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One ridiculously long rain delay in Atlanta kept some of us up late into the night, but it was worthwhile after a ‘Big Bear’ walk-off homer sent the few remaining fans home with a smile. Elsewhere, the Red Sox avoided an embarrassing sweep at Fenway with a dramatic extra-innings victory, and the Royals showed why their top two in the batting order will be a handful for the rest of the AL Central this season. Speaking of the American League Central, the White Sox continue to stink, and there is, statistically speaking, a chance that they will challenge their record for awfulness again in 2025. On that sour note, let’s get to Thursday’s action.
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Today’s Headlines
Angels in the Outfield…Kind of
The surprise team of the early part of 2025 has to be the Los Angeles Angels. Coming into Thursday, the Halos were 7-4, and after three players went yard twice against the struggling Rays for a total of six long balls, Los Angeles (I still can’t stand not saying ‘Anaheim’ when referring to this franchise) earned a double-digit victory. The three batters who homered all play in the outfield regularly, but one of them, Mike Trout, was the DH on this day. The Angels erupted for an eight-run fifth inning, including two homers off the bat of Jo Adell, who became the third player in Angels history to hit a pair of long balls twice in an inning.
We’ve been waiting patiently for Adell to break out since he made his MLB debut in 2020. Adell is a lifetime .212 hitter and Thursday saw his first homers of the season. Maybe this is the start of something positive for the 26-year-old.
Trout’s two solo home runs came in the fifth and ninth to make it a total of five on the young season.
Adding three knocks while playing right field, leadoff man Taylor Ward’s pair of round-trippers came in the first and fifth frames.
Starting pitcher José Soriano picked up the win after allowing one run over 7.2 innings. Soriano is off to a nice start after three outings with a 2-1 record and a 2.70 ERA. The Angels improved to 8-4 with the 11-1 victory, and now trail Texas by a half-game in the AL West.
Pitcher’s Duel at Fenway Turns Into Wild Extra-Inning Finish
Certainly, this will go down as one of the many crazy contests at Fenway Park that we witness every year. The Blue Jays were seeking a four-game sweep over Boston after being swept last weekend in Queens by the Mets. The Jays sent their early-season ace Chris Bassitt to the bump, and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, between Boston’s starting pitcher Walker Buehler and Bassitt, the pair surrendered two runs over 12 innings and combined for 12 punchouts.
With the Jays ahead 2-1 in the eighth and four outs away from the four-game sweep, Boston tied it up on a Yimi García wild pitch and throwing error allowing Rob Refsnyder to score from third. Neither squad scored again until the 10th when George Springer drove in a go-ahead run on a sac fly to right.
By the way, not only is Springer red-hot to start the year (leads MLB with a .429 batting average), but he also made this fantastic catch in the sixth.
The Jays called on Nick Sandlin to close the door in the bottom half of the 10th, but a leadoff single by Jarren Duran tied the score at three. Duran was then caught stealing while the next batter Rafael Devers was at the plate. In the end, it mattered not. Devers drew a walk and after two consecutive beanings of Alex Bregman and Triston Casas, it led to this wild play with the bases loaded and Trevor Story at the dish.
Gold Glover Andrés Giménez is usually a sure thing at second base, but even if he fielded the ball cleanly, it would have been difficult to turn a double play and likely impossible to throw out the speedy pinch runner David Hamilton at home.
With the 4-3 victory, the Sox avoided the sweep and improved to 7-7 on the year.
Royals Clutch At-Bats and Late-Game Pitching Lead to Series Win
If you want to know why many are picking Kansas City to win the AL Central in 2025, it’s because of at-bats like the two shown below versus the Twins by their new leadoff man, Jonathan India, and star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
Indy and Bob swing us back in front! pic.twitter.com/FZ654y0yiJ
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 10, 2025
Contact hitters who don’t strike out often at the top of the order are a valuable asset to have. India’s game-tying single in the seventh came on the tenth pitch of the at-bat. It was a beautiful piece of hitting. This led to Witt’s go-ahead sac fly and, ultimately, the game’s deciding run.
Kansas City’s bullpen was just as impressive, holding Minnesota scoreless over the final 3.2 frames. Closer Carlos Estévez earned his fourth save to help KC close the door on a 3-2 victory and a 3-1 series win. It won’t get any easier for the 7-6 Royals as they begin a 10-game road trip beginning on Friday in Cleveland, followed by a trip to the Bronx, and ending with a four-game series in Detroit.
‘The Big Bear’ Leads Atlanta to Series Win Over Philly
It was a long rubber game in Georgia, thanks to a nearly three-hour rain delay in the top of the seventh. The contest was knotted at one before Atlanta and Philadelphia waited until nearly 11:30 PM Eastern to resume play, at which point most of the 36,630 fans had already left the park. However, those who stuck around were rewarded with an exciting conclusion. With the game still tied at one in the 11th, Atlanta reliever Jose Suarez issued three free passes, including a bases load walk to Johan Rojas. The Phillies took a 2-1 lead into the bottom half and turned to former Nationals’ starting pitcher Joe Ross for the save. Ross allowed a game-tying RBI double to Austin Riley before DH Marcell Ozuna stepped to the plate with no outs and sent everyone home with a blast over the left-field wall.
The walk-off by Ozuna was his third hit of the night and gave Atlanta their first series victory of the year after starting the campaign 0-7. The win improved their record to a measly 3-9, while the Phillies dropped to 8-4.
White Sox Drop Eighth Straight
The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon by a comfortable 6-1 margin to complete a three-game sweep at Progressive Field. Cleveland’s main source of power came off the bats of Kyle Manzardo (two-run homer in the first) and Steven Kwan (two-run homer in the third). Kwan collected four knocks and four RBI from the leadoff spot helping starting pitcher Gavin Williams earn his first W of the season. Williams went five innings, struck out seven, and gave up the lone Chicago run.
As it stands after 12 matches, the White Sox are 2-10 and on an eight-game slide. I said in my preseason predictions, that the White Sox would be awful once again in 2025, but not 121-loss awful. Right now, their winning percentage is .167. Last year, when they broke the Modern Era record for the most losses in a season, they had a .253 winning percentage. It’s a small sample size, but Chicago is already the worst American League team by far and on pace to break last year’s loss record. Can you imagine that? As a baseball fan, I don’t want to, but it is possible.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Blue Velvet Whoopie Pies?
Grip check! https://t.co/kmMpzeD9pJ pic.twitter.com/PWzumaOzdd
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2025
I don’t know if that looks appetizing to you, but I don’t think it’s for me. It appears that the fan’s hand is hungrier than the fan himself given that it’s choking the life out of the Whoopie Pie. I guess it doesn’t matter as long as your team gets the victory, which the Royals did on Thursday.
Crazy catch by Fenway Fan…with his food!
Sticking with the ballpark food theme. I have no idea what this fan was eating, but whatever it was at whatever the price, it surely lost value after being officially destroyed by a Bo Bichette foul ball.
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DeRosa Will Manage 2026 United States Team at World Baseball Classic
“We’re going there with one mission.”
DeRo is back and ready to roll 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TI96XmMwPW
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) April 10, 2025
Love it! Mark DeRosa is probably my favorite analyst on the MLB Network. His great insight and humor make him a must-watch for me. It should be fascinating to see if DeRosa can lead the U.S. to a Gold Medal this time around after their Silver Medal finish in 2022.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Colorado shortstop Ezequiel Tovar sat out Thursday versus the Brewers due to a nagging hip issue. It doesn’t sound serious and Tovar could be back in the lineup this weekend in San Diego according to his manager Bud Black.
⚾ Mariners’ infielder Ryan Bliss will undergo surgery to repair a torn biceps after swinging at a pitch by Houston’s Framber Valdez on Tuesday. Bliss will be out for at least four months.
⚾ Two-time All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. This comes after the team’s backup catcher Connor Wong fractured his finger on Monday following a catcher’s interference play.
⚾ The San Diego Padres traded reliever Tom Cosgrove to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.
⚾ The Los Angeles Angels placed third baseman Yoán Moncada on the 10-day IL with a right thumb sprain. Nothing new here. The 29-year-old hasn’t reached 100 games played since 2022.
Articles You Should Read
One early-season development each team can believe in — MLB.com
Major League Baseball exploring MLB.TV licensing deal: Sources — Andrew Marchand, The Athletic
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