MLB roundup: Yanks hit 9 HRs, bash Brewers 20-9


Aaron Judge hit the third of three straight homers for the Yankees to open the game before adding a grand slam in the third inning and a two-run shot in the fourth as New York hit a team-record nine homers in an 20-9 rout over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees started a game with three consecutive homers for the first time in team history as Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Judge hit first-pitch homers off former Yankee Nestor Cortes (0-1) for a 3-0 lead three pitches into the contest. Judge hit his ninth career grand slam with nobody out in the third on a drive to left center against Connor Thomas and then Judge produced his third career three-homer game when he homered to center in the fourth.
Judge drove in a career-high eight runs by adding an RBI double in the sixth. The Yankees became the third team in major league history with nine or more homers. The Toronto Blue Jays hit 10 against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 14, 1987, and the Cincinnati Reds slugged nine at the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 4, 1999.
Rhys Hoskins, Vinny Capra, and Christian Yelich each hit RBI singles for Milwaukee. Brice Turang added a two-run homer as the Brewers finished with 13 hits.
Padres 1, Braves 0
Yuli Gurriel’s pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning snapped a scoreless tie and lifted San Diego to a win over visiting Atlanta.
Jake Cronenworth started the winning rally with a ground-rule double that caromed off the foot of Aaron Bummer (0-1) and rolled into the third base dugout. After an intentional walk to Xander Bogaerts and a pitching change, Gurriel then pulled a slider past diving shortstop Orlando Arcia into left field to score Cronenworth.
Wandy Peralta (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, and Adrian Morejon pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his first save, slipping a called third strike past Drake Baldwin with the tying run at third to end it.
Angels 1, White Sox 0
Jose Soriano delivered seven shutout innings and Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo had two hits apiece to help Los Angeles blank host Chicago.
Soriano scattered two hits, two walks and five strikeouts while breezing through Chicago hitters in a tidy 73 pitches. Relievers Ben Joyce and Kenley Jansen completed a combined two-hit shutout.
Los Angeles relied on small ball in the eighth inning to score the game’s lone run. Jorge Soler walked with two outs and advanced to third on a Mike Clevinger wild pitch. Yoan Moncada’s infield hit scored Soler, as Clevinger deflected the ball but was unable to gather it to make a play.
Cardinals 5, Twins 1
Erick Fedde and three relievers combined for a three-hitter as St. Louis defeated Minnesota.
Fedde held the Twins to their one run on two hits in six innings while recording two strikeouts. Lars Nootbaar went 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs as the Cardinals opened their season with two straight victories. Nolan Arenado and Ivan Herrera each went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Twins starter Joe Ryan allowed one run on five hits in five innings, striking out five. Reliever Jorge Alcala took the loss after allowing three runs without retiring a batter.
Athletics 4, Mariners 2
Shea Langeliers hit a two-run homer and Osvaldo Bido gave up one earned run over five-plus innings as the Athletics defeated host Seattle.
It was the Athletics’ second straight victory after dropping the season opener. Bido (1-0), a right-hander, gave up two runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Mason Miller worked the ninth for his first save of the season.
Mariners starter Bryce Miller (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts.
Orioles 9, Blue Jays 5
Jordan Westburg hit two home runs while going 4-for-5 and visiting Baltimore defeated Toronto to take a 2-1 lead in the four-game series.
Colton Cowser added a solo shot, and Ramon Urias had a go-ahead three-run double among his three hits for the Orioles. Cowser hit Toronto starter Max Scherzer’s second pitch of the game, a fastball. for a homer to center and Westburg added a mammoth homer to center on a hanging slider later in the first.
Andres Gimenez hit a two-run homer and Bo Bichette was 4-for-4 with a walk for Toronto. Scherzer retired seven straight batters before leaving after three innings with what the team said was a right lat issue.
Dodgers 7, Tigers 3
Freddie Freeman homered, doubled and drove in two runs and Will Smith and Tommy Edman also homered as Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of visiting Detroit.
Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the fifth inning and Michael Conforto had an RBI double in the second for Los Angeles (5-0), which is off to the team’s best start since opening the 1981 season at 6-0. Jake Rogers tripled, Zach McKinstry went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Manuel Margot also had two hits and an RBI for Detroit.
Anthony Banda (1-0), the fourth of seven Dodger pitchers, picked up the win, striking out two during a hitless fifth inning. Starter Roki Sasaki, struggled in his Dodger Stadium debut, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks over 1 2/3 innings. Reese Olson (0-1) suffered the loss allowing four runs on four hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 3
Kyle Tucker had three hits, including his first homer of the season, rookie Matt Shaw hit his first major league homer and Chicago held off Arizona in Phoenix.
Tucker’s two-run homer off Brandon Pfaadt (0-1) with one out in the fifth inning gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead. Shaw homered as a pinch hitter to open the seventh to make it 4-1. Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga (1-0) gave up one run on three hits in seven innings, with four strikeouts and two walks in his second start of the season.
Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez followed Josh Naylor’s single with a two-run homer to open the last of the ninth inning off Ryan Pressly before Gabriel Moreno singled. Ketel Marte walked with two outs and Corbin Carroll squibbed a grounder toward shortstop Dansby Swanson, who bluffed a throw to first base and chased down pinch runner Garrett Hampson after he rounded third base for the final out on the fielder’s choice.
Reds 3, Giants 2
Matt McLain homered, doubled and scored twice and Christian Encarnacion-Strand blasted a solo home run to break a sixth-inning tie as host Cincinnati rallied past San Francisco in manager Terry Francona’s first win in a Reds uniform.
Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft and Emilio Pagan each pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Nick Lodolo (1-0), with Pagan earning the save.
Making his Giants debut, 42-year-old right-hander Justin Verlander was staked to a two-run lead but allowed two runs and six hits over five innings, striking out five and walking one while throwing 83 pitches in a no-decision.
Phillies 11, Nationals 6
Kyle Schwarber homered for the second consecutive game and Jesus Luzardo struck out 11 in five solid innings in his team debut as Philadelphia beat host Washington.
Brandon Marsh had three hits, including a three-run homer, and Bryson Stott had a homer and a double for the Phillies. Acquired last December in a trade with the Miami Marlins, the 27-year-old Luzardo allowed two runs on five hits and walked three.
Keibert Ruiz hit his second home run in as many games for the Nationals, and Ahmed Rosario and Nathaniel Lowe also went deep. Washington starter Jake Irvin gave up two runs on seven hits in five innings.
Rangers 4, Red Sox 3
Adolis Garcia homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead Texas past Boston in Arlington, Texas.
Garcia broke a 2-2 tie by hitting a leadoff home run in the fourth off Boston starter Walker Buehler (0-1). He also collected a two-run double in the first and hit a leadoff double in the sixth. Corey Seager added two hits and a run for Texas, which has won two of the first three games in the four-game series.
Boston received two hits from both Kristian Campbell and Alex Bregman. Campbell hit the first home run of his major league career. Buehler, who was making his Red Sox debut, allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three.
Marlins 5, Pirates 4 (12 innings)
Dane Myers hit a walk-off single with one out in the 12th inning as Miami outlasted the visiting Pittsburgh.
Myers also made a key defensive play in the top half of the 12th. He threw out Tommy Pham at the plate on a single by Bryan Reynolds, and George Soriano (1-0) stranded two to set it up for the dramatic finish. Myers, Kyle Stowers and Otto Lopez each had three hits and an RBI for Miami.
For Pittsburgh, Joey Bart notched three hits and an RBI, while Jack Suwinski and Adam Frazier each drove in a run. Frazier also scored a run on a throwing error.
Royals 4, Guardians 3
Bobby Witt Jr. smacked the tie-breaking double in the bottom of the seventh inning to help host Kansas City edge Cleveland, which saw star third baseman Jose Ramirez leave after 5 1/2 innings due to sprained right wrist.
Maikel Garcia hit a tying homer off Paul Sewald (0-1) to start the seventh as the Royals evened the series at one game apiece. Salvador Perez drove in two runs for Kansas City. Daniel Lynch IV (1-0) pitched two perfect innings of relief.
Steven Kwan homered and scored twice for Cleveland. Ramirez, a six-time All-Star, was injured sliding into second base a failed steal attempt in the third inning. He initially stayed in the game before exiting.
Astros 2, Mets 1
Jeremy Pena homered, Yordan Alvarez hit an RBI double and Houston rode a strong start from right-hander Spencer Arrighetti to edge visiting New York in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series.
After Pena recorded the Astros’ first extra-base of the season when he homered off Mets right-hander Griffin Canning (0-1) to lead off the fifth inning, Jose Siri used his blistering speed to manufacture the Mets’ lone run off Arrighetti. Siri led off the sixth with a walk, stole second base, took third on a flyout and scored when Juan Soto grounded to the mound.
Arrighetti (1-0) pitched six innings, allowing one run and one hit with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 87 pitches, 51 for strikes, and faced the minimum in four of his six innings. Astros closer Josh Hader recorded his second save of the series by working around a leadoff walk to Soto in the ninth.
Rockies 2, Rays 1
Brenton Doyle had an RBI single in the third inning and Kyle Farmer added another in the seventh, lifting visiting Colorado over Tampa Bay.
Five pitchers combined to allow three hits over 4 2/3 innings in relief of starter Antonio Senzatela, who worked around nine hits and two walks over 4 1/3 scoreless frames. Seth Halvorsen retired all four batters he faced to secure his first save of the season
Taylor Walls ripped a two-out RBI single to right field off Angel Chivilli in the eighth inning to cut Tampa Bay’s deficit to 2-1. Junior Caminero had three singles, Jonathan Aranda ripped two doubles and Christopher Morel reached base four times (two singles, two walks) for the Rays.
–Field Level Media

Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24


LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Entertainment
Best Mothers Day gifts: Show mom some love

Mother figures are the backbone of the world. Yours may be your biological mother, or maybe she’s your mother-in-law, your best friend’s mom, or simply someone whose motherly instinct has helped you through hard times.
Moms teach you the adulting necessities, give advice even if the problem is your fault, and above all, they put up with your shit and (almost) never complain.
The game plan here isn’t just to snag the last bouquet at CVS just so you’re not the kid who forgot Mother’s Day (but definitely also get flowers). And you don’t even need to spend a lot of money. (Peep our list of Mother’s Day gifts that cost less than $50. Want even more cheap gift ideas?
Skip the generic mugs and show your appreciation with a gift picked just for her: Whether it’s something to make a part of her life easier, something she’s mentioned wanting in passing, or simply something to make her feel like a damn queen, you can’t put a price on everything she’s done for you, but heartfelt gifts certainly help.
After all, they say “No matter how hard you try, you always end up like your mother.” But is that even a bad thing?
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series


The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media