Last Night In Baseball: Pirates Implode Against Phillies

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: This one stings for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates put six runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth against the Philadelphia Phillies, with center fielder Oneil Cruz hitting a two-run single and both second baseman Brandon Lowe and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna hitting two-run home runs. Philadelphia got on the board with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth and later got a two-run home run from designated hitter Kyle Schwarber in the fifth, but Pittsburgh got one of those runs back on a solo homer from Lowe in the bottom of the fifth and another run back on an infield error in the sixth. In the top half of the seventh, Schwarber got the Phillies back within three runs (8-5) on a two-run home run, his second long ball of the game and MLB-high 20th of the year. The Pirates entered the ninth inning with a three-run lead, but then the Phillies evened the score. After Schwarber walked in a run, first baseman Bryce Harper — who had a game-high four hits — hit a game-tying, two-run double off the right-center field wall. The game went to extra innings, where the Phillies built a lead to last. Outfielder Brandon Marsh led off the top of the 10th with an RBI double. Two batters later, pinch hitter Rafael Marchán had a two-run single, which would help Philadelphia win, 11-9. With two runners on the basepath, two outs in the bottom of the eighth and trying to keep a 2-0 lead, the San Diego Padres called on Mason Miller to get a four-out save against the Seattle Mariners. Did he make things interesting? You bet! But the hard-throwing right-hander got the job done. After giving up a single to load the bases, Miller got pinch hitter Connor Joe to strikeout looking to end the eighth. Then, Seattle got two of the first three batters on-base in the bottom of the ninth, but Miller responded by striking out both Mitch Garver and Brendan Donovan to end the game. Each of the four outs that Miller recorded were strikeouts. Across 21.0 innings pitched (20 appearances), Miller, a 2024 All-Star, has posted an 0.86 ERA, an 0.76 WHIP, 44 strikeouts, a 483 ERA+ and 1.3 wins above replacement. He leads MLB with 14 saves and is yet to blow a save opportunity. Prior to Miller entering the game, San Diego got six shutout innings from Randy Vásquez, a scoreless inning from Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam got the first two outs in the eighth. The Padres got their two runs on an RBI double from designated hitter Miguel Andújar — who was one of four San Diego players to log two hits — in the top of the fourth and an RBI ground out from second baseman Sung-Mun Song in the seventh. The Minnesota Twins took a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning, but then the Milwaukee Brewers flipped the script. Milwaukee led off the top half of the inning with back-to-back singles from center fielder Jackson Chourio and second baseman Brice Turang. Then, catcher William Contreras — who had an RBI single in the top of the first — brought home a run on a force-out, which first baseman Jake Bauers followed with a go-ahead, RBI double. Granted, the Brewers stranded two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Minnesota put two runners on the basepath in the bottom half of the inning, but reliever Abner Uribe induced a double-play to end the inning, and Trevor Megill pitched a one-two-three ninth to give Milwaukee a 3-2 road victory. The Brewers are figuring it out. After a rough start that saw it be last in the National League Central, Milwaukee has won seven of its last eight games, improving to 25-17 and second place in the division. The New York Yankees got a convincing Game 1 win over the New York Mets in Act 1 of this year’s Subway Series. In the top of the third, Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger had an RBI double, which second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a two-run double. Later, designated hitter Spencer Jones singled in a run in the fifth and first baseman Ben Rice gave the Yankees more wiggle room with a solo home run in the ninth, helping them get a 5-2 win. The Mets, who had just five hits, got their two runs on a seventh-inning solo home run from left fielder Juan Soto and an RBI single from third baseman Brett Baty in the bottom of the ninth. Rice and Chisholm each had a game-high three hits for the Yankees, who got 6 ⅔ innings from starter Cam Schlittler; the right-hander posted nine strikeouts and surrendered just one run and four baserunners (two hits and two walks). On the season, Rice has totaled 14 home runs and 30 RBIs, while boasting a .314/.418/.686 slash line. Rice leads the American League with a .686 slugging percentage, a 1.104 OPS and a 204 OPS+. Meanwhile, Schlittler, who’s averaging six innings per start, leads the AL with a 1.35 ERA, an 0.78 WHIP, six wins, a 310 ERA+ and 2.8 wins above replacement among pitchers. Losing eight of their last nine games, the Detroit Tigers needed a win — and they got one. With a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the ninth in what was a 2-2 game, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to intentionally walk Tigers right fielder Zach McKinstry, and first baseman Spencer Torkelson made them pay, hitting a walk-off single to right-center field. Detroit scored its other two runs on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third and an RBI double from left fielder Riley Greene in the sixth, while Toronto got its two runs on a two-run double from shortstop Andrés Giménez in the top of the second. The Tigers rolled with a bullpen day, as six pitchers (Brenan Hanifee, Brant Hurter, Ty Madden, Burch Smith, Drew Anderson and Kenley Jansen) combined to give up just five hits and two walks. One day after scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead and beat the Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals walked off the Kansas City Royals. After trading runs in the 10th inning, St. Louis kept Kansas City off the board in the top of the 11th, and with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, pinch hitter Yohel Pozo sent everybody home on a walk-off single to right field. Elsewhere for the Cardinals, right fielder Jordan Walker hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth and had a game-high three hits; catcher Pedro Pagés hit a solo homer in the fifth; first baseman Alec Burleson singled home the ghost runner in the 10th; right-hander Dustin May gave up three runs through six innings. St. Louis has won three of its last four games. Spencer Arrighetti is the story of the night in H-Town. The Houston Astros’ right-hander carried a no-hitter into the top of the eighth and was promptly relieved, thereafter. Bryan King picked up where Arrighetti left off, pitching 1 ⅔ shutout innings and finishing off a 2-0 win for the Astros over the Texas Rangers. Through his first six starts (Arrighetti began the 2026 season in Triple A), Arrighetti has posted a 1.50 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, a 280 ERA+ and 1.6 wins above replacement across 36.0 innings pitched. As for the slim offense in this matchup, the Astros got a solo home run from third baseman Isaac Paredes in the bottom of the third and an RBI single from infielder Braden Shewmake — who’s batting .366 with three home runs and seven RBIs across 41 at-bats — in the eighth. Want some bizarre history? The Astros and Rangers are now 150-150 against each other all time, according to MLB Stats. Last year, the Los Angeles Angels went 6-0 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That will NOT happen this season, as the Dodgers, ironically, defeated the Angels in Angel Stadium, 6-0. The bulk of the Dodgers’ offense came in the top of the fourth, as center fielder Andy Pages hit a three-run home run, which was followed by third baseman Max Muncy hitting a solo shot. Left fielder Teoscar Hernández joined the long-ball party in the sixth with a two-run homer. Muncy and Hernández each had two hits for the Dodgers, who used a whopping eight pitchers (left-hander Blake Snell was scratched from his outing) and held the Angels to just two hits. Angels shortstop Zach Neto was the only player for Mickey Mouse’s favorite team (one would hope, at least) who made some hay, as he singled and drew two walks. Pages is tied with Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks for the MLB lead in RBIs (38), while Muncy leads the Dodgers with 12 home runs and Hernández has driven in 20 runs, which is good for a three-way tie for second on the team. Merrill Kelly posted a 9.95 ERA and gave up six home runs over his first four starts. Over his last two outings, Kelly has been exceptional. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ right-hander went the distance on the road against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night, giving up just one run and four baserunners (four hits) and throwing 100 pitches over nine innings in an overwhelming, 9-1 victory. He has given up just two runs over his last two starts, combining to throw 16.0 innings. Moreover, this marked Kelly’s seventh consecutive quality start (giving up no more than three earned runs over at least six innings) at Coors Field, which is an MLB record, according to MLB Stats. The Rockies’ one run came on a first-inning solo home run from catcher Hunter Goodman. What happened in the top half of the inning? The Diamondbacks scored six runs: an RBI single from first baseman Ildemaro Vargas, a two-run single from catcher Gabriel Moreno, an RBI double from designated hitter José Fernández and a two-run single from center fielder Ryan Waldschmidt. Vargas, who finished with a game-high four hits, had another RBI single in the fourth and scored two runs in the eighth on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Moreno. The Atlanta Braves, who were originally the Reds at their 1876 induction, played in Boston before the Red Sox, who were founded as the Boston Americans in 1901. Its relevance to the Friday night game between the two teams? Minimal, if any, but it was an exciting game. After keeping Boston off the board in the top of the 10th, the Braves walked off the Red Sox in the first at-bat of the bottom half of the inning, with outfielder Mike Yastrzemski lacing a walk-off double to left-center field for a 3-2 win. Designated hitter Drake Baldwin got the Braves on the board in the bottom of the first with a solo home run, which was his 12th homer of the year, with center fielder Michael Harris II, who sports a .308 batting average and a .510 slugging percentage, hitting a solo home run of his own in the fourth. Boston’s two runs came on a sixth-inning RBI single from designated hitter Mickey Gasper and a solo home run from second baseman Marcelo Mayer in the seventh. The Braves have won five of their last six games. The Cincinnati Reds led the Cleveland Guardians 6-1 entering the bottom of the eighth, but then the latter struck for five runs over the next two innings. Granted, the Reds scored a needed run in the top of the ninth. Nevertheless, Cincinnati escaped Progressive Field with a one-run victory after second baseman Matt McLain made a diving stop on a ground ball hit by Guardians rookie Travis Bazzana in the outfield grass, got to his feet and just made the throw to first base to end the game. McLain reached base safely three times (two hits and one walk) and drove in a game-high three runs, highlighted by a two-run home run in the top of the eighth. Reds left fielder JJ Bleday had a team-high three hits, while right fielder Spencer Steer tallied two hits. After left-hander Andrew Abbott pitched five innings, the Reds used five relievers to get a 7-6 win.