Dynasty
Nastiest GIFs
The List
Dynasty
Nastiest GIFs
The List
+

MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 4/2/2025

A banner day for the NL West.

Pablo Figueroa
MLB Morning News 4/2/2025

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

Tuesday baseball is underrated. Not counting this first week of the season, Tuesday usually gives you a full slate of night games, so you can enjoy a full seven hours of baseball following a lazy day at work. Also, when it’s all over, the weekend looks a little closer, and Wednesday follows with early getaway games. As I will be again covering this spot for Tuesday’s action, I hope you are also full of hope around your favorite team (how ’bout those 4-1 Giants?!) and that you enjoy these write-ups to start your day.

 

Don’t forget to watch every game with the Pitcher List community on Playback!

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Snakes Torpedo Bombers

The Yankees started the day as one of the last undefeated teams standing, and a quick power barrage appeared to put them on track towards a 4-0 record in Corbin Burnes‘ first start for Arizona. Solo homers from Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe made the Bombers the first team to record 16 homers over their first four games of a season, jumping to a 4-2 lead that held up until the seventh inning. The eighth painted a whole different picture, as lefty Tim Hill allowed two hits while recording only one out, followed by Mark Leiter Jr. issuing consecutive walks to load the bases. A strikeout put him in position to escape almost unscathed, but he was facing MLB’s hottest power hitter. Eugenio Suárez, who was 0 for 3 at that point, belted a clutch grand slam that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead they would not relinquish. It was Suarez’s league-leading fifth homer of the season in what was his fifth hit of the season, giving him a very early-season-like .278/.381/1.111 slash line.

Nathan For W

A first-inning home run at Great American Ballpark is hardly a game-changing play, not even in the colder weather of early April. Today, it became the winning run for the visiting team, as Wyatt Langford can add an old-fashioned GW RBI to the back of his baseball card, though most of that credit is deserved by Nathan Eovaldi. Following an inconsistent season with a promising first start against the Red Sox, Eovaldi delivered a masterful performance in his second turn, dominating the Reds to earn his first win of 2025. The righty limited Cincinnati to only four singles while allowing no walks and striking out eight, needing only 99 pitches to record the season’s first complete game and the third shutout of his career.

 

Extreme Ways

After almost a week of action, 27 MLB teams have at least one win and one loss. At the extremes, two clubs remain unbeaten, while there is still one franchise trying to earn an elusive first W. The first of them to close out a win was the Padres, who completed their third team shutout of the season to improve to 6-0. Michael King was masterful over five innings of work, striking out 11 while allowing only two hits and a walk. He received more than enough run support, as the Friars were relentless against Cleveland’s pitching, amassing 10 hits and seven walks en route to a commanding 7-0 win. San Diego’s bullpen was also elite, closing out the game with four hitless innings. And yet, they are not the league’s best team…not even the best team in their division.

As expected, the Dodgers continue to wreak havoc and moved to a league-best 7-0, coming at the expense of winless Atlanta, who in turn fell to a shocking 0-6 to begin 2025. The game appeared to give Atlanta a solid chance to break the spell, as ace Chris Sale was on the mound and delivered five scoreless innings to begin the contest. Alas, LA’s offense has proven to be relentless, with Mookie Betts hitting his third go-ahead homer of the season to turn things around. With Atlanta’s offense mired in a team-wide slump, they failed to even pose a threat in the late going, falling quietly with a 3-1 final score. The game also marked the emotional return of Dustin May to the mound, as the former top prospect allowed only an unearned run over five innings, with six Ks to his name. While Atlanta is still searching for answers, the Dodgers tied the best opening mark for a reigning champion in MLB history.

Farewell, Lance

Veteran pitcher Lance Lynn announced his retirement after 13 seasons in MLB. He has now put a bow on a solid career, which includes 143 wins, 2,015 strikeouts, and a World Series championship. While he was never considered an ace, Lynn had three consecutive top-6 finishes in Cy Young voting from 2020 to 2022. He will be remembered as a throwback hurler who pitched at least 200 innings three times and played in eight postseasons. Even as his late career featured several trades and free agent signings, he will mostly be associated with the Cardinals, with whom he earned more than half of his career wins.

A Touching First Pitch

While the Astros took another close loss on the field, the start to the game gave us one of the most heartwarming moments of the early season. Manager Joe Espada and his daughter, Viviana, shared a nice first pitch on Autism Awareness Night. At least 10 MLB teams and several minor league stadiums will host similar initiatives in 2025.

 

Do a Little Dance, Catch the Homerun Ball

The Brewers finally won a game in 2025, and that was enough to make their fans happy. One of them found a very particular way to express that joy, as the game’s opening run came from an unlikely power source. Backup catcher Eric Haase got a meatball that went nearly 420 feet to the upper deck, where said fan made a remarkable catch—you need to be optimistic at least to wear a glove that high in the upper deck—followed by an impromptu dance to celebrate the moment. As usual, baseball is the best.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Atlanta’s Reynaldo López will be out for a significant amount of time, as the team’s medical staff has confirmed he will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his pitching shoulder. While there is no clear timetable and the surgery will reveal if there is any structural damage, his return in 2025 is considered doubtful. 

⚾ Mets starter Sean Manaea, who started the season on the 15-day IL, had a setback on his rehab and will be shut down for at least two extra weeks. After receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection, the team expects the lefty to be in better shape and start his pitching ramp-up, making his return more likely towards late May or early June. 

⚾ The Pirates have optioned struggling closer David Bednar to AAA, following a rough start to the season that saw him take two losses and post a 27.00 ERA with only one strikeout. The move is expected to be temporary and allow Bednar to regain his focus, although he also pitched poorly for most of 2024. 

 

Articles You Should Read

 

The Latter Years of Jacob deGrom — Ben Clemens, Fangraphs

Atlanta Awaits Seven Other Biblical Plagues — Mike Baumann, Fangraphs

10 Classic Baseball Pranks — Jeffrey Lutz, MLB.com

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

Is It Legit?

Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers

Starting Pitcher Streamers

 

 

Subscribe to the Pitcher List Newsletter

Your daily update on everything Pitcher List

Pablo Figueroa

Follow the author on Twitter

Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Account / Login