Author: rincon

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

Trout goes yard again

On Monday, Angels’ center fielder Mike Trout hit a pair of homers, giving him four for the season. And on Tuesday, also against the Yankees, Trout went yard yet again. He picked up his fifth long ball of the year in the first inning against New York starter Ryan Weathers, hitting a 94.7 mph four-seam fastball down in the zone 432 feet to center. Trout crushed this one.

The Angels would hit five dingers to beat the Yankees, 7-1, with four of those homers and five of those runs coming against Weathers — including in a back-to-back-to-back sequence following Trout’s homer, where right fielder Jo Adell and designated hitter Jorge Soler also went deep.

Per MLB’s Sarah Langs, that was the sixth time in his career that Trout has been part of a  back-to-back-to-back homer run, tied for the most since at least 1961. Or, to put it another way, as far back as there is reliable play-by-play data for. The players Trout is tied with? Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre, and former outfielder J.D. Drew. Which means that, should Trout have another back-to-back-to-back sequence in his career, he’ll be alone atop that particular all-time leaderboard.

On top of that, Trout is off to a great start to the year: sure, he’s batting just .222, but his batting average on balls in play is unsustainably low, so that’s more likely a blip than a continuation of last season’s uneven performance. More importantly, he’s got a .388 on-base percentage and is punishing plenty of pitches, as he’s slugging .508. He might not be hitting everything to where they ain’t just yet, but he’s constantly driving the ball, hard.

Jansen moves up the all-time list

Another bit of history was made last night, as Tigers’ closer Kenley Jansen, in his 17th season in the majors, recorded the 479th save of his career. He is not only the active leader in saves, but now ranks third all-time, behind only Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera.

It wasn’t a gimme save by any means, either: Jansen came in to protect a 2-1 Tigers lead over the Royals in the ninth, one earned in the bottom of the eighth when catcher Dillon Dingler doubled in rookie infielder Kevin McGonigle, who got the start at third base on Tuesday. Jansen had to face the heart of the Royals’ order, with number-three hitter and left fielder Lane Thomas leading off the frame with a single before stealing second. Catcher Salvador Perez grounded out but moved Thomas 90 feet from tying the game; that’s as close as Kansas City would get to forcing extras, however. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino grounded out without advancing Thomas, and then right fielder Starling Marte harmlessly flied out to center. Save No. 479 was in the books, breaking a tie with Lee Smith for the third-most ever.

Jansen has had a hell of a career. In 931 career innings and 938 games — the most among active pitchers — he has racked up those 479 saves while pitching for five different teams, including four different ones in the last four seasons. He’s been remarkably consistent, as well: he struck out 13.7 batters per nine as a 22-year-old rookie with the Dodgers, and until last season was still whiffing double-digit batters per nine. He made an All-Star team at 35 with the Red Sox in 2023, and this season is off to a strong start outside of allowing a home run.

Getting any higher up the leaderboard seems unlikely, barring Jansen not only deciding to refuse to hang ‘em up for a while yet but also continuing to pitch at a high level for another four years, minimum — Hoffman has a 122-save lead on him — but hey. We’ll see how 2026 goes for the 38-year-old mainstay.

Dodgers push Mets losing streak to seven

Things aren’t going the Mets’ way right now, that’s for sure. The last game that star outfielder Juan Soto played in was on April 3 — he went to the IL a couple of days later with a calf strain. While New York managed to win the first three games without his tremendous bat in the lineup, since then, the Mets have dropped seven in a row, including a 2-1 defeat against the Dodgers on Tuesday. New York has been outscored 36-10 in this stretch, and while the pitching has settled down and allowed just one, four and two runs in the last three contests, the Mets were shutout twice and scored a single run in the other.

The only reason the Mets weren’t shut out a third game in a row was because shortstop Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff home run off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday.  

That’s right, the Mets scored on the third pitch of the game, a 95.3 fastball middle-middle that Lindor punished, and then did nothing the rest of the way. They picked up just three more hits against Yamamoto, who lasted 7.2 innings in part because he gave up just one walk, and had a stretch where he retired 18 Mets in a row. The Los Angeles bullpen then blanked the Mets the rest of the way, with no baserunners nor runs allowed.

Now, the Mets’ pitching was rolling, too: New York held the Dodgers to just one run on a ground out in the first for seven innings, with Nolan McLean going seven innings with just two hits allowed and two walks — he was every bit as dominant as his counterpart. New York’s bullpen faltered, however, with Brooks Raley coming on in relief and immediately walking pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas, then giving up a single to score him against right fielder Kyle Tucker following an intentional walk to DH Shohei Ohtani.

New York just can’t seem to get everything working at the same time, but hey, Juan Soto won’t be gone forever.

Marlins play pinball to get the out

The important thing is that the Marlins got the out in the end. This play is perfectly legal, and also extremely funny. Well, not if you’re on the Braves, but hey, Atlanta won in the end so it’s all good now, right?

Anyway: ping ping ping. Second baseman Ozzie Albies hit a ball right back up the middle against Marlins’ starter Max Meyer, which went directly under his glove while taking a couple of bounces on the mound. It then struck the glove of shortstop Otto Lopez in mid-air and changed direction, toward second baseman Xavier Edwards, who managed to corral it with a snag and make the throw to first just in time, with a little help from Liam Hicks stretching to receive it. 

It’s incredible that baseball has been played for as long as it has, and you still see something like this just happen on a random Tuesday in April.

Denzel Clarke is still robbing dingers

More predictable than the Marlins’ defensive plays? Athletics’ center fielder Denzel Clarke, and what he’s going to do when a fly ball tries to become a homer on his watch.

And hey, that wasn’t the only defensive gem for the A’s on Tuesday. Check this move by shortstop Jacob Wilson to make the mid-air, mid-spin throw in time to get the out.

Beautiful stuff. And the A’s would end up winning against the Rangers, 2-1, thanks very much to this kind of defensive performance from these players.

Inside-the-park… grand slam!

This is the minors, not the majors, but it’s worth shouting out here. Inside-the-park homers are rare, sure, but they happen a few times per year. An inside-the-park grand slam, though? Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff. Here’s a clip of that very thing from Tuesday’s Oklahoma City Comets game against the Albuquerque Isotopes, a Triple-A matchup in the Pacific Coast League.

That was left fielder and leadoff hitter Zach Ehrhard with the drive to center that ricocheted off the wall just right to give the outfielders trouble, and allow for him to just keep on running all the way home. The Comets — a Dodgers’ affiliate — wound up winning 9-6.

Schultz debuts

The White Sox rolled out rookie left-hander Noah Schultz to start last night’s game against the Rays, and it was a bit of a mixed bag for the southpaw. However, he’s a well-regarded pitcher who stands 6-foot-10, so some patience is warranted. The Rays also just had it going on Tuesday, too: they scored four runs off of Schultz in his 4.1 innings of work, and then another four off of the Chicago bullpen.

The Rays ended up winning 8-5, pushing the White Sox to 6-11, but it’s worth pointing out that most of Schultz’s trouble came in the first, where he allowed three of those four runs and two of his four walks. As with most things White Sox, it’s going to be a work in progress, but at least there might actually be some.

Blue Jays make it happen in extras

It took 10 innings to do it, but the Blue Jays defeated the Brewers. Milwaukee was in control for much of the game, as they were in the lead from the fourth inning until midway through the ninth, when Toronto finally did better than a run here and there by scoring three in the same frame. Third baseman Kazuma Okamoto tied the game at four with a single to left, then shortstop Andres Gimenez knocked another run in with a ground out.

Second baseman Ernie Clement would add another run on a single to left, giving the Jays a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Brewers, though, were not done: Milwaukee scored two to tie things back up and force extras, thanks to second baseman Brice Turang (RBI single) and left fielder Brandon Lockridge — who had entered earlier as a pinch-runner — hitting an RBI double.

Toronto had another three runs in them in the top of the 10th, however, starting with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripping an RBI double to left to drive in Clement. DH Ernie Straw — who also entered originally as a pinch-runner — would double home both Guerrero and outfielder Jesus Sanchez to make it 9-6.

The Brewers only managed one run in the bottom of the inning, and Toronto would get the come-from-behind, extra-innings W.

Guardians just miss, Cardinals win

That wasn’t the only extra-innings thriller. The Guardians and Cardinals had a back-and-forth affair, too. With the game tied up 2-2 in the eighth — all four runs scored on solo home runs, all in the first three innings — Cleveland reopened the scoring on a double by right fielder George Valera.

Outfielder Angel Martinez would then open things up more with a two-run double, but that wasn’t enough. Cardinals’ second baseman JJ Wetherholt struck back in the bottom of the eighth with his second dinger of the day…

…and then St. Louis would tie things up in the bottom of the ninth while down to their last out, on an RBI double off the bat of DH Yohel Pozo. 

Still tied up 5-5 in the bottom of the 10th, the Cardinals got a gift when Guardians’ reliever Tim Herrin threw a wild pitch, moving Thomas Haggese, the runner placed on second to begin the frame, over to third. Center fielder Nathan Church, who had come into the game earlier to replace a pinch-runner in the field, launched a flyball to center, just deep enough to score Haggese. And that “just” is no exaggeration: look how close this play at the plate was.

The Guardians lost by that much, but credit to the Cardinals for fighting back late.

Buxton, Abel power Twins

The Twins blanked the Red Sox, 6-0, for two reasons. The first was the performance of starting pitcher Mick Abel, who struck out 10 for Minnesota in a dominating seven-inning, four-hit, no-walk affair.

The second was center fielder Byron Buxton, who went 4-for-5 from the leadoff spot with two solo homers and four runs scored. The first came on a Sonny Gray pitch right down the middle, but the second one, Buxton golfed that a bit — 438 feet to left-center.

Absolutely crushed. Buxton had a slow start to the year, but he’s course-correcting in a hurry the last few days.

Duck!

If you respond with “Where?” then you’re going to get hit with the throw. Unlike Rangers’ first baseman Jake Burger, who hit the deck to avoid that fate on a throw from lefty pitcher MacKenzie Gore.

Getting his head down was actually heads up. You can call that one “ground beef”. Since Jake Burger drove in the Rangers’ only run on Tuesday, you could say he was on a roll.

Alright sorry, we’re done. Well done that is.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Jackie Robinson had a forever impact on baseball.

On April 15, 1947, Robinson, who was 28, made his MLB debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In doing so, he officially broke MLB’s racial barrier, becoming the first black player to compete in the sport in modern history.

And what followed was Robinson becoming one of the best infielders of all time, having a Hall of Fame career and MLB honoring his legacy with “Jackie Robinson Day” every April 15, which sees players wear his No. 42.

Here’s Robinson’s 10-year MLB career (1947-56) by the numbers.

1A: Robinson won the 1949 National League MVP in a campaign that saw him lead the NL in batting average (.342), wins above replacement (9.3) and stolen bases (37), while totaling a career-high 203 hits and 124 RBIs.

1B: He won the 1947 NL Rookie of the Year Award in a season that saw Robinson post a .297/.383/.427 slash line (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage), steal an NL-high 29 bases and post 4.1 wins above replacement. 

2: Robinson led the NL in stolen bases twice: 1947 and 1949.

3A: The infielder is third in Dodgers’ history with 61.8 wins above replacement.

3B: Robinson led the NL in wins above replacement in three seasons: 1949, 1951 and 1952.

4A: He finished top-10 in NL MVP voting in four seasons: 1947, 1949, 1951 and 1952.

4B: Robinson is fourth in Dodgers’ history with a career .409 on-base percentage.

6: Robinson is sixth in Dodgers’ history with 740 walks.

7A: Robinson is seventh in Dodgers’ history with 947 runs scored.

7B: He earned an All-Star nod in seven of his 10 seasons in the sport.

40: Robinson recorded just 40 strikeouts in 1952, which would be the most strikeouts he posted in a single season.

132: He finished with a career 132 OPS+.

145: Robinson made 145-plus starts at four positions: second base, first base, third base and left field. He also made 33 starts at shortstop.

311: Robinson finished his Dodgers’ career with a combined .311/.409/.474 slash line.

440: He led the NL with a .440 on-base percentage in 1952.

500: Robinson posted a slugging percentage of at least .500 in five of his 10 MLB seasons.

1955: He was part of the Dodgers’ 1955 World Series triumph, the first in franchise history.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

The Orioles faced a six-run deficit and a manager nursing a foul ball to the face when things were at their lowest on Monday night. 

The Diamondbacks had hammered two Baltimore pitchers for seven runs in six innings. Orioles manager Craig Albernaz had exited the dugout after a foul ball off the bat of his No. 8 hitter, Jeremiah Jackson, struck his cheek and left a bloody laceration. 

As bleak and hopeless as all this was, the Orioles didn’t let it get to them. They had 12 outs to fight, claw back and rally, but they only needed nine. 

Baltimore started chipping away in the bottom of the sixth. They wanted at least a couple of big hits to mount a resurgence. Fittingly, none other than Jackson delivered a grand slam to cut the O’s deficit to 7-6. Albernaz hugged Jackson, who atoned for his frightening foul ball accident. Things were looking up. Still, the toughest challenge remained. Getting close is one thing, and taking the lead is another. For that, Baltimore would need a hero.

Who else but Pete Alonso completed the comeback with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Alonso resurrected the Orioles with an 8-7 lead in his signature absurd style, by hitting a dinger to the only person in the stadium wearing a polar bear head because, of course, he did. 

Alonso, the O’s new Polar Bear, turned toward his dugout, leaped into the air, and let out weeks of pent-up emotion and frustration before starting his home-run trot. For good measure, Jackson belted a solo shot in the eighth inning to pad Baltimore’s lead. Closer Ryan Helsley efficiently took care of business in the ninth, securing his league-leading fifth save of the year for a thrilling, come-from-behind 9–7 Orioles win.

For the first time in a long time, the magic returned to Camden Yards. 

Moments like these were the reason the O’s signed Alonso to a mammoth five-year, $155 million contract this past offseason. They were eager to make the second-largest total financial commitment in Orioles history for Alonso, hoping he would be the answer in high-leverage situations and the veteran leading by example. It didn’t click right away for the slugging first baseman. Adversity and pressure crept into his psyche. 

On Friday, Alonso faced the media in a somber mood. He fought back tears. His voice wavered. In an eight-game stretch beginning April 3, Alonso went 2-for-31 with one RBI and no home runs. He had only one long ball in his first 15 games with the Orioles. His batting average plummeted to .167, and his slugging percentage dropped to .259. He was frustrated. He vowed to be better, more consistent. He badly wanted to turn it around. 

Now, the five-time All-Star is heating up. In Sunday’s 6-2 win over the Giants, Alonso went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI and a run scored. In Monday’s win over Arizona, he went 2-for-3 with another double, a walk, two RBI, and two runs scored, including that energizing go-ahead home run. When Alonso is the engine of the lineup, he’s a stabilizing force that the rest of the offense can build around. He sets the tone. Now, we’ve seen how powerful the Orioles could become with a little maturity and belief. 

Despite a slew of injuries and persistent questions about the pitching staff, the Orioles have managed to win six of their last seven games. The young core is stepping up alongside Alonso. Good teams can overcome their weaknesses without letting the early part of the season spiral and devolve into a dilemma that’s more concerning than it needs to be. The O’s have 13 players on the injured list. But nobody could tell by the time Helsley pounded his glove on Monday night to secure the comeback win.

Ace Zach Eflin exited his 2026 debut on March 31 with right elbow discomfort. A week later, his season ended after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle sustained a left foot fracture and is expected to miss significant time. Second baseman Jackson Holliday is recovering from right hamate surgery. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill is on the concussion list. Over the weekend, catcher Adley Rutschman hit the IL with ankle inflammation. Right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge is dealing with shoulder inflammation. 

Injuries plagued the Orioles last season on the way to a last place finish in the American League East. So far, their luck in that department hasn’t been much better. But their ability to be resilient will be a key factor in times of hardship, and what we saw against a competitive Arizona club — being unfazed by a pair of Nolan Arenado home runs, including a three-run blast — was an encouraging turning point that has Orioles fans buzzing. 

If Alonso continues producing at a high level, then the O’s are on a playoff-caliber trajectory. If shortstop Gunnar Henderson continues his stellar start to the season — including five home runs and a .911 OPS in 16 games — and the supporting cast takes steps forward, then the O’s are a dangerous team. Still, remaining questions have to be addressed about Baltimore’s shaky pitching staff. Will they survive without Eflin? Who will step up without their ace? So far, O’s starters have allowed 40 runs in 80 innings, which is ranked 17th, or slightly below average, in the major leagues. 

Baltimore’s bullpen, for all its legitimate concerns entering the season, has been surprisingly solid. The relief corps ranks in MLB’s top 10 in ERA, fWAR, and strikeout percentage. Plus, there are a handful of relievers on the O’s IL, indicating this encouraging group will only get stronger. Bullpens are volatile, but what their arms have shown early on is a positive foundation for the rest of the season. 

So far, the Orioles are imperfect — but explosive. Monday’s huge victory was a microcosm of their initial identity. With Alonso leading the charge, Baltimore is hinting at something bigger. It was the kind of win fans have been dreaming about for months. While their confidence is still growing, the O’s magic is back. 

“In The Dugout” is where we provide an insider’s view on the biggest and best storylines surrounding MLB’s top players and teams.

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball:

Yankees streak ends on a walk-off… wild pitch

The Yankees started out 8-2, but then lost five-straight games, which did two things: allowed other AL East teams time to narrow the gap between New York and themselves, and made the Yankees one of just four teams to ever go 0-6 in one-run games 15 games into a season. The Bombers are now 1-6 in one-run games, though, thanks to facing the Angels in a thriller that ended on a walk-off wild pitch. Before that could happen, though, a whole lot of runs had to be scored in far more explosive ways.

It was already 7-4 Yankees in the top of the sixth, with both starters having departed well before, when Angels’ center fielder Mike Trout went yard. Trout tied things up with one swing of the bat, driving in second baseman Adam Frazier and shortstop Zach Neto.

The tie did not last long, because Yankees’ star slugger Aaron Judge had another dinger in him. The right fielder hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, a 398 footer to left that got out of the park in a hurry thanks to coming off the bat at 111 mph.

This was the 47th multi-homer game of Judge’s career, which not only put him ahead of Mickey Mantle for the second-most in Yankees’ history, but also has him three up on the next-highest player in MLB history through 1,400 games. Judge, as Sarah Langs pointed out, has played in 1,161 games. Folks, he’s good at baseball. Especially the part where he hits them very far.

Hey you know who else has hit a few dingers in their day? Mike Trout. Here’s his second homer, and the 31st multi-homer day of his career.

That put the Angels up 10-8 in the top of the eighth, but putting New York away would not be as easy as that. Center fielder Trent Grisham, who had entered as a pinch-hitter earlier in the game before hitting his first homer of the year, bashed his second to tie things up again, this time at 10-10, in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Now, this game was full of power, and certainly not stellar pitching performances. So it might seem a little odd for it to end on a walk-off wild pitch, but it’s still on theme, you know? If the pitching had been better for either team, things never would have gotten to the point of a 10-10 tie game in the ninth.

Alas, the pitching was not better than that, and so Jordan Romano lost on a wild pitch. Which, given the frequency that the ball left the yard Monday, and that he has allowed 15 homers over his last 61.1 innings as a reliever and posted a 2.2 HR/9 in that stretch, is surprising in more ways than one.

Polar Pete

Pete Alonso is nicknamed “Polar Bear,” so mascot Mr. Splash — who resides in the Bird Bath splash zone at Oriole Park at Camden Yards — donned a polar bear head when he was at the plate on Monday. That apparently gave Alonso a target: the first baseman mashed a Jonathan Loasiga pitch to left-center, 399 feet away, right to Mr. Splash.

Not only is that hilarious on its face, but Alonso’s long ball put the Orioles up, 8-7. It would be all the offense Baltimore needed to defeat Arizona, but the O’s scored another the next inning on a Jeremiah Jackson homer, the third of the season for the second baseman, to make it 9-7.

Baltimore is now 9-7, in second in the AL East, while Arizona hovers a game over .500 and in third in an NL West where no one can afford to fall behind.

Schwarber takes a knee

There sure were a bunch of high-scoring games — and multi-homer games — on Monday. Phillies-Cubs was another such contest, with Philadelphia eventually winning 13-7. The Cubs just could not stop letting the Phillies score, to the point that a late five-run outburst for Chicago merely dented Philly’s lead instead of endangering it.

Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber got things going early with a solo shot in the first inning, which doesn’t seem all that exciting at first given the final score, but check this out: Schwarber dropped to his knee to smash this thing.

Schwarber hit an 87 mph changeup just below the strike zone 414 feet, with an exit velocity of 103.5 mph, from one knee. Just incredible power from one of the best in the game at this very thing. And he had a sequel later on, too, to put the Phillies up 7-0. Not from one knee, no, but this one went 417 feet thanks to Javier Assad leaving it middle-middle.

Just because Schwarber can generate power from basically anywhere doesn’t mean you can just throw it 93 down the pipe because nothing matters.

Astros get Naylored

The Astros, to their great regret, had a fourth game against the Mariners to play — the end of the weekend did not bring an end to this series. This one went just as well for Houston as the previous three had, with the Astros losing 6-2, and almost entirely because of first baseman Josh Naylor. Naylor squared up on a 95.8-mph Mike Burrows fastball in the middle of the zone with two runners on in the first inning, which would turn out to be the game-winning hit.

No one knew that back in the first, of course, and Naylor added on some additional runs later. Not very much later, though — the next time he came up, in the third. And once again off of Burrows, who once again threw a fastball practically down the middle.

While the first long ball wasn’t all that long of one, coming in at 365 feet, Naylor crushed this one 433 feet to center with an exit velocity of nearly 112 mph.

Throw in a great start from George Kirby — 7.2 innings, six strikeouts against one walk, two runs on seven hits — and the Astros would lose their eighth game in a row, making them the first team to lose 11 games. Now, a whole slew of injuries plays a significant role here, but credit to the Mariners for playing the role of buzzsaw over the last four days, too. Seattle is mostly recovered from their own rough start, sitting at 8-9 following this extended sweep.

Dodgers best Mets

The Yankees snapped their losing streak facing off against Los Angeles, but the Mets weren’t so lucky. In part because they drew the other Los Angeles team, the Dodgers, and that one did not struggle to put a competent pitching performance on the board. Justin Wrobleski shut the Mets out for eight innings despite striking out just two batters, thanks to limiting them to a pair of hits and not giving up a free pass. Wrobleski also had a little help from his defense:

Mets’ starter David Peterson wasn’t terrible by any means, but he also wasn’t particularly good nor sharp. He allowed four walks in five innings, and four runs, too. The Mets’ bullpen was much better about handling Los Angeles’ lineup, but the damage was already done by then. Said damage including Andy Pages becoming the first player in MLB to reach 20 RBIs this season, thanks to a three-run homer that gave Los Angeles a bunch of insurance it didn’t end up needing to cash in.

The Mets have now lost six-straight, and are in last place in the NL East. New York is also just three games back, so it’s not panic time yet, but star outfielder Juan Soto remains on the IL and this should be a time where a team with postseason aspirations is gaining ground on competition that isn’t playing particularly well.

Look out!

Disaster averted.

Hey, he got there

A little bit of twisting and spinning and waiting for Lawrence Butler here, but the Athletics’ right fielder brought it home all the same.

Sadly for the Athletics — but not so sadly for the Rangers — this was basically the lone bright spot of the evening. It was already 4-0 Texas when Butler pulled this would-be solo shot of shortstop Corey Seager back in, but the Rangers would drop another four runs on the A’s, anyway, winning 8-1.

Another trot for Walker

We’re still very much in that early-season “is this for real?” territory with every performance, good or bad, but with each home run it becomes more difficult to think that Jordan Walker hasn’t taken a genuine step forward. Here, the Cardinals’ right fielder took an 85-mph sweeper that Gavin Williams had catch a little too much plate and drove it 398 feet to center on a line.

That’s Walker’s MLB-leading eighth dinger of the year — he’s now hitting .333/.394/.767, with that slugging percentage and his 46 total bases also leading the majors. Now, expecting Walker to keep an Aaron Judge impression going all season long is courting disappointment, but as for a 24-year-old who has always had the potential to unlock power in his impressive frame finally putting it all together? That’s an expectation you can get behind.

Skenes got run support for a change

The Pirates, famously, do not score runs for ace Paul Skenes. He won the NL Cy Young in 2025 while posting a 1.97 ERA, but had a record of 10-10 because even at that low rate of runs allowed, Pittsburgh couldn’t make it work for the right-hander. So far, 2026 has been a far different Bucs’ squad, though. They scored five runs in the first three innings, which is the kind of thing that would have helped Skenes and the Pirates as a whole a ton in 2025, but did not stop there. In the sixth, the Pirates scored 10 runs.

Skenes had just completed what would be his final inning of work in a six-inning gem with one hit, one walk and one run allowed each against six strikeouts, but before he could officially be lifted from the game his teammates gave him a series of salutes for the strong effort. Just an absolute disaster of a frame for the Nationals.

Catcher Henry Davis singled and then stole second to open the inning. Center fielder Oneil Cruz would then walk, and second baseman Brandon Lowe would single the bases loaded. DH Bryan Reynolds tripled in all three runners, then right fielder Ryan O’Hearn doubled him home. Jackson Rutledge finally recorded the first out of the inning after Pittsburgh had already made it 9-1, but first baseman Spencer Horwitz and rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin then both singled to make it 10-1. Brad Lord would come on in relief of Rutledge and get Davis to pop out the second time around, but Cruz would add a hit to his sixth-inning walk, then Lowe went yard — as seen above — to make it 15-1. Reynolds would then collect a single, but, mercifully, he would not come around to score.

Pittsburgh ended up winning 16-5 — Jose Urquidy gave up four runs in relief, which spoiled his day more than the Pirates’ as a whole — and sit atop the NL Central at 10-6. Repeat the “it’s early” mantra daily at this stage of the season, but also, hey, the Pirates look… good?

Crochet imploded, Twins exploded

The 10-run inning against the Nationals was bad, but it somehow wasn’t the worst performance of the day. Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet faced off against the Twins on Monday, and he allowed 11 runs in 1.2 innings without recording a strikeout. It’s important to remind you here that Crochet led the majors with 255 strikeouts in 2025. After Monday, he’s leading the AL in runs allowed.

Crochet walked three and allowed nine hits in that short time, throwing 55 pitches — just 30 for strikes — while giving up two homers. This was mostly a station-to-station beatdown, and worth noting, too, that Crochet’s velocity on the four-seam fastball that third baseman Ryan Kreidler sent 438 feet into left field was just 92.7 mph. Crochet averaged 96.4 mph on his four-seamer in 2025. Maybe just a rare off day for Crochet, who had never allowed more than seven runs in a game before, never mind in an inning.

The Red Sox are just 6-10 now, but the Twins? They are the first-place AL Central leaders at the moment, thanks to three dubs in a row.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

There are bad starts. Then, there’s Garrett Crochet‘s Monday night outing against the Minnesota Twins.

The Boston Red Sox ace, who was a finalist for the 2025 American League Cy Young Award, surrendered 11 runs (10 earned), 12 baserunners (nine hits and three walks), two home runs and was pulled after 1.2 innings in an eventual 13-6 loss to Minnesota. Of the 55 pitches that Crochet threw, 25 were balls. That specific stat line is the first in MLB history, according to the X account “Pitchergami.”

What’s more, the individual who runs the Twins’ X account had time on their hands, as they quoted the post about Crochet by saying, “Happy to help make history!”

“Ricky Bobby just had himself a bad day.”

Through his first four starts, Crochet has recorded a 7.58 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 22 strikeouts across 19.0 innings pitched. The Monday night loss dropped the Red Sox to 6-10, good for last place in the AL East.

As for the Monday night action, the Twins had four players hit home runs: Victor Caratini, Ryan Kreidler, Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers, who had three hits altogether. Minnesota is tied with the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central at 10-7.

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There’s something to be said for every baseball game featuring something you haven’t seen before. Our latest example came in the New York Mets‘ Monday night road matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Mets reliever Craig Kimbrel was set to deliver a 2-2 pitch to Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Then, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez started walking out to the mound to presumably stop Kimbrel from taking a pitch clock violation, but it was almost too late.

Why was it “almost too late?” Well, that’s because Kimbrel nearly brought the heat as Alvarez was making his way to the mound, and the latter had to get down in a stance in front of the plate for safety before the former realized that the catcher called for time; Ohtani watched with apprehension from the batter’s box.

Ever seen that before?

Kimbrel, who was making his second appearance for the Mets after being added to their MLB roster on April 11, ultimately got Ohtani to flyout, finishing off a scoreless inning. That said, Ohtani and the Dodgers were victorious, as an RBI single from catcher Will Smith, a three-run home run from outfielder Andy Pages and eight shutout innings from left-hander Justin Wrobleski lifted Los Angeles to a 4-0 win.

Alvarez finished the game 1-for-3, and, through 15 games played, has hit four solo home runs — which account for all of his RBIs — while boasting a .302/.388/.605 slash line. The Mets have lost six consecutive games and are in last place in the NL East at 7-10.

As for the third player involved in the viral moment, Ohtani has totaled five home runs and 10 RBIs, while recording a .267/.410/.533 slash line. As a pitcher, Ohtani is yet to surrender an earned run, recording an 0.75 WHIP and posting eight strikeouts over his first two starts (12.0 innings pitched). The Dodgers own the best record in MLB at 12-4.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports