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You would think that living more than half of my life in Wisconsin I would know better. A few days ago in MLB News & Moments, I mentioned how weather hadn’t yet had an impact on the early parts of this season. Well, now it has. After two weekend rainouts that resulted in doubleheaders, today brings another batch of weather-related news: Three games were moved up from night starts to afternoon first pitches due to very cold weather. Those rescheduled were the Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians (now a 1:10 p.m. ET start), Baltimore Orioles at Chicago White Sox (2:10 p.m.) and Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets (4:10 p.m.). Meanwhile, I might go catch a minor-league game in Southern California, where the game-time temperature is supposed to be 69 degrees.
Today’s Headlines
Brewers Survive Another Contreras Episode
Anytime Willson Contreras faces the Milwaukee Brewers, it is going to get a little spicy. The Boston Red Sox found that out in the opener of a three-game series. While Contreras provided a lot of the emotional fuel, it was the Brewers who provided more runs, coming out with an 8-6 victory over the Red Sox. It started innocently enough, but that is all Contreras needs. Very familiar with the Brewers following his time with the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, Contreras was slightly grazed by a Brandon Woodruff pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Red Sox on top 1-0. He played it up with some screaming as Woodruff asked the umpire whether his pitch did in fact hit the first baseman. Things got testy, causing Brewers catcher William Contreras, Willson’s younger brother, to step in and make sure things didn’t escalate during the walk to first base. But Willson wasn’t done. On an ensuing ground ball, he went in with his left foot high to second base, ripping the left pants leg of Brewers shortstop David Hamilton, who was briefly hobbled. The Red Sox scored twice in the third to make it 3-0, but the Brewers countered with four in the top of the fourth. It was 5-5 in the eighth when red-hot Garrett Mitchell singled home Brice Turang and Christian Yelich scored after an errant throw by left fielder Roman Anthony to make it 7-5. The Brewers added a run in the top of the ninth before Willson Contreras capped a 3-for-3 day with a solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He added fuel to the fire with some choice postgame comments. We shall see what Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski does.
Willson Contreras took a HBP from Brandon Woodruff, who has now hit him six times in his careerRight after the hit-by-pitch he slid into second base and David Hamilton seemed shaken up
— Talkin’ Baseball (@talkinbaseballbot.bsky.social) 2026-04-07T00:40:31.000Z
Rays Win In Return To Trop
For the first time in 561 days, Tropicana Field was open for business. And the Tampa Bay Rays celebrated with a victory, getting home runs from Cedric Mullins, Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda for a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The Rays were forced to play in the minor-league stadium for the New York Yankees for the 2025 season following damage to the Trop, including a shredded roof, in Hurricane Milton in October 2024. While the stadium was suitable for the Rays to play in, there was still work going on in the hours before first pitch, with paint still being applied and drywall installed. As much as it was a minor miracle that the Trop was playable, following $60 million in repairs, it was just as newsworthy that Shane McClanahan started the home opener. Due to a variety of injuries, McClanahan hadn’t pitched at home in 989 days. The right-handed starter allowed one hit and four walks with five strikeouts in four innings.
Soto Heads To IL With Strained Calf, Out 2-4 Weeks
The New York Mets‘ rather humdrum start to the 2026 season took a big hit when left fielder Juan Soto went on the 10-day injured list with a strained right calf. He is expected to be out two to four weeks. Outfielder Ronny Mauricio was called up from Triple-A. Soto was removed in the first inning of Friday’s game against the San Francisco Giants as he was running from first to third. This is his first IL stint since he suffered a strained shoulder in 2021 with the Washington Nationals. Soto was off to a terrific start, posting a .355/.412/.516 slash line with one homer and five RBIs in eight games.
Dalton’s Double Dose Drives Dodgers
This certainly wasn’t as nail-biting or thrilling as any of the games in the World Series. In fact, the rematch between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays was a laugher — with a familiar result. Thanks to a pair of Dalton Rushing homers, the Dodgers cruised to a 14-2 victory. Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani also went deep for the two-time defending champs. It was the first multihomer game of Rushing’s career and also his first four-hit game.
Cubs Take Another Rotation Hit, Put Boyd On IL
For the second time in as many days, the Cubs lost a key member of their starting rotation. A day after putting right-hander Cade Horton on the 15-day IL, left-hander Matthew Boyd joined him after being diagnosed with a strained left biceps. Combined with left-hander Justin Steele still recovering from a revision procedure on his left ulnar collateral ligament, expected to return sometime in the first half of this season, and you can see why the Cubs are suddenly concerned with their rotation. Right-hander Javier Assad is coming up from Triple-A to start today’s game.
By The Numbers
1,620 Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez became the franchise’s career leader in games played with 1,620, breaking a tie with Terry Turner, who had held the mark since 1918.
The Guardians honored José Ramírez before his 1,620th game, a Guardians all-time record
— Talkin’ Baseball (@talkinbaseballbot.bsky.social) 2026-04-06T23:44:04.000Z
9 Colorado Rockies rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield has reached base in nine of 10 career games after his two-run triple in a 9-7 win over the Houston Astros.
12 San Diego Padres right-handed starter Germán Márquez snapped a 12-start winless streak in a 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
20 Los Angeles Angels right-hander José Soriano has racked up 20 or more strikeouts in 20 innings and one or no runs allowed in his first three appearances, the first MLB pitcher to do so since Jason Vargas (Kansas City Royals) and James Paxton (Seattle Mariners) each did it in 2017. Soriano is the second Angels pitcher to accomplish that since Kirk McCaskill in 1989. Soriano struck out 10 in eight innings as the Angels beat Atlanta 6-2.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Baseball And Rainbows
As much as Pittsburgh’s PNC Park is known as one of the best stadiums in MLB, it is also known for bad weather. Rain, in particular. But sometimes the two come together to provide something like this.
Big Dumper’s First Of 2026
Who knows how many home runs Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh will end up with this season, but one thing we do know is No. 1 of 2026 was certainly memorable. Raleigh, who hit 60 last year, battled Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, fouling off six two-strike pitches, before taking the 12th pitch of the at-bat deep.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias left in the fifth inning vs. the Royals due to tightness in his left hamstring. Arias was apparently injured while running during his double.
⚾ Milwaukee Brewers left-handed reliever Jared Koenig was placed on the 15-day IL with a strained UCL in his left elbow. Left-hander Shane Drohan was called up to make his MLB debut.
⚾ Baltimore Orioles right-handed reliever Dietrich Enns went on the 15-day IL following treatment in Pittsburgh for an infection in one of his feet. Right-hander Brandon Young was called up from Triple-A and started Monday.
⚾ In the completion of the Sonny Gray trade, the Boston Red Sox sent right-handed reliever Patrick Galle to the St. Louis Cardinals. Galle fulfills the player to be named in the deal from this offseason.
Articles You Should Read
As Rays return to Tropicana Field, they still search for “forever home” — Chad Jennings, The Athletic
Phillies’ Wheeler facing major red flags following in recovery from surgery — Hunter Cookston, Sporting News
“A really good time”: How Dodgers spent first few hours after winning World Series — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times
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