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Jonathan Brazeau — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:49:59 EDT

Valenzuela’s first career homer powers Blue Jays to comeback win over Twins

David Singh — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:10:30 EDT

TORONTO — John Schneider was asked prior to Friday’s game about the decision to start rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela instead of Tyler Heineman and the manager’s answer was simple.

He felt Valenzuela offered a better chance at generating some power against Minnesota Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson.

“Just get an extra threat to hit one out,” Schneider said.

Sure enough, Valenzuela made good on that estimation, launching the first homer of his major-league career in a pivotal moment of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 10-4 win in front of 40,721at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays entered the fourth inning trailing, 4-0, but rallied with RBI doubles from Jesus Sanchez and Davis Schneider and an RBI single from Andres Gimenez. That set the stage for the switch-hitter Valenzuela, who belted a two-out, two-run shot over the right-field fence that completed the comeback and put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4.

The drive, off a 1-0 splitter from right-hander Woods Richardson, left Valenzuela’s bat at 111.4 m.p.h.

“It’s hard to describe it,” said Valenzuela, who was playing in just his fifth game. “I knew I got it well, but I didn’t know if I got it high enough. It was an amazing feeling when I realized it was getting over the wall.”

As far as first homers go, it doesn’t get much bigger than a go-ahead shot that electrifies a near-sellout crowd and earns a standing ovation.

“That was cool, man,” said Schneider. “Awesome for him. We needed that.”

The Blue Jays continued to pour on the runs in what was their largest offensive output of the campaign. Daulton Varsho clubbed the 100^th homer of his career, Schneider collected two hits, two RBIs, two runs and a walk, while the bottom four in the order went a combined 7-for-14 with six RBIs.

As well, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. notched two doubles clocked at 115.7 and 112.6 m.p.h., clear signs his swing has turned a corner.

“It just means he’s on time,” said Schneider. “He’s synced up. And the home runs come just because of how hard he hits the ball.”

That barrage helped mitigate a rough outing from Patrick Corbin, who was making his first start for the club. The left-hander, who’s entering his 14^thbig-league season, inked a one-year, $1-million deal with the Blue Jays last week and pitched in a game with class-A Dunedin before being called up to Toronto.

The soft-tossing Corbin struggled out the gate, surrendering a three-run homer to Ryan Jeffers in the opening frame and a solo shot to Brooks Lee in the fourth. He allowed four runs on six hits over four innings, walking one and striking out three.

Corbin met most of his new teammates for the first time on Friday and said while he wished he could’ve pitched deeper into the game, he’s excited to be back on a major-league mound.

“I think just throwing on back fields sometimes, the adrenaline’s not there,” Corbin said. “Coming out here, you get that a little bit. But not having those games, those reps, maybe the stuff’s not as sharp or as fine. That will continue to get better just being in situations like this.”

Corbin, a two-time all-star and 2019 World Series champion, lives next to Max Scherzer in Florida and works out in the same gym as the Blue Jays’ right-hander. The two were teammates with the Washington Nationals and Corbin said he heard only positives from Scherzer about the Blue Jays.

The 36-year-old has built a career out of simply posting. He’s the only MLB pitcher to make 30-plus starts in every season since 2017, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Corbin’s positioned to get some run in the rotation with several Blue Jays starters on the mend.

Trey Yesavage, working his way back from a right shoulder impingement, has made two rehab starts with Dunedin, most recently throwing 2.2 innings and 52 pitches on Thursday. The Blue Jays were pleased with his stuff and velocity in that outing and his next time on the mound will likely come in the middle of next week, either in Dunedin or triple-A Buffalo, depending on weather. After that, it’s possible the right-hander could rejoin the major-league club.

Yesavage is ahead of fellow injured starters Jose Berrios, who threw a two-up live batting practice at the team’s player development complex in Florida on Friday and could see minor-league game action next week, and Shane Bieber, who’ll throw off a mound on Saturday.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” said Schneider. “Those guys are getting better.”

Meanwhile, catcher Alejandro Kirk’s timeline is unclear as he recovers from surgery on his left thumb. He’s expected to be out for at least the next month and that makes contributions like Valenzuela’s on Friday even more valuable.

Heineman isn’t locked in as the de facto starter and if Valenzuela can provide meaningful offensive contributions while managing the pitching staff, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t receive more starts.

The club has asked the 25-year-old to use his athleticism in the batter’s box and not be afraid to “take some shots.” His homer was instructive of that. Schneider said he’s been impressed with how Valenzuela has handled responsibilities such as interacting with pitchers and holding his own in meetings with the coaching staff.

“Things that I look for is how he handles himself in between innings, how he handles himself pre-game and things like that and then not being afraid to go out and do it,” said the manager.

Valenzuela, who was acquired last summer from the San Diego Padres for infielder Will Wagner, credited his veteran Blue Jays teammates for welcoming him in spring training.

“They gave me the confidence that I needed for this moment,” said Valenzuela.

He added that Kirk, who also hails from Mexico, has been particularly supportive.

“He’s never gonna leave me alone,” said Valenzuela with a grin. “Been talking to him every opportunity I can. Every question that I got, I’ll go to him.”

Valenzuela was asked if there was any standout advice the catcher bestowed upon him.

“I’ll go back to the one that he gave me when I first got over here,” responded Valenzuela. “It was just, ‘Keep being yourself and keep doing what you’re doing. That’s what the org likes.’”

By the looks of it, if Valenzuela continues to do that, he’ll be just fine.

Blue Jays notebook: Springer’s Game 7 home run still impacting organization

Shi Davidi — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:23:16 EDT

TORONTO — As the Toronto Blue Jays took on the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series last fall, Arjun Nimmala and the other prospects at a developmental camp in Dunedin, Fla., gathered in their hotel rooms to watch the games at night.

George Springer’s dramatic Game 7 home run turned into a lasting memory.

“Different TVs have different delays,” recalled Nimmala, who was watching with Sam White, Owen Gregg, Tim Piasentin and Jake Cook. “I remember Springer’s homer in the championship series … everyone’s going crazy and our room’s a little delayed, and we’re like what just happened? And then we see Springer’s homer, the entire hotel’s just shaking, everyone’s screaming. That was a very, very cool moment.”

No doubt his experience underlines the wide impact made by Springer’s drive, which was commemorated with a bobblehead giveaway Friday night as the Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 10-4. Despite cold, wet weather, fans began lining up in the morning to ensure they received one upon entry, and hours before it had even been handed out, it was already being resold online for up to $195.

Since that two-run homer in the seventh inning of a 4-3 win Oct. 20, Springer’s heard countless stories about where various people were when he helped send the Blue Jays to the World Series.

The way Blue Jays prospects celebrated resonated with him.

“It’s all special,” he said. “I’ve been a part of that before where you’re watching the major-league team play and you think it’s awesome. Even though I was in the minor-leagues in ’12 and ’13 (when the Houston Astros, his original club, lost 107 and 111 games), you’re getting updates on the major-league team and all that stuff. For me, individually, obviously it’s a very cool moment in my life and in my career, one that I’ll never forget. And I don’t think I’ll probably truly understand it until I stop playing and have time to sit back.

“But it’s just a huge moment for us as an organization.”

During spring training, several Blue Jays minor-leaguers in big-league camp made a point of asking him about the at-bat, “not necessarily what that was like, more of what the moment is, what was I thinking in that moment and how I go about certain things,” he explained. “It’s cool to go back and forth and have that kind of conversation with guys I hope are one day in the same spot as me.”

Springer’s answers to them about how to handle such situations are telling of his approach, his mindset.

“It’s a culmination of everything, right?” he explained. “In the regular season, you find yourself in those moments at times, obviously not as magnified, not as Game 7-like, but throughout the course of 162 you’ll hopefully be in that spot and you have to go through it to figure it out. There’s no substitute for experience. It’s what everybody always says: You’ve got to control your heart rate, you’ve got to slow down, you’ve got to try to enjoy the moment. Because those are ultimately the moments that you dream about as a kid.”

Rotation rehab

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he received “very good reports” on Trey Yesavage’s rehab outing with low-A Dunedin on Thursday, when he threw 52 pitches in 2.2 innings and struck out six.

Yesavage, returning from a shoulder impingement, touched 96.1 m.p.h. and his fastball averaged 94.7, both in line where they should be, while getting 10 misses on 20 swings as St. Lucie pushed across four runs on four hits and a walk.

That sets him up for an outing in the middle of next week, level-to-be-determined, in part based on weather with the goal of “at least 70 pitches and see where he goes after that.”

“I don’t really mind where or who he pitches against,” added Schneider. “Kind of want to just see him do what he did (Thursday) again.”

If all goes to plan, the Blue Jays could consider returning him to the majors at that point, or have him make one additional rehab outing, keeping the situation with the big-league club in mind.

Jose Berrios, working his way back from a stress fracture in his elbow, threw two innings of live batting practice Friday and was up to 94-95, said Schneider, and his next outing will be in a minor-league game next week. He’ll likely begin at 50 pitches.

Shane Bieber (foreram fatigue) and Yimi Garcia (elbow) are both slated to throw bullpens Saturday as they work their way up to game action.

Corbin connection

Thanks to Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin knew plenty about the Blue Jays before they came calling once Cody Ponce suffered his season-ending knee injury, so the veteran lefty didn’t need to check in with his old Nationals teammate before signing.

“Our wives were talking, but there was some contractual stuff that I just left for him, we really didn’t have to talk too much,” Scherzer said laughing. “But I didn’t have to because of how much we talked in the off-season, how much I talked to him about Toronto and how much we loved it here. We’re good friends. We live in Jupiter together, we have kids of similar ages, backyard-pool parties throughout the whole off-season. I’ve already had those conversations about what Toronto is like.”

The lefty made his Blue Jays debut Friday, allowing four runs in four innings while throwing 85 pitches in his second outing of the season. His first game came last Saturday with low-A Dunedin, allowing an unearned run in five innings while throwing 74 pitches, a quickie build up necessitated by the Ponce injury.

The 36-year-old is one of only four pitchers to have made 30 or more starts in each of the last five seasons, new teammates Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios being the others.

“He can fill a role for us,” said Scherzer. “He can help us win a ballgame. It’s going to be great to have him in here, great to be back with him.”

Gotta See It: Valenzuela crushes first MLB homer to cap Blue Jays’ surge

Sportsnet Video — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:42:03 EDT

George Springer on family, fans and weathering the Blue Jays’ slow start

Kristina Rutherford — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:10:40 EDT

TORONTO — George Springer just finished a pre-game BP session, and he’s sitting in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout looking out at the field. While the start of this season has been less than ideal for last year’s World Series finalists, Springer’s eyes light up when he thinks about the fan reception his team has received.

“The fans have been electric from the start at our home games,” Springer said, with a grin. “I think everyone’s excited for us to be back, and we’re obviously excited to be here.”

This is the last season of a six-year contract for Springer, the 36-year-old leadoff man some teammates describe as the most impactful voice in the clubhouse. And while the Blue Jays are below .500 at 5-7 in the early going, Springer has weathered storms before, and snapping their six-game losing streak with a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon is certainly a step in the right direction.

Friday night, the Jays return to Rogers Centre for the first of three against the Minnesota Twins (7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT first pitch, on Sportsnet, Sportsnet+). Ahead of that series opener, which also happens to be Springer’s bobblehead night, the leadoff man took time to talk about his memories around the swing that sent the Jays to last year’s World Series (captured in bobblehead form for the first 15,000 fans to turn up at Friday’s game), the inspiration he drew from the two George Springers before him, and what he’d tell Blue Jays fans who are in panic mode following a rocky start.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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SPORTSNET: You’re in the same seat in the clubhouse as last year. Is that a good thing? You like your spot?

I do. I’ve got Daulton (Varsho) to my right, and I’ve got an empty locker to the other side, so I get a little more space, which is good. I have a lot of stuff.

Like an overflow of shoes?

No, just overflow packages that I don’t bring home ‘cause I’m lazy. I get deliveries here, like anything I get for my kids or stuff for the family. I just wait for (my family) to get back up here, and it just piles up in the other locker.

How often do you get to see your wife and kids?

They’re not here currently, but they do come up, normally once or twice a month. They’ll come up for a few days in a homestand.

Is that hard for you, not being around them regularly?

Yeah. I like being around my boys. They’re young, five and almost three. I love to share this with them and have fun with them. I get to hang out with my wife, who is my best friend. Just really enjoy the game and enjoy life here with her.

She was a softball player, right? Do you two ever play catch?

Yeah. She’s actually my throwing partner in the off-season.

So convenient!

Yeah, she’s great.

As George Springer III, was it easy for you two to name your first son (George IV)? Family tradition and all?

No, that was not easy, actually. That’s something we wanted to do, but we kind of went back and forth with it, and then my wife said, “Well, it’s a boy, so it’s up to you to name him.” It took me about two weeks before he was born to decide on it.

I was just having a hard time. Like my mind was telling me to do it, my heart was telling me to do it. I don’t know if I was looking to make sure that I was making the right decision. But I made the right decision. I’m happy I did it.

You also grew up in a household with another George, so you know what can be tough about that, right?

So, my dad and I actually share the same birthday as well. The hard part is when my mom always said “George!” we would both respond. I think we just kind of navigated it based off the tone in my mom’s voice.

If she was yelling…

Yeah, it was most likely at me [laughs].

Do you call George IV “George” all the time?

I call him “dude,” “bro,” I’ll call him all sorts of names, but for the most part I’ll say “George.”

Are your sons into baseball?

Right now, they’re really into basketball and hockey, which is cool, but they’re also into baseball.

Did you play hockey as a kid?

I loved it. I played sporadically up until my sophomore year of high school.

And then did you give up all other sports to focus on baseball?

No, it was just the way the world worked, I guess, or the way my life went. My dad and my head coach for baseball had a much clearer vision than I did about where, apparently, I was going to go. They kind of steered me away from all the other stuff I was doing, all the sports, into baseball.

So, your dad played a big role. How about your grandpa George?

My grandfather came to the United States from Panama — I don’t know the exact date, which my dad will probably get mad at me for — but that’s why he came to the United States, to play baseball. I pretty much followed in my dad’s and his footsteps with playing the game. They both love the game.

When did you fall in love with baseball yourself?

I remember as a kid distinctly when I said: “I want to play baseball.” I played catch with Torii Hunter. I was nine years old when he was in New Britain double-A. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but I remember he threw me a ball and I kind of accidentally threw it back to him and he threw it back to play catch for, I don’t know, probably three throws.

And then I remember he walked away and I saw his number and I said: “I like that guy.” And then I watched him play that night: He ran into the centre-field wall, hit a homer and slid head-first into home plate, and I said, “I want to play like that.” And here we are today.

Does Toronto feel like home?

Yeah, I love it. The cliche answer is that I love everything, but I actually really do. I love being here, the fans, the city, walking around or being somewhere and just seeing how much love for the team everybody has. It means a lot to us.

This is the last year of your contract in Toronto. What goes through your mind when you think about that?

How fast it’s gone, and where I was six years ago, and where we are now and how much we’ve accomplished as an organization and as a team. I just couldn’t be more proud to be a part of where we are as an organization now.

And do you think of how much you could accomplish this season, too?

The goal is obviously to be the last team standing, but that’s not something I’m going to focus on. I want to take it one day at a time.

Recent days have been tough for this team — lots of injuries and a losing streak. What have you learned in your career that can help navigate tough moments like these during a season?

Obviously, it’s very early. It’s not the most ideal start that you would want, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to keep going. And I think ultimately what I’ve said is, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” And you just have to weather the storm, you have to ride it out, you have to stick to your processes. You obviously can make adjustments along the way, but you’ve just got to show up to work every day, put your hard hat on and go.

Have you said that to the team recently? “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

Yes, it’s just as easy as that.

Would you say the same to Jays fans who might be a little worried? No panic, right?

I mean, I understand why. Everybody wants us to win every game and to play the best that we possibly can every day, and I heartily understand that, right? And there’s nobody that wants us to win more than the guys in that locker room. So, I know that everyone’s going to do everything that we can to make sure we get this thing right and to be where everybody wants to be at the end of the day.

We’ve got 150-something games to go. Everyone’s going to do whatever it is that we have to do to make sure that we get this ship righted, and it’ll happen. There’s probably going to be another time over the course of the season where things don’t go right, but that’s why you play 162 games.

One of your newer teammates, Tyler Rogers, mentioned your voice is the most impactful in the clubhouse. He said: “When he talks, people listen.” What’s it like to hear that?

That’s an honour. It’s special. My job within the confines of the clubhouse is to help and to try and shed any wisdom or whatever I can to kind of make guys’ jobs easier. I’m an open book, I’ll talk to whoever.

What do you talk to Daulton about, your closest neighbour in the clubhouse?

It depends on how much I annoy him. I try to annoy Daulton as much as I can. Daulton is younger than me, but he tries to act older, and I’m older than Daulton, and I definitely act way younger than he does.

What’s the easiest way to annoy Daulton?

I have multiple ways, but I can’t reveal them.

Fair. In your five seasons here, how have you seen Vladdy mature, on and off the field?

He’s really come into his own, making sure he understands that his voice holds weight and anything he says or does, you know, guys will listen to. And for him, he’s not a very vocal guy, so for him to really come into his own and to use his voice has been awesome.

Since there’s a bobblehead being given to fans Friday of you jumping after you hit the homer to send the Jays to the World Series, can you relive that moment a bit? What was it like?

I don’t remember. I have no idea. I didn’t even know that that’s what happened.

You don’t remember jumping?

No, I honestly don’t. I do remember hitting the ball, but after that, I’ve got nothing. I don’t remember hearing anything, feeling anything.

That’s kind of sad. It looked like pure joy… but you blacked out.

I did. I mean, it happens in sports. It’s just one of those moments.

I hope you’ve watched the replay multiple times.

I have seen it, and it’s emotional, right? It’s not that I didn’t believe I could do it. It’s just one of those times where, for me, that’s an unthinkable thing, right? You dream of stuff like that, and for it to actually happen was awesome.

You’ll have the moment in bobblehead form now to help you remember. You’ll keep one, right?

Oh yeah, absolutely. For the kids.

MLB Featured 2 Items

Josh Beneteau — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 01:40:19 EDT

Springer wants Blue Jays to keep ‘hunter mentality’ after AL pennant win

Sportsnet Video — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:53:38 EDT

Max Muncy caps three-homer game with walk-off blast as Dodgers beat Rangers

Associated Press — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 01:18:23 EDT

LOS ANGELES — Max Muncy hit three homers, including a game-winning, two-out solo shot in the ninth inning after Edwin Diaz blew his first save, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied past the Texas Rangers 8-7 Friday night in the opener of a series between the last three World Series champions.

Diaz (1-0) blew his first save in six appearances with a three-run ninth that tied the game, 7-7. He gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Joc Pederson before Evan Carter hammered a first-pitch fastball to right. After two outs, Josh Jung singled. Pinch-runner Sam Haggerty stole second and Brandon Nimmo was intentionally walked. Ezequiel Duran followed with a tying single to left.

After Will Smith and Freddie Freeman struck out, Muncy hit a 401-foot shot to right off Jakob Latz (0-1).

The Dodgers first rallied in the sixth on Andy Pages’ go-ahead, two-run double.

The NL West-leading Dodgers trailed by two runs before ending the AL West-leading Rangers’ three-game winning streak. Texas won the World Series in 2023, and the Dodgers followed with back-to-back titles in 2024 and ’25.

Muncy hit solo shots in the second and fourth innings off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Muncy had his second career three-homer game and moved into sole possession of sixth all-time with 212 career homers for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers rapped out 15 hits, with Muncy reaching base four times. In the eighth, the ball went off the glove of first baseman Jake Burger in foul territory, triggering a foot race to the bag. Muncy collided with reliever Luis Curvelo, who went down. Curvelo tossed a couple warmup pitches and remained in the game.

Shohei Ohtani singled in the fifth, extending his on-base streak to 44 games and surpassing Ichiro Suzuki for the longest such streak by a Japanese-born player. It was Ohtani’s only hit on his first bobblehead night of the season.

Pages also reached base four times with four RBIs, falling a triple short of the cycle. He singled in the second, walked in the fifth, doubled in the sixth and hit a two-run blast off Curvelo in the eighth, making it 7-4.

The Rangers led 3-1 on Corey Seager’s three-run homer with two outs off Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow.

Wyatt Langford extended the Rangers’ lead to 4-2 with a two-out solo homer — his first of the season — in the fifth. He was replaced in the sixth because of right quad tightness.

Up next

Rangers RHP Jack Leiter (1-0, 2.45 ERA) starts Saturday against RHP Emmet Sheehan (1-0, 8.00).

MLB Headlines

Noah Love — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 17:29:40 EDT

Shohei Ohtani sets record for longest on-base streak by Japanese player

Sportsnet Staff — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:59:58 EDT

On a night where Ichiro Suzuki was being immortalized in bronze, some 17 hours north, Shohei Ohtani was breaking a record set by his countryman in 2009.

With a single in the fifth inning of Friday’s contest against the Texas Rangers, Ohtani broke the record for longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player in MLB, reaching safely in 44 consecutive contests.

Ohtani has reached base in every Los Angeles Dodgers regular-season game since Aug. 23, 2025. Entering Friday, the four-time MVP carried a 1.007 OPS with 14 homers, 33 walks and 46 hits over the 43-game streak.

It is also the longest active stretch in the majors.

Before taking the field Friday, Ohtani was sporting a .267/.407/.489 slash line with three home runs and 8 RBIs.

Diaz sparks comeback, Rays rally to extend Yankees’ skid to three

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:46:35 EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yandy Díaz sparked a comeback with a tying, two-run homer in the first inning off Luis Gil, who made his first big league start this season, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 5-3 on Friday night to extend New York’s losing streak to three.

Steven Matz (3-0) and three relievers combined on a five-hitter with 12 strikeouts.

Since their first three batters got hits against the A’s on Wednesday, Yankees hitters are 7 for 86 (.081). New York had a 22-batter stretch without a hit.

New York batters failed on two robot umpire challenges and have succeeded on two of their last 13 attempts.

Playing at Tropicana Field for the first time since July 11, 2024, New York took a 2-0 lead in the first. Aaron Judge singled, stole a base and scored on Cody Bellinger’s sacrifice fly, and Amed Rosario tripled on a one-hopper that went past left fielder Chandler Simpson and bounced to the wall.

Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, was left at Triple-A early this season when the Yankees didn’t need a fifth starter because of off days. Given the early lead, he walked Jonathan Aranda with two outs in the a 32-pitch first and gave up Diaz’s 377-foot homer on a slider over the middle of the strike zone.

Simpson grounded into a run-scoring forceout in the second for a 3-2 lead against Gil, who allowed three runs, three hits and three walks in four innings.

After Judge took a step back and allowed Junior Caminero’s sixth-inning fly to drop in right for a hit, Simpson had an RBI single and Aranda a run-scoring groundout.

Ben Rice hit first first major league pinch homer in the eighth off Hunter Bigge. New York had runners at second in the third in the ninth before Bryan Baker struck out Randal Grichuk and retired pinch-hitter Trent Grisham on a popup for his second save.

Matz retired 13 of 15 hitters after early trouble and allowed two runs and five hits over five innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Up Next

Yankees LHP Max Fried (2-0, 1.35 ERA) and Rays RHP Nick Martinez (0-0, 2.25) start Saturday.

Adames, Lee HRs back solid start by Roupp to propel Giants past Orioles

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:30:02 EDT

BALTIMORE — Landen Roupp pitched six sharp innings, Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee homered and the San Francisco Giants beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Friday night for their season-high third straight victory.

Adames hit a solo shot in the third inning and Lee hit a two-run drive to make it 6-1 in the seventh. The last-place Giants, who came in with a major league-low five homers, just missed a potential third long ball when Taylor Ward made a leaping grab at the left-field wall to rob Harrison Bader in the eighth.

It’s been a roller-coaster season thus far for San Francisco, which has endured skids of three and four games under rookie manager Tony Vitello. During their current winning streak, however, the Giants have outscored the opposition 17-3.

Roupp (2-1) gave up one run and five hits to earn his first win since July 22. The right-hander finished the 2025 season on the injured list with a bruised left knee.

After Adames doubled in a run to make it 3-0 in the fourth, Leody Taveras hit an RBI double in the bottom half for Baltimore. Taveras was in the starting lineup after Tyler O’Neill was scratched with an illness.

Orioles starter Shane Baz (0-1) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings. He’s winless in three games since signing a five-year contract extension on March 27.

Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer for the Orioles, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Baltimore cleanup hitter Pete Alonso stranded three runners and went hitless with two strikeouts to drop his batting average to .176.

Up next

Giants right-hander Logan Webb (1-1, 5.00 ERA) faces Baltimore lefty Cade Povich (0-0, 3.18) on Saturday night.

MLB Roundup: Dustin May throws six strong innings, Cardinals beat Red Sox in series opener

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 23:23:43 EDT

ST. LOUIS — Dustin May pitched six strong innings, Ramón Urías hit a double and scored twice, and St. Louis beat Boston in the opener of a three-game series.

Jordan Walker hit a one-out single and, after Urías walked, scored on a single by Thomas Saggese.

Urías and Saggese moved into scoring position on a wild pitch by Zach Kelly before José Fermín hit a sacrifice fly that drove in Urías and gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning.

Masataka Yoshida had an RBI groundout and Trevor Story stole home when Marcelo Mayer swiped second on a double steal in the fourth inning for the Red Sox runs. Wilyer Abreu had two hits.

Victor Scott II’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the second inning drove in Urías opened the scoring.

May (1-2) allowed two runs — one earned — on four hits with four strikeouts in six innings. Riley O’Brien pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and earned his fourth save.

TIGERS 2, MARLINS 0

DETROIT — Detroit’s Kenley Jansen put Miami down in order in the ninth inning and moved into a tie for third in MLB history with his 478th save, Javier Baez homered and the Detroit Tigers beat the Miami Marlins 2-0 on Friday night to end a five-game skid.

Jansen struck out one and moved into a tie with Hall of Famer Lee Smith (1980–97) on the saves list. The 38-year-old right-hander picked up his second save of the season.

Baez sent a line drive to left field that hit the top of the wall and went out to make it 2-0 in the fifth for his second homer of the season.

Detroit’s Keider Montero (1-1) struck out seven and allowed two hits and a walk over six innings.

The Tigers entered having lost nine of their last 11 games since opening the season with a pair of wins in San Diego.

Detroit had three hits in a row to start the bottom of the second, and Spencer Torkelson put the Tigers on the board with a single to left field. Then, the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs before Owen Caissie made a sliding catch in right field to end the inning.

Miami, which entered with 12 hits in back-to-back games, took until the eighth inning before getting the leadoff man on base. But, then Graham Pauley lined into a double play.

Miami starter Chris Paddack (0-2) allowed seven hits and two earned runs in six innings.

PIRATES 2, CUBS 0

CHICAGO — Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run homer and Carmen Mlodzinski pitched six-hit ball into the sixth inning, helping Pittsburgh beat Chicago.

Pittsburgh was shut down by Shota Imanaga before breaking through against Caleb Thielbar in the seventh. Ryan O’Hearn hit a leadoff single for the Pirates’ first hit of the chilly afternoon, and Reynolds drove Thielbar’s next pitch deep to left for his third homer.

Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games since its 1-3 start.

Chicago went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Ian Happ had two of the team’s six hits.

Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki went 1 for 3 with a fourth-inning single in his first game this season. He had been sidelined by a sprained right knee.

Imanaga struck out nine and walked one in six innings. The Japanese left-hander threw 68 of 100 pitches for strikes.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, PHILLIES 4

PHILADELPHIA — Mike Soroka struck out 10, closer Paul Sewald retired Trea Turner to end the game and strand the tying run at third base, and Arizona beat Philadelphia.

Sewald gave up a two-out triple off the top of the right-field wall to rookie Justin Crawford. Sewald recovered to get Turner — last season’s NL batting champion — on a flyball to end the game and earn his fourth save.

The NL East champion Phillies opened a nine-game homestand with their third straight loss and fourth in five games. They struck out 16 times against four Diamondbacks pitchers.

Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo — who struck out 11 without a walk in his last start in Colorado — took a no-hitter into the fifth and was staked to a 4-0 lead.

Eight batters later, he was yanked as Arizona lead 5-4.

Ketel Marte started the scoring with a two-RBI single and Ildemaro Vargas added a run-scoring single to make it 4-3. Brandon McCann, who took over catching duties in the third after Gabriel Moreno left with lower-back tightness, lined a two-RBI double to right for the 5-4 lead that chased Luzardo (1-2)

The Phillies were outscored 11-0 in consecutive games by San Francisco and had been scoreless in 20 straight innings overall to end their six-game road trip.

BRAVES 11, GUARDIANS 5

ATLANTA — Matt Olson gave Atlanta the lead with a long two-run homer off Slade Cecconi in a six-run sixth inning and the Braves beat Cleveland in a matchup of first-place teams.

The Guardians led 2-1 before Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a tying homer off Cecconi in the sixth. Following a single by Drake Baldwin, Olson pulled the 441-foot homer off the top of the Chop House restaurant roof in right field for a 4-2 lead.

The blast was Olson’s fourth of the season. With Cleveland right-hander Matt Festa on the mound, Dominic Smith had a run-scoring single before Michael Harris II capped the six-run inning with another two-run homer over the Braves’ bullpen in right-center.

The Braves had seven hits, including three homers, in the big inning and finished with 15 hits.

Cecconi (0-2) allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Tyler Kinley (2-0) pitched a perfect sixth for Atlanta.

ROYALS 2, WHITE SOX 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kris Bubic struck out a career-high 11, Carter Jensen hit his fourth home run and Kansas City beat Chicago.

Bubic needed just 88 pitches, 59 for strikes, to get through seven innings. The 28-year-old left-hander allowed two hits and a walk and eclipsed his previous high of nine strikeouts, which he accomplished five times. Matt Strahm worked a hitless eighth inning and Lucas Erceg earned his fourth save.

Davis Martin (2-1) was the hard-luck loser for Chicago. The 29-year-old righty allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three. Duncan Davitt made his MLB debut in relief in the eighth.

While Bubic (2-1) was shutting down the White Sox, the Royals were wasting offensive chances. Salvador Perez led off the second with a single, but was doubled off first on a line drive by Michael Massey. Isaac Collins had a one-out single in the third but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.

The Royals broke through in the fourth as Maikel Garcia led off with a single and Bobby Witt Jr. followed with an RBI double, ending a 17-inning scoreless streak for the Royals.

ANGELS 10, REDS 2

CINCINNATI — Jorge Soler hit a grand slam in a five-run eighth inning, Zach Neto and Josh Lowe also homered, and Los Angeles beat Cincinnati to snap a seven-game losing streak at Great American Ball Park.

Jack Kochanowicz (2-0) only allowed one run and two hits over seven innings.

Soler also had a two-out double in the third before scoring on Yoan Moncada’s infield single for a 2-0 lead.

Neto’s fifth home run of the season made it 4-0 and Lowe, who was batting .091 (3 for 33) coming in, homered over the left-field wall in the sixth for a 5-1 lead.

Los Angeles improved to .500 or better after 14 games for a sixth straight season, and eighth of nine.

Cincinnati’s Chase Burns (1-1) gave up five earned runs, seven hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings.

ATHLETICS 4, METS 0

NEW YORK — Jeff McNeil had two hits in his return to Citi Field, including a run-scoring single in a three-run ninth inning that helped the Athletics beat New York.

Mets starter Clay Holmes left after 5 1/3 innings with left hamstring tightness. New York has three runs and 20 hits during a three-game losing streak.

McNeil, traded to the A’s in December after spending his first eight big league seasons with the Mets, received a warm ovation before his first at-bat and tipped the bill of his helmet twice. The 2022 NL batting champion doubled in the fourth and at second base robbed Carson Benge of a hit to end the fifth.

Shea Langeliers had an RBI single in the third off Holmes (2-1) and Denzel Clarke hit a two-run single in the ninth for the Athletics, who have pitched 25 straight scoreless innings against the Mets and Yankees dating to Tuesday night.

Jack Perkins (1-0), the third of five pitchers, allowed three hits over 2 1/3 innings in relief of J.T. Ginn, who gave up one hit over four innings in his first start this season.

BLUE JAYS 10, TWINS 4

TORONTO — Brandon Valenzuela hit his first MLB home run, Daulton Varsho also connected and Toronto beat Minnesota to halt it’s four-game win streak.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits and an RBI to help Toronto win its second straight after losing the previous six.

Davis Schneider had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run as the Blue Jays set a season high in runs and matched a season high in hits. Nine of Toronto’s 14 hits were for extra bases, including seven doubles.

Valenzuela gave Toronto its first lead, 5-4, with a two-out drive off Simeon Woods Richardson in a five-run fourth inning. His homer followed RBI doubles by Jesús Sánchez and Schneider, and an RBI single by Andrés Giménez.

Varsho made it 6-4 with a leadoff homer off Anthony Banda in the fifth, his first of the season and the 100th of his career.

The Twins came in having swept a four-game series against Detroit. Minnesota is 2-5 on the road.

GIANTS 6, ORIOLES 3

BALTIMORE — Landen Roupp pitched six sharp innings, Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee homered and San Francisco beat Baltimore for its season-high third straight victory.

Roupp (2-1) gave up one run and five hits to earn his first win since July 22. The right-hander finished the 2025 season on the injured list with a bruised left knee.

RAYS 5, YANKEES 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yandy Díaz sparked a comeback with a tying, two-run homer in the first inning off Luis Gil, who made his first big league start this season, and Tampa Bay beat New York to extend it’s losing streak to three.

Steven Matz (3-0) and three relievers combined on a five-hitter with 12 strikeouts.

Since their first three batters got hits against the A’s on Wednesday, Yankees hitters are 7 for 86 (.081). New York had a 22-batter stretch without a hit.

New York batters failed on two robot umpire challenges and have succeeded on two of their last 13 attempts.

NATIONALS 7, BREWERS 3

MILWAUKEE — Jorbit Vivas and Drew Millas drove in runs with two of Washington’s three successful bunts in a four-run ninth inning that lifted the Nationals over Milwaukee.

Washington reached base three times on bunts in the inning after attempting just one bunt in its first 12 games. Milwaukee entered the night leading the major leagues with six sacrifice bunts.

With the score 3-3, Trevor Megill (0-2) hit CJ Abrams with a pitch leading off the ninth. Joey Wiemer reached on a bunt single to the third-base side and Luis García hit an RBI single up the middle for a 4-3 lead.

Vivas bunted back to the mound, and Megill’s underhand flip went to the backstop as runners wound up at the corners on what was scored a sacrifice and an error.

Two pitches later, Millas bunted back to the mound for another sacrifice and pinch-runner Nasim Nuñez slid home ahead of Megill’s throw for a 6-3 lead.

Easton McGee replaced Megill, who didn’t get an out, and James Wood hit an RBI double.

PJ Poulin (1-0) got three straight groundouts in the eighth inning and Clayton Beeter closed with a perfect ninth to hand the Brewers their third consecutive loss.

Canada’s Soroka fans 10 as Diamondbacks hold off Phillies

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:37:59 EDT

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Soroka struck out 10, closer Paul Sewald retired Trea Turner to end the game and strand the tying run at third base, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Friday night.

The NL East champion Phillies opened a nine-game homestand with their third straight loss and fourth in five games. They struck out 16 times against four Diamondbacks pitchers.

Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo — who struck out 11 without a walk in his last start in Colorado — took a no-hitter into the fifth and was staked to a 4-0 lead.

Eight batters later, he was yanked as Arizona lead 5-4.

The Phillies were outscored 11-0 in consecutive games by San Francisco and had been scoreless in 20 straight innings overall to end their six-game road trip.

The shutout streak ended in a hurry against Soroka (3-0).

The Phillies got the instant offense out of the top of the order they’ve lacked most of the season. Turner singled, Kyle Schwarber walked and Bryce Harper lined an RBI double for a 1-0 lead.

Brandon Marsh, batting cleanup for the first time this season, hit a three-run homer to left for a 4-0 lead and the Phillies seemed primed to blow the game open.

Soroka, who had allowed only one run over his first 10 innings pitched, instead settled into a groove and gave up just two more hits and no runs over his final 4 2/3 innings.

Up next

Arizona sends RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-0, 6.75 ERA) to the mound against Phillies RHP Taijuan Walker (0-2, 9.31 ERA). Walker’s spot in the rotation is likely in jeopardy with ace Zack Wheeler expected to make one or two more rehab starts for double-A Reading. Wheeler’s 2025 season ended in August because of a blood clot near his right shoulder.

As veil falls on Ichiro Suzuki’s statue, so too goes his bat

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:42:24 EDT

SEATTLE — Oh, snap.

The unveiling of Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki’s statue had an unforced error on Friday — a broken bat.

As broadcaster Rick Rizzs declared “we’re going to count down from 51!” — a nod to the jersey number retired by the Seattle Mariners for their beloved Suzuki — the curtain covering the bronze statue was pulled down, and so too went the bat.

A snapping noise could be heard as the bronze bat flopped down and confetti sprouted up.

“Here it is! The statue of one of the greatest players in the history of the game!” Rizzs declared as the curtain was pulled and a celebratory tune rang outside of T-Mobile Park.

The statue depicts Suzuki in his famed batting stance. He appeared to find the mishap to be hilarious, and joked through an interpreter that New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera got the best of him again.

“I didn’t think Mariano would come out here,” Suzuki said with a smile through the interpreter, “and break the bat.”

It did not take long for the Mariners to fix the statue; Suzuki’s bat was soon turned upright and reconnected at the handle. Suzuki, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer, became only the third Mariners player to have his number retired by the franchise last year, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Edgar Martinez (No. 11).

Griffey and Martinez also have statues outside of the park. They joined Suzuki at the ceremony, and all three pulled the curtain off the statue together. Suzuki made history last summer as the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, earning a near-unanimous 99.7 per cent of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The way a jovial Suzuki saw it, his statue having an imperfection was only fitting.

“In the Hall of Fame, I was short one vote,” Suzuki said. “Today, the bat was broke. It kind of lets me know that I’m still not there, that I still need to keep going. So, this is a good example of that.”

Blue Jays’ Yesavage expected to make ‘one more minor-league start’

Sportsnet Staff — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:45:16 EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays could be getting one of their most important pitchers back sooner rather than later.

After a successful outing at single-A Dunedin on Thursday night, right-hander Trey Yesavage is expected to make “one more minor-league start” before the team determines the next steps in his eventual return, manager John Schneider told reporters Friday.

According to Schneider, his next outing is expected to take place sometime in the middle of next week, with the weather set to determine the location and minor-league level.

Yesavage is expected to throw closer to 70 pitches after topping out at 52 on Thursday.

Despite not having the cleanest showing on Thursday, Schneider mentioned that the team got “very good reports” on the 22-year-old. He finished his second rehab start, allowing four runs while striking out six and walking one over 2.2 innings with the class-A side.

All four of the runs Yesavage allowed in the outing came on singles. He threw 34 of his 52 pitches for strikes, induced 10 whiffs and topped out at 96.1 m.p.h. with his four-seam fastball.

Yesavage’s first start was on April 3, starting the 30-day clock on his rehab assignment. He opened the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement.

A player may be assigned to a minor-league club for injury rehabilitation while remaining on the major-league injured list for a maximum of 30 days.

During his first season of professional baseball in 2025, Yesavage rocketed through all four levels of the Blue Jays’ minor-league system before making his debut in the majors on Sept. 15.

He broke the Blue Jays franchise record for strikeouts in a major-league debut with nine and proceeded to be a key contributor to Toronto’s World Series run.

Yesavage had a 3.58 ERA over six post-season appearances — five of them starts — striking out 39 batters over 27.2 innings and walking 11. This included an 11-strikeout, no-hit performance over 5.1 innings against the Yankees in the ALDS and a record-breaking 12-strikeout start against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.

The Blue Jays’ rotation is in desperate need of reinforcements, as Jose Berrios (right elbow stress fracture), Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation), and Cody Ponce (ACL sprain) are all currently on the IL, along with Yesavage.

Schneider mentioned that Berrios threw a two-up live batting practice on Friday and “felt good,” getting up to 94-95 m.p.h. He’s likely to make a minor-league appearance for the next step in his recovery.

Additionally, Bieber and reliever Yimi Garcia (elbow) are expected to begin throwing off the mound on Saturday.

Veteran signing Patrick Corbin is scheduled to start the Blue Jays’ series opener against the Twins on Friday.

Mets’ Clay Holmes leaves start vs. Athletics with left hamstring tightness

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:18:49 EDT

NEW YORK — Clay Holmes left the New York Mets‘ 4-0 loss the Athletics with one out in the sixth inning on Friday night because of left hamstring tightness.

“Hopefully, we’re in a good spot. It doesn’t seem too major,” Holmes said. “I’m pretty optimistic with it and I feel like I’ll be able to make my next start, but ’til we kind of wake up tomorrow and see where we’re at tomorrow, we don’t really know.”

With the Mets trailing 1-0, New York manager Carlos Mendoza and an athletic trainer went to the mound after Jacob Wilson’s single. Holmes left with the trainer and was replaced by Tobias Myers.

“He doesn’t seem too concerned,” Mendoza said. “He’s saying that he got to a weird position and he felt a little tight there. But the more testing that they’re doing there, the better that he feels. So we just got to wait and see how he wakes up tomorrow and see what we got.”

Holmes allowed one run and five hits with three strikeouts and three walks. The 33-year-old right-hander entered with a 2-0 record and has a 1.50 ERA in three starts.

A former New York Yankees closer, Holmes agreed to a $38 million, three-year contract with the Mets as a free agent in December 2024. He led the club last year with 12 wins, 31 starts and a 3.53 ERA.

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At the Letters: Fighting against the current

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Breaking down concern level for Blue Jays’ underachieving top bats

Nick Ashbourne — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:36:51 EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays have experienced many flavours of misery during their 5-7 start, but their lineup’s ineptitude ranks at the top of their list of woes.

In 12 games, the club has scored just 41 runs with a wRC+ (93) that ranks 19th in the majors. Some of the team’s issues have resulted from an inability to capitalize on promising situations — the Blue Jays are a miserable 1-for-19 with the bases loaded — but Toronto isn’t just suffering from unlucky sequencing.

The team is getting underwhelming performances up and down the lineup. Generally speaking, new additions like Kazuma Okamoto and Jesús Sánchez have pulled their weight, but the hitters who drove 2025’s offensive success have struggled early. Specifically, Toronto hasn’t got much from the six returning players who were above-average at the plate last year by wRC+ in at least 250 plate appearances: George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes.

In 2025, that group collectively hit .274/.348/.473, good for a 128 wRC+. So far in 2026, that sextet has a .177/.282/.285 line, for a 68 wRC+. Some kind of bounce-back is a near certainty, but the extent of that rebound will be critical to the team’s chances this season.

Looking at some of the individual struggles provides better insight about how hopeful the Blue Jays should be about this group finding its footing — and how concerned the tough start is. In a couple of cases (Kirk and Barger), getting healthy is the worry for now, and that pair has fewer combined plate appearances (45) than either Springer or Guerrero. It’s also safe to put Lukes aside because he’s only had part-time work so far (21 PA) and is more of a role player when everybody’s healthy.

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That means the group Toronto really needs significantly more from in the near term is the trio of hitters who’ve sat atop the lineup the last two games: Springer, Varsho, and Guerrero.

George Springer
2025 rate stats: .309/.399/.560 for a 166 wRC+
2026 rate stats: .184/.273/.367 for a 89 wRC+

What’s going on: Even after Springer’s first multi-hit game of the season, his numbers aren’t anywhere near where he’d want them to be.

The good news for Springer is that he’s provided some OK power production with a .184 ISO that’s not too far from his career average (.211), and he’s taking his walks (10.9 BB%). Outside of that, it’s been a struggle.

It would be easy to look at Springer’s BABIP (.212) and come to the conclusion he’s just been unlucky, but he’s put too many soft balls in the air with a massive 26.3 per cent infield fly rate to show for his efforts. His expected average (.167) and SLG (.344) are pretty close to his real numbers. His strikeout rate (25.5 per cent) is on the high side for someone who’s been under 20 per cent in each of the last four seasons.

That’s all discouraging stuff, but none of it seems too predictive of what’s to come. Because of Springer’s age (36), whenever he falters, he’ll open the door to worries about rapid decline, but his early underlying numbers aren’t particularly alarming. A common concern for older players is declining bat speed, but his average bat speed (73.3 mph) matches last year’s mark (73.7 mph) closely. His high strikeout rate, for instance, is also backed by a contact rate (77.2 per cent) better than his 2025 standard (73.9 per cent).

Springer doesn’t look like a hitter whose capabilities have abandoned him, just a guy who’s a little bit off and getting under the ball too much.

Concern level: Low

Daulton Varsho
2025 rate stats: .238/.284/.548 for a 123 wRC+
2026 rate stats: .184/.295/.237 for a 59 wRC+

What’s going on: Varsho is in an interesting position because his numbers are indisputably poor, but his process looks intriguing, at least on the surface. The outfielder has generally been approximately average at drawing walks and below-average at avoiding strikeouts, but this year he’s been excellent on both counts (13.6 BB% and 13.6 K%).

Normally, results like that come from an increase in both swing decisions and contact ability. In Varsho’s case, though, his swing rate on pitches inside and outside the zone are approximately the same as last year:

Season	In-Zone Swing%	Out-of-Zone Swing%
2025	75.1%	29.9%
2026	77.8%	30.2%

Varsho hasn’t awakened his inner Joey Votto, so the walk rate spike is unlikely to be durable. His contact rate is higher than usual, but not out of place among other 12-game spans in his career:

That means it’s tough to get too excited about the positives, and the big negative here is that Varsho’s not making any hard contact. Coming off a season where he hit 20 home runs in just 71 games, he hasn’t cleared the wall yet, and his average exit velocity (82.9 mph) ranks 262nd among 272 qualified hitters. His max exit velocity in 2026 is just 101.2 mph. For reference, he hit a ball 102 mph or harder 44 times on 176 balls in play last year.

While the sample is still small, it’s a bit shocking to see a hitter who has traditionally sold out for power make so much harmless contact. There was talk during the spring about Varsho trying to hit the ball to all fields more, and perhaps this is the result. The outfielder is a self-described tinkerer who may have gotten away from what makes him special in an effort to become a more complete hitter.

Maybe Varsho is capable of using the whole field and making more contact while also performing as a high-end power threat, but there’s no proof of concept for that. The version of the outfielder that’s performed well in the past pulls the ball in the air a lot, even if it means striking out plenty.

Varsho can probably tinker his way back out of the trouble he’s in now, but he’s a ways away from recapturing his 2025 form.

Concern level: Medium

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2025 rate stats: .292/.381/.467 for a 137 wRC+
2026 rate stats: .268/.412/366 for a 131 wRC+

What’s going on: Guerrero’s production has been acceptable for an MLB hitter this season, but poor for a lineup centrepiece.

The first baseman has done an excellent job of drawing walks (17.6 BB%) and limiting strikeouts (9.8 K%), which is a great starting point for offensive excellence, but he’s not doing much else particularly well.

Guerrero has just two extra–base hits on the season, though to his credit, one was a towering 437-foot blast to left-centre field.

The 27-year-old’s primary issue right now is a familiar one: he’s pounding the ball into the ground. His groundball rate sits at 52.8%, and his launch angle of 3.7 would be a career low if it held up. The good news for Guerrero is that he seems to have periods like this every season, his power escapes him, and he ends up finding his way. Even in both of his best years (2021 and 2024), he had complete power outages over 12-game spans like the one we’re currently seeing multiple times:

There’s also evidence that bad luck is dragging Vladdy’s numbers down at the moment. His expected average (.294) and SLG (.505) are more than respectable, even during a period when he’s not squaring the ball up as well as he’d like.

Concern level: Low

Athletics slugger Brent Rooker placed on IL with oblique strain, ending his 214-game streak

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:18:59 EDT

NEW YORK — Brent Rooker was placed on the 10-day injured list by the Athletics on Friday because of an oblique strain, ending a streak of 213 consecutive games played for the outfielder and designated hitter.

Zack Gelof was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill the roster spot prior to the Athletics’ series opener at the New York Mets.

Manager Mark Kotsay didn’t provide a timeline for the All-Star slugger, who will miss his first game Friday since Aug. 15, 2024, the last time the Athletics were at Citi Field.

“We’re hopeful that Rook can get back as soon as possible,” Kotsay said.

Rooker was injured while fouling off a changeup in the first inning of Thursday’s 1-0 victory at the New York Yankees.

“I’m a little tight and a little sore, but we’ll get imaging done and see what that says,” Rooker said after the game.

Rooker is hitting .146 with two home runs and seven of his eight RBIs in his three games before Thursday.

His playing streak is the club’s fourth longest since 2000. It’s also the longest streak for an A’s player since Marcus Semien appeared in 276 straight games from June 28, 2018-Aug. 29, 2020.

“It was the first thing I thought about — I know Rook prides himself on playing every day,” Kotsay said.

Last season, Rooker hit .262 with 30 homers and 89 RBIs when he appeared in every game and earned All-Star selection. He also took part in the Home Run Derby, hitting 17 but failing to move on to the semifinals after losing the tiebreaker by less than an inch in total distance.

Rooker signed a $60 million, five-year contract in January 2025, a deal that could be worth up to $92 million over six seasons. That would take him through the 2029 season, the year after the A’s are scheduled to move to Las Vegas.

Tigers’ Parker Meadows goes on IL with concussion, broken arm after collision

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:55:16 EDT

DETROIT — Detroit Tigers centre-fielder Parker Meadows broke his left forearm and sustained a concussion during a head-to-head collision with teammate Riley Greene on Thursday at Minnesota as they converged on a fly ball in the eighth inning against the Twins.

Meadows was hospitalized overnight for observation and placed on the 10-day injured list Friday. The team said he also received five stitches for a cut on the right side of his mouth.

“We don’t know if anything more is going to be required, surgery or anything like that,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He needs multiple appointments to figure out what’s next for him, but he has a long road to recovery.”

Greene made the catch, and Meadows landed on his back in a daze, barely moving with his hands pointed up and blood on his face. After a few minutes, Meadows was able to sit up. Medical personnel slowly helped him stand and move toward a cart that was waiting for him.

Detroit lost 3-1 to the Twins and was swept in the four-game series. The collision caused Meadows to bite the inside of his mouth, which led to the bleeding.

Josh Bell led off the eighth inning for Minnesota with a shallow fly to left-centre that Greene appeared to be calling for as he and Meadows ran toward the ball. Meadows tried slowing up and backing off at the last second. But his face appeared to slam against Greene’s head, sending both players tumbling to the grass.

Meadows had started 11 of 13 games in center field for the Tigers this season. Matt Vierling made the other two starts. Meadows went 0 for 3 on Thursday and is batting .250 with two extra-base hits.

The 26-year-old Meadows, who was a second-round pick by the Tigers in the 2018 amateur draft, made his major league debut in 2023. He missed the first two months of last season with a nerve problem in his upper right arm. Then he missed more than a month with a shoulder injury and finished with a .215 average and a .621 OPS.

Jackson Chourio, recovering from broken hand, not ready to take swings for Brewers

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:38:38 EDT

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio is not yet ready to swing a bat as he recovers from a fractured left hand sustained March 4 while playing for Venezuela in an exhibition ahead of the World Baseball Classic.

“It’s healing. It’s not quite ready, but better,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday. “We’re worried about the checked swing. When you face live things and do live things, we’re worried about that. There’s a fine line between being aggressive with it and conservative with it.”

Chourio had a scan of the hand on Thursday. He was hurt when hit by a pitch from Washington’s Clayton Beeter.

“I think you’ll see him do some baserunning today, throwing and catching and all that stuff today,” Murphy said. “And get himself ramped up in preparation for when it’s time to feel good about him swinging.”

A 22-year-old outfielder, Chourio hit .275 with 21 homers and 79 RBIs as a rookie in 2024 and .270 with 21 homers and 78 RBIs last season.

Cubs’ Suzuki activated from injured list, inserted into the lineup against Pirates

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:30:29 EDT

CHICAGO — Seiya Suzuki has rejoined the Chicago Cubs after missing the start of the season with a sprained right knee.

Suzuki was activated from the 10-day injured list before Friday’s 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh. He started in right field and went 1 for 3 with a fourth-inning single in the series opener against the Pirates.

“I really wanted to come back to the team,” Suzuki said through a translator, “and it’s really thanks to the support of everybody that I’m here. Unfortunately, we lost. However, I got my first game under my belt. So just kind of focus on the next one.”

Outfielder Dylan Carlson was designated for assignment to make room for Suzuki on the roster. The Cubs also placed reliever Phil Maton on the 15-day IL and recalled right-hander Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa. Roberts tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the loss to Pittsburgh.

Suzuki was one of Chicago’s most productive hitters last year, helping the Cubs reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He hit .245 with a career-high 32 homers and 103 RBIs in 151 games.

“We’re putting one of our middle-of-the-order bats back in the lineup,” manager Craig Counsell said before Friday’s game. “We’re putting somebody who had 30 home runs and drove in a ton of runs for us back in the lineup. So it’s a big addition, for sure.”

Ian Happ also returned to Chicago’s lineup. He started in left field and had two hits after missing two games with a bruised left heel.

The Cubs were back at Wrigley Field after splitting a six-game trip to Cleveland and Tampa Bay. They managed a total of 11 runs over the first four games before outscoring the Rays 15-4 in a pair of wins.

Suzuki, who is in the final season of an $85 million, five-year contract, got hurt while playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. He sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee on a steal attempt on March 14.

Counsell said he is planning to be “somewhat cautious” with Suzuki for the next week.

“We’ll make sure we’re kind of just getting down the road and making sure he’s available as much as possible,” Counsell said.

The 31-year-old Suzuki hit .429 (6 for 14) with two doubles in five games in a rehab stint with Double-A Knoxville. He is a .269 hitter with 87 homers and 296 RBIs in 532 career major league games — all with the Cubs.

Suzuki said running was the most difficult part of his rehab activities.

“Hitting, in the early stages I think I was already ready,” he said, “but I think with running, fielding, there was a little bit of fear there. So I think going back down to Double-A and getting my reps in, I think I feel a lot better about that.”

Maton is dealing with some right knee tendinitis. He is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in five appearances after signing a $14.5 million, two-year contract with the Cubs in free agency.

“I think it’s kind of just gradually gotten a little bit worse,” Counsell said. “Obviously he was pitching with it. But I think we saw real effects to it in his last outing in Tampa. The velocity was down and it was just a case of just not being able to sit into his back leg and drive off the mound.”

Chicago’s pitching staff has been hit hard with injuries. Right-hander Cade Horton is headed for season-ending elbow surgery, and left-hander Matthew Boyd was placed on the 15-day IL on Monday with a left biceps strain.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Dr. Keith Meister is going to perform the surgery on Horton, but he declined to provide an exact date. Hoyer also said they wouldn’t know the extent of the operation until it was underway.

“Best case from a recovery standpoint is just a brace,” Hoyer said, “but that is always unclear. If they go in and make repairs then it’ll probably add three months or so to the recovery.”

Reflection turns into relief for Guerrero, Blue Jays

Shi Davidi — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:31:31 EDT

TORONTO – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. threw his hands up in the air after receiving Jeff Hoffman’s relay to first for the final out of a streak-busting win, took off his hat, pumped his arms to the heavens and joined the Toronto Blue Jays for handshakes.

A night earlier, at the end of a 4-1 setback to the Los Angeles Dodgers that was his team’s sixth straight loss, the superstar first baseman sat in the dugout for an extended period, staring at the field.

The contrast between the two moments was telling.

“Giving my thanks to God,” Guerrero said of holding his arms up to the sky. “It was a tough week for us. We won, we have a day off and we come in fresh for Friday, that’s what it is. (Tuesday) I spent probably 15 minutes in the dugout thinking how we can beat those guys and (Wednesday) we did.”

Wednesday’s win wasn’t all pretty, with another error leading to a run, two more 0-fers with the bases loaded, leaving them an unfathomable 1-for-19 this season with three on, and a 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position that actually nudged their average up to .215 (23-for-107). But pressure on the bases in the eighth inning by Davis Schneider, who went first-to-third on an Andres Gimenez bouncer up the middle, and Gimenez, who stole second leading to a Will Smith throwing error that scored the decisive run, turned the tide.

The Blue Jays maintained that aggressiveness on the bases despite a Guerrero mistake after his leadoff double in the sixth, as he broke to third on a Jesus Sanchez grounder right in front of him, only for Miguel Rojas to range right and throw to third for a frustrating out.

“That was a tough one because (Rojas) was playing behind me,” said Guerrero. “Sanchie hit it hard. I thought it was going to be a base hit. He did a good job. I talked with (first base coach Mark Budzinkski) and next time it’s better to go back and then go to third. We learn from that I think it’s not going to happen again.”

There have been plenty of lessons early for Guerrero and the rest of the Blue Jays.

While he was sitting in the dugout Tuesday night, Guerrero said he was thinking how “everybody in here has to get better, especially myself.” His groundout to third with two on in the sixth Tuesday left him “mad with myself” and wanting to “take that back.”

“You have to think sometimes, how you get better, how you do something to help the team win,” he said. “To me, better than being mad, breaking a bat, breaking something, I just relax (in the dugout post-game), see the fear and try to come through myself.”

Guerrero reached base three times in four trips Wednesday, including a walk in the seventh after George Springer’s RBI double and Daulton Varsho’s run-scoring single tied the game 3-3. He acknowledged that “sometimes we want to be the guy” but stayed disciplined in that spot, refusing to chase as Blake Treinen tried to get him to expand.

The plate appearance was an example of the “take better at-bats” approach he feels will get him hot. “Believe in myself in the box and try to get my pitch. Try to not chase. … It’s 12 games in and we have 150 to go. It’s going to be good.”

Hoff delivers

Jeff Hoffman closed out Wednesday’s win against the gauntlet atop the Dodgers lineup, earning a save that offered some validation for a weird start in which the underlying numbers haven’t matched the results.

Through seven appearances, he’s struck out an absurd 15 of 31 batters faced, yet he’s allowed runs in three of those outings, although only two of the four have been earned. Against the Dodgers, he struck out Shohei Ohtani to open the frame, gave up a Kyle Tucker single and Will Smith walk, rallied to strike out Freddie Freeman and then induced a roller to the mound from Max Muncy for the final out.

“Especially with my position, nobody really cares what the process is, because when something goes wrong, you just lose,” said Hoffman, “it’s just nice to see what it’s supposed to look like. So many weird things have happened over the first week and it’s nice to finally see one all the way through and end with us winning the game.”

One priority for Hoffman this season is to be more unpredictable in his pitch sequencing, particularly against a team like the Dodgers that is good with usage tendencies. The pivotal Freeman at-bat was a great example, as he threw two splitters to start and then went with three straight fastballs to get a chase swing, rather than vice-versa.

“I was heavy on the split (Tuesday) night and I felt like that was probably a pitch that if I threw it early in the outing (Wednesday), it was a good pitch they were going to be looking for,” said Hoffman. “So, once we had the spots and the counts to be able to throw the fastball with a little bit more room for error, we could climb the zone and see how high they’ll go. When you’ve been heavy with the splitter and it’s been a good pitch and it is getting people out, that’s in their heads, so we’re just going to be able to sneak a few more fastballs by them.”

Learning curve

Alejandro Kirk’s fractured left thumb and the subsequent surgery that will sideline him for six weeks has meant rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela is working through “a really high learning curve” as he acclimates to the majors.

It’s a challenge the 25-year-old is embracing as he’s “learning from the pitching staff, learning the guys, learning from Kirk, (Tyler) Heineman, Drew (Butera, the catching coach), amazing dudes to have in my corner, having their input into all of my pre-game stuff, my scouting report for the games, my game reviews, all of that.”

Valenzuela has appeared in four games so far and came into Wednesday’s game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement after Myles Straw ran for Heineman in the seventh. That left him handling two high-leverage innings behind the plate in the 4-3 win.

The Blue Jays’ game-planning process at the big-league level is similar to that in the minors, he said, but is more involved as at triple-A Buffalo, “it was just me and the pitching coach going through the scouting reports. Here it’s catching coach, pitching coach, starting pitcher, me, Heinie, so it’s not me by myself. I get more help.”

During spring training, Valenzuela played in 11 games, which helped him build familiarity with the pitching staff, but one difference is “on the field it’s more competitive,” he said. “The games in spring training for me mattered because I needed to make a name for myself. During the season, it’s about the team, it’s no longer just me, there’s the whole city. So there’s a lot more competitiveness from us and the other teams.”

Nonetheless, “playing feels the same,” he added. “I ain’t gonna lie, I was a little nervous for my first game, but once I got my first inning out of the way, it was like, same game I played my whole life. I felt prepared.”

Mariners unveil new Ichiro statue, but break bat upon reveal

Sportsnet Video — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:03:41 EDT

Blue Jays raise issue with Ohtani getting extended warmup between innings

Sportsnet Staff — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:37:11 EDT

Although the Toronto Blue Jays avoided a series sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 4-3 win on Wednesday, the game wasn’t without some tension.

Shohei Ohtani, who was kept in check for most of the night, was on the mound opposite the Blue Jays in Toronto for the final game of a three-game set. Well, he eventually took the mound — to the dismay of the Blue Jays.

Ohtani spent the top half of the opening inning on base after drawing a walk, and once the frame flipped and it was his turn to pitch, the two-way superstar took longer to warm up than those on the Toronto side appreciated. Ohtani didn’t take the mound to loosen up until there were fewer than 60 seconds left on the two-minute clock, and then the timer was extended for him.

That prompted action from George Springer as the Blue Jays leadoff hitter left the on-deck circle to have a conversation with home-plate umpire Dan Merzel, which was speculated to be about Ohtani’s extended warmup.

The Japanese star being afforded extra time — the two-minute clock is subject to umpire discretion — is not uncommon, especially after half-innings in which he’s taken part offensively. But it’s also not an unfamiliar sight to see opposing teams take exception to it.

During Game 7 of last season’s World Series, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was seen airing his grievances on the matter with umpire Jordan Baker.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged as much on Wednesday when asked about Ohtani’s unique circumstances.

“I think they were a little frustrated about how long Shohei takes in between innings,” Roberts said. “But if he’s on the bases, there’s got to be some grace, which the umpires are trying to give him.”

A more measured response from Roberts than his initial reaction to the Blue Jays’ protest on Wednesday. The Dodgers’ bench boss appeared to be visibly frustrated when Springer approached the umpire to inquire about Ohtani’s extended warmup.

“Yeah, if you’re on the other side, you’re trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher,” Roberts explained. “But the truth is that he’s different, but I understand their gripe.”

Ohtani ended up sticking in the game for six innings, giving up one run on one walk and two strikeouts. On the offensive end, he went 0-for-3 with one walk and two strikeouts.

The Blue Jays look to shake off the drama-filled World Series rematch when they host the Minnesota Twins for a three-game set, starting on Friday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT).

AP study: MLB average salary hits a record $5.34 million, Mets lead again

Associated Press — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:49:59 EDT

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball’s average salary rose 3.4 per cent on opening day to a record $5.34 million, according to a study by The Associated Press, and the New York Mets topped spending at the season’s start for the fourth straight year.

Mets outfielder Juan Soto is the highest-paid player for the second consecutive season at $61.9 million and was followed by New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger at $42.5 million.

Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler and Mets third baseman Bo Bichette tied for third at $42 million. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was fifth at $40.2 million, just ahead of Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge at $40 million.

The Mets’ payroll of $352.2 million was just below the record $355.4 million they set in 2023 and up from $322.6 million last year. The Mets’ total is more than five times that of Cleveland, the lowest-spending team at $62.3 million.

The two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers were second at $316.6 million, down from $319.5 million last year. The Dodgers’ total would be $395.2 million if deals for nine players with deferred money had not been discounted to present-day value. The Mets have deals with deferred money with just three players and their total would be $360 million without discounting.

MLB’s average of $5,335,966 increased from $5,160,245 at the start of last season and has risen 28 per cent under the five-year collective bargaining agreement that expires in December, an average of 5.6 per cent annually.

The top five spenders were unchanged from last year, with the Yankees third ($297.2 million), followed by Philadelphia ($282 million) and Toronto ($269 million).

Six clubs had $250 million payrolls, up from four; and 10 teams had $200 million payrolls, an increase from nine.

Eight teams were under $100 million, up from five.

Detroit had the biggest increase, up $64.2 million to $206.7 million after signing pitcher Framber Valdez, re-signing Gleyber Torres with a qualifying offer and giving a big raise to ace Tarik Skubal via arbitration. Atlanta increased by $44.1 million, and the Chicago Cubs, Toronto and the Mets by just under $30 million.

Minnesota slashed payroll by $46.3 million from opening day last year to $96.5 million.

St. Louis cut its opening-day payroll from $141.5 million to $100.4 million. The Cardinals’ spending includes $44 million it is paying Arizona and Boston as part of trades to get rid of Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, plus just under $3.4 million to Arenado as the present-day value of a $6 million assignment bonus that originally had been deferred money owed in his contract and remains payable by the Cardinals in 2040 and ’41.

Other teams with big cuts included the Guardians ($40.2 million), Texas ($37.3 million) and Washington ($23.3 million).

Payrolls include the 942 players on opening-day rosters and injured lists. They do not include players on the restricted list such as Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar and Philadelphia outfielder Johan Rojas.

They also don’t reflect players who started the season assigned to minor league teams such as Dodgers second baseman Hyeseong Kim and Toronto pitcher Yariel Rodríguez.

Baseball’s median salary, the point at which an equal number of players are above and below, rose to $1.4 million from $1.35 million and remained below the record high of $1.65 million at the start of 2015. Active rosters expanded to 26 players in 2021.

Average and median salaries decline over the course of the season as veterans are released and replaced by younger players making closer to the minimum. MLB calculated the 2025 final average at $4.61 million and the players’ association at $4.72 million.

There were 519 players earning $1 million or more, at 55% the same as last year.

Nineteen players earned $30 million or more, an increase of four; 74 were at $20 million, up from 66; and 168 at $10 million, down from 177.

Thirty-one players made the $780,000 minimum.

The top 50 players make 30 per cent of the salaries, up from 29 per cent in the prior two years, and the top 100 earn 49 per cent, up from 48 per cent last year.

The AP’s figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. Payroll figures factor in adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts and termination pay for released players.

MLB’s payrolls are based on 40-man rosters and fluctuate each day depending on roster moves.

Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker exits vs. Yankees in first inning

Associated Press — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:31:43 EDT

NEW YORK — Athletics right fielder Brent Rooker exited Thursday’s game against the Yankees with back pain after a swing in the first inning.

With Nick Kurtz on first base, Rooker fouled off an 84.2 mph changeup from Ryan Weathers, took a step toward home plate and winced after feeling discomfort in his “right flank,” the A’s announced.

“There’s just a lot of tightness right now,” manager Mark Kotsay said after the A’s beat the Yankees 1-0. “So we’re hoping for the best but until we get an image, we won’t know exactly what’s going on.”

He was checked out by a trainer and Kotsay and then replaced by Lawrence Butler. Butler took a called third strike on the next pitch and the at-bat was charged to Rooker.

“I’m a little tight and a little sore, but we’ll get imaging done and see what that says,” Rooker said.

Rooker hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning off David Bednar to give the A’s a 3-2 win on Wednesday night.

Rooker is hitting .146 this season with two homers and seven of his eight RBIs in the previous three games before Thursday. Last season, Rooker hit .262 with 30 homers and 89 RBIs when he appeared in every game.

He has played in 214 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in A’s history since 2000.

Tyler Fitzgerald ‘ecstatic’ for fresh start with Blue Jays

Arden Zwelling — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:31:51 EDT

TORONTO — Only a year ago, Tyler Fitzgerald had never set foot in Rogers Centre and never entered Canada, period. He’d never been anything but a promising power-speed threat on the upward trajectory of his career.

He’d never battled injuries. Never been designated for assignment. Never spent five days in limbo, waiting to learn where he and his 27-weeks-pregnant wife, Sadie, were going next.

“A lot can happen in a short amount of time in this game,” Fitzgerald said Tuesday, sitting in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout. “It’s been a weird last year. But I’ve learned a lot from it. And I’m just glad to be here.”

On Saturday, the Blue Jays traded cash considerations to the San Francisco Giants for Fitzgerald, a right-handed infielder who exploded with a second-half rookie breakout in 2024 — he put up three fWAR in only 96 games — before a miserable 2025 led to his DFA last week. The 28-year-old has a minor-league option remaining and was originally ticketed for triple-A Buffalo to rediscover his swing while providing roster depth.

But then Addison Barger jammed both of his ankles stretching out for a groundball on Sunday. And on Monday, Fitzgerald had a locker in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Tuesday, he was officially recalled as Barger hit the IL. And now it’s up to him to make the most of whatever chance he gets.

That will begin in a bench role over the next week, entering games late as a pinch-runner — Fitzgerald instantly becomes Toronto’s fastest player — and defensive replacement at second, short, or even the outfield corners.

Toronto’s initial hope is that Barger’s IL stint will be minimal and that he could return within two weeks if he responds well to treatment. But as the club has shown over the calamitous last several days, greater opportunities are never far away.

“I feel like this is a fresh start for me,” Fitzgerald said. “I feel like I’m right where God wanted me. I’m where I’m accepted. The guys here are incredible. The fans here are some of the best in the world. The love I’ve felt since I’ve been here these two days is something I could never even ask for.

After making his MLB debut with only two weeks remaining in a disappointing 2023 Giants season, Fitzgerald broke camp with the team in 2024 and, following a couple turns on the option carousel, forced his way into everyday duty by the all-star break. Over San Francisco’s final 70 games that year, he hit .282/.336/.529 with 14 homers and a 140 wRC+.

A .371 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) over that span suggested fortune was on his side. But it’s tough to fake a .248 ISO, particularly when playing home games at Oracle Park, which annually ranks among the bottom five offensive environments. And the 122 wRC+ he posted as a minor-leaguer in 2023 — Fitzgerald OPS’ed .876 with 22 homers and 32 steals over 121 games mostly at triple-A — was strong supporting evidence of his breakout being real.

That’s why the Giants opened 2025 with Fitzgerald as their everyday second baseman. He quickly overcame a slow start and finished his first four weeks hitting .301/.354/.466. But that’s when Joc Pederson chopped a groundball to a drawn-in Fitzgerald’s left:

“Landed right on the baseball — broke a rib up near my heart area,” he said. “We thought it was just a bone bruise. I played the next three games with it. But after (each game) I came in, and it felt worse and worse. And finally, I was like, ‘This is not normal. I can’t even finish my swing.’”

An MRI revealed a small crack — the first broken bone of Fitzgerald’s life. He sat out for two weeks to let inflammation subside before returning to games and trying to play through the residual discomfort, which went the way you might expect. Fitzgerald struggled to a .186/.245/.227 line over his next 110 plate appearances before he was optioned to triple-A in late June.

The demotion was brief as Fitzgerald was recalled less than two weeks later. But while working out prior to his first game back, he aggravated a bulging disc in his back. Fellow infielders Matt Chapman, Casey Schmidt, and Christian Koss were already on the injured list, so Fitzgerald insisted on playing through it. But his results suffered again and he was quickly sent back to the minors.

He spent the rest of his season cycling through endless swing adjustments, trying to find a movement pattern that felt fluid and didn’t put excess strain on his multiple midsection issues. Meanwhile, his back hurt most when running, which is part of the reason why Fitzgerald’s 2025 stolen-base total was his lowest since his first full professional season in 2021.

Fitzgerald doesn’t use any of his injuries as excuses, mind you. He chose to play through them and accepts the results. But it does help explain how a guy in his mid-20’s with 100th-percentile sprint speed and an above-average barrel rate experienced such a steep decline in his overall production from one season to the next.

“I just could never really find my rhythm in the box,” he says. “It’s the first time in my career that I’ve had injuries during the year. It’s something that you learn a lot from. The biggest thing going forward is just believing in myself and not going back down that rabbit hole of swing changes. I was trying new stuff every day, trying to get back to how I felt before I broke my rib.”

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That’s been his focus so far with Toronto hitting coaches — recreating the swing that facilitated Fitzgerald’s success as a rookie. They’ve worked to limit movement with his front side, correcting a tendency to open up too quickly, which was preventing him from staying through the baseball.

That’s important for Fitzgerald because he gets his best results when driving pitches to left field. Part of what worked for him in 2024 was making 27.5 per cent of his contact in the air to the pull side, a top-20 mark across MLB. If you’re a Blue Jays fan, you’ve seen a similar approach from Danny Jansen.

The difference with Fitzgerald is he also possesses an elite run tool — his 2024 sprint speed ranked top five across MLB — which helps him still reach base even when making non-ideal contact (his bunting game’s a weapon, too). Since 2024, he’s hit .341 on groundballs. That’s MLB’s sixth-highest mark and has him sandwiched between Yordan Alvarez and Aaron Judge, two guys who hit the ball so hard that grounders often sneak through infields.

Fitzgerald doesn’t have anywhere near that kind of raw power. But his approach has let him put more balls over left-field fences than you’d expect. The trade-off is that whiffs and strikeouts have long been an issue. And difficulties adjusting when the league responded to him by minimizing fastballs and pitching away have contributed to his struggles.

For his part, Fitzgerald says he’s arrived in Toronto ready to learn — not only from new coaches and teammates, but from his own turbulent 12 months. A year ago, he was an everyday player coming off a three-win season. Then baseball happened and it all got away from him. Now, a fresh start.

“It’s crazy, the timing in this game. I was starting to feel good, hitting pretty well. Then I broke my rib, and I just could not find my swing again,” he said. “And now I’m here. But I’m ecstatic to come to an organization like this. I feel like I’m right where I need to be.”

Blue Jays show flashes of 2025 in comeback win over Dodgers

David Singh — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:46:12 EDT

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays have been waiting a week for someone to take the reins and come through in a big moment.

It finally happened during Wednesday afternoon’s contest, however, not quite like how manager John Schneider envisioned.

Davis Schneider entered the game as a pinch-hitter, walked twice and ended up scoring the game-winning run after some smart baserunning to lift the Blue Jays to a 4-3 comeback win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in front of 37,766 at Rogers Centre.

“The big hit usually leads to a win (but) sometimes it’s scoring on an error leads to a win,” said John Schneider. “You need something to get you in the win column.”

Securing that victory allowed the Blue Jays to snap a six-game losing streak and improve to 5-7 on the season. It also helped the home side salvage something from what was a much-hyped World Series rematch with the Dodgers.

The Blue Jays’ overall play had looked uncharacteristically sloppy over their recent skid and Wednesday represented somewhat of a return to form. Nowhere was that more evident than in Davis Schnieder’s contributions.

He began the game on the bench and during the first six innings, spent time taking swings behind the scenes on the Trajekt machine against simulations of Dodgers relievers. Schnieder knew he’d be inserted into the game at some point and the opportunity arrived in the seventh when he pinch-hit for the left-handed hitting Nathan Lukes.

Schneider drew a leadoff walk from Dodgers lefty Jack Dreyer and came around to score on George Springer’s double off the right-field wall. Daulton Varsho then tied the game with a single to centre, helping the Blue Jays get off the mat in a quick-strike inning that was reminiscent of 2025.

“It felt, I don’t want to say normal, but it felt like kind of what we do well,” said John Schneider. “And the guys feed off of each other when it gets rolling a little bit.”

Davis Schneider was in the thick of it again in the next frame, drawing a five-pitch walk off Ben Casparius and advancing to third base on Andres Gimenez’s single to centre. As Gimenez swiped second, Schneider noticed the ball had come loose on the throw and alertly ran home to score the go-ahead run.

“That’s kind of how we won last year,” said Davis Schneider. “We ran the bases well, went first to third, found ways to score runs besides the home run. And I feel like we did that today.”

“Davis put it all together today in terms of at-bat quality and just being aware of what he’s doing on the bases,” added John Schneider. “All-around good game for him.”

The manager had plenty to be encouraged about as there were key contributions up and down the roster. Dylan Cease held the Dodgers to two runs over five-plus innings and was picked up by reliever Louis Varland, who entered with none out and the bases loaded and allowed just one run to score, off a Teoscar Hernandez sacrifice fly.

“I love Louis Varland,” said John Schneider. “That situation, bases-loaded, nobody out against that team, it’s almost an impossible ask. But man, he is quickly becoming one of my favourite players. Not just pitchers but players, just because of his mentality, the kind of dude he is and what he can do.”

Springer and Varsho’s hits in the seventh-inning rally were also integral, as were the relief work of right-hander Tyler Rogers (1.2 scoreless innings) and Jeff Hoffman (striking out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman while earning the save).

Cease is admittedly new to the team and wasn’t privy to the identity of last year’s club. Nonetheless, he’s been impressed with how the club’s handled the adversity of an ugly week.

“Definitely a lot of fight in this group,” said Cease. “The biggest thing to me is that nobody’s panicking, which I like to see. It’s very easy when you go through a little slump to panic. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here.”

Wednesday’s win carried a bit of a pop-the-balloon type feel to it. A loss would have brought further frustration and avoiding that will no doubt allow for a better feeling heading into Thursday’s off day.

Next up is a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins beginning Friday and the challenge for the Blue Jays is to build off a strong performance against their World Series foe.

“We’re only (12) games in, so it’s such a long season ahead of us,” said Davis Schneider. “Obviously we’re not starting the way we wanted to start, with all the injuries and the losses, but there’s 150 games left, so there’s still a lot of baseball to be played.

“Hopefully we can use this as kind of like a jumpstart to a win streak here.”

Guardians SS Gabriel Arias expected to miss 4-8 weeks with hamstring strain

Associated Press — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:48:17 EDT

CLEVELAND — Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias is expected to miss four to eight weeks with a moderate left hamstring strain that occurred during Monday night’s game against Kansas City.

The 26-year-old was hurt while running out a double in the fifth inning and left the game. He was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday after undergoing medical tests, the results of which were announced Wednesday.

“He’s in some pain,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before the three-game series finale against the Royals.

Arias, who is batting .200 with two homers and four RBIs in 10 games, will be re-examined weekly throughout his rehabilitation. This is his third full season as a starter for Cleveland.

The Guardians recalled second baseman Juan Brito from Triple-A Columbus to take his place in the lineup, while moving Brayan Rocchio from second to shortstop. They started the final two contests against Kansas City.

White Sox option opening-day starter Shane Smith to triple-A

Associated Press — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:04:04 EDT

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox optioned opening day starter Shane Smith to triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday after three shaky outings to begin the season.

An All-Star as a rookie last year, Smith has been struggling with his fastball command. The 26-year-old right-hander is 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA. He has allowed 10 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings while walking nine and striking out 11.

Smith threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in Tuesday’s start against Baltimore, but needed 99 pitches to do it. He walked five and hit a batter, and the White Sox went on to lose 4-2 after the Orioles scored three in the eighth.

“He’s a total pro,” manager Will Venable said. “He takes accountability and understands the spot that he’s putting the team in. And really it’s about getting him to be the best version of himself. This guy is a very good pitcher. He’s an important part of this organization and an important part of our success.”

The White Sox don’t expect it to be a long stay in the minors. But Venable wasn’t putting a timeline on his return.

“You know we have a very clear idea of what we need to do,” Venable said. “We just weren’t able to get those results to stick here. So he’s going to continue to make his adjustments.”

The White Sox also selected left-hander Tyler Schweitzer’s contract from Charlotte and transferred infielder and outfielder Brooks Baldwin (right elbow surgery) to the 60-day injured list on Wednesday.

Blue Jays seek stability as slide continues with loss to Dodgers

Shi Davidi — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 22:19:13 EDT

TORONTO — The disruptive nature of the injuries, roster churn and struggle the Toronto Blue Jays have endured over the past week means that as much as they need wins, what they really need is some stability to help make that happen.

To that end, their latest moves are aimed at restoring some equilibrium, with Patrick Corbin recalled to tentatively start Friday against the Minnesota Twins, filling the rotation spot of Cody Ponce, who will be sidelined six months after right knee surgery next week. Addison Barger, meanwhile, hit the injured list with a left ankle sprain and Tyler Fitzgerald was recalled to cover the absence, giving manager John Schneider another piece to mix and match with as he tries to get his team “just being in sync.”

“Not having games where guys are getting stretched out, you’re making moves, you’re churning through guys, you’re optioning, you’re rotating – you don’t really want that,” he continued. “There have been a lot of pitchers used so far. You never know who it’s going to be. … Last year, Eric (Lauer) was a great story, kind of a shot in the arm when Max (Scherzer) was down. We’ll see who it is. Signing a veteran guy (like Corbin), you know what you’re going to get. You trust the fact that he’s going to be prepared and by no means are we asking him to step in and be our No. 1. You’ve got to get through the rotation a couple times with guys doing what they should, getting the innings they should, putting the guys in the bullpen in the right place and just slowing down the transactional log, if you will.”

The Blue Jays took a step in that direction Tuesday night in a 4-1 setback to the Los Angeles Dodgers that nonetheless was their sixth loss in a row.

While the result was by no means what they wanted, Schneider described it as “closer to what we should look like,” as they had a chance to win thanks to 5.1 innings from Kevin Gausman, which led to more optimal bullpen deployment, preventing the scramble to cover innings so common in the previous losses.

Still, much work remains, especially at the plate, where they loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh to knock out Yoshinobu Yamamoto but watched Alex Vesia get Andres Gimenez on a fly out to left, strike out Brandon Valenzuela and get George Springer on a fly out to right, preserving a 3-1 lead.

Blake Treinen and Edwin Diaz locked down the final two frames to secure a win in which the Blue Jays had their chances, but went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position – fittingly, two of those hits didn’t score runs – and are now just 20-for-94 this season.

Their .213 average is third-worst in the majors and even more glaring is that they’re a hard-to-fathom 1-for-17 with the bases loaded.

“Not anxiety. Patience comes into it. What you’re swinging at comes into it. And then not being afraid to just take a walk at times. That’s all part of it,” Schneider said of what’s leading to the lack of execution at the plate. “It’s a tricky thing and pitchers are good. You have to be convicted in what you’re trying to do in every situation, whether it’s bases loaded, nobody out, or first and third on, one out, whatever it may be, just do your job and move it on to the next guy. That’s what we were really good at last year. It’s what we are striving to continue to do and it’s just not happening right now.”

The Blue Jays aren’t playing nearly tight enough in other parts of their game to compensate, either, as a poor Gausman throw on an Alex Freeland bunt in a two-run third led to one run, a controversial balk call on the right-hander in the fifth — “definitely not a balk, I’m not going to move off that,” said Schneider — led to another and a misplayed chopper and a throwing error in the ninth produced a third.

“The way we’re built is, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we can’t give extra outs, and then it just allows us to be who we are,” said Schneider. “That hasn’t really been the case last week.”

Despite that, once you factor that Gausman is also fighting the flu-bug sweeping through the clubhouse, he pitched better than his final line of three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts suggests, and was followed by strong relief work from Mason Fluharty, Louis Varland and Jeff Hoffman.

While he lamented the Freeland throw and the balk — “It wasn’t a balk, but if it’s close enough for them to call it, then maybe it’s on me,” he said — the night’s pitching formula is “how we consistently win ballgames, by using those guys in roles that they expect to be used in, and that’s late in the game, hopefully, or to get a certain lefty out.”

“We’ve been asking a lot of them already,” Gausman added. “We go deep in the game, everything lines up the way it should … it’s kind of a trickle effect.”

The same applies to what the Blue Jays have gone through the past week, which traces back to the springtime injuries suffered by Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios, along with Shane Bieber needing more time. Ponce’s injury was followed by Alejandro Kirk’s injury — he underwent surgery Tuesday and will miss six weeks — followed by Barger’s injury, with a flu in the mix, too.

“It’s been crazy. It really has. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like this, such a short period of time,” said Gausman. “You can kind of hang your hat on the fact that we do have a lot of the season left, but we just need to start playing better, playing more like our brand of baseball.”

Beginning with finding some more secure footing.

Why Hoffman is ‘trusting his stuff’ amid strange start to this season

Sportsnet Video — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:06:43 EDT

Blue Jays manager John Schneider ejected vs. Dodgers

Sportsnet Staff — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:29:56 EDT

The frustration of a slow start for the Toronto Blue Jays boiled over for manager John Schneider in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With no outs in the inning and a runner on first, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman was called for a balk by home plate umpire Dan Merzel.

Schneider stormed out of the Toronto dugout to plead his pitcher’s case, but was handed his first ejection of the year after the conversation went too long for Merzel’s liking.

The Blue Jays skipper walked off the field to a big cheer from the home crowd.

Gausman, who generally bounces his left foot before going into his delivery, appeared not to pause long enough to avoid the balk call.

“Kev has a little ‘tap, tap.’ He was kind of the poster child for complete body stop a couple years ago, Schneider said post-game.

“When you look at it, Kev came set. It was a slide-step to control the running game. So definitely was not a balk.”

The ejection marked the 13th of Schneider’s career.

The balk call immediately benefitted the Dodgers, as Hyeseong Kim — who moved to second on the call — came around to score on an Alex Freeland single.

Pirates finalize nine-year deal with teenage shortstop Konnor Griffin

Associated Press — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 08:42:24 EDT

PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin is with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the long haul.

The 19-year-old shortstop agreed to a nine-year, $140 million contract with the Pirates early Wednesday, less than a week after the former first-round pick made his major league debut.

The deal, the largest in club history, includes escalators that could raise the total value to $150 million.

Griffin’s Pittsburgh teammates attended Wednesday’s news conference to announce the deal hours before the team lost to the San Diego Padres 8-2.

“This week has been amazing, debut week, and then sitting here signing a contract, it’s been amazing,” Griffin said. “It’s one of the best weeks of my life. … But it’ll be even better if we can get a win today.”

In Wednesday’s game, Griffin entered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh and hit a sacrifice fly to score Nick Yorke for the Pirates’ first run.

Pirates owner Bob Nutting said the nine-year contract reflects the team’s commitment in winning this season and in the future.

“This is an important step for 2026 as we look at it right now, but obviously this is a long-term commitment,” Nutting said. “It’s a long-term statement of where we’re headed as an organization, where we are headed with this team. … This obviously is an unusual and dramatic step for the Pittsburgh Pirates. So I’m excited, I hope our fans are excited, I hope the city is excited, I know the organization is excited.”

When asked why it was important to sign for nine years, Griffin said he sees the Pirates as a winning organization.

“I’m pumped to be a Pirate and be a part of this wonderful clubhouse,” Griffin said, looking at his teammates at the back of the room. “A lot of great talent back there and coaches and staff. Thank you all for being here to support me. Y’all made this transition to the big leagues super easy. And I’m just pumped to go compete. The goal is to win. The goal is to win a World Series. And I think we’ve got a great clubhouse to go do that. I’m pump to be part of it.”

The agreement comes less than 24 hours after general manager Ben Cherington said the “ingredients” were in place for a long-term pact.

The Pirates selected Griffin with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 amateur draft. He sprinted through the team’s farm system, hitting .333 with 21 home runs, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases. He was one of the final cuts during spring training last month, and his stay at Triple-A Indianapolis was brief.

Pittsburgh called Griffin to the majors after just a week, and he has played well through his first handful of games. Griffin laced an RBI-double in his first big-league at bat against Baltimore last Friday, and added a pair of hits, including a two-run single, in a 7-1 win over San Diego on Tuesday night that helped the Pirates to their sixth win in seven games.

Griffin, who has said repeatedly he wants to stay in Pittsburgh for as long as possible, has impressed teammates with his maturity and his unique skillset.

Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes called Griffin “a big leaguer through and through,” though Griffin is doing his best to ignore the attention that has surrounded his arrival for a team that is trying to return to relevance and end a playoff drought that’s now over a decade old.

“Just sticking to being myself, not trying to do too much,” Griffin said Tuesday night. “Just let the game tell me the situation. Compete one pitch at a time and let it all happen.”

Blue Jays’ double-A team scores 8 runs without a hit

Associated Press — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:42:10 EDT

PORTLAND, Maine — Toronto’s Double-A team in the Eastern League scored eight runs in the second inning before getting its first hit of the game.

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats scored twice more in the inning while getting one hit, taking a 10-2 lead in a 12-7 win over Boston’s Portland Sea Dogs on Tuesday night.

New Hampshire benefitted from eight walks, four wild pitches, two hit batters and a sacrifice fly plus the two-run single by 27-year-old Ismael Munguia.

Hayden Mullins had five walks and Jorge Juan three.

Since 1961, no major league team has scored more than four runs without getting its first hit in an inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

MRI shows no issue with deGrom’s knee

Associated Press — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:28:13 EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers said Tuesday night an MRI on Jacob deGrom‘s right knee showed no issues, a few hours after the two-time Cy Young Award winner indicated everything checked out OK after his most recent start.

DeGrom experienced some mild knee discomfort before he pitched Monday night against Seattle, and was limited to 78 pitches over five innings because the Rangers didn’t want to push the 37-year-old right-hander too hard. He allowed only one hit in his 250th career start, a first-inning homer to Cal Raleigh in the Rangers’ 2-1 win. He struck out six and walked one before leaving with the game tied 1-1.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after a 3-2 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night that deGrom’s MRI was clear. It wasn’t immediately known whether deGrom would take his next turn in the rotation.

Before Tuesday’s game, deGrom was moving around in the clubhouse and on the field with no apparent limp and without any protective gear on the knee. He indicated while chatting with reporters that he felt fine, after saying Monday that his knee was “a little tender, but I think we’ll be OK.”

DeGrom went 4 2/3 innings while throwing 78 pitches on March 31 at Baltimore in an 8-5 Rangers win in his only other outing this season. He was scheduled to make his first start three days before that at Philadelphia but was a late scratch because of neck stiffness.

He was voted the AL Comeback Player of the Year last season, going 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA, after returning late in the 2024 season from a second major reconstruction surgery on his pitching elbow.

Okamoto ready for ‘a lot of learning’ in jump from Japan to Blue Jays

Sportsnet Video — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:14:24 EDT

Astros shut down ace Hunter Brown with shoulder strain

Sportsnet Staff — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:10:26 EDT

The Houston Astros won’t be getting their ace back anytime soon.

The team announced on Tuesday that right-hander Hunter Brown has a Grade 2 right shoulder strain, which will prevent him from throwing “for a few weeks.”

Brown was placed on the 15-day IL with the injury on Sunday after making two starts this season, but a timeline for his return had not yet been established.

In 2025, he finished third in AL Cy Young voting after posting a 2.43 ERA with 206 strikeouts in 31 starts.

Cubs starter Cade Horton to have season-ending UCL surgery

Associated Press — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:20:01 EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton will miss the rest of the 2026 season after an MRI revealed UCL damage in his right elbow, Chicago manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday.

“Cade is gonna have surgery,” Counsell said before the Cubs game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. “He’s gonna miss the rest of the year.”

The exact procedure, whether it will be a full Tommy John reconstruction or an internal brace repair, won’t be determined until surgeons go into the elbow. Horton visited renowned elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.

No surgery date has been set.

The announcement confirms what Cubs fans feared when Horton walked off the mound in Cleveland on April 3, after just 17 pitches. His velocity had dropped from 96 mph in the first inning to 93.8 mph on his final pitch before he waved toward the dugout.

It will be the 24-year-old right-hander’s second elbow reconstruction surgery. He had Tommy John surgery as a freshman at Oklahoma in 2021. He was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft and broke through in the majors last season with an 11-4 record and a 2.67 ERA in 118 innings. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. In his 2026 debut, Horton held Washington to two runs in 6 1/3 innings just one week before the injury.

The blow is particularly tough because the Cubs are already without ace Justin Steele, who is recovering from his own UCL surgery and is not expected back until late May at the earliest. With Matthew Boyd also on the injured list, the Cubs will lean on Colin Rea and Javier Assad in the rotation. Rea stepped up in a similar role last season, posting a 3.95 ERA across 27 starts after Steele went down.

“Colin’s going to be asked to pitch more innings out of the bullpen, and then somebody’s going to take Colin’s bullpen innings,” Counsell said. “That’s how it’s going to be addressed on paper. But it’s not all on Colin. … We all have to just do our part.”

Sportsnet.ca

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