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Even on a light Thursday schedule in which only five games were played around the majors, we still have plenty of storylines to talk about. Aaron Judge continued his early season onslaught of opposing pitching. Jose Altuve did something he’d never done in his 15-year career. Rafael Devers got a hit for a second straight game and appears to be seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel he has been traveling through early in the campaign.
Alright, enough buildup. Let’s start with Thursday’s action!
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Today’s Headlines
Yankees Avoid Sweep as Judge Erupts Again
In search of a three-game sweep in the Bronx, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent Merrill Kelly to the bump with hopes of accomplishing that mission. Unfortunately for Kelly, Judge immediately had other ideas after a three-run homer in the first inning put his squad ahead early and also gave the team captain his 500th career extra-base hit to become the third-fastest Yankee to reach that mark.
ALL RISE.
The Captain gives the @Yankees the early lead. pic.twitter.com/Jt7pjwpI84
— MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2025
Judge’s AL-leading fifth long ball set the stage for what eventually led to Kelly surrendering nine earned runs over 3.2 innings. Yankees teammates Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also chipped in with homers. The Pinstripes led by six runs until a seventh-inning grand slam off the bat of Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo trimmed New York’s lead to 9-7. No runs were scored over the final two frames and the Yankees held on by that same score. Judge finished the contest 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs and his first stolen base of ’25.
Bregman and Campbell Strike Early to Help Sox Take Series in Baltimore
Three days ago, the sky seemed to be falling in Boston. After the Sox dropped to 1-4 on Monday following an 8-5 loss in their series opener versus Baltimore, along with another O-fer performance at the dish by their star Devers, nothing was going right. On Wednesday, Devers came through with his first two knocks of the year during Boston’s 3-0 shutout to even the series. With their DH finally smiling on the field and seemingly back to his old self, he came through with another hit during Thursday’s rubber game.
Boston’s 8-4 victory was highlighted by their new third baseman Alex Bregman’s first homer of the season to put the Sox on the board in the opening inning. Bregman finished the day with three extra-base hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
Not to be forgotten, Boston’s second baseman Kristian Campbell continued his stellar rookie campaign with two doubles on Wednesday after signing an eight-year contract extension before the first pitch. Campbell came through again on Thursday with a second-inning homer to give his squad a 4-1 lead. There’s no question that if the season ended today, Campbell would be the AL Rookie of the Year. Through seven games, he has a .500 OBP with six extra-base hits, and a half dozen runs scored. A long way to go, but a great start for the 22-year-old.
‘Nasty’ Nestor Responds With Splendid Second Outing After a Disaster in the Bronx
Let’s begin with this question. How would you like to be a Reds starting pitcher this week? Take away the obvious fact that most of us probably would love to make the average MLB salary, which topped $5 million for the first time in league history at the beginning of this season. That aside, to be in the Reds rotation right now, would mean having to throw a scoreless game just to come away with a no-decision. That’s right, folks, the Cincinnati Reds lost 1-0 for the third straight day, thanks to a series-opening loss in Milwaukee. After staff ace Hunter Greene and right-hander Carson Spiers failed to get any run support over the final two contests at home versus Texas earlier this week, Nick Lodolo got the call for Cincy on Thursday. Lodolo allowed one unearned run over 6.2 frames for the loss. During this three-game stretch of scoreless baseball, Reds starting pitchers have allowed two runs over 19.2 frames, leading to an L by each of their names. Brutal.
So, what happened on Thursday? In short, Nestor Cortes happened. Cortes is coming off a historically awful start against the Yankees last week when he became the first pitcher to allow three homers on the first three pitches of a game. ‘Nasty’ Nestor gave up eight runs over two innings for the loss that day. In his second start, he was a completely different pitcher and brought the nasty back to his game while holding the Reds to one hit over six shutout frames for the win. The only run Cortes needed to claim the W came from a Sal Frelick RBI single in the fourth. The Brewers bullpen allowed one knock over the final three frames as Cincinnati managed only two hits for the entire game.
With the victory, Milwaukee’s horrid first four contests in which they surrendered 47 runs combined appear to be in the rearview mirror as the team has completely flipped the script this week by allowing two runs during their current three-game winning streak. The Brewers record improved to 3-4 with the victory.
Walker and Schwarber Lead Philadelphia to Sweep Over Rockies
Phillies veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker needed only 74 pitches to get through six shutout frames, helping his team complete a three-game sweep by a final score of 3-1 against the visiting Colorado Rockies. After a horrible 2024 campaign that saw Walker go 3-7 with a 7.10 ERA, his season debut couldn’t have gone much better.
Walker struck out four and yielded three knocks. Check out the highlights below.
On the offensive side, DH Kyle Schwarber continued to rake early in the campaign with an insurance solo homer in the seventh to give Philadelphia a 2-0 advantage. Don’t look now, but not only does Schwarber have four long balls (nothing new on his resume there), he also has a respectable .308 batting average heading into the first weekend of April. The left-hander is in his 11th season and is a career .230 hitter. To Schwarber fans…Enjoy it while it lasts.
Here’s Schwarber’s fourth round-tripper:
Kyle Schwarber gives the baseball a *boop* pic.twitter.com/rYyKP5nnie
— MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2025
Altuve Does Something He’s Never Done Before
It might have been a win for the Astros on Thursday after their 5-2 victory in Minnesota, but for their left fielder, Altuve, it probably felt a little bittersweet after the three-time batting champ struck out looking with two outs in the ninth for his fifth KO of the day. It was the first time Altuve struck out five times in a game, and the home fans weren’t shy about reminding him.
Despite Altuve’s tough day at the plate, the ‘Stros provided more than enough run support for their starting pitcher Hunter Brown, who allowed two runs over six innings for the win. First baseman Christian Walker hit homer No.1 in an Astros uniform during a second inning that saw himself and shortstop Jeremy Peña hit back-to-back jacks.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Brewers Welcome Women’s National Hockey Champs to American Family Field
After capturing their eighth National Championship against their Big Ten rival Ohio State in late March with a 4-3 overtime win, the Wisconsin Women’s hockey team was celebrated before the Brewers opened their series with the Reds at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
The champs are in the house!
Thanks for having us out tonight @Brewers!
📷 Jeffrey Phelps pic.twitter.com/A6F5kXItVV
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) April 3, 2025
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson is expected back in the lineup on Friday after missing the start of the season due to a right intercostal strain.
⚾ Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to March 31 after spraining his right ankle due to a shower mishap.
⚾ Astros pitcher Luis García Jr. will be shut down for another four weeks due to elbow inflammation after undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago. Garcia hasn’t pitched since May of 2023 and was expected to be ready for the start of this season, but this setback puts a question mark on when he’ll make his return to Houston.
Articles You Should Read
The 6-man rotation seems like it should fit this moment. Why does it never catch on?— Chad Jennings, The Athletic
Why has there been a surge of in-season extensions? — Mark Feinsand, MLB.com
Why a league-wide torpedo bat takeover might take longer than we think — Deesha Thosar, Foxsports.com
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
