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The First Pitch: April 20, 2026
Oh, Mets. Trying to snap a 10-game skid, New York takes a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth at Chicago against the Cubs, but closer Devin Williams gives up a leadoff single to Ian Happ—who then scores two batters later on a double from former Met Michael Conforto, tying the game. Just one inning later in the 10th, with Craig Kimbrel trying to preserve the tie, the veteran reliever throws a wild pitch that allows gift runner Pete Crow-Armstrong to advance to third with no outs; Nico Hoerner will bring him home two batters later on a sac fly.
The 2-1 loss for the Mets extends their losing streak to 11, tying them with the Kansas City Royals—who’ve lost seven straight games—for MLB’s worst record at 7-15. (Yes, even Colorado has a better mark.)
The Mets’ next game is back at home against Minnesota on Tuesday. The game may evoke memories of 1988, when the 1-23 Baltimore Orioles came home to a sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium trying to cheer the team out of an extraordinarily bad start. This will not be that type of crowd at Citi Field, where sympathy from typically scorching Mets fans is non-existent.
The Cubs’ victory over the Mets is their fifth straight overall, propelling them…into a last-place tie with Milwaukee, with both teams at 12-9. Over three weeks into the 2026 season, all five teams in the NL Central are playing well, with Cincinnati topping the table at 14-8 after a 7-4, 10-inning road win over the Twins. Only a game and a half separate all five teams in the division; oddly, the Reds and second-place Cardinals both have run differentials of -8, a consequence of winning the close ones while losing more one-sided affairs. (Cincinnati and St. Louis are a combined 11-0 in one-run games, and 8-0 in extras.)
There have only been six intra-divisional games between NL Central teams so far this year—and there won’t be a seventh until the Pirates travel to Milwaukee this coming weekend. Until then, the five Central teams can continue to feast on AL teams, for whom they’re already 49-30 against; this week will see the Reds at Tampa Bay, the Brewers at Detroit, the Pirates at Texas, and later the Reds hosting the Tigers, and the Cardinals hosting Seattle.
The Cardinals’ latest interleague triumph is a 7-5, 10-inning win at Houston, a game noted for the moment Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez becomes the first major leaguer this year to reach double-digits in home runs. Alvarez’s 10th shot is already four more than he hit all of last season, when injuries muted his total output to six over 48 games.
Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Hitters Edition)
5-1-4-4—Dillon Dingler, Detroit
Ding went Bang on the Red Sox at Boston, powering out a double and fifth homer of the year amid a career-high four hits in the Tigers’ 6-2 win. The impressive display hoists Dingler’s season average to .302; his 18 RBIs puts him in a tie for second in the AL.
Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Pitchers Edition)
7.1-5-0-0-1-8—Ryan Weathers, New York Yankees
The former Marlin, running hot-and-cold in his first year with the Yankees as he rebounds from a frustrating 2025 where he suffered arm strain and a blow to the head on a throw from his catcher, was looking pretty toasty on the mound against the struggling Royals. Only one other time in his career has he thrown more innings without allowing a run, and he was well supported by three home runs (including Aaron Judge’s ninth of the year) to gain his first win of the season, 7-0 over Kansas City.
It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today
1912: Fabled Fenway Park in Boston hosts its first-ever game as the Red Sox prevail in 11 innings over the New York Highlanders, 7-6. Second baseman Steve Yerkes collects five hits including two doubles for the Red Sox, but also commits three of the team’s seven errors on the day.
1912: Debuting along with Fenway Park is Detroit’s Navin Field, the facility soon to be renamed Tiger Stadium. The Tigers also need 11 innings to win their opener, 6-5 over the Cleveland Naps. George Mullin goes the distance in securing the win.
1997: After a NL-record 14 straight losses to start the season, the Cubs finally win in the second game of a doubleheader at New York over the Mets, 4-3.
You Say It’s Your Birthday
Happy birthday to:
Brandon Belt (38), San Francisco first baseman of 1,232 hits and 194 home runs; 2016 All-Star
Todd Hollingsworth (53), outfielder of 12 seasons with eight different teams; 1996 NL Rookie of the Year
Don Mattingly (65), six-time All-Star first baseman and 1985 AL MVP; 1984 AL batting titlist; recipient of nine Gold Gloves; chronic back issues curbed his Hall-of-Fame chances; manager of 12 years, piloting the Dodgers to three straight first-place finishes (2013-15)
Milt Wilcox (76), steady pitcher of 16 seasons; career 119-113 record; 3-1 record, 1.42 ERA over five postseason appearances
Born on this date:
Harry Agganis (1929), promising Red Sox first baseman who died early in his second season from expanded blood clot
Heavy Johnson (1895), short but powerful Negro League outfielder who batted .406 in back-to-back seasons (1922-23); career .370 average
Dave Bancroft (1891), Hall-of-Fame shortstop with 2,004 hits over 16 seasons; three times surpassed 100 runs; top-notch fielder with excellent range
Charlie Hemphill (1876), starting first baseman for the first-year Boston Americans (Red Sox), playing for three more AL teams through 1911; of course a guy with “Hemp” in his name was born on 4-20
Tommy Dowd (1869), 1890s outfielder/second baseman who secured 1,493 hits and 368 steals
Germany Smith (1859), 19th-Century shortstop of 15 seasons, racking up 1,597 hits and at least 235 steals
Shameless Link of the Day
Want to know what happened in 1985? Find out here.
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