The Baseball Buffet for 4/4/2026

LAD 13, WSH 6 - CJ Abrams hit a 3-run HR in the bottom of the first inning off LAD SP Emmet Sheehan (5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). WSH SP Miles Mikolas kept the Dodgers off the board for the first two innings, but as I noted yesterday he doesn't have a strong history against many players currently in the powerful Dodgers lineup. And sure enough they had 11 hits and scored 11 runs over his 4.1 IP on the day. Shohei Ohtani was 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI, and Kyle Tucker went 3-6 with his first official HR for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts went 2-6 with a HR, 2 runs, and 2 RBI, Freddie Freeman hit a 2-run HR, Andy Pages went 3-4 with a walk and a HR, and Teoscar Hernández went 3-4 with a double and 3 runs.

TOR 4, CWS 5 (10) - TOR SP Dylan Cease had 6 K in 4.1 IP, but also allowed 5 H, 3 BB, 3 R, and 2 ER. Meanwhile, CWS pitcher Grant Taylor pitched a scoreless first as an opener, and then Sean Burke did well over the next six innings (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). The Sox were up 3-1 through seven, but then Andrés Giménez hit a 2-run HR to tie it up and eventually force extras. The Blue Jays scored one in the top of the tenth, and they brought in their closer Jeff Hoffman. But Chicago played small ball with Derek Hill bunted with two outs and score Miguel Vargas from third. He advanced to second on a throwing error on the play, and then Tristan Peters hit a walk-off single to drive him in.

BAL 4, PIT 5 - This game was both the Pirates home-opener for 2026, and featured the debut of MLB's number one prospect, 19-year old SS Konnor Griffin, the Pirates round-one draft pick (9th overall) in 2024. He didn't disappoint, participating in a Pirates four-run second inning by hitting an RBI-double in his first major league at-bat, and then coming around to score with a head-first dive on a close play at the plate. Overall he was 1-3 with a walk on the day, with PIT SP Mitch Keller pitching well enough (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K), and ultimately Gregory Soto allowing a HR but striking out three in the ninth to secure his first save of the year. Gunnar Henderson was 3-5 with a double and the ninth-inning HR, but the Orioles came up just short in this one.

NYM 10, SFG 3 - NYM SP Nolan McLean had a perfect game going through five innings, before giving up some baserunners and exiting in the sixth (5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Meanwhile, SFG SP Tyler Mahle struggled (5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and the Giants' bullpen continued allowing baserunners and runs too. Marcus Semien went 3-5 with a HR and 3 RBI, Francisco Alvarez was 2-5 with 2 solo HR, and Bo Bichette went 3-5 with a double and 2 runs.

STL 0, DET 4

MIA 2, NYY 8

SDP 2, BOS 5

CIN 5, TEX 3

CHC 1, CLE 4

PHI 10, COL 1

TBR 4, MIN 10

ATL 2, ARI 0

SEA 3, LAA 1 (10)

HOU 4, ATH 11

MIL vs. KCR - postponed

HOU Tatsuya Imai vs. ATH Luis Morales - Imai ran into trouble in his MLB debut, will he do better against this tough A's lineup?

CIN Rhett Lowder vs. TEX Kumar Rocker - this is Rocker's 2026 debut after a rookie season with mixed results last year

MIL vs. KCR is a doubleheader - MIL Chad Patrick vs. KCR Luinder Avila making his first MLB start (14th appearance) in game 1; and MIL Brandon Sproat vs. KCR Seth Lugo in game 2.

Longer game summaries for every game

Current MLB standings

Notable player transactions

Rotating statistical leader lists

On this day in baseball history…

Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys

Daily Hitter Watch and Pitcher Watch lists

… and the answer to the trivia question!