Category: Baseball

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:

Orioles-Royals got wild

You might think, looking at the final score of 7-5 in the Orioles-Royals game from Monday, that this one was fairly offense-centric throughout. The truth is that all but two runs were scored from the ninth inning onward — everything changed as the game approached its original endpoint, and escalated from there. Observe!

In the bottom of the second, with the game still scoreless, Royals’ right fielder Jac Caglianone hit his first homer of the year, off of starting pitcher Kyle Bradish. Despite giving up 10 hits and walking three, Bradish gave up just that one run in his 5.1 innings of work: the next four Orioles’ relievers would allow just one hit and no runs combined.

Seth Lugo went seven shutout innings against Baltimore, and then Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless eighth for a hold. Closer Lucas Erceg got the O’s down to their last strike, with Kansas City up 1-0… and then he blew it.

Catcher Samuel Basallo tied things up, 1-1, and the two teams headed to extras in what had been, to that point, a pitching-focused battle. While the 10th was scoreless and continued that trend, it was also the end of it. With two outs and the only baserunner on Blaze Alexander, who was placed there to start the 11th, DH Dylan Beavers managed a single to put the Orioles ahead for the first time all night.

The lead did not last. Center fielder Kyle Isbel bunted Isaac Collins to third to kick off the bottom of the inning and put the tying run for Kansas City 90 feet away. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. then singled Isbel home to make things even once more.

The Royals wouldn’t score again, however, bringing Baltimore back to the plate, where Basallo once again made his presence felt with an RBI single to give the O’s another lead.

This wouldn’t be a one and done like every other inning in the game for both sides, however. Baltimore poured it on from here. Second baseman Jeremiah Jackson followed Basallo’s single with one of his own, then third baseman Weston Wilson — who had entered as a pinch-runner earlier — drew the walk to load the bases. Center fielder Leody Taveras would then hit his second homer of the year, clearing the bases with a grand slam; 7-2, Orioles.

Cameron Foster came on in relief for Baltimore to try to close out this five-run lead, and it looked like he might falter in that. DH Salvador Perez led off with a single, then right fielder Lane Thomas walked to load the bases. Nick Loftin, who was playing second after coming in as a pinch-hitter earlier in the game, doubled in three runs, making it 7-5 with no outs.

That was all Kansas City could manage, though: the next three batters were retired by Foster in order, with a backwards K to wrap it up against Isbel.

The Orioles now sit just one game under .500 and 2.5 back in the AL East, which is collectively off to a slow start. The AL Central isn’t looking much better off, but the Royals have managed to sink to the bottom of it, anyway, thanks to losing what is now eight-straight.

MLB’s strikeout leader is Dylan Cease

There were some understandable questions about why the Blue Jays would be willing to give Dylan Cease a seven-year, $210 million deal this offseason, given the right-hander posted a 4.55 ERA in 2025 with the Padres. Teams are looking at far more than a basic stat like ERA when they make these decisions, though, and something no one could question was Cease’s ability to throw swing-and-miss pitches. Whatever Toronto saw that made him worthy of a franchise-record deal for a pitcher seems to be on display for all now, as Cease struck out 12 Angels on Monday in a 5-2 Blue Jays’ W, tying his own earlier mark for the most in a game so far in 2026, and now leads the majors in strikeouts with 44 on the season.

Cease is also the fastest Blue Jays pitcher ever to 44 strikeouts, per Blue Jays Nation; whatever little adjustment Toronto thought he needed to unlock his best self seems to have taken hold already. Of course, this is five starts and 25.2 innings, so no need to hand the righty the AL Cy Young Award just yet, but still: this is one hell of a start. Both referring to last night and 2026 as a whole for Cease.

Big Dumper dongs

Cal Raleigh bashed 60 homers for the Mariners in 2025, a record for the team, for catchers and for switch-hitters. He hasn’t been nearly as powerful out of the gate in 2026, but he has shown some flashes of that pop. We got another example that it’s still there yesterday, when Big Dumper went the other way on a sinker to the outside part of the zone, sending it 382 feet into the bullpen.

That’s Raleigh’s third homer of the year; through 24 games last season, he had nine. Still, Raleigh always being a 60-homer guy — or even a 50-homer guy — wasn’t an automatic just because it was done once. There have been just 10 such seasons in MLB’s long history, and all. The more important thing are the signs that Raleigh can get out of his slump, which has impacted more than just his power. Hitting a ball 382 feet the other way is one such sign that Raleigh will bounce back, maybe sooner than later. 

Rodriguez’s awkward adjustment

Nintendo used to have majority ownership of the Mariners, but now, the video game developer and publisher is just a minority investor. Apparently that’s all that’s needed for center fielder Julio Rodriguez to have some video game-esque reactions and adjustments to a fly ball hit at him, though. Look at this weirdo — the play, not Rodriguez.

That ball just kept hooking, which Rodriguez did not account for, but he still made a ridiculous change in direction himself for a catch that looked like a buggy animation from a baseball video game instead of a real one. 

No not Honkbal, Honk Ball

The square footage of a baseball field is immense, the probabilities for where a ball in play could land impacted by everything from the ability of the hitter and pitcher themselves to where the ball is in the zone and where the bat meets it and how hard. Somehow, this ball was struck in such a way that it landed near a goose that had otherwise been unbothered, and that bird took flight as a result.

Everyone was unharmed, that’s the important thing. Except for this baseball that Cubs’ shortstop Dansby Swanson had crushed an inning before, anyway.

And also the psyche of Phillies’ fans, that’s probably not at its strongest at the moment. Philadelphia dropped its sixth game in a row here, managing just one run against the Cubs. That’s just one more than the goose recorded.

Ohtani makes it 52

Dodgers’ star Shohei Ohtani did not make everyone wait long to see if he could extend his on-base streak to 52 games, tying the longest such streak of the last decade. In the third inning against Rockies’ starter Jose Quintana, the DH hit a liner to right for his first hit of the game.

While Ohtani had reached earlier on an error, those do not count for on-base streaks, but even this hit didn’t prove necessary, either, since he picked up a pair of walks later in the game, as well. 

He is now a single game away from moving into the top 25 for longest on-base streaks in MLB history. The top of the mountain is still a ways away, however: that Ted Williams guy was quite the hitter himself, and he made it on in 84-consecutive games back in 1949. Still! Ohtani can rocket most of the way up the list before he even runs out of April — the top few spots aside, history’s longest on-base streaks are mostly clustered together — fewer have reached where Ohtani is now, and even fewer have gone much further than this.

D’aww

No babies were harmed in the making of this catch.

Listen, you don’t have anywhere to go — there’s a baby in your hands. The ball is coming right at you, so your options are to attempt to catch it or at least deflect it from the direction of the child, or let the ball hit you, which hey, might hurt enough to make it tough to hold onto the baby. The right call was made here.

The better call? Giving the baseball to the baby afterward. The rest of this Dodgers-Rockies game wasn’t quite so cute for Colorado fans — they lost, 12-3 — but hey. Foul ball baby!

Friends don’t rob friends of hits

Elly De La Cruz and Junior Caminero were happy to see each other prior to the Reds-Rays tilt. The two early 20s Dominican-born infielders are close friends — Caminero described De La Cruz as his “brother” postgame, even, per MLB — so it was no surprise to see them embrace before they faced off on Monday.

Then the game started, though, and De La Cruz showed no mercy to Caminero on this ball hit to the shortstop’s right.

Make sure you watch through for the reaction by Caminero. In that exchange where he called De La Cruz a brother postgame? Caminero also joked through an interpreter that, “I’m not going to give him any food tomorrow. We were talking about exchanging something, but I’m not going to give him anything.” Man, baseball is a rough game.

Red Sox win early Patriots’ Day matchup

The Red Sox played their traditional Marathon Monday early game on Patriots’ Day, this time to wrap up a four-game series against the Tigers. Boston was attempting to even things up and not drop the series to Detroit, which had won the previous two games, and sent Sonny Gray to the mound to do it. Gray had to be lifted after 2.2 innings with hamstring tightness, however, so the bullpen had to hop in early.

In the fourth, 23-year-old rookie third baseman Hao-Yu Lee picked up his first career hit and RBI with a single off reliever Zack Kelly to tie things up 2-2. 

A couple of innings later, pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones subbed in for Kerry Carpenter and delivered a hit to left-center to drive in the go-ahead run.

Boston’s bats would wake up from here on. With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela pinch-hit and drove in two runs — nearly three — with a single to right, to put the Sox up 5-3. 

That was not going to be enough to win, but the Sox drove in another before the inning ended when backstop Carlos Narvaez singled in a run, and then Boston added two more in the eighth. And good thing, too, because the Tigers made it 8-6 against relievers Ryan Watson and Aroldis Chapman before running out of outs in the ninth.

Boston needed this W badly, to avoid dropping alone into fifth place in the AL East. The Tigers could have used it, too, in the way all teams need a win, but Detroit is at least just half-a-game out in the AL Central, not staring up from the bottom like the Sox. Boston gets the Yankees next, starting Tuesday, while Detroit takes on a Brewers team that is in last place, sure, but is also 12-9 while doing it — a better record than the Tigers have.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Just 48 players had ever managed an on-base streak of at least 50 games entering the 2026 season, but Shohei Ohtani made that 49. The Dodgers’ two-way superstar, through Apr. 20, has now reached base in 52 consecutive games, by either a walk or a hit, after a third inning single off Jose Quintana against the Rockies on Apr. 20.

The streak began on Aug. 24, 2025, and through Apr. 19 Ohtani had hit .281/.399/.597 with 55 hits — 16 of them home runs — 37 walks, eight intentional free passes and three hit by pitches. On Monday in the series finale against the Rockies, Ohtani pushed the streak to 52 games, tying him with Shin-Soo Choo — the last player to get to at least 50 games — as well as 10 other players who have managed the same, a group that includes the likes of Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig and Tris Speaker.

That ties Ohtani for the 28th-longest on-base streak in MLB history, and if he can keep getting on base, the DH will rocket up the all-time leaderboard. Getting to 53 games would put Ohtani not just in the top 25, but in a tie for 23rd with Alex Rodriguez and four others. Luke Appling is alone at 22nd, with 54. Three others — Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Harry Heilmann and Cobb again — are tied for 19th at 55. Five players are tied at 56-straight games, including modern-day legend Barry Bonds. And reaching base for 57 games in a row would get Ohtani into the top 10 all-time.

There comes a point where it becomes much more difficult for anyone to climb this leaderboard, however. Orlando Cabrera is fourth with 63-consecutive games, achieved in 2006. Ahead of the former shortstop, though, is Hall of Famer and Red Sox great Ted Williams with a 73-game on-base streak achieved in 1941, DiMaggio again with his top mark of 74 — also achieved in 1941, as part of his 56-game hitting streak — and then Williams in 1949, when he reached base in an absurd 84-straight games. Williams would bat .343/.490/.650 for the season, and win his second of two MVP awards.

Here are the top 25 on-base streaks in MLB history: Ohtani is one game away from making it to that point himself.

Streak data via Baseball-Reference

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

By year’s end, odds are we’ll be crowning Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge as the MVPs yet again. 

To this point, though, neither player has been his team’s best hitter. 

Ohtani is flashing his two-way prowess with a dominant 0.50 ERA and a respectable .915 OPS, but another Dodgers teammate leads MLB in hits and batting average and is well ahead of him in every slash-line category. Judge, meanwhile, is pacing the Yankees with nine home runs, but another Bronx Bomber has the highest OPS in MLB. 

So, who is every team’s early MVP? We’ll take a look as part of this week’s power rankings: 

We might have a new poster boy for three true outcomes: Munetaka Murakami is tied for the third-most homers in MLB and also has the fourth-highest walk rate and 11th highest strikeout rate. 

Hunter Goodman looks poised for another 30-plus homer season, but the bigger story is what Antonio Senzatela is doing in a new long relief role on the mound. The veteran righty allowed his first run of the season Sunday, but he also picked up the win and now sports a 0.63 ERA in six appearances (14.1 innings) while throwing harder than ever before. 

Perhaps lost among the shocking disasters around the league, the Royals have now lost seven straight games and have scored the fewest runs in MLB. Michael Wacha (1.00 ERA) and Seth Lugo (1.48) are doing their part on the mound to try to give their team a chance, though. 

Woof. The losing streak is up to 11. Since 2020, 11 other teams have lost 11 straight games at some point in a season; none of them made the playoffs. The Mets can’t seem to score runs with Juan Soto sidelined, but at least they have a chance to win every time Nolan McLean pitches. He has the lowest WHIP of any qualified National League pitcher and, as expected, looks like an early Rookie of the Year contender. 

If I told you Yordan Alvarez was leading MLB in home runs and fWAR, you’d probably assume the Astros were doing quite well. And you would assume incorrectly. They have two wins in their last 14 games — both against the Rockies, who also swept them during that stretch — and their pitchers have a 6.11 ERA. Yikes. 

The pitching is, as expected, a problem. The offense, however, offers plenty of intrigue. CJ Abrams, who has nearly doubled both his walk rate and barrel rate in the early going, ranks fourth among all qualified hitters in OPS. As a team, the Nationals are tied for second in runs scored with the Dodgers and Astros, just one run behind the Braves. 

With Logan Webb, Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle all sporting ERAs over 5.00, the early work from Landen Roupp (2.38) has been needed in the Giants’ scuffling rotation. Roupp hasn’t allowed a home run, or even a barreled ball, through four starts. 

The Blue Jays rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in runs per game, which certainly wasn’t expected after they ranked fourth in the category last season. It could be a lot worse if it weren’t for Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease, who get co-early-season-MVP honors here. The Blue Jays are 5-4 in games in which they’ve started, and they’ve held the depleted Toronto rotation afloat. Among MLB pitchers who’ve thrown at least 20 innings, Cease is third in strikeout rate while Gausman is third in strikeout-to-walk percentage. 

As bad as it has been overall in Boston, Willson Contreras is giving the Red Sox everything they’ve needed at first base. As a team, Boston first basemen last year ranked 27th in fWAR and 26th in wRC+. With Contreras this year, they rank in the top five in both categories at the position. 

MLB’s shortstop leader in fWAR? Nope, not Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson or Elly De La Cruz. It’s Miami’s Otto Lopez, who’s hitting .338, the best mark of any player at his position. 

They have the worst run differential (-38) in all of MLB. No, not a typo. Yes, hard to believe. They’ve now lost five straight games and nine of 11, and they scored three runs total while getting swept by the Braves over the weekend. At least they have Cristopher Sánchez, who started three of the team’s eight wins and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his five starts. 

I would like to use this section to rave about Mike Trout, who leads all qualified AL center fielders in OPS as he turns back the clock to start the year… but this spot might need to be reserved for the Angels’ early Cy Young contender. José Soriano is 5-0 with a ridiculous 0.28 ERA. 

The Twins’ trade for 25-year-old right-hander Taj Bradley at last year’s deadline is looking like a huge win, especially with Pablo López out for the year. Bradley is 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA through five starts; Griffin Jax, the player Bradley was traded for, has a 7.04 ERA in Tampa Bay. 

On a team with so much offensive firepower, Shea Langeliers can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. But he has been the A’s best hitter this year, and he leads all catchers with six homers, including a 467-foot blast that is the longest by any player in MLB this year. (Marvel at it here.) 

Jeremiah Jackson is slashing .303/.319/.561 with five homers despite walking just once with a chase rate over 40%. It may not be sustainable, but considering the injuries around the Baltimore infield, his production to this point has been vital. The other contender for the early-season honor is Taylor Ward, who hasn’t provided the power many expected (he hit his first home run of the year Sunday) but leads MLB in doubles and has a career-high .388 on-base percentage. 

The Rangers have to be feeling good about their one-for-one swap of Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. Nimmo has been the Rangers’ best hitter (.311/.386/.522), while Semien has played at a replacement level so far in Queens. 

Bryan Woo has looked the part of an ace with a 2.25 ERA through five starts, but the bigger story in the Mariners’ rotation is Emerson Hancock. With the help of his sweeper, it seems to all be coming together for the 26-year-old, who’s 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA and tied for the second-lowest WHIP (0.76) among all qualified MLB starters. 

The Rays rank 10th in OPS, thanks in large part to Yandy Díaz. He has the second-highest wRC+ of any qualified DH in MLB behind only Yordan Alvarez and is tied for the second-most hits of any player in baseball behind only Andy Pages. 

The early-season MVP award in Detroit can be split between arguably the best pitcher (Tarik Skubal) and rookie (Kevin McGonigle) in MLB. But it’s also worth giving some attention to Dillon Dingler, who has been tearing the cover off the baseball and leads all qualified catchers in OPS.

They’ve been arguably the most surprising team in baseball this year, and the breakout appears to be here for 23-year-old Jordan Walker. He ranks first among position players in bWAR and is tied for third in MLB in home runs and fifth in OPS. 

After a slow start, the Cubs are starting to kick into gear. Only two teams — the Braves and Dodgers — have a better run differential than them. That may not be a surprise, but Nico Hoerner being the Cubs’ best hitter certainly is; he’s tied for the MLB lead with 21 RBI, and he already has three home runs after hitting just seven each of the past two seasons. 

Sal Stewart leads all National League rookies in hits, homers, RBI and slugging. In a rookie class loaded with talent, Stewart and Mets pitcher Nolan McLean currently look like the best in the NL. 

The answer is always Jose Ramírez, who’s back to doing his thing after a slow start, but Parker Messick needs a mention. He’s 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA, and he had to earn those numbers. His four starts — all of which ended in Guardians wins — came against the Dodgers, Cubs, Braves and Orioles. He’s emerging as a sneaky AL Rookie of the Year contender. 

Brandon Lowe leads all MLB second basemen with seven home runs and a .600 slugging percentage and leads his new team with a .975 OPS. 

There was some fear that Corbin Carroll might not look the same after returning from a broken hamate bone in the spring; instead, he has been even better than usual, slashing .300/.390/.600. Carroll ranks eighth in MLB in OPS and leads the league in triples. 

While Jacob Misiorowski continues to rack up strikeouts — he leads MLB in the category — the most valuable player on the team is WBC standout Brice Turang. With four homers and the sixth-highest OPS in MLB, Turang is demonstrating he’s a lot more than a Platinum Glove defender. 

The best hitter in baseball so far this year is a Yankee, but it’s not the one you might think. Ben Rice leads all qualified hitters in on-base percentage (.476), slugging (.800), OPS (1.276) and wRC+ (246). Meanwhile, on the mound, Cam Schlittler leads all AL starters in K/BB% and fWAR. 

It takes a lot for a closer to be singled out on this list, but Mason Miller is deserving — 11 appearances, two hits, no runs, 27 strikeouts, two walks. Just absurd stuff. He’s 8-for-8 in save chances and, at this overpowering pace, could end up getting Cy Young consideration. 

Matt Olson leads the Braves in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS and has more doubles (10 total) than any first baseman in MLB. 

Shohei Ohtani has a 0.50 ERA and a 51-game on-base streak that is the third-longest in franchise history, but he’s not the team leader in WAR. That honor belongs to Andy Pages, who leads MLB in hits and batting average and ranks third in OPS. 

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 the weekend in Major League Baseball:

The Braves swept the Phillies

In 2025, it was the Braves that were a mess. It’s a new season, though, and Atlanta is thriving early while the other two favorites of the NL East falter. The Mets have now lost 11 in a row, while the Phillies were just swept by the Braves to drop to 8-13. Atlanta, meanwhile, is 15-7, four games up in the East over the Marlins: the Braves are the only team in the division with a winning record.

The series opened with a statement from Atlanta, as they shutout Philadelphia, 9-0, after scoring seven runs across the first three innings. Saturday’s contest was much different in some ways — the Braves were held to just three runs — but the Phillies’ bats were once again silenced by Atlanta’s pitching. This time, it was ace lefty Chris Sale doing the heavy lifting: he allowed a solo homer in the bottom of the second to Phillies’ rookie Felix Reyes in his big-league debut, but that was it. Sale went seven innings allowing just the one run and five hits total, striking out seven against a single walk. The 37-year-old starter has a 2.79 ERA to open the season, which is only high in the sense that his career mark with Atlanta is 2.49 over 55 games and 332.1 innings.

In Sunday’s series finale, the Phillies scored two in the first and were still ahead entering the fifth, but that was as far as that hope would last. The Braves had a three-run fifth to go up 4-2, and that was the final score, as well. Center fielder Michael Harris II led off with a single, then right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. followed with his own knock. Reliever Tim Mayza would replace starting pitcher and rookie Andrew Painter at this point, and he would fail to keep those inherited runners from scoring. Catcher Drake Baldwin walked to load the bases, bringing up first baseman Matt Olson with no outs. He would ground out, but push a run across to tie things 2-2, then third baseman Austin Riley (single) and second baseman Ozzie Albies (double) got Atlanta the rest of the way there.

The Phillies would threaten in the ninth, when Raisel Iglesias came on in relief of Robert Suarez. Second baseman Bryson Stott led off for Philly with a double, and then Justin Crawford walked after a pop out got Atlanta the first out it needed. Iglesias settled down with two on, and struck out shortstop Trea Turner before getting DH Kyle Schwarber to line out to Acuna in right, ending the game.

The Braves have been great to this point — their +57 run differential is the best in the majors, nine ahead of the Dodgers. The Phillies… have not. They are 8-13, so in one way, duh, but also this isn’t a case of poor luck. Philadelphia has been outscored by 38 runs, even more than the Mets — even more than everyone, actually, as the Phillies have the worst run differential in the league now, a fact not helped by the Braves limiting them to three runs over four games.

Cubs walk off Mets in extras

Speaking of the Mets: New York nearly ended its double-digit losing streak on Sunday, as the Mets were up 1-0 on the Cubs entering the ninth inning. That’s when Devin Williams came on in relief of Luke Weaver to close things out, though, and it’s when Chicago struck. Left fielder Ian Happ led off the inning with a single to left, and while Williams got right fielder Seiya Suzuki to strike out swinging on three pitches (with help on the second strike from an ABS challenge), pinch-hitter Michael Conforto then hit a double to push pinch-runner Scott Kingery across the plate.

The best the Mets could muster even with MJ Melendez starting the 10th on second was to move him to third base before making their third out of the frame, but the Cubs didn’t waste the freebie. Craig Kimbrel, in for Williams, got shortstop Dansby Swanson to pop out, but Pete Crow-Armstrong was the runner on second to start the inning, and he made it to third on a wild pitch when given the opportunity and then scored on a sac fly by second baseman Nico Hoerner.

That secured the sweep for the Cubs, who entered the weekend at .500 and are now three games over and 1.5 back in the NL Central. The Mets, meanwhile, have been outscored by 25 runs on the season, which is not great in a vacuum — it’s the fifth-worst run differential in MLB this year — but is even worse when you realize that New York was +18 when they last won on Apr. 7. New York has been outscored by 43 runs in just 11 games since. That is a much bigger problem than the absence of Juan Soto can explain.

[New York Mess: Mets’ 11-Game Losing Streak By The Numbers]

The Mets are back at it on Tuesday, with a series against the Twins. Minnesota has lost four in a row, so either way, a losing streak is going to end.

Twins falter in ninth against Reds

Speaking of Minnesota. The Twins were up 3-1 on the Reds entering the ninth inning at home on Sunday, which apparently was right where Cincinnati wanted to be. First baseman Spencer Steer led off the inning with a single against Andrew Morris, in his second inning of work, then catcher Tyler Stephenson followed with a single. Center fielder Dane Meyers, who entered earlier as a pinch-runner, walked to load the bases with one out for left fielder TJ Friedl. He made the Twins pay for the opportunity.

Friedl cleared the bases, putting Cincinnati up 4-3. Morris was replaced by Garrett Acton, who got the last two batters out to stand Friedl in scoring position, and then Minnesota managed to score a run in their half of the ninth off of Emilio Pagan, courtesy doubles by right fielder James Outman and left fielder Austin Martin (who had also entered as a pinch-runner earlier). The game was tied once more, but the Reds weren’t done scoring in bunches.

In the top of the 10th, Eugenio Suarez reached on an error by third baseman Tristan Gray, allowing Elly De La Cruz — who had started the inning on second — to score the go-ahead run. After an intentional walk to Will Benson, who had pinch-run for Stephenson in the prior inning, right fielder Rece Hinds doubled to send both Suarez and Benson home; 7-4, Reds. The Twins were a walk away from being set down 1-2-3 in the ninth, so all that was needed was that first run on an error, but Cincinnati made its statement for the series sweep, anyway.

Blue Jays blow it open immediately

The Blue Jays haven’t had the best of starts defending their American League pennant in 2026, but on Sunday, at least, Toronto looked like the dominant team from last season. The Jays plated eight runs in the first against the Diamondbacks: first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled in a pair to open the floodgates, then DH Eloy Jimenez drove in Guerrero with a single. Third baseman Kazuma Okamoto made it 5-0 with a double, then right fielder Nathan Lukes — the leadoff man, up for the second time in the inning — hit a bases-loaded two-bagger to make it 8-0 Toronto.

Arizona would slow the Jays down from there, but the damage was done: the Diamondbacks scored four runs, but Toronto got another pair, leading to a 10-4 win for the Jays. While this was a serious showing by Toronto, it should be noted that this W helped them avoid being swept: Arizona won the first two games of the matchup, 6-3 and 6-2, and still took the series from the Jays despite Sunday’s beatdown.

Rockies, Dodgers had the inverse weekend

While Toronto won the finale on Sunday to avoid a sweep, things went different for their World Series opponents from last October. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 7-1 on Friday to open up their four-game series, but then dropped the next two to Colorado. 

On Saturday, the Dodgers hit a pair of homers off starter Ryan Feltner, but just three runs, which was also all they would get for the day. A trio of relievers kept Los Angeles off the board after Feltner exited in the sixth, and Colorado would score a pair in the bottom of the inning to go up 4-3, which was the eventual final score.

Sunday was more of the same, in the sense that the Dodgers were up early — Los Angeles was ahead 3-0 after their turn to bat in the fourth — but then the Rockies began to counter. A run on a single by first baseman TJ Rumfield in the fourth, then a homer by third baseman Kyle Karros in the fifth followed by a single from infielder Edouard Julien to tie things up 3-3.

The Dodgers would answer in the top of the sixth with an RBI single off the bat of second baseman Alex Freeland, but Colorado went up for good in the seventh when left fielder Mickey Moniak hit his sixth homer of the year, off of reliever Blake Treinen. It was a shot, too, 428 feet to right-center.

The Rockies would pile on, eventually going up 9-4 through eight. The Dodgers rallied in the ninth while down to their final three outs: catcher Will Smith singled in a run to score Shohei Ohtani, then pinch-hitter Daulton Rushing grounded out but pushed a run across in the process to make it 9-6. That would be where the rally ended, however, as the next batter — first baseman Ryan Ward — lined out with two runners in scoring position. 

Right fielder Troy Johnson made the diving catch here, but he was also responsible for what proved to be the game-winning hit on Saturday, a two-run double in the sixth. Pretty great weekend for him, given that.

The Dodgers and Rockies will face off in the series finale on Monday — Colorado has a chance for an extremely rare achievement, a series victory against Los Angeles, while the Dodgers can minimize the damage with a dub.

Ohtani has reached base in 51-straight games

It should not be lost that, even as the Dodgers lost, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani kept doing his thing. Back in the lineup after resting during his turn in the rotation, Ohtani kept on reaching base, extending the longest streak that the majors has seen since 2018 when Shin-Soo Choo made it on in 52-consecutive contests.

Ohtani made it 51-straight games on Sunday, collecting a pair of hits, with the first of those coming early on in the game. 

He can match Choo on Monday against Colorado, who is tied with Kevin Millar, but it will take reaching 53 in a row for Ohtani’s streak to be top-25 all-time. That might not sound that impressive on the surface, but these numbers start to pile up with a ton of ties. Getting to 54 would tie him for 22nd, then another for 19th. Ohtani needs 63 to tie the modern high mark set by Orlando Cabrera in 2006, and after that it’s all Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio instances. Ohtani has a ways to go for that yet, however.

Ramirez goes yard twice

Home run-related lightning round. Cleveland Guardians’ third baseman Jose Ramirez managed two homers on Sunday against the Orioles. Both against starter Trevor Rogers, too.

While the Guardians got just 4.2 innings out of their own starter, Joey Cantillo, Ramirez’s two solo shots helped Cleveland end up winning, anyway, 8-4.

Yes, the bullpen did a lot of heavy lifting there, too, shutting Baltimore down the rest of the way. But this isn’t a “great bullpen performances lightning round” is it?

Murakami is on fire

Munetaka Murakami has eight homers in 2026. Twice now he’s managed to homer in three-straight games for the White Sox. That’s a weird distribution, but hey, it’s working for the NPB import in his first year in MLB.

Dillon Dingler’s big dinger

Things did not go well for the Red Sox this weekend against the Tigers. This Dillon Dingler dong did not help matters.

Dingler had already doubled in a run in the first inning, too — the Tigers ended up winning 6-2, and Dingler is now batting .302/.380/.603 on the season with five long balls.

Alvarez the first to double-digit homers

Yordan Alvarez has spent his 2026 season reminding everyone of what the Astros were missing last summer, when multiple injuries limited both his production and how often he played. Healthy again for this year, the designated hitter and left fielder has been mashing: here he is claiming MLB’s home run lead with his ninth of the year.

Except, Alvarez went deep again over the weekend to push that to 10, making him the first to double-digits in the league. Alvarez is batting .333/.471/.790 with 10 dingers, leading the AL in RBIs with 21 and is first in wins above replacement in MLB, as well. Despite this, the Astros are in last, but this kind of performance from their star slugger has to give some hope for when Houston is healthier overall.

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Per usual, the Los Angeles Dodgers are cracking skulls and taking names, but they’re doing so at an even higher level this season. In defeating the Colorado Rockies on Friday night, Los Angeles marked its first 15-4 start since 1977.

Here’s the Dodgers’ electric start to the 2026 MLB season by the numbers, entering Apr. 18’s slate of games:

0: Relievers Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia have each given up zero runs in eight appearances apiece.

0.50: Through his first three starts, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has recorded an 0.50 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 18 strikeouts and held opponents to a .113 batting average (18 innings pitched).

1: The Dodgers’ offense leads MLB with 35 home runs, 320 total bases, a .287 batting average, a .364 on-base percentage, a .499 slugging percentage and an .863 OPS.

1.04: After leading MLB with 10 blown saves — and posting a 4.74 ERA — in 2025, left-handed reliever Tanner Scott sports a 1.04 ERA and 0.58 WHIP through his first 10 appearances this season.

1.05: The Dodgers’ combined 1.05 WHIP and 6.2 hits surrendered per nine innings leads the sport.

4: Of backup catcher Dalton Rushing’s nine hits, four of them are home runs; he owns a .529/.556/1.353 slash line.

5: The Dodgers have won five of their first six series.

6: Max Muncy leads the team with six home runs, which have all been solo shots.

8: In what was his second MLB start since June 6, 2025, Justin Wrobleski, who has been a primary reliever for the Dodgers, pitched eight scoreless innings and gave up just two baserunners (two hits) against the New York Mets on Apr. 13.

9: Los Angeles has held its opponents to two or fewer runs in nine games.

21: Outfielder Andy Pages has totaled a team-high 21 RBIs, while blasting five home runs, stealing three bases and sporting a .412/.453/.691 slash line.

52: The Dodgers have a +52 run differential, which is second in MLB.

78.9: At 15-4, Los Angeles owns the best record in the sport (78.9% winning percentage).

143: The Dodgers’ 143 OPS+ leads the majors.

188: Opponents are hitting just .188 against the Dodgers’ starting rotation, which also sports a mere 0.99 WHIP. Both statistics are first in MLB.

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There has been nothing Amazin’ about the New York Mets‘ start to the 2026 MLB season.

Not only are the Mets in last place in the National League East, they’ve lost nine consecutive games, falling to 7-13 (35.0% winning percentage) and now tied for the worst record in the sport.

Here’s New York’s nine-game losing streak by the numbers (Apr. 8-17):

0: The Mets have been shut out in three of the nine games during this losing streak.

1: Over the last seven days, they’ve hit one home run.

2: New York has lost two games with its opponents scoring no more than two runs.

5A: The first five losses in the skid came at home.

5B: Those initial five losses came against two teams that missed the playoffs last season: Arizona Diamondbacks and Athletics.

6A: The Mets haven’t led at any point in six of the nine losses.

6B: Luke Weaver, whom the Mets signed to a two-year, $22 million deal in the offseason, has given up six runs over his last two appearances (1 ⅔ innings).

6.2: Opponents have scored a combined 56 runs against the Mets over this span (6.2 runs per game).

7: The Mets have scored a combined seven runs and drawn just six walks over their last five games, with both totals the worst mark in MLB over the last seven days.

13: Right-hander Kodai Senga has been unable to escape the fourth inning in each of his last two starts, surrendering a combined 13 earned runs, 19 baserunners (14 hits and five walks) and four home runs across 5 ⅔ innings.

16: New York has scored just 16 runs during this losing streak.

20: Brett Baty is 0 for his last 20.

22: The Mets’ nine-game losing streak is their worst run in 22 years, with New York losing 11 consecutive games in 2004; they finished 71-91 and were managed by Art Howe in 2004.

045: First baseman Mark Vientos is batting just .045 since New York’s last win (1 for 22). 

167: Luis Robert is hitting .167.

810: Left-hander David Peterson owns a combined 8.10 ERA over his last two starts and, stretching beyond the Mets’ nine-game losing streak, has given up at least four runs in each of his last three starts.

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Munetaka Murakami hit his first career grand slam, Davis Martin gave up three hits over seven innings, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Athletics 9-2 on Friday night.

Murakami went 3 for 5 with singles in the third and fourth innings before his 431-foot grand slam in the seventh, the third of the season for the White Sox, who now lead the majors. It was Murakami’s sixth homer of the season.

The White Sox had 15 hits. A’s starting pitcher Aaron Civale (2-1) gave up a career-high 11 through 4 2/3 innings. He threw 103 pitches and gave up five earned runs with four strikeouts and a walk.

Colson Montgomery doubled in a run in the first to get the White Sox rolling early and followed it up with an RBI single in the third. Edgar Quero hit an RBI groundout in the third and Luisangel Acuna and Andrew Benintendi both hit RBI doubles in the fifth.

Martin (3-1) had four strikeouts and gave up three hits, two walks and only one earned run.

Nick Kurtz hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth for the Athletics, sending Shea Langeliers home, and Andy Ibanez drove in Max Muncy in the bottom of the eighth.

Up next

The White Sox and Athletics continue their three-game series on Saturday, with Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.38 ERA) taking the mound for Chicago opposite Luis Severino (0-2, 5.59).

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Jose Soriano pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning of his fifth consecutive win, Yoan Moncada and Josh Lowe homered, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped the San Diego Padres‘ eight-game winning streak with an 8-0 victory Friday night.

Adam Frazier had an RBI triple and Jo Adell had a two-run double for the Angels, who opened a six-game home stand by blowing out a Southern California rival.

Soriano (5-0) continued his spectacular start to the season despite four walks, recording eight strikeouts and lowering his ERA to 0.28 with just one run allowed in his 32 2/3 innings this season. The Angels’ ace increased his major league-leading strikeout total to 39, and he joined the Milwaukee Brewers‘ Aaron Ashby as MLB‘s only pitchers with five wins.

Three Los Angeles relievers wrapped up a combined three-hitter in San Diego’s first shutout loss of the season.

Before the first pitch, Angel Stadium aired a tribute video and observed a moment of silence for Garret Anderson, the longtime Angels outfielder and franchise hits leader whose death at 53 was announced by the team earlier Friday. The Angels are wearing a patch bearing Anderson’s initials on their uniform shoulders.

Matt Waldron (0-1) yielded six runs on eight hits in his season debut for the Padres, who followed a perfect 7-0 home stand with only their second loss in two weeks. San Diego had won 11 of 12 since its 2-5 start to the season.

Waldron started 26 games for the Padres in 2024, but just one last year — and then the occasional knuckleballer got a late start in the current season after undergoing a procedure on a hemorrhoid in February.

After Moncada’s homer began a three-run rally in the second, Soriano escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third by getting Jackson Merrill to ground out.

Nolan Schanuel chased Waldron with an RBI single in the fourth before Adell and Lowe delivered two-RBI hits off David Morgan.

Soriano left after Manny Machado singled and Xander Bogaerts walked, but Chase Silseth got Gavin Sheets to fly out to the warning track in right.

Up next

Germán Márquez (2-1, 5.54 ERA) takes the Big A mound for the Padres on Saturday to face the Halos’ struggling Yusei Kikuchi (0-2, 7.50).

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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The family of late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler is nearing a sale of the team, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Padres aren’t commenting publicly on the process.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the imminent deal with private equity billionaire Jose E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones. The team is expected to be sold for $3.9 billion in a record deal for a Major League Baseball team, easily topping the approximately $2.4 billion paid by Steven Cohen for the New York Mets in 2020.

The 53-year-old Feliciano is the co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm based in Santa Monica, California. The firm was part of an investment group that purchased Premier League club Chelsea in 2022, with Los Angeles Dodgers minority owner Todd Boehly becoming the Blues’ chairman.

Seidler’s family began to explore a sale of the Padres last November, two years after the death of the popular Peter Seidler. His brother, John Seidler, has served as the Padres’ chairman since then.

Peter Seidler was part of a group that bought the Padres in 2012, and he became the team’s primary owner in 2020. He enthralled San Diego’s baseball fans with his free-spending eagerness to win the Padres’ first World Series, and general manager A.J. Preller built a series of exciting teams that have reached the MLB playoffs in four of the last six seasons — a first in team history.

The Padres’ potential sale price reflects their value as San Diego’s only franchise in North America’s four traditional major sports leagues, leading to a passionate fan base in their attractive home at downtown Petco Park. The team has set attendance records in each of the past three seasons, capped last season by drawing a whopping 3,437,201 fans — the second-most in the majors to the Dodgers, who play in their much larger stadium in Chavez Ravine.

Feliciano was born and raised in Puerto Rico before attending Princeton and Stanford. He co-founded Clearlake Capital two decades ago.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Garret Anderson, the multitalented outfielder who became the Los Angeles Angels‘ career hits leader and led the team to its only World Series title, has died. He was 53.

The Angels announced Anderson’s death Friday morning without immediately disclosing the cause or location.

Anderson reached the majors with the then-California Angels in 1994 and played for the club until 2008, primarily as a left fielder. He was a fixture in the heart of their batting order for his entire tenure, becoming the franchise’s career leader in games played (2,013), hits (2,368), RBIs (1,292), total bases (3,743), extra-base hits (796), doubles (489) and grand slams (8).

“The Angels organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons, Garret Anderson,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. “Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons, and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success, highlighted by the 2002 World Series championship. Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable.”

The Angels will wear a memorial patch this season bearing Anderson’s initials, the team announced. They will hold a moment of silence Friday before the Angels host the San Diego Padres.

Anderson was a three-time AL All-Star who finished as high as fourth in the AL MVP balloting, and he won two Silver Slugger awards. He memorably won the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game MVP award in 2003 in Chicago.

His 272 career homers are third in Angels history behind Mike Trout and Tim Salmon. Only Trout has scored more runs in Angels history than Anderson.

In 2002, Anderson batted .306 and drove in a team-leading 123 runs for the then-Anaheim Angels, who won 99 games and earned a wild-card playoff berth. The Halos stormed through the playoffs to this franchise’s only championship, overcoming a 3-2 series deficit to Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the World Series.

Anderson was a key factor in the Fall Classic, batting 9 of 32 with six RBIs. He drove in the final three runs of the series with a tiebreaking three-run double in the third inning of the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Giants in Game 7.

Anderson finished his career with the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers before his retirement in 2011. He was inducted into the Angels’ Hall of Fame in 2016, and he regularly worked for the team as a television broadcaster on its pregame and postgame shows over the ensuing decade.

Anderson was born in Los Angeles on June 30, 1972. He attended Granada Hills High School in the suburban San Fernando Valley before the Angels drafted him in the fourth round in 1990.

The Angels said Anderson is survived by his wife, Teresa, daughters Brianne and Bailey, and son Garret “Trey” Anderson III.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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