What’s Happening in Baseball Today

The First Pitch: April 28, 2026

Mason Miller’s consecutive scoreless inning streak, which at 34.2 just set a Padres team record, ends in San Diego—and not without a little controversy. Entering the ninth inning with the Padres leading the Cubs, 9-5—thus, not a save situation—Miller takes the mound and watches as Matt Shaw, his first batter, sends a dribbler up the third base line. San Diego third baseman Ty France, filling in Manny Machado—who left earlier in the game with a leg issue—watches the ball, hoping it will go foul; just as it dies, he picks it up, thinking it’s finally and fully crossed into foul territory. But two umpires, right on top of the play along with France, disagree—saying that a portion of the ball is still hovering over the chalked line, technically still fair. France and Padres manager Craig Stammen argue bitterly, but that’s all they can do; video replay precludes fair-foul calls on ground balls hit within the infield. 

Shaw’s barely-there infield hit is the first of three straight hits against Miller; two will score on a later ground out and wild pitch. Because no outs are made before the first run scores, Miller cannot add to his scoreless streak. But Miller and the Padres survive the inning with a 9-7 win, improving to 19-9 and remaining half a game behind the Dodgers (5-4 comeback victors over the visiting Marlins).

The long ball suits the Yankees, as it always does. All four of New York’s runs in their 4-2 win over the Rangers at Arlington come courtesy of home runs, including Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s third in five days (after bashing none in 25 previous contests to start the year), the 11th of the season for Aaron Judge, and the 10th for Ben Rice. 

The double-digit totals for Aaron and Rice represent the first pair of Yankees to reach 10-plus after a season’s first 29 games since 1956, with Mickey Mantle (15) and Yogi Berra (12) leading the charge. The 21 combined taters for Aaron and Rice add up to nearly half of the Yankee’s total of 46 thus far, a figure which leads the majors.

Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Hitters Edition)

3-1-2-4—Ty France, San Diego   
The part-time utility performer, who moved from first base to third after the mid-game departure of Manny Machado, got a lot of exposure in the blogosphere as viewers watched him hovering over a dribbler down the line he swore was foul. But his highlights on offense warranted just as much attention. In the Padres’ 9-7 win over the Cubs, France stroked a double and triple—knocking in four runs—adding a walk and stolen base. With a .297 batting average, three homers and seven RBIs over just 37 at-bats so far in 2026, France has become a very useful plug-in for the Padres.

Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Pitchers Edition)

8-1-0-0-1-10—Ranger Suarez, Boston                                 
Three of Suarez’s starts this year ended with him allowing four runs over less than five innings. The other three had him pitching at least six scoreless frames. One of those latter three took place Monday at Toronto, where the 30-year-old Venezuelan gave up just one hit—a leadoff double from the Blue Jays’ Jesus Sanchez in the sixth—and helped secure a 5-0 result for Boston, giving the Red Sox their first three-game win streak on the year.

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1961: Just five days after turning 40, the Braves’ Warren Spahn throws his second career no-hitter at Milwaukee against the Giants, 1-0. At this point, only Cy Young has thrown a no-hitter at an older age. 

1991: Rob Dibble, the Reds’ enfant terrible reliever, responds to an imperfect and roughly earned save against the Cubs by launching a baseball all the way into Riverfront Stadium’s center field bleachers—where it hits an unsuspecting young schoolteacher. Dibble apologizes but is still fined $1,000 and suspended for four games.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Happy birthday to:

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (25), recipient of 2023 Gold Glove 

Tampa Bay pitcher Shane McClanahan (29), two-time All-Star 

San Francisco third baseman Matt Chapman (33), winner of five Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves; basher of 204 home runs 

David Freese (43), third baseman of the 2010s; 2011 World Series hero 

Barry Larkin (62), popular Hall-of-Fame Reds shortstop of 19 seasons, 11 of those earning All-Star status; 1995 NL MVP; recipient of three Gold Gloves; 2,340 career hits, 379 steals 

Pedro Ramos (91), Cuban-born pitcher of 15 seasons; led AL four straight years in losses (1958-61), despite decent ERAs during that span; 1959 All-Star 

Jackie Brandt (92), outfielder from 1956-67; 1961 All-Star; recipient of 1959 Gold Glove 

Born on this date:

Tom Browning (1960), southpaw pitcher of 12 seasons, posting 123-90 record; author of 1988 perfect game 

Red Lucas (1902), pitcher of 157 wins with four teams, mostly (but, of course) with the Reds; three-time league leader in complete games

Shameless Link of the Day

Check out our list of each league’s 10 best hitters and pitchers from the 1931 season.

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