Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.
There were only five games around the majors on Thursday, with two of them being part of a doubleheader. Of those five contests, only one would be considered close by score (every game but one decided by six runs or more). Regardless of the blowouts, we still had enough drama and news to make this day interesting, including an Atlanta pitcher making history, a Seattle Mariner being tossed after having enough of the home plate ump’s strike zone, and a monster day at the plate by Tampa Bay’s young third baseman.
Don’t forget to watch every game with the Pitcher List community on Playback!
Today’s Headlines
Philly and Atlanta Split Doubleheader
The Phillies entered Thursday with a 9.5-game lead on Atlanta in the NL East after winning the series opener on Tuesday, 2-0. Rain hit hard in “The City of Brotherly Love” on Wednesday, leading to a day-night doubleheader with plenty at stake for the visiting team.
Game 1
Let’s begin with Philadelphia’s backup catcher, Rafael Marchán. The 26-year-old got the scoring started with a two-run homer to right off Atlanta SP AJ Smith-Shawver.
Things only got worse for Shawver following the Marchan homer. Next batter, Bryson Stott hit a comebacker off Shawver’s ankle for a single. Ouch!
Shawver then exited the game after getting the next batter, Trea Turner, to fly out to left, saying that he heard a ‘pop’ in his elbow (See more on this in ‘Injuries and Other Moves’ below).
With the game still 2-0 in favor of the Phillies in the fourth inning, the catch of the day came from Atlanta’s Michael Harris II. Check out this beauty.
Philadelphia led 3-0 before Atlanta closed the gap to 3-2 on a Ronald Acuña Jr. RBI single in the sixth. However, the home team answered with this second-deck shot courtesy of their home run leader, Kyle Schwarber. The DH is now in a second-place tie for the National League lead in long balls with 19.
Atlanta would answer in the eighth with a solo homer by Sean Murphy to trim the deficit to one, followed by a game-tying two-run double by Harris II to bring home Acuña.
With the match even at four in the bottom of the eighth, Atlanta called on reliever Daysbel Hernández. The right-hander yielded a single and two walks to load the bases, and with one out, Marchan made his way to the plate. On a 2-2 pitch, Hernandez grazed his foot on a slider.
The play was upheld on review, resulting in a 5-4 lead and eventual Phillies victory by the same score.
Game 2
In a game Atlanta realistically had to have if they wanted to stay in the NL East race, who better to send to the mound than last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, Chris Sale? Battling him on the other side was 2024’s runner-up for the same award, Zack Wheeler. The Phillies starting pitcher hadn’t allowed a run over his previous three starts and came into the game with a 2.42 ERA. That was until Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley got the scoring started with a two-run double in the fourth.
Atlanta wasn’t finished. Next batter, Ozzie Albies, took Wheeler deep to right for his sixth tater of the year as the road team scored four times in the inning. Atlanta would score two more off Wheeler in the sixth before the Phillies ace was removed after surrendering six earned runs over 5.1 frames.
For good measure, Riley tacked on two more in the seventh to give his team an 8-0 advantage and the final nail in the coffin.
Riley finished the game with two knocks, three runs scored, and four RBI.
Let’s talk Sale. The big lefty allowed two hits over six shutout innings for the win and made history with his final strikeout of the game.
Congrats to Sale on becoming the fastest pitcher by innings pitched to reach the 2,500-K mark. Atlanta won 9-3 and trails Philly by the same 9.5 games they did at the start of the day.
Tampa Continues to Stay Hot in Houston
The Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros squared off for the first of four contests on Thursday. Both squads were 7-3 over their last 10 games and sitting in second place in their respective divisions before first pitch. The Rays won two of three in a series versus the ‘Stros just over a week ago in Tampa, and had no intentions of cooling down in this one.
Tampa led 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth before Houston scored twice in the inning and tied the game in the next frame on this Jose Altuve long ball.
Despite Altuve’s attempt to keep the game close, Tampa would go on an offensive tear, scoring five runs in the seventh, highlighted by this Junior Caminero opposite-field shot.
Caminero wasn’t done. In the following inning, he increased what was already a five-run advantage to seven after a two-run double gave the Rays a 10-3 lead.
Tampa Bay added three more runs in the eighth and won 13-3. Caminero went 3-for-6 with six RBI to claim MLB’s best offensive line of the day. Every player in the visiting team’s lineup had at least one knock.
Best Moments From Yesterday
A Wild Rubber Game in Seattle
The first two games of this series between the Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners were not exactly barn burners. The Mariners took the first contest 9-1 before dropping the second game on Wednesday, 9-0. On Thursday, James Wood got the scoring started in the sixth with a two-run double to left.
Wood’s two RBI looked to be enough for the Nationals’ top starting pitcher, MacKenzie Gore, until some sixth inning drama took place, beginning with this questionable strike three call by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher on a fastball outside of the zone. This was heated and fun to watch.
After J.P. Crawford’s ejection, the Mariners loaded the bases with two outs before Gore struck out Randy Arozarena to end the frame. Gore exited with a 2-0 lead and a line of six innings pitched, no runs allowed, and eight strikeouts. Here’s Gore’s final strikeout of the day.
All was looking up for the Nats until Seattle scored a pair in the seventh to tie the game at two apiece. The score would remain the same until the 10th when the visiting team went on an offensive rampage, scoring seven runs on four hits, ending with this three-run dagger by 10-year veteran Josh Bell.
Mariners reliever Collin Snider took the loss after allowing five of Washington’s seven runs to score in the frame. Seattle could only muster a single run in the bottom half of what ended up being a third blowout victory in this series. Final score: Nats-9, M’s-3.
Wait…The Blue Jays Can Hit?
A welcome sign for the Blue Jays in their series opener at home versus the struggling Athletics. They actually scored more than two runs in a game for the first time since May 22.
Toronto entered this contest, narrowly escaping defeat in Wednesday’s rubber game with Texas, thanks to a ninth-inning two-run homer by Bo Bichette to break a scoreless tie. On Thursday, the momentum from Bichette’s heroics carried over immediately as Toronto hammered the visiting A’s 12-0 behind six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts from starting pitcher José Berríos.
Offensively, the home team had four homers in the first three frames, all by different players. The Jays scored eight runs in the second, thanks in large part to homers by Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Clement finished with three hits and collected five ribbies for the Jays. Toronto’s other round-trippers came in the third inning from Bichette and George Springer.
With the shutout, Toronto improved to 28-28 on the year. Thursday’s version of the Jays looked like the team, I believe, most of us thought we’d see more frequently this year. Perhaps, the offensive funk is officially over, and Canada’s franchise can get back to business after a lackluster offensive week.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Cincinnati Reds traded relief pitcher Alexis Díaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor-league RHP Mike Villani. Diaz was optioned to Triple-A by the Reds on May 1 after posting a 12.00 ERA over six innings for the big league club.
⚾ It didn’t take long for Atlanta to put Smith-Shawver on the IL after the right-hander heard a ‘pop’ in his right elbow during the third inning of Game 1 on Thursday versus the Phillies. Many speculated that the 22-year-old exited because of the liner off the bat of Stott one batter earlier. Details on Smith-Shawver’s injury will be released after he returns to Atlanta for testing. In other injury news for Atlanta, outfielder Stuart Fairchild exited in the fourth inning of Game 1 with a pinkie injury caused by a headfirst slide into second base. Fairchild is expected to land on the 10-day IL.
⚾ The Dodgers transferred reliever Evan Phillips to the 60-day IL after going on the 15-day IL in early May with forearm tightness. Phillips had thrown 5.2 frames leading up to the injury and in 2024 was 5-1, with 18 saves, and a 3.62 ERA.
⚾ The Miami Marlins sent shortstop and soon-to-be second baseman, Xavier Edwards, on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville after the switch-hitter landed on the 10-day IL in mid-May due to a mid-back strain. Edwards was batting .263 with 11 stolen bases before the injury.
⚾ The Baltimore Orioles sent batters Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg to Triple-A Norfolk on a rehab assignment. Cowser has been out since March 30 with a left thumb fracture, while Westburg has been absent since April 28 with a left hamstring strain.
⚾ The Mariners received some good news on their ace, Logan Gilbert. The right-hander is recovering from a Grade 1 elbow flexor strain suffered in an outing on April 25 versus the Miami Marlins. Gilbert will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma with a possible return date to the big league squad on June 10 in Arizona. The 2024 All-Star is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA over six starts this season.
⚾ The Los Angeles Angels will get outfielder Mike Trout back from the 10-day IL for their series opener at Cleveland on Friday. Trout has been out since early May with a bone bruise in his left knee. For the season, Trout has played 29 games and is hitting .179 with nine homers.
Articles You Should Read
3 reasons Cards might be for real … and 3 they might not — Will Leitch, MLB.com
6 slow-starting clubs that still have playoffs in sight — Multiple writers, MLB.com
Manfred says reinstating Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe was ‘overdue’ — Don Van Natta Jr., espn.com
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
