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Saturday baseball is back! And what a return it had. Five walk-off wins and five games decided in extras. Yet neither ended the same way. Some teams found salvation in the shape of a single, where others relied on a bases-clearing swing. Its heroes differed, too. Whether they be rookies, old faces in new places, familiar folk legends, or scrap heap signings turned Saturday night heroes. Such is baseball’s unpredictable beauty.
Today’s Headlines
Smith the Savior
In a day of unlikely wins, Atlanta’s 6-2 win is perhaps the unlikeliest of them all. Let’s start at the bottom of the ninth. Kansas City is going for the shutout and sends closer Carlos Estévez to the mound. Its win expectancy is 78.4%. Things start innocuously. Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin walked. First baseman Matt Olson singles—two on, no outs. A Mike Yastrzemski single cut KC’s lead in half, and an Ozzie Albies walk loads the bases. Estévez is laboring. Atlanta outfielder Michael Harris II pounced on him and hammered a fastball off the mound. Jorge Mateo, pinch-running for Olson, scored. It’s a tie game.
Estévez stayed on the mound. Sixty feet away, DH Dominic Smith awaited him. Down 2-0 early, Estévez worked the count full. His sixth pitch, though, would be his last, a high fastball that Smith flicked 386 feet. It climbed, spiraled, and soared in the air before it landed in the bleachers for a walk-off grand slam. The special moment meant even more to Smith, who sadly lost his mother to cancer two weeks ago.
Two Walk-Offs for T-Dot
Two days, two walk-offs for Toronto. This time, the hero is second baseman Ernie Clement. With runners on second and first in the bottom of the 11th, Clement torched a fastball to left. A two-hopper, the A’s outfielder didn’t even have a chance. Toronto wins 8-7.
Other remarks go to Toronto starter Dylan Cease. The newest Blue Jay delivered in his team debut: twelve strikeouts, two walks, in 5.1 innings. He dominated. Point blank. As did A’s catcher Shea Langeliers. The veteran launched a 420-foot grand slam to make it 6-2 at one point. Despite it, Toronto kept trucking. A run in the seventh, another two in the eighth. Suddenly, it was a ballgame. Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk transformed the affair with a game-tying solo shot in the ninth. Neither offense scored in the tenth, bringing us full circle, to a 7-7 ballgame and Clement at bat.
New York and Its Nonsense
It’s always something with the New York Mets. Even in a 4-2 win. After pelting the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, New York couldn’t score a run on Saturday. And neither could the Pirates until it mattered most. Third baseman Nick Gonzales stepped up and laced a go-ahead single in the top of the 10th. The Mets’ backup catcher, Luis Torrens, responded immediately. With the bases loaded, no outs, and the Mets’ stars due up, an end seemed soon to follow. But none came. The Mets left them loaded.
Fast forward. It’s the bottom of the 11th. The Pirates lead 2-1 thanks to a Bryan Reynolds single. Surely this is where sanity re-enters the picture. Nope. Jorge Polanco walks to put two on for the newest Met, Luis Robert Jr. Robert chased the second pitch he saw, a low slider, and sent it. All 108 stitches vault the fence, and the Mets, despite being outhit and going three-for-fourteen with runners in scoring position, win in walk-off fashion. Go figure.
Guardians Overcome the M’s
Fresh from blowing a 3-2 lead to the Seattle Mariners, momentum was not on the Cleveland Guardians’ side entering extras. And yet, the Guardians found a way to win 5-4. Part of that, ironically, is thanks to Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan. The infielder’s throwing error in the tenth scored the Guardians ghost runner, Brayan Rocchio. Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter took care of the rest. The rookie extraordinaire rocked a two-run shot – more on that later – to make it 6-3. That insurance paid dividends as Seattle scored two runs before Guardians reliever Connor Brogdon recorded the final out.
Texas Trucks Ahead
The Texas Rangers skated by on Saturday. Once ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 in the ninth, Texas suddenly found itself in extras. Yet the club held strong with a little bit of help from Philadelphia’s closer, Jhoan Duran. The usually stellar Duran faltered in the 10th, hurling a wild pitch to give Texas the lead. Fresh from the couch, Andrew McCutchen chipped in afterward. The vet snuck what became a game-winning hit by Philly shortstop Trea Turner. Speaking of Turner, he, like his cohorts, couldn’t come up clutch when the bats flipped. He popped out, Kyle Schwarber struck out, and Alec Bohm shared Turner’s fate to cinch Philly’s 5-4 loss.
One Ranger breathed easier than the others with the win. Rewind. Before Philly tied things. Before an Adolis García double ignited the Phillies’ ninth-inning comeback. Go two pitches before. There are two on with two outs. It’s do-or-die. García hits a lazy, probably fatal pop-up. Rangers first baseman Jake Burger trotted over. Burger searched for the ball, and searched… and lost it. It cascaded onto the grass harmlessly and kept García’s at-bat alive. The Phillies’ bats did what they did minutes later. It became a tie game, and Burger presumably felt his soul recede inside his body. An hour later, Burger would feel it return to its rightful place.
St. Louis Squeaks By
The St. Louis Cardinals did their best not to win on Saturday. The club blew a four-run lead in the top of the ninth and later trailed in the 10th. They were on the cusp of stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. Then they started playing smallball. A walk and a bunt put men on second and third with one out. At the plate? St. Louis’ great hope, second baseman JJ Wetherholt. The rookie saw one pitch, a sweeper he diced onto the right-field grass. One runner scored, followed by the other. Wetherholt’s the walk-off hero. The Cardinals win 5-4 and take victory from the jaws of defeat.
Cincy Comes Up Clutch
The Cincinnati Reds have a lot to be thankful for on Saturday. Most of all, they have to be thankful for pinch-hitting outfielder Dane Myers. Where others failed, the 30-year-old succeeded. Ghost runner on second in the bottom of the 11th, Myers dashed a game-winning single to seal a 6-5 win over a rebellious Boston Red Sox team.
Let’s talk about that rebellion. Trailing most of Saturday, Boston took little bites. A run here, another there. The Sox didn’t clean their plate until they were down to their last out in the bottom of the ninth. That’s when outfielder Wilyer Abreu forked the game-tying solo shot. Oddly, that’s where Boston lost its appetite. They’d strand the ghost runner twice, failing even to advance him to third in the 10th and 11th. Not that Cincinnati, and especially, not that Myers minded.
Cubs Cudgel the Nats
How’s that for revenge? After losing their season opener to the Washington Nationals, the Chicago Cubs clobbered the Nats 10-2 on Saturday. Offensively, it was a team effort. Third baseman Matt Shaw started things in the second with a sacrifice fly. Catcher Miguel Amaya scored another with a single and would later hit a solo shot. The Nats even helped out with a throwing error that plated a pair. Ultimately, Cubs left fielder Ian Happ dropped the hammer. The veteran belted a middle-middle cutter for a three-run homer to make it 9-2. And just like that, Opening Day was naught but a bad memory in Wrigley.
By The Numbers
⚾ Four. That’s how many home runs Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter has already. He’s the second player in MLB history with four dingers in his first three career regular-season games.
⚾ 31. That’s how old Dodgers catcher Will Smith turned yesterday. And what a birthday it was. The Dodgers’ backstop blasted a game-winning home run not just on his birthday, but on his bobblehead night as well.
⚾ Six. That’s the number of no-hit innings pitched by St. Louis Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy. The right-hander razed the Rays, striking out five.
⚾ 12. That’s how many strikeouts Dylan Cease recorded on Saturday. His 12 strikeouts are Cease’s best in a start since May 8, 2024. It also sets a new franchise record for strikeouts in a Blue Jays debut.
⚾ 20. That’s how many innings it took the San Francisco Giants to score this season, matching a franchise mark.
⚾One. Despite the statement above, that’s how many runs the Giants have through three games.
⚾11. That’s how many unanswered runs the Houston Astros rallied off en route to an 11-6 win.
⚾ Three. That’s how many seasons in a row the Yankees have swept their opening series. They’re the first team to do so since the Detroit Tigers from 2014-2016.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Nasim the Dream
The Cubs weren’t the only ones to get revenge in Wrigley on Saturday. Nationals shortstop Nasim Nuñez, whose earlier error cost Washington two runs, made this brilliant play in the field. First, it’s the dive. Then it’s the roll. But the cross-body throw to nab the runner? Goodness.
Nasim Nuñez contorts his body to make a nifty play! 😮 pic.twitter.com/xguY0BFl9V
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2026
He’s Back!
In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004), Peter Parker’s body and mind fail him. In anguish, he tosses the suit aside; No more. But things change. He remembers who he is, what he can do, and why he has to do it just in time for the third act. Let’s hope that’s what Mike Trout’s doing: Making his triumphant return before the curtains close.
Mike Trout makes a diving catch in center field 🎣 pic.twitter.com/yrjhnJog2N
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2026
Doinking Dinger
Watch until the end. More importantly, watch the ambulance embedded in left field.
Aaron Judge leaves the yard in back-to-back games! pic.twitter.com/WzKNCT4Soc
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2026
Miller Time
If every NL West closer is going to have a cool entrance, then Rockies closer Victor Vodnik better take the mound to Iron Maiden while flames shoot out from the center field scoreboard.
Mason Miller’s new closer entrance. #Padres pic.twitter.com/Po4SvmbLBj
— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) March 29, 2026
Freddie and Katel
In the words of Drake & Josh, “Hug me, brotha.”
You want a hug? ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HIhDKAZfPl
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2026
C.B.’s CV
Presented without further comment.
Rough day for CB Bucknor so far pic.twitter.com/OC0lfgROdW
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) March 28, 2026
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Milwaukee Brewers are placing first baseman/DH Andrew Vaughn on the 10-day IL. Despite the short-term placement, Vaughan will miss four to six weeks with a fractured hamate bone. To replace Vaughan, Milwaukee has called up its top catching prospect, Jeferson Quero. With starting catcher William Contreras and backup Gary Sánchez both healthy, look for Quero to see some time at DH. Another possibility is to have Quero back up Contreras while sliding Sánchez to DH.
⚾ New year, same Jacob deGrom. The Texas Rangers scratched the two-time Cy Young winner before his season debut with neck stiffness. Texas’s other Jacob, Jacob Latz, replaced deGrom yesterday. The Rangers don’t believe deGrom’s injury is serious, but more of a precautionary move.
⚾ In other Rangers news, the club re-signed reliever Ryan Brasier to a minor league deal. Brasier played with the club this spring, but struggled. The 38-year-old posted a 7.36 ERA in just eight appearances.
⚾ After exiting Friday night with an oblique strain, the Miami Marlins officially placed infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel on the 10-day IL. The Marlins expect Morel’s strain to sideline him for four to six weeks. First and third baseman prospect Deyvison De Los Santos will replace Morel on the active roster and soon make his major league debut today. Through six minor league seasons, De Los Santos slashed .279/.332/.476.
⚾ Following his release earlier this week due to a shoulder injury, infielder Brendan Rodgers is back with the Boston Red Sox. The former second-overall pick re-upped with Boston on a two-year minor league deal. The pact allows Rodgers to rehab while still under team control. In his three spring training games, Rodgers slashed .200/.333/.200.
⚾ It’s official. Reliever José Leclerc is a San Diego Padre. Leclerc will head out west following a down 2025 season with the A’s. In his just 10 games, he posted a 6.00 ERA. He figures to be a depth option for San Diego’s bullpen once healthy around mid-season.
⚾ Veteran reliever Drew Smith has a new home. After being released by the Nationals last week, Smith signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. The 32-year-old sports a 3.48 ERA over 191 games. This spring, Smith tallied 5.1 scoreless innings while striking out 35% of all batters faced.
⚾ The Chicago White Sox keep churning. The team acquired catcher Boston Smith from the Nationals on Saturday. In return, infielder Curtis Mead will go to D.C. To fit Mead aboard, the Nats DFA’d left-hander Jake Eder.
⚾ The Philadelphia Phillies have outrighted catcher Garrett Stubbs to Triple-A. The move comes following a DFA last week. Stubbs, effectively the organization’s number-three catcher, will wait in the wings should he be needed.
⚾ From one catcher being outrighted to another: The Chicago White Sox officially outrighted catcher Korey Lee to Triple-A. Should anything happen to starters Edgar Quero or Reese McGuire, Lee will be the first man up.
Articles You Should Read
How these 7 teams can overcome early injury woes — Jared Greenspan, MLB.com
Sunday Notes: A Power Pitcher Always, Tarik Skubal Commands the Baseball — David Laurila, Fangraphs
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