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The First Pitch: April 26, 2026
On the day the Red Sox enjoy their most lopsided victory in two years, management cleans out the team’s coaching apparatus after an otherwise horrendous start to the 2026 season. Manager Alex Cora, who led the team to a world title over the Dodgers in 2018, is dismissed, as are five of his coaches; a sixth, former Boston catcher Jason Varitek, is “reassigned to a new role” within the organization.
Replacing Cora, on an interim basis, will be Chad Tracy, a former major league infielder and the pilot for the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Worcester since 2022.
Cora’s last game as manager is a decisive 17-1 rout of the Orioles at Baltimore. Ten of the runs cross the plate in the ninth inning—four of those off Baltimore outfielder/batting practice pitcher Weston Wilson. Garrett Crochet (see below), who’s posted a 10.50 ERA over his last four starts, throws six shutout innings to gain his third victory of the year.
The Phillies end their longest losing streak in 27 years—and as the return of Juan Soto helped end the Mets’ 12-game skid earlier in the week, so it is with the Phillies and ace Zack Wheeler, returning to the mound for the first time since last August. Wheeler pitches five innings and departs with a 3-2 lead, but reliever Tanner Banks promptly allows two runs to cross the plate in the sixth, giving Atlanta a 4-3 lead. The Phillies answer back in the eighth, tying the game on Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly against Atlanta reliever Dylan Lee—who suffers the first blown save by a Braves pitcher in this, the team’s 28th game of the year. In the 10th, the Phillies blow it open with four runs—the first two on a double by Harper.
While the Phillies’ losing streak is history, so is the Cubs’ win streak, also at 10 games. In Los Angeles, the opposing Dodgers pile on a dozen runs between the third and sixth innings, leaving Chicago in the dust with a 12-4 rout. Max Muncy, starting despite battling the flu, belts the Dodgers’ lone home run and walks twice before being given the rest of the night off.
Erasing an early 4-0 deficit, the Padres score six unanswered runs and overcome the Diamondbacks in the first of a two-game series at Mexico City. Ty France smacks two solo homers for San Diego, accounting for the team’s first and last runs of their comeback; only one other homer, from the DBacks’ Alek Thomas, is produced in the 7,500-foot-high air of Mexico’s capitol city.
Mason Miller pitches a scoreless ninth—failing to strike out a batter in his second straight appearance—to record his 10th save and emerge as the true record-holder of the Padres’ longest-ever streak of consecutive scoreless innings, with 34.2.
Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Hitters Edition)
6-3-3-4—Andruw Monasterio, Boston
The 28-year-old Venezuelan had yet to make a big splash with the Red Sox since being traded from Milwaukee in the offseason—until Saturday at Baltimore, when he contributed with two doubles and his first career grand slam. That later hit was the big blow in Boston’s 10-run ninth, providing more than enough insurance in a 17-1 blowout of the Orioles.
Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Pitchers Edition)
6-3-0-0-2-7—Garrett Crochet, Boston
It was reassuring for Red Sox fans watching Crochet return to form, even if for one start. As mentioned above, the durable ace of last year had been way off his game, leaving some to wonder if something was structurally amiss. It’s easily Crochet’s best outing since Opening Day, when he also threw six shutout innings at Cincinnati.
It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today
1905: Cubs outfielder Jack McCarthy throws out three Pirates runners at home plate to tie a major league mark that had previously been set twice—but never since equaled. All three of McCarthy’s assists are pivotal in securing a 2-1 Cubs win at Pittsburgh.
1995: Coors Field in Denver hosts its first regular season game and it’s a thriller. The Rockies tie the game in the ninth on Larry Walker’s two-out double, exchange single runs in the 13th, and win it in the 14th on a three-run homer by Dante Bichette to seal an 11-9 win.
2004: Playing in his one and only year at Arizona, Richie Sexson hits the longest home run in Chase Field history with a 503-foot blast during the Diamondbacks’ 9-0 win over the Cubs.
2017: Gift Ngoepe, a South African native and longtime minor leaguer, becomes the first African-born major leaguer when he takes second base for the Pirates midway through their 6-5 home victory over the Cubs. Primarily called up for his defensive skills, Ngoepe nevertheless has a single and walk in three trips to the plate.
2025: Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez becomes the 19th player to hit four home runs in a game—but only the third to do so with his team losing, as the Diamondbacks drop an 8-7 decision to the visiting Braves in 10 innings.
You Say It’s Your Birthday
Happy birthday to:
Herculean Yankees slugger and three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge (34); holder of AL season home run record with 62 in 2022; 2017 AL Rookie of the Year; four-time league leader in walks, three times in home runs
Mike Scott (71), average pitcher turned into Cy Young winner thanks to use of split-fingered fastball; 20-game winner in 1989; three-time All-Star
Amos Otis (79), five-time All-Star centerfielder and rock within Royals’ era of success during 1970s; 2,020 career hits, 341 stolen bases; two-time league leader in doubles; recipient of three Gold Gloves
Born on this date:
Granny Hamner (1927), three-time All-Star middle infielder of 17 seasons and 1,529 lifetime hits
Sal Maglie (1917), 1950s pitcher with career 119-62 record; 1950 NL ERA titlist; 23-game winner from 1951, losing only six games; nicknamed “The Barber” for his frequent brushbacks of opposing hitters
Virgil Trucks (1917), colorful pitcher of 17 years, posting 177-135 record for five different teams; two-time league leader in shutouts; threw two no-hitters in 1952 season in which he otherwise went 3-19; TGG interview subject
Dale Alexander (1903), all-hit, no-glove first baseman in an era without the DH; outstanding rookie showing in 1929; 1932 AL batting titlist; career .331 batting average over just five total seasons
Hack Wilson (1900), petite but very powerful Hall-of-Fame outfielder with 244 home runs, four times leading league; top NL hitter of 1926; blasted then-NL-record 56 homers with all-time-record 191 RBIs in thunderous 1930 campaign; knocked in 100+ runs six times
Ray Caldwell (1888), 1910s pitcher who accrued 134-120 record; was struck by lightning one out from securing a complete-game win in 1919—came back to life to finish the contest
Jack Barry (1887), the shortstop in the A’s vaunted “$100 Infield” of the early 1910s; 1,009 hits, 153 steals over 11-year career
Shameless Link of the Day
Alex Cora’s managerial tenure in Boston included a year off in 2020—not because of COVID, but for his role in Baseball’s other, less impactful cheating scandal during the late 2010s.
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