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Another week, another day of Saturday baseball to recap. And what a day it was. We had another coast-to-coast clash between the Phillies and the Dodgers, a stormy stalemate in Queens that ended with a walk-off, and a trading blows type of night between the Rangers and the Rays. But Saturday also had its shellackings. The Tigers clubbed the White Sox in Comerica, the Cubs pulverized the Padres in a 7-1 win, the Angels avenged their loss to the Guardians, and the Yankees were poison to the Pirates’ black-and-yellow blood.
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Today’s Headlines
Dodgers win Battle of NL’s Best
The Dodgers are ready to start a new streak. After losing their first game of the season Friday – but only barely – the Dodgers got revenge on the Phillies in a relatively low-drama affair. Things didn’t start that way, though. Dodgers’ starter Roki Sasaki had two men on with one out in the first but wriggled out of the inning with only one run allowed. That run would be all Sasaki surrendered over his four innings of work. From there, LA’s bullpen did the rest. Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, Alex Vesia, and Tanner Scott combined to work five scoreless, with the latter closing things out.
Offensively, it was the unlikely suspects for the Dodgers. Enrique Hernández blasted a two-run bomb in the second to hand the Dodgers the lead, and Michael Conforto added on with a solo shot in the sixth. Both dingers came against Aaron Nola, who, while plenty good, got little support from his teammates. The same goes for every pitcher in the red-and-white. The Phils went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and only squeaked out one hit – a Bryce Harper single – against LA’s bullpen. All told it was a no-frills win. And that’s alright with the Dodgers so long as it’s the first of many.
Queens’ Cardiac Kids
The New York Mets invited the highs and lows to Citi Field on Saturday night. Entering the eighth, the club was down 2-0 with an offense that looked inert. Then came the magic. Francisco Lindor led the inning off with a walk, Juan Soto singled, and suddenly, the Mets had life. However, a Pete Alonso strikeout and Brandon Nimmo flyout threatened to take its breath. And so, responsibility for resuscitation fell on Jesse Winker’s shoulders. The shaggy-haired DH sauced a knuckle curve off the wall and into the outfield grass for a triple, his second of the game. Lindor and Soto scored, tied the game, and for the first time all night, Citi Field felt a surge. In the bottom of the ninth, with two men on and one out, Lindor let himself be the conduit, lacing a fly out to center to score the walk-off win.
Boyd Fries the Friars
How do you silence the San Diego Padres amidst a 7-1 start? If you’re Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd, you refuse to let the ball leave the infield. Boyd induced seven grounders from the Padres Saturday en route to six shutout innings. In them, he only allowed just one walk and five hits in a 7-1 Cubs win. It was a masterful outing against one of baseball’s best lineups. More impressive, though, is that the southpaw hasn’t coughed up a run yet through two starts. He’ll try to make it three straight next week when the Cubs take on the Dodgers, another NL West foe.
Rays & Rangers Boat Race
At first glance, Arlington seemed poised for a pitching duel. The hometown Rangers trotted out two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, while the Rays sent out aspiring arm Taj Bradley for what should’ve been a battle. Instead, the only battle fought was with bats. By night’s end, 10 runs had crossed home plate, 14 hits were collected, and the Rangers stood alone thanks to Wyatt Langford’s go-ahead two-run shot.
Grisham x2
Think the New York Yankees are having fun in Pittsburgh? Following a turbulent week that included a series loss to the Diamondbacks in the Bronx, the Yankees cut loose in the ‘Burgh. No one felt freer than outfielder Trent Grisham, who hit a pair of dingers against Pirates starter Bailey Falter. Grisham’s four RBI day led the Yankees toward an easy 10-4 win to up their now 6-2 record.
The Reds Finally Rally
Taking a lead isn’t a big deal to most teams. But then again, most teams haven’t had the start of the 2025 Cincinnati Reds. Things were downright miserable last week in the Queen City as the club lost three straight 1-0 games and endured a 35-inning scoreless streak. Lady Luck finally changed her tune on Saturday, however. Gavin Lux got things going with an RBI double to hand the Reds their first lead since Monday, March 31, and that was just the start. The Reds piled onto the Brewers and ran away with the win, another first in almost a week.
Sugano Stars in Baltimore Win
It was all Orioles in Kansas City yesterday. The bird-themed ball club torched the Royals 8-1, with standout performances from Jackson Holliday, Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez, and Ryan Mountcastle. Pitching-wise, Tomoyuki Sugano arguably gave Baltimore their best start of the young season, going five-and-a-third innings and allowing just one run – a solo shot courtesy of Bobby Witt Jr. Sugano was awarded the win, his first – of what the Orioles hope is many – in the MLB.
Torked Up
Watch out, world, Spencer Torkelson might be making the leap. After a rocky 2024, the former first-overall pick is finally playing to his prowess. With two more hits in yesterday’s 7-2 drubbing of the White Sox, Torkelson is now hitting .345/.472/.655 with a 1.127 OPS. While not quite earth-shattering, a fully realized Torkelson could deepen a Tigers lineup with high aspirations following an ALDS trip last season.
Best Moments From Yesterday
The Happening
The North Side celebrated one of its homegrown heroes Saturday as Ian Happ played his 1,000th career game. Happ returned the love, laying it all out for this jaw-dropping catch.
Rocky Mountain High
The Colorado Rockies may not have much. But they did turn the first triple-play of the year.
What’s a Couple of Inches, Anyway?
Baseball is for everyone, including the tall and the short. Exhibit A: This chat between Astros star Jose Altuve and Twins pitcher Bailey Ober.
6'9" BAILEY OBER AND 5'6" JOSE ALTUVE MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/gXF3mOfvkU
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 5, 2025
De La Cruz Missle
Not much is expected to go right with the Miami Marlins this season. Such was the case Saturday when Atlanta outfielder Bryan De La Cruz unleashed an absolute seed from the warning track to throw out the speedy Xavier Edwards for the double play. De La Cruz’s efforts and previous assumptions were for naught as the Marlins won 4-0.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ After limping off the field Friday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks have officially placed All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain. Fellow infielder Tim Tawa will take Marte’s spot on the roster while the club tries to fill his void. Marte hit .346/.469/.462 with a .930 OPS through his first eight games.
⚾ As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Blue Jays, outfielder George Springer exited Saturday’s loss after a nasty collision with the right-field wall. Blue Jays skipper John Schneider later said Springer experienced lower back spasms and would be re-evaluated today.
⚾ Veteran utilityman Nick Gordon is returning to the AL Central. The Kansas City Royals acquired Gordon from the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday in exchange for cash considerations.
⚾ Journeyman reliever Richard Lovelady is off to his next stop. Lovelady rejected the Blue Jays’ attempted demotion and is instead electing free agency. The choice comes after a rough appearance in Baltimore last Saturday that left Lovelady with a 21.60 ERA.
⚾ The Mariners are moving on. The team announced Saturday that they’d DFA’d reliever Cody Bolton and replaced his 40-man spot with reliever Jesse Hahn. To make room for Hahn on the MLB roster, the team demoted Taylor Saucedo to Triple-A Tacoma.
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