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If the World Series rematch in Los Angeles has you wanting high-stakes action on the diamond, the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City and the NCAA Baseball Tournament regionals around the country have you covered. No. 7 Tennessee knocked out the No. 3 Florida and No. 16 Oregon sent Ole Miss home yesterday. The No.2 (and four-time defending champion) Oklahoma Sooners sent Tennessee to the elimination round with a walk-off on Thursday, and they lead off against the No. 6 Texas Longhorns in the early game today. All 64 schools are still playing on day two of the baseball Regionals, but the field will drop to 48 after the first batch of Saturday double-elimination games.
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Today’s Headlines
Rematch Round 1 Goes to the Champs
The biggest names in the game started the rematch of the 2024 World Series with a pair of first-inning blasts. Aaron Judge opened the scoring with his 19th homer, and Shohei Ohtani evened the score with his 21st. After the opening act, the New York Yankees kept up the barrage with homers from Austin Wells, Trent Grisham, and Paul Goldschmidt. Max Fried was dealing until Ohtani hit his 22nd homer, and a Freddie Freeman double with two on made it 5-4. While the Yankees did their damage with long balls, the Los Angeles Dodgers, other than Ohtani, kept chipping away. A single, a fielder’s choice, a walk, and a GIDP led to LA taking a 6-5 lead. Andy Pages brought in two more on another single, and Alex Vesia shut down the Yankees’ 1-3 hitters in the ninth for his second save.
Twins Torpedo M’s in 9th and 10th
Cal Raleigh hit two homers, the second giving Andrés Muñoz a three-run cushion to protect. Yet, down to their final out, the Minnesota Twins rallied to score three in the ninth and six in the tenth to upend the Seattle Mariners. Willi Castro made it 6-5 in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer, and Trevor Larnach singled home Byron Buxton to tie it. A Carlos Correa missile made it 8-6, and Buxton and Larnach drove in two more each to put the game where the M’s thought it was in the ninth: well out of reach. Raleigh’s first homer made him the first MLB catcher to reach 20 before the end of May.
wheeeeee! pic.twitter.com/zDre81WIRZ
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 31, 2025
Astros Efficient in Win
Framber Valdez and his battery mate Yainer Diaz combined for a performance that was remarkable for efficiency on both sides of the plate. Valdez needed 83 pitches to complete all nine innings, and Diaz went 2-for-4 by swinging at the first pitch every time. He lifted the last one over the right field wall to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Valdez allowed a leadoff homer to José Caballero and settled in to strike out nine while allowing two hits and walking one.
Soto Ends Slump
“Juan Soto gets a hit” doesn’t feel like much of a headline, but the slumping star right fielder for the New York Mets doubled in the third to halt an 0-for-17 streak. Francisco Lindor, once maligned but now embraced in Queens, homered in the first, came around to score on Soto’s double, and went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Soto also singled and went 2-for-4. The Mets won 4-2, keeping the Colorado Rockies from reaching double-digit wins. The Rockies have now given up more runs in 57 games than they did in the 60-game 2020 season, while scoring just under 100 fewer runs than the pandemic edition.
Cubs prove Elementary for Abbott
Andrew Abbott pitched seven innings, struck out eight, and allowed a hit and a walk against the Chicago Cubs. The Cincinnati Reds got the win, Abbott pushed his record to 5-0 and his ERA to 1.51, and the Cubs lost their fifth game in five tries when facing him: twice in 2023, once in 2024, and twice in the past week. Friday’s performance was Abbott’s best of this season. Other than a blowup in Colorado at the end of April, he’s allowed zero or one run in every start. Friday’s outing was his longest of the year.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Clarke’s Super Grab
Denzel Clarke climbed the wall, hung out for a bit, and casually snatched a would-be homer with his spikes in the wall in the chillest way possible. In his hometown.
Ohtani Would Never
The American League MVP goes full extension, which is about as extended as full extension can get.
59-0?!
A perfect season shouldn’t happen. You’re supposed to get “that’s baseball”-ed multiple times. A bad hop, a hanging slider, a ball just foul, something small to remind us all it’s a game of inches and you can’t win ’em all. Unless you’re the LSU-Shreveport Pilots, who won the NAIA national championship with an undefeated season.
PERFECTION: LSU Shreveport (59-0) becomes the first team ever to finish baseball season undefeated. NAIA World Series Champions! @LSUSathletics defeats Southeastern (FL), 13-7 pic.twitter.com/I5CQDBKwWu
— Chris Demirdjian (@ChrisDemirdjian) May 31, 2025
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Atlanta placed right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver on the 60-day IL with a torn UCL. The team is uncertain about whether he needs Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure, but his 2025 season is over.
⚾ The Rockies reinstated infielder Thairo Estrada from the 60-day IL and selected the contract of outfielder Sam Hilliard from Triple-A. They designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment and optioned infielder Adael Amador to Triple-A.
⚾ The Cleveland Guardians moved outfielder Lane Thomas to the 10-day IL with right foot plantar fasciitis.
⚾ After exiting his start early on Wednesday and not being available for the media, Jackson Jobe is headed to the injured list. The Detroit Tigers placed the right-handed rookie on the 15-day IL with a grade one right flexor strain. Right-hander Dylan Smith will make the Major Leagues for the first time after being called up from Triple-A. Right-handed Alex Cobb was transferred to the 60-day IL.
⚾ The Arizona Diamondbacks continued a busy week of moves by designating left-hander Joe Mantiply for assignment. They selected the contract of right-hander Jeff Brigham and signed infielder Ildemaro Vargas, and optioned infielder Jordan Lawlar and right-hander Kevin Ginkel to Triple-A.
⚾ Right-hander Evan Phillips will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Also, the Dodgers will be without Mookie Betts for their series against the Yankees after their shortstop stubbed his toe in a non-baseball incident on Wednesday.
⚾ The San Diego Padres are calling up right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez and his 12.5 K/9 from Double-A. They selected his contract and optioned left-hander Kyle Hart to Triple-A.
⚾ The Baltimore Orioles placed outfielder Cedric Mullins on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle may join him after exiting in the eighth with right hamstring discomfort. They signed outfielder Cooper Hummel for the second time this week.
⚾ The Twins brought outfielder Byron Buxton back from the seven-day concussion list and optioned outfielder Carson McCusker to Triple-A.
⚾ The Toronto Blue Jays placed outfielder Anthony Santander on the 10-day IL with left shoulder inflammation. The Jays’ No.5 prospect, outfielder Alan Roden, will join the team for the second time this season.
Articles You Should Read
Zach Neto Looks Like a Different Kind of Slugger — Michael Rosen, FanGraphs
12 Athletes Unlimited Softball League players you need to know — Jason Foster, MLB.com
The reinvention of Tarik Skubal: How Tigers ace mixed up his arsenal and became one of MLB’s best pitchers — R.J. Anderson, CBS Sports
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