Given the state of the AL East, the last thing that the Orioles and Red Sox would like to do is fall behind in the playoff pace — even though it’s early April. Unfortunately for the two clubs, both lost on April 5 to continue their slow starts.
Pirates sweep Orioles
The Pirates improved to 6-3 on the season after the Bucs won 8-2 on Easter.
Ryan O’Hearn and Oneil Cruz both hit home runs for the Pirates. Braxton Ashcraft struck out eight over six innings and earned his first win of the year.
Chris Bassitt, meanwhile, had another tough start. Almost one week after he was hit around by the Rangers, Bassitt gave up six runs over two innings.
Red Sox fall to 2-7
The Red Sox lost 8-6 to the San Diego Padres on April 5. It pushed Boston to a 2-7 record to begin the 2026 campaign.
Jackson Merrill hit a home run to break what was a 6-6 tie heading into the eighth inning. A couple of innings earlier, Manny Machado hit his first home run of the year.
Outfielders Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida had three hits in the Sox’s loss.
After the game, Roman Anthony stated that it was a “disappointing” loss and that the team needs to be better during this stretch. “It’s not one man’s fault…just as a team we need to be better.”
Mets win final game in San Francisco
The Mets, sans Juan Soto, defeated the Giants 5-2 in San Francisco.
Luis Torrens was the hero, as the catcher drove in two on a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning. The Mets were down 2-1 in the game entering that inning, as Kodai Senga (31.6% Whiff%) struck out seven and kept the team in the game.
Logan Webb gave up only one run over seven innings in the loss. San Francisco fell to 3-7 on the year.
White Sox sweep Jays
The White Sox finished out a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays with a 3-0 victory over the American League champions.
Davis Martin (28% CSW%) didn’t give up a run over six innings and struck out six. Jordan Leasure, Bryan Hudson, and Chris Murphy finished out the contest for the Sox.
Cubs, Guardians split doubleheader
Thanks to the rain on April 4, the Cubs and Guardians played a doubleheader in Cleveland on Easter.
Chicago won the first game 1-0. Miguel Amaya drove in the lone run in that contest. Edward Cabrera (22.7% CSW%) didn’t give up a run but yielded five walks.
The Guardians won the second game 6-5. Parker Messick (35.1% Whiff%) pitched well enough to keep Cleveland in the game. CJ Kayfus hit a game-tying home run in the eighth, and Gabriel Arias drove in a run afterwards to give the Guardians the lead for good.
Other notes
The Angels defeated the Mariners 8-7 in 11 innings. George Klassen (40% Whiff%) struck out four in his MLB debut. However, he walked five for the Angels.
Los Angeles (NL) scored seven runs after the fifth to spoil a strong performance from Foster Griffin (30% Whiff%). The Dodgers defeated the Nationals 8-6.
Graham Pauley‘s two-run double helped the Marlins achieve a comeback 7-6 victory over the Yankees.
Richie Palacios‘ two-run home run helped the Rays finish their road trip with a 4-1 victory in extra innings. Junior Caminero hit his first home run of the year in their final game in Minnesota.
Brewers pitcher Kyle Harrison (27.8% CSW%) outdueled Kris Bubic in an 8-5 victory over the Royals. Gary Sanchez hit his third home run of the season.
Brent Rooker hit a walk-off home run off Bryan Abreu to give the A’s a 12-10 victory over the Astros.
Tomoyuki Sugano limited the Phillies to one run in a 4-1 victory for the Rockies.
Chase Burns (44.7% Whiff%) and Jack Leiter (47.4% Whiff%) were both excellent for their respective teams. Ultimately, Burns and the Reds won 2-1.
Ketel Marte walked off the Braves with an RBI double to give Arizona a 6-5 victory.
A four-run fifth inning helped the Cardinals defeat the Tigers 5-3.
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