MLB Quickcap (April 27, 2026)
Blown saves, walk-off hits, Miller's scoreless inning streak ends, and a new manager in Philadelphia.
SCORES OF THE DAY
White Sox-8, Angels-7: Munetaka Murakami’s go-ahead three-run long ball as part of a seven-run seventh frame leads Chicago to victory over the Angels.
Red Sox-5, Blue Jays-0: One hit allowed by Boston’s SP Ranger Suarez over eight scoreless frames gives the Red Sox a third straight win (W, 8 IP, 0 ER, 10 K).
Rays-3, Guardians-2: In a battle of two of the best lower-payroll teams around, Tampa Bay’s Ryan Vilade’s go-ahead RBI single in the eighth gives veteran SP Steven Matz his fourth win (W, 7 IP, 2 ER).
Cardinals-4, Pirates-2: The Pirates play the bullpen game to perfection through six innings, but it finally catches up to them in the ninth when closer Dennis Santana surrenders two solo homers and a go-ahead two-run double to Cardinals outfielder Jose Fermin.
Dodgers-5, Marlins-4: Speaking of blowing saves, that’s exactly what Miami’s closer Pete Fairbanks did on Monday with a 4-2 advantage in the ninth after Kyle Tucker’s walk-off single gave the Dodgers their 20th win of the season.
Yankees-4, Rangers-2: Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. drive in every New York run via the long ball to help SP Max Fried improve to 4-1 with the victory (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 K).
Twins-11, Mariners-4: Minnesota’s first baseman Cody Clemens homers and drives in five runs as the Twins’ losing streak ends at five games.
Padres-9, Cubs-7: San Diego hangs on late despite stud closer Mason Miller’s 34 ⅔ scoreless innings streak coming to an end in a non-save situation.
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE DAY
MIN - Kody Clemens (2 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K)
PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY
BOS - Ranger Suarez (8 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K, 1 BB)
THOUGHTS OF THE DAY
Well, the lengthy scoreless innings streak is over for Mason Miller. It’s not so much that he finally looked human after entering the ninth with his squad up four runs. It happens to the best of them. It’s the fact that he entered a non-save situation, further proving the point I’ve made numerous times on this blog. Closer mentalities change when they know that a save is not on the line. Why? You’d have to ask them. But it’s true. Over and over, we see the difference. Closers are bred differently than other relievers.
Miller, who hadn’t allowed a run this season, entered in the top half of the ninth with his club ahead 9-5. He proceeded to surrender three consecutive singles and threw a wild pitch, bringing home the second run of the inning. To put this in perspective, Miller had allowed only three hits over 13 ⅓ frames heading into this contest.
The odd part for me was that Mason pitched one inning on Saturday against Arizona for the save. It wasn’t like Padres rookie manager Craig Stammen was trying to get Miller some work after a week of little to no pitching. No, this was just one of those situations where I think Stammen wanted to ensure the win in the opener versus the Cubs, rather than utilizing Miller when absolutely needed. If Stammen went with another bullpen arm to begin the ninth, he could have brought Miller in for a potential save if said reliever struggled.
I hate to see closers in these types of situations. They want to be in with the game on the line. It’s mental, folks. Yes, the Padres still won, and Miller did strike out Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman to end the game, but why use your closer in this situation? After 21 pitches thrown, he’s probably unavailable on Tuesday if San Diego is in a tighter contest when they actually need their star reliever. Makes very little sense to me.
EYES ON TODAY *all times Eastern
There are a few games I’m keeping an eye on today. One of them, I’ve added at the last minute, because it was just announced that the Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson. He is being replaced by bench coach Don Mattingly. Crazy. Thomson led the Phillies to four straight postseason appearances and has the highest winning percentage as a manager in the franchise’s history.
So, Mattingly will be better? I doubt it. Not to trust someone like Thomson after a 9-19 start is ludicrous, especially when the players are stinking it up statistically. Keep in mind that the Phillies GM is none other than Mattingly’s son, Preston Mattingly. Oh, how the plot thickens now in Philadelphia, and probably soon in New York as well, given the Mets are tied with their NL East rival for the worst record in MLB.
6:40 PM - Giants (13-15) at Phillies (9-19): This I’ve got to see. My guess is that the Phillies were about to turn things around anyway, with or without a managerial change. But, of course, if they go on and sweep the Giants at home, and proceed to go on a lengthy run of good fortune, they’ll try to make it look like the managerial change was the reason. If not…Oh my, how stupid this organization will look, especially given the family ties within.
Pitching matchup: SF - Tyler Mahle (1-3, 5.26 ERA) versus PHI - Jesus Luzardo (1-3, 6.91 ER)
7:07 PM - Red Sox (12-17) at Blue Jays (12-16): Two good-looking rookie pitchers will battle in Game 2 of this series. The Sox are sending Payton Tolle to the bump after his six innings of one-run ball earned him a quality start in his first big league outing of the season last week versus the Yankees. He’ll face Trey Yesavage, who went 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA during last year’s playoffs with Toronto. Yesavage is still technically a rookie in 2026 because he only threw 14 regular-season frames in ‘25. A pitcher must throw a minimum of 50 innings to no longer qualify as a rookie. Trey began the year on the IL with shoulder inflammation.
8:05 PM - Yankees (19-10) at Rangers (14-15): The Yankees’ youngster and MLB strikeout leader, Cam Schlittler (3-1, 1.77 ERA), takes on the aging two-time Cy Young winner, Jacob deGrom (2-0, 2.13 ERA). If you have access to this game, tune in.
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I wish they could of reviewed the slow-roller down the 3rd baseline that was clearly foul, yet called a fair ball. This would of gone a long way helping Miller maintain his scoreless streak.