreras greeted him rudely. After 16 straight scoreless innings going back to the first inning of yesterday’s game, Milwaukee finally scored again when their catcher hit an opposite-field homer just over the wall into Washington’s bullpen. Christian Yelich then struck out on three pitches… but the ball went flying, and a confused Nationals defense froze, and Yelich didn’t just make it to first base on the strikeout but he made it all the way to second.
That brought Bauers to the plate as the game’s tying run, and he nearly tied the game, but his fly ball was caught by Wiemer just in front of the wall in right center. Lockridge then drew a walk to put two on for Frelick. Frelick was almost given a reprieve when he should’ve struck out on a high slider that looked in the zone, but the Nationals were out of challenges; unfortunately, Frelick watched the next pitch, a fastball in the zone, as well, and he struck out looking. Mitchell was the batter—and the winning run—with two outs. Both runners advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch in a 2-1 count, but that invited Washington to intentionally walk Mitchell and bring who else but Ortiz to the plate with the bases juiced. (Murphy could have opted for David Hamilton as a pinch-hitter, but Washington would surely have gone to a lefty, so I assume that was the line of thinking there.)
Ortiz hit a weak dribbler back to the mound and the game ended.
The Brewers made this one interesting, but not until far too late. Otherwise, it was a second-straight night of brutally inept offense for most of the evening. A shame: the Brewer pitching staff did pretty well to hold the Nationals to three runs. Harrison wasn’t as sharp as his first two outings, but pitched pretty well, especially considering what happened to him in the first. Grant Anderson did his job, and Sproat, though he still walked too many batters (three in 3 2/3 innings), was a 1995-style-golfed-double on a 2-2 pitch away from throwing four scoreless innings.
Aside from Contreras’s second homer, it was a very bad night for the offense, who managed just two hits—Contreras’s ninth-inning homer as the second. Milwaukee badly needs Jackson Chourio back. They have now lost four straight, and has scored just six runs combined in those four games.
The Brewers will try to salvage the third game of the series tomorrow afternoon. Brandon Woodruff takes the hill versus Washington’s Zack Littell at 1:10 p.m.
MONTREAL (AP) — Charlie Coyle scored twice as the desperate Columbus Blue Jackets rolled to a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Boone Jenner, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko also scored while Jet Greaves stopped 20 shots for Columbus, which is fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Adam Fantilli added two assists.
The Blue Jackets sit outside the playoff picture, two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Cole Caufield — with his 51st of the season — and Josh Anderson scored for playoff-bound Montreal two nights after Caufield scored his 50th in an electric 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jakub Dobes made 28 saves.
Defenseman Noah Dobson exited in the second period after blocking a Zach Werenski slap shot with his left hand. Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov also went to the dressing room in the third when he was hit headfirst into the boards by Werenski, but he returned later in the period.
Montreal (104 points) fell from second to third in the Atlantic Division behind Tampa Bay (104 points), which holds the regulation-wins tiebreaker over the Canadiens. The Buffalo Sabres lead the division at 106 points with two regular-season games remaining for all three teams.
Up next
Blue Jackets: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Canadiens: Visit the New York Islanders on Sunday.
TORONTO (AP) — Eetu Luostarinen and Mackie Samoskevich had a goal and two assists each as the Florida Panthers cruised past the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 on Saturday night.
Tomas Nosek, with two goals, Cole Reinhardt and A.J. Greer, into the empty net to go along with an assist, provided the rest of the offense for Florida.
Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves for the Panthers, who snapped a four-game slide.
William Nylander replied with a pair of goals for Toronto, which got 19 stops from Joseph Woll in the club’s fifth straight loss.
Both poised to miss the playoffs, the Maple Leafs and Panthers met in the second round of last spring’s postseason, with Florida topping Toronto in seven games before going on to hoist the Stanley Cup for a second straight June.
The Panthers, who started play one spot above Saturday’s opponent at 26th overall in the NHL standings, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Nosek made it 3-0 early in the second.
Nylander scored on a power play midway through the period, and added another to make it 3-2 through 40 minutes. Samoskevich made it 4-2 in the third. Greer and Nosek iced it into the empty net.
Having already made his fair share of mental mistakes in the field and on the base paths in the early going of the season, the normally meticulous Lindor had another miscue in Saturday’s 11-6 loss to the Athletics.
With the bases loaded and one out in a tie game in the second inning, Kodai Senga, who was not at his best, induced a ground ball to the right side of the second base bag that looked to be a relatively easy potential double play that would’ve ended the inning.
However, despite Marcus Semien fielding the ball, Lindor went to his right to try and make a play on it as well, instead of breaking towards second base to get the force out and throwing to first to complete the potential double play.
With nobody covering second, Semien had to step on the bag himself for the force out (just barely beating the runner) and was unable to throw the runner out at first, allowing a run to score.
After the game, Lindor was asked what happened on that play.
“I went after the ball and Marcus was there, and I didn’t make it to second base and we didn’t turn a double play,” he said. “Senga could’ve got out of the inning right there and I didn’t help him.”
It’s not the first time, or even the second time, that Lindor has made an unusual decision either defensively or on the bases that has cost the Mets. Just last night, he was thrown out at third base on a grounder hit to first after veering too far off the bag in a game New York was trailing 1-0 late.
The mental lapses combined with his struggling offense have made Lindor, a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold-Glover, look like a shell of himself during the first month of the season.
“It’s weird because that’s not him,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “It’s hard to explain. He’ll be the first one to tell you that he has to be better. Never seen some of those plays where he’s just out of position sometimes.”
Even Lindor had trouble explaining what’s going on because he feels like he’s “locked in” out there.
With the calf injury to Juan Soto causing him to be out of the lineup, is it possible Lindor is putting added pressure on himself to perform?
“Not at all,” Mendoza said. “He’s the same guy. He shows up, he prepares. He works as hard as anybody; he wants to win. I don’t think it has to do with who's in the lineup and who’s not.”
While all of that may be true, it’s still hard to ignore the shortstop’s struggles this season.
Offensively, Lindor, who is known to get off to cold starts in his career – especially with the Mets, is slashing .167/.296/.250 with no home runs and zero RBI. While those numbers are nowhere near his expected production or career averages, what was at least somewhat encouraging during the first week of the season was his ability to get on base via walks.
However, since Soto landed on the IL retroactively on April 4, Lindor has not walked once. During that stretch, he is 5-for-33 at the top of the Mets lineup.
“He’s been through it before,” Mendoza said. “This is a guy who is very streaky and he’s gotten off to starts like this. It’s just hard to explain right now.”
To Lindor’s credit, after many such cases of poor starts to a season, his end-of-year numbers are always there. Right now, he’s even got a three-game hit streak going.
“I feel like I’m trending in the right direction,” he said.
As for the mental mistakes that keep piling up? Mendoza believes they’ll be fixed sooner rather than later.
“We’re better than that and they know that… making errors and mental mistakes. We’re better than that. We gotta fix it and we will,” the skipper said.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has played in the NHL since 2015 and has only played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once, later that season.
The drought for both him and the Red Wings has extended into a 10th consecutive year, as they were officially eliminated from postseason contention after blowing yet another third-period lead, this time against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday evening.
The Devils, who are outside the playoff picture, responded with goals of their own each time the Red Wings took the lead and eventually scored the game-winner themselves, with Jesper Bratt finding the net late in the third period en route to a 5–3 victory.
Larkin, who registered his third-career hat trick in Detroit's previous game to help keep their playoff hopes alive, admitted that he's not in good spirits after their fate was sealed.
"We're down," Larkin said afterward. "I'm down, as down as I could be right now. "
Larkin and the Red Wings were tied for first overall in the Eastern Conference in mid-January, and appeared well on their way to comfortably attaining a postseason spot. However, just as they had in each of the last several campaigns, they unraveled in March and lost their playoff points cushion.
"We put ourselves in a great spot, a lot of good things," Larkin said. "We didn't do what we set out to do, to make the playoffs and continue to build this thing."
An ill-advised pinch by Larkin in the slot in search of an offensive chance proved costly when his Team USA Olympic teammate Jack Hughes got to the puck first, flipped it past him, and led a 2-on-1 rush with Jesper Bratt that resulted in the go-ahead goal late in the third period.
"They're a transition team; that fourth one is on me," Larkin said. "I'm covering for (Simon), pinch in there, and two of those guys jumped by. It's completely my responsibility to stay back and cover for the D."
When it came to blowing third-period leads and ultimately losing, the Red Wings did so five times this season - four of them coming after March 4, including against the Devils and against the Blue Jackets earlier in the week.
"It seems to be a trend of late, but like I said, there were a lot of good things this year," Larkin said of being unable to protect third-period leads. "You could really go back and look at all the points in the third periods, but it's hard to look at right now. I don't think it's going to be a determining factor moving forward."
Detroit's centennial season will come to a close in the coming days with road matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
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They might not be mathematically eliminated, but unfortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, the team will come up short in their bid for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
Despite a decent push in the final quarter of the season, it was too little, too late in Manitoba's capital.
As the old saying goes, the Jets waited far too long to heat up, and in doing so, their postseason chances have slimmed down to next to nothing.
Photo by Danny Truong
In need of another win - and a miracle - to continue their push for the playoffs, the Jets came up short, well short, in their efforts for a postseason push on Saturday in a test against an Eastern Conference playoff hopeful in Philadelphia.
The penultimate contest from Canada Life Centre this season wasn't even close from the opening puck drop. The Flyers got off to a hot start and truly didn't cool down until they chased Connor Hellebuyck from the game and put up seven goals against a desperate Winnipeg team in need of both points.
A wild opening frame saw four goals - and all four came before the game was even nine minutes old.
It was Philadelphia that struck first, with recent entry-level contract signee Porter Martone finishing off a pretty passing play by Travis Konecny just 1:17 into the game.
But Haydn Fleury responded for Winnipeg five minutes later. He hammered home a Cole Koepke rebound on a play that saw Jonathan Toews pick up the secondary helper - his fourth points in the past three games.
But then, just a minute-and-a-half later, Matvei Michkov redirected a long-range wrist shot off Jacob Bryson and past Hellebuyck, restoring the Flyers' one-goal lead.
Just 25 seconds later, the visitors found another, with Sean Couturier putting home his 11th of the season, ripping it past the Jets' bewildered last line of defence for a 3-1 lead less than half a period into the game.
Both clubs settled down as the opening frame wore on, with power play chances granted to both team.
Philadelphia narrowly outshot the Jets 13-10 through 20 minutes, while taking a commanding 3-1 lead into the intermission.
The middle stanza saw the Flyers add to their lead, with local product Travis Sanheim earning his first career professional goal in his home province. A rousing cheer from his friends and family in attendance rang out as the puck found its way past Hellebuyck and into the Jets' net.
Noah Cates delivered the knockout punch, scoring a shorthanded goal with time ticking down on a Jets penalty late in the second period, handing Winnipeg a 5-1 deficit through 40 minutes of play.
Couturier got his second of the game 6:23 into the third period, making it 6-1 for the visitors, as he beat Eric Comrie on the Flyers' first shot of the period.
Then, with just six minutes remaining, the visitors got another courtesy of Nick Seeler on just Philly's second shot of the frame.
Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 20 shots before being yanked from the game, while Dan Vladar turned aside 28 pucks on the 29 Jets shots that found their way to the net.
Eric Comrie ended the night with one save on three shots in 20 minutes of work.
A loss wouldn't have hit quite as hard should there Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators have lost their respective games on Saturday, but, of course, that did not happen, extending the distance between the Jets and a possible postseason berth.
Next up for Winnipeg is the team's final road trip of a season - a two-game trek through Vegas and Utah in a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday - before the Jets return home Thursday night for the season finale against the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 PM central.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees finally got the elusive big hit in the eighth inning Saturday night, then delivered another two innings later.
But it was all for naught, making their fourth straight loss even more crushing.
After José Caballero put the Yankees ahead in the eighth and 10th innings with clutch hits, the Yankees gave it right back in the bottom of each frame, with the Rays scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the 10th to secure a 5-4 walk-off win at Tropicana Field.
The Rays dropped a pair of bunts against David Bednar to tie the game — the first a single by the speedy Chandler Simpson to put runners on the corners before Taylor Walls laid down another between the mound and first base, on which Bednar’s throw to the plate was late as the automatic runner scored to tie it.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. bobbles the ball and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees in extras pic.twitter.com/4Vy54WP1fH
Jazz Chisholm Jr. throws to first during the second inning of the Yankees’ 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Rays on April 11, 2026 at Tropicana Field. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Yankees then intentionally walked Yandy Díaz to load the bases with no outs and brought Cody Bellinger in as the fifth infielder. Bednar struck out Hunter Feduccia for the first out but then Jonathan Aranda hit a chopper that got over the head of Bellinger, playing on the grass at second base. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was behind him in double-play depth but bobbled the ball — costing him his only chance of pulling off an inning-ending double play if he had tagged Díaz, who was running to second, and then thrown to first.
Instead, Chisholm had to go to his knees to collect the ball, and could only muster a throw to first as Simpson raced home from third, setting off a Rays celebration.
“The best thing I was going to try to do is to swing at [Díaz] and hopefully he backed out of the line and they call him out of the baseline and throw it to first base and get that double play,” said Chisholm, who also wondered aloud if he could have thrown to first and then tried to get Díaz out at second — “I don’t know what the rule is,” he said, only to be told by teammate Trent Grisham a few lockers down that it wouldn’t have mattered because Simpson would have scored first.
The dizzying sequence just made a frustrating week even more so, especially on a night when the Yankees (8-6) left 12 men on base and went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
“We know we’re way better than this,” said Caballero, who had put the Yankees up 4-3 with a two-out RBI single in the top of the 10th. “We just need to continue working and get better and look forward to [Sunday’s] game.”
Max Fried throws during the fifth inning of the Yankees’ 10-inning loss to the Rays. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Max Fried strong across eight innings of work, though was left kicking himself for giving up runs in the second and eighth innings immediately after the Yankees had taken a lead in the top half.
The Yankees trailed 2-1 with one out in the top of the eighth when Caballero, in the midst of a 1-for-30 skid, came up with two outs and runners on second and third. He took issue with home plate umpire Shane Livensparger over a discrepancy with being set in the box with enough time on the pitch clock — which Aaron Boone had to run out to make sure it did not turn into something bigger. After cooling off, Caballero smoked a double to the left field corner that scored both runs for the 3-2 lead.
But the advantage was short lived. Rays catcher Nick Fortes led off the bottom of the inning with a double to the gap before Simpson pinch ran. Taylor Walls bunted Simpson to third, at which point Boone visited the mound for a chat with Fried, who talked his way into staying in the game.
With the infield in, Díaz hit a perfectly placed chopper between Ben Rice and Chisholm. Rice jumped to his right to snare it, but had no play at the plate as Simpson raced home to tie it.
Austin Wells rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the second inning of the Yankees’ 10-inning loss to the Rays. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesCody Bellinger makes a leaping catch at the wall during the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 10-inning loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“I thought for the most part, the guys did enough to win tonight and when it came down to it, the two times where I needed to go out there and put a shutdown inning, I kind of let up the momentum,” Fried said. “It’s frustrating. That’s definitely on me.”
The Yankees then stranded runners on the corners in the top of the ninth when Randal Grichuk — whom Boone did not pinch hit for against righty Hunter Bigge despite having Paul Goldschmidt and J.C. Escarra on the bench — flew out.
Austin Wells homered in the second inning for the early 1-0 lead, but that was the only time the Yankees left the park as they again were held in check offensively.
“It sucks,” Chisholm said. “Coming out, working hard to get back out front. Tough loss. They played good and did good baserunning, hit at the right times. We didn’t. We’ll get better with that as the season goes on, but at the same time, we didn’t execute today. We left what, [12] runners on base? Once we do a better job of that, it’s going to come around when we come around.”
UNIONDALE, NY - MARCH 19: Hayden Gray #3 of the Maine Celtics looks to pass the ball during the game against the Long Island Nets on March 19, 2026 at The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Evan Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
According to Shams Charania, the Utah Jazz signed Hayden Gray to a two-year contract.
The Utah Jazz are signing guard Hayden Gray to a two-year contract out of the NBA G League's Maine Celtics, agent George S. Langberg of @GSLSportsGroup tells ESPN. The undrafted UC San Diego product lands an NBA deal to finish the season.
Gray is known as a defense-first guard who fits the mold of recent signings the Jazz have made. We saw the Jazz sign Bez Mbeng to a two-year contract, who was also a high-level defender in college.
At UC San Diego, Gray was given the Big West Defensive Player award for 2024-25. At one point in his college career, he led the NCAA in steals. For the Maine Celtics, he set a single-season record for steals in a season with 79.
It’s clearly a trend for the Jazz to start emphasizing defense with the players they’re signing as guards. And it seems those guards are especially good at stealing the ball. This strategy makes a lot of sense for the Jazz, who have been one of the worst defenses, and usually the worst, in the NBA for the last four seasons. Utah is poised for a great season next year, and clearly, defense is the emphasis heading into this offseason, given their fringe signings. Is this something the Jazz will also take into account in the draft? If Utah jumps into the top-4 of the lottery, they likely just pick the best player available. But if they end up somewhere between 5-8, will defense be more of an emphasis for who they draft? Maybe the Hayden Gray signals what the Jazz might do?
It’s also a bit of a bummer because this signals the end of Kennedy Chandler’s contract. Who knows if Chandler will be with the Jazz moving forward. If he is, it’s likely in the upcoming summer league and training camp.
Kennedy Chandler will not be with the @utahjazz in LA for their final game against the @Lakers.
His second 10-day contract with the Jazz ends tomorrow before Sunday's season finale.
At the start of the 2025-26 season, the Buffalo Sabres claimed goaltender Colten Ellis off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. This is after he had a 22-14-3 record, a .922 save percentage, and a 2.63 goals-against average in 42 AHL games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2024-25.
Now, with the 2025-26 season almost over, it is clear that Ellis has been a solid waiver addition for the Sabres. He has worked well as their No. 3 goaltender, and it is hard not to be satisfied with his play when noting that Buffalo picked him up for free.
In 15 games this season with the Sabres, Ellis has an 8-4-1 record, a .904 save percentage, and a 2.91 goals-against average. With numbers like these, he has been a solid depth goalie for the Sabres.
Ellis also just put together a fantastic performance in his most recent start on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 2019 third-round pick put together a 37-save shutout against Columbus. This was Ellis' first-career NHL shutout.
With all of this, it is clear that Ellis has been a nice pickup for the Sabres. While Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon have been a great tandem, Ellis has also done well when called upon.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - APRIL 10: New York Yankees Infielder Jose Caballero (72) at bat during the regular season game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on April 10, 2026, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The bottom of the Yankees lineup has caught a lot of flack for being automatic outs in the early going this season. Naturally, on a night when the 6-9 hitters drove in four runs and Max Fried threw eight innings of three-run ball … the Yankees still lost. Why, you ask? Take away José Caballero’s two (!!) hits with runners in scoring position and the Yanks were 0-for-10 in those situations. Meanwhile, for as good as he was, every single time the Yankees scored for him, Fried immediately gave the runs back. Add it all up and you have the recipe for the usual despicable Yankee loss at the Trop.
I noted in the game preview that one of Rays starter Nick Martinez’s calling cards early has been a lack of walks. So, of course he put Trent Grisham on with four pitches leading off. I also noted he has not been striking guys out. So, of course he whiffed Aaron Judge. Cody Bellinger, who has been scuffling of late, turned on a cutter in the middle of the plate and singled down the right field line and later stole second, putting two runners in scoring position.
A golden opportunity for an offense that desperately needs to score runs. Alas, Ben Rice struck out looking on middle-middle heat and Giancarlo Stanton drove an absolute missile directly at the left fielder. Opportunity squandered.
Austin Wells came into today hitting .152 with neither a home run nor an RBI on the young season. He rectified that in the top of the second, turning on an inside fastball and driving a ball out down the right-field line.
No cheapie, it would be a dinger in all 30 parks. And speaking of guys who have been brutally struggling, Ryan McMahon managed a single later in the frame, boosting his average to half a Mendoza Line (.100). It was no home run, but anything the bottom of the lineup can do that isn’t an uncompetitive at-bat is a pleasure to see.
With the offense semi-somnolent, it was absolutely incumbent on Yankee ace Max Fried to hold the Rays down, and he did so in the first. Unfortunately, Fried coughed the run support back up in the second. Junior Caminero doubled and moved to third on a groundball. One dunk single into right field later, Caminero was home and the game was tied. Given the offense’s struggles, it felt like Fried had already ceded his margin of error.
The bottom of the lineup was back doing their nonsense in the fourth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his second weak fly ball of the game, having seen a total of three pitches total to that point. I will not harp on Wells’s swinging strikeout considering he was the sole reason the Yankees were in the run column. I will pick on Caballero who, after yet another uncompetitive at-bat, was now 1 for his last 28. I found myself really missing Anthony Volpe right about then.
The Yanks had a golden opportunity to break the game open in the top of the fifth. A pair of walks, to Grisham and Rice, and a Bellinger single, loaded the bases and sent Martinez to the shower. In came righty Kevin Kelly to face Big G, with the sacks juiced and two out. Stanton, with a .325 career average with the bases loaded, promptly whiffed. Opportunity squandered.
Back to the bottom of the lineup in the sixth and Chisholm continued his skid, making him 2 for his last 24. After Wells hit a hard groundball out to second, Caballero struck out. Literally the entire Yankee lineup, other than Rice and to an extent Stanton, was ice-cold simultaneously.
Max Fried retired 11 in a row after giving up that second inning RBI, then ran into trouble in the sixth. Who, you ask, broke that streak? There can be only one. Taylor bleeping Walls. Walls came into today with a career OPS 135 points higher against the Yanks than his overall mark. So, of course he singled to start the home sixth. Fried then had Yandy Díaz take him for a ride to left. Luckily, Bellinger flashed some leather for the first out or the frame could have gotten out of hand.
Another single put runners on the corners and Jonathan Aranda, unlike the Yankees, made his opportunity count. His sac fly to left gave the Rays their second run and the 2-1 lead. You would be forgiven for assuming you could put this game in the loss column, considering the Yankees’ grand total of six runs in their last 3.5 games.
With Fried’s pitch count in great shape (74 through six), Aaron Boone sent his ace back out for the seventh. The star southpaw made Boonie look like a genius, retiring the Rays in order.
The Yankees put themselves in position for a big inning in the eighth. After Stanton walked, Randal Grichuk came in to pinch-run. Then Chisholm, who needed a hit the way a man dying of thirst in the desert needs water, hit a chopper down the first base line that ended in a double. That gave Wells a chance to tie the game without a hit. He failed. A bad at-bat ended in a fly ball too shallow to score the run. All of that meant it was Caballero Redemption Season. And the Yankee shortstop came through. His double to left scored a pair and gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead.
Fried returned for the eighth, with Boonie opting to roll with his ace. This time, it did not work out as well as he surrendered a leadoff double. A bunt moved the tying run to third and turned the lineup over again for Diaz. And Diaz did his job. His infield single tied the game, though Fried escaped without any further damage.
With one out in the ninth, Judge walked for the second time and immediately stole second, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position for the heart of the order. But the Rays retired Bellinger and intentionally walked Rice, leaving the Yankees’ hopes resting on Grichuk. He came into the at-bat hitless as a Yankee. He left the at-bat hitless as a Yankee.
Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill combined to hold the Rays scoreless in the ninth and send the game to extras. Grichuk started on second as The Manfred Man, advancing to third but with two out. Luckily, Caballero was at the dish. His second hit with runners in scoring position plated the go-ahead run and gave Cabby three ribbies on the night.
The bottom of the 10th quickly became a nightmare. Chandler Simpson, who entered late as a pinch-runner, bunted off David Bednar to put runners on the corners with no one out then immediately stole second. Walls then bunted and brought the ghost runner in to tie the game, leaving runners on the corners still with no one out.
Boone opted to walk the bases loaded rather than face Diaz. It worked at first but a weak Aranda chopper scored the winning run. The ball never left the infield and it didn’t matter.
Game over. And for anyone who’s watched the Yankees in extra innings on the road the past couple of years, there should be zero surprise. It’s like clockwork. They fail to do the little things, and they lose.
The Yankees try to avoid the sweep tomorrow in the series finale. Join us for all the coverage. First pitch is at 1:40pm Eastern and you better have your Schlitt together because super sophomore Cam Schlitter gets the start.
