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Hey, folks. An interesting Thursday around the majors that featured 10 games with a mix of series conclusions and beginnings. We saw everything from sweeps to splits, and even one franchise putting on the visitors’ uniform while, technically, playing at their own park. There was a crazy rubber game in Cincy between the Reds and Mariners. Another home run was hit by the Athletics’ first baseman, who now has an MLB-leading nine on the year. And, finally, good starting pitching by the Rangers and Phillies led to victories for both squads. There’s even more to get to, so why wait? Let’s begin.
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Today’s Headlines
Wild Rubber Game in Cincy
Thursday’s matinee contest between the Mariners and Reds was, by definition, a back-and-forth affair. Cincinnati jumped ahead early in front of their home crowd via a first-inning two-run homer by Austin Hays. The Mariners responded with a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 4-2 lead and looked to be in control until a go-ahead grand slam by Jake Fraley in the eighth put the Reds ahead 7-5.
But, I mentioned this was a back-and-forth affair, so of course, the Mariners answered with consecutive solo homers in the ninth by Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena to send the contest into extras. Raleigh’s long ball was his sixth in as many contests and eighth of the season, which, if not for another homer-happy former backstop (see below), Cal would be in a tie for the MLB lead in that category.
The Mariners scored four runs in the 10th, and once again Arozarena showed off his clutchness with an insurance two-run double, giving his team a three-run lead and eventual 11-7 victory. Arozarena finished the day 2-for-4 at the dish with three ribbies and two walks as Seattle earned a 2-1 series win. The M’s continue their road trip with three in Toronto this weekend before concluding matters in Boston next week.
The Home Run Leader Helps Athletics to Sweep
The Athletics took care of business with ease in their final game at Rate Field in Chicago with an 8-0 shutout over the White Sox. Starting pitcher JP Sears tossed six scoreless frames to earn the win, and five A’s had multiple hits, including Brent Rooker with a team-leading three knocks on the day. However, the story has to be former catcher Tyler Soderstrom (currently a first baseman), who eventually is going to need to change his last name to something more catchy like SoderSTORM because right now the 23-year-old is taking the league by storm with his sudden Thor-like power swing he’s shown off in April. With his team ahead 4-0 in the seventh, Soderstrom cranked his league-leading ninth home run over the right field wall.
Here’s a crazy fact and another reason why baseball is unpredictable. Last season, over 189 at-bats, Soderstrom went yard nine times and drove in 26 runs. As mentioned, he’s already matched last season’s homer total, but he only needed 79 at-bats. He’s also collected 18 RBI and should set a career high in the department by the end of the month at this rate.
The Athletics are 9-10 and playing about as well as most would expect, but there are some good young players on this franchise worth keeping an eye on. One being, SoderSTORM. As for the White Sox, they lost their fourth straight and fell to 4-14 in the AL Central.
More Sweeps
Behind Eduardo Rodriguez’s nine-strikeout performance, Arizona had no issues finishing off the Marlins for a three-game sweep in Miami. The southpaw allowed three runs (one earned) over 5.1 frames for his first win of the campaign. The visitors flashed their speed with six stolen bases, including three by their leadoff man, Corbin Carroll. First baseman Josh Naylor had one home run this season before traveling to Miami. After solo homers in each of the first two contests, he completed the trifecta with another solo shot in the finale.
Final score: D’backs-6, Marlins-4
Elsewhere, the Rangers completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 win at home versus the faltering Angels. Starting pitcher Kumar Rocker earned his first career big league win. Rocker surrendered three runs over seven innings and struck out eight. The Rangers are hoping the 25-year-old continues to pitch like this:
Watching the Kumar clips above should be a wake-up call to all Angels fans regarding Mike Trout. Yes, the future Hall of Famer has flashed some power this year (six homers), but he’s only hitting .179 with a .278 OBP after his 0-for-4 effort in the finale. That’s not good enough, and there’s no doubt that if Los Angeles has any hopes of sticking around in the AL West, he’ll need to be a lot more vintage-Trout than current-Trout going forward. That probably won’t save them either, but at least it would give fans of the .500 Angels some hope.
One other note. Corey Seager belted his 100th home run as a Ranger with an insurance solo blast in the seventh.
Yankees Play as the Visitor in Their Own Park
It’s definitely odd to see the Yankees visit their spring training facility as the opposing team. That was the case on Thursday, when the Bronx Bombers put on their road uniforms against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Florida. Aaron Judge got the scoring started with an RBI single in the first for his only hit of the game. However, he added a great throw in the bottom half of the same frame to get Tampa leadoff hitter Kameron Misner at third. Judge makes it look so easy.
The Yankees plated two in the fifth to tie the game and scored three in the sixth, including this two-run single by Ben Rice for his fourth knock of the contest.
New York held on for the 6-3 win to take the first contest of four in the series, but it didn’t come without some drama after second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was tossed for arguing strike calls with the umpire.
Good Home Wins for Pennsylvania’s Teams
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh came away victorious at their home parks on Thursday, but in two completely different ways.
Let’s start in Philadelphia, where the home squad was looking to avoid a 3-1 series loss at the hands of the visiting Giants. San Francisco scored in the opening frame via an RBI single by Matt Chapman. But Philly responded with a singles fest in the bottom half as the first five batters reached base (four by way of a single), which brought home three of their five runs in the inning. Alec Bohm’s RBI-triple to give Philly a 5-1 lead was quite an experience for outfielder Luis Matos.
Got to catch that Luis! The Giants tried to rally in the ninth behind a Tyler Fitzgerald solo homer to cut the deficit to two runs, but in the end, they fell short and lost 6-4.
Not to be forgotten was arguably the day’s best starting hurler around the league. Lefty Cristopher Sanchez struck out a career-high 12 batters over seven innings of four-hit ball. Sanchez allowed three runs (two earned) and picked up his second win of the year.
Onto Pittsburgh, where the Buccos were seeking a 3-1 series win over the visiting Washington Nationals. Unlike in Philadelphia, where the home team scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back, the Pirates scored only one run, and as it turned out, that was all they needed. The lone score came off the bat of leadoff man Oneil Cruz. If someone said this blast barely found its way over the wall, they would not be accurate. Take a look for yourself.
Yeah, just 442 feet from home plate. Seems about right for Cruz.
From there, the pitching staff took over and there’s an easy argument to be made that Andrew Heaney’s final line on the bump was better than the aforementioned Sanchez’s was. To compare, Heaney didn’t allow a run while yielding four hits over 7.1 frames (95 pitches) and needed only four strikeouts to get the job done. Washington’s Trevor Williams went five innings for the loss as Pittsburgh held on 1-0 for the series victory.
Best of the Rest
The Orioles secured the rubber game of their series with the Guardians by a final of 6-2. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson collected two hits, including his first homer of 2025 in the opening inning. After Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, the Orioles responded with a three-run homer off the bat of Ryan O’Hearn.
Heston Kjerstad added an insurance two-run homer in the sixth for the final runs of the game. 35-year-old rookie Tomoyuki Sugano improved to 2-1 with the win after surrendering two runs over seven frames.
AL Central rivals, Detroit and Kansas City, met for the first of four at Comerica Park. I’m not sure if Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson forgot how awful he was at the dish last year, but with a few adjustments to his stance in the offseason and threats of starting ’25 in the minors, he’s been stellar for Detroit up to this point. For a quick refresher on Spencer’s 2024 campaign. He was demoted to the minors in June, and even when recalled later in the year, he was better but not great. His season ended with a .219/.295/.374 slash line. On Thursday, the former No.1 pick got the scoring started with a two-run double in the third and added an RBI single in the eighth to help his squad to a 6-1 win. Torkelson’s hitting .286 with a team-leading six homers and 16 RBI on the young season. Outfielders Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter accounted for six of Detroit’s 12 hits, helping SP Reese Olson earn the win. Final score: 6-1 Detroit.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Clemente Honored on 70th Anniversary of Debut
Roberto Clemente’s grandson threw out the first pitch at PNC Park on Thursday to honor the 70-year anniversary of the 15-time All-Star’s debut. It goes without saying how great Clemente was as a player and human being. Check out the special occasion below.
Roberto Clemente Jr. and Roberto Clemente III threw out today’s ceremonial first pitch in memory of Roberto Clemente’s lasting legacy on the anniversary of his debut in 1955 💛 pic.twitter.com/363DgJ2817
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 17, 2025
Seventy years ago today, a young man from Carolina, Puerto Rico, stepped onto the field for the first time in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform.
He made his debut against the very team that first signed him—the Brooklyn Dodgers. And it wasn’t by chance. Branch Rickey, the architect of… pic.twitter.com/pB7hPiBAx6— Roberto Clemente Jr (@RClementejr21) April 17, 2025
Stott Takes a Seat While Still Completing Double Play
I saw this play by Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott and it reminded me how difficult his position is. Plays like this might not be flashy, but for Stott to not only field the ball while falling on his backside, but then collect himself to turn the double play, is nothing short of great athleticism. Fantastic play.
How a Mother Feels About Her Son Being Called ‘The Big Dumper’
Speaking of backsides, we can thank Raleigh’s former teammate, Jarred Kelenic, for coining the nickname The Big Dumper while the two played in the minors together in 2020. Kelenic used the name to reference Raleigh’s butt. The name stuck, and there was even a bobblehead created in honor of the nickname called The Platinum Dumper.
omg Becky, look at that bobblehead
🎟️ https://t.co/bpRba3Cjxn pic.twitter.com/t7D6zY3ygp
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 3, 2025
On Thursday, Raleigh’s mother was asked about her son’s nickname. To say she was keen on The Big Dumper would be misleading.
It sounds like both mother and son have accepted the title, but either way, Raleigh’s other nickname right now should be The Big Stick as he continues to carry the Mariners in the power department after his big ninth-inning homer on Thursday.
Jones Collects a Base Hit but Also Gets Hit at First Base
This was a funny moment in the seventh inning at Camden Yards because it could have gone a lot worse for Nolan Jones, if you know what I mean.
To summarize the clip, I’ll use a title from a famous Shakespeare play…All’s Well That Ends Well.
Savvy Baserunning by Lindor
The Mets took care of St. Louis at home with a 4-1 victory. Leadoff man Francisco Lindor had three hits, including this one in the second inning that led to two runs thanks to his hustle and smarts on the bases.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Atlanta called up outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A and optioned Bryan De La Cruz to the minors. Verdugo signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract in the offseason.
⚾ Cincinnati placed first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the 10-day IL with lower back inflammation. Strand was hitting .158 with a pair of homers before the injury.
⚾ The Baltimore Orioles will have to wait even longer on their young hopeful star pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to make his season debut (right elbow inflammation) after it was announced that he will undergo an MRI while dealing with right shoulder soreness.
⚾ The Mets sent catcher Jose Siri to the 10-day IL with a broken fibula. Siri is expected to miss at least three weeks.
⚾ Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos left Thursday’s game due to hip flexor tightness, but it doesn’t sound serious, and he could play as early as Friday.
⚾ Milwaukee called up prospect Caleb Durbin and optioned third baseman Oliver Dunn to Triple-A to make room. The young third baseman had a .278/.316/.482 slash line for Triple-A Nashville.
⚾ The Twins placed outfielder Matt Wallner on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.
Articles You Should Read
What are the Top 10 front offices in MLB in 2025? Here’s how 40 executives voted— Tyler Kepner, The Athletic
How pickleball rivalries and tournaments took MLB by storm — Jesse Rogers, ESPN.com
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