Connect with us

Sports

Now, positivity surrounds Orioles' Jeremiah Jackson as Guardians await

MLB: Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland GuardiansApr 17, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson (82) celebrates his three-run home run in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson hit the foul ball that caused manager Craig Albernaz to suffer a broken jaw and seven facial fractures on Monday.

Jackson gave fans something more pleasant to talk about Friday night when he hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning off reliever Connor Brogdon, capping a 6-4 comeback win for the Orioles against the Guardians in Cleveland.

The four-game series will continue Saturday evening when Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer (0-0, 3.60 ERA) opposes Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams (2-1, 2.38).

Cleveland won the opener 4-2 on Thursday.

“For me, it’s just about making the most of opportunities, whether it’s pinch hitting or starting,” said Jackson, who is batting .317 with five homers and 17 RBIs this season.

“To get the chance to come up and hit in that situation, I give credit to the guys in front of me. I give all the credit for the team getting on base.”

Television cameras caught Albernaz yelling in celebration after Jackson’s homer, then spending the rest of the game holding his face in obvious pain. The first-year skipper is able to speak clearly, but he is limited to soft foods and liquids.

“I think (Albernaz) has a lot of influence on the team, and he represents what we do,” Jackson said. “Games are nine innings for a reason, and we have a squad that works all nine innings.”

Jackson has been a unique story this season, ranking among the American League leaders in multiple categories after making the club out of spring training for the first time.

Remarkably, the 26-year-old has yet to draw a walk in 62 plate appearances over 18 games. And the three-run homer wasn’t even his biggest hit this week.

That occurred Monday when Jackson hit two home runs, including his first grand slam, and had five RBIs in a 9-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The slam took place shortly after the line drive struck Albernaz’s face, sending him to the hospital.

“When I got hit on the jaw and JJ did his thing, that was pretty big, but I wasn’t there to see it,” Albernaz said, forcing a smile. “The impressive thing today was his previous at-bats weren’t the best, but he got a good pitch to hit, and did what JJ does and put a good swing on it.”

The game was scoreless until the seventh inning, when the Guardians took a 4-0 lead on Daniel Schneemann’s grand slam.

The Orioles came right back, with a sacrifice fly by Johnathan Rodriguez scoring one run and pinch hitter Weston Wilson hitting a two-run double to close the score to 4-3. Jackson’s home run followed.

Baltimore became the first team in MLB history to give up a grand slam to break up a scoreless game in the seventh inning or later, then go on to win. It was a painful turn for the Guardians, who wasted six shutout innings by starter Tanner Bibee.

“(Brogdon) just left a fastball over the middle and got burned,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just an unfortunate way for this game to end. The eighth inning was just a one-off for us. Tanner was tremendous.”

Kremer is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in five career games against Cleveland, making one start in each of the last five seasons, with the win coming in 2025. His only appearance for Baltimore this year was a five-inning, no-decision on the night Albernaz was hurt, the win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In two career outings against the Guardians, Kremer is 0-2 with a 9.28 ERA and has allowed 11 runs in 10 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Padres halt Angels' scorching offense, even series

MLB: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles AngelsApr 18, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) runs after hitting a RBI single during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images

Fernando Tatis Jr. had two hits and two RBIs and Mason Miller struck out two en route to his seventh save to lead the San Diego Padres to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night in Anaheim.

Ramon Laureano also drove in two runs, Jake Cronenworth scored a run and reached base four times with a single, two walks and a hit by a pitch and Freddy Fermin scored twice for San Diego, which won for the 12th time in its last 14 games.

Adrian Morejon (2-0) delivered 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief while Miller pitched around a leadoff single by Yoan Moncada and a walk to Vaughn Grissom in the ninth to extend his scoreless streak to 31 2/3 innings dating back to Aug. 6, 2025.

Zach Neto and Mike Trout each doubled and Nolan Schanuel had an RBI single for Los Angeles, which finished with just six hits. Ryan Zeferjahn (1-1) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks in one inning immediately after Yusei Kikuchi wrapped his scoreless six-inning start for Los Angeles.

Kikuchi allowed four hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch, striking out eight.

The Angels, who entered the contest having hit 16 home runs while scoring 49 runs in their previous six games, managed just two hits over 5 2/3 innings against San Diego starter German Marquez.

However, they nearly took a 1-0 lead in the second. Moncada led off the inning with a deep drive to right-center that Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill made a highlight-reel grab on, reaching above the fence to deny Moncada of a home run. It was the third time this season that Merrill robbed a batter of a home run.

The Padres took a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning against Zeferjahn, who walked Fermin and Cronenworth on eight straight balls to open the inning. Laureano then grounded a single to center to drive in Fermin, and Tatis followed with a slow roller into shallow right to drive in Cronenworth.

Los Angeles cut the lead to 2-1 in the eighth on Schanuel’s single, driving in Logan O’Hoppe who had singled and advanced to second on a single by Adam Frazier.

San Diego then added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Laureano followed by an RBI single from Tatis.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Braylon Mullins passes on NBA draft, staying at UConn

NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Championship-Connecticut at MichiganApr 6, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (24) controls the ball against Michigan Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) during the second half in the national championship of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament between the and the Michigan Wolverines at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

UConn’s sharp-shooting wing Braylon Mullins announced Saturday on social media that he is passing on entering the NBA draft and returning to the Huskies for his sophomore season.

Mullins, regarded as a first-round and possible lottery pick in the 2026 draft in June, made the announcement on Instagram on his 20th birthday.

The slender 6-foot-6 Mullins, a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American out of Greenfield, Ind., was a unanimous pick for the Big East All-Freshman Team after averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 33 games after missing the first six with an ankle injury. He started 29 of UConn’s final 30 games.

His 72 3-pointers were second most for a freshman in UConn history. He shot 33.5% (72 of 215), with his most famous the shot of the NCAA Tournament.

Mullins’ 35-footer with 0.3 seconds left beat Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight, sending UConn to the Final Four. The Huskies (34-6) later lost 69-63 to No. 1 Michigan in the national championship game.

Earlier on Saturday, rising sophomore Nikolas Khamenia announced he was transferring from Duke. The 6-foot-8 wing joins a squad returning Mullins and point guard Silas Demary Jr., wing Jayden Ross, transfer Najai Hines (Seton Hall) and incoming freshmen Colben Landrew and Junior County.

UConn is waiting on guard Solo Ball to announce his plans and has lost forward Jaylin Stewart and center Eric Reibe to the transfer portal.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Corbin Carroll slam extends D-backs' win streak, Jays' skid

MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Arizona DiamondbacksApr 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll (7) steals secondbase under the tag by Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Andrés Giménez (0) in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Corbin Carroll broke a tie with an opposite-field grand slam in the eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks extended their winning streak to four games with a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Phoenix on Saturday.

Ildemaro Vargas singled off Jeff Hoffman (1-2) to open the eighth, extending his season-opening hitting streak to a franchise-record 14 games.

Alek Thomas singled and Ketel Marte walked to bring up Carroll, who hit his fourth career grand slam on a 3-1 fastball.

The D-backs, who have won eight of 10, lead the majors with 10 comeback victories.

Geraldo Perdomo had three singles and an RBI and Thomas had two hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who had eight hits.

Nathan Lukes had three hits, Kazuma Okamoto had two hits and an RBI and Ernie Clement and Eloy Jimenez had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who have lost four straight, six of seven and 12 of 15.

Juan Morillo (1-1) struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a 100 mph fastball with a runner on first to end the seventh and keep the game tied at 2. He allowed one hit and struck out two over 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Toronto starter Max Scherzer gave up two runs on five hits in six innings, with one strikeout and one walk.

Arizona starter Zac Gallen permitted two runs and nine hits, leaving after Okamato’s single tied the game at 2 with two outs in the sixth. He struck out three with no walks.

Lukes, Guerrero and Jesus Sanchez singled in the top of the first, with Sanchez’s one-out single driving in Lukes for a 1-0 lead. Guerrero has a nine-game hitting streak.

The D-backs tied it in their half of the first when Carroll walked, stole second and scored on Perdomo’s single. Thomas grounded a two-out double inside the bag at first to drive in Jose Fernandez, who had singled, to give Arizona a 2-1 lead in the fifth.

Toronto tied it in the sixth after an apparent double play was changed after a review. Jimenez singled with one out, and Gallen appeared to get out of the inning when Andres Gimenez grounded to Fernandez to start what originally was called an inning-ending double play.

Perdomo was ruled to have missed the bag on the play, leaving Jimenez at second, and he scored on Okamoto’s single to tie the game.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading