Last Night in Baseball: Giants Beat Dodgers in Back-to-Back Games

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: After beating the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, 9-3, the San Francisco Giants picked up where they left off on Tuesday, getting another win over their bitter National League West rival. The Dodgers led 2-1 entering the fifth inning, thanks to a first-inning sacrifice fly from catcher Will Smith and a solo home run from Shohei Ohtani to lead off the bottom of the third inning. However, the Giants would take the lead and never give it back in the top of the fifth when center fielder Harrison Bader and catcher Eric Haase hit back-to-back solo home runs. As for Haase, it was his second homer of the game, as he launched another solo shot in the top of the third. Both of those home runs came off Dodgers star right-hander Yoshinobo Yamamoto. San Francisco built a four-run cushion in the seventh, as outfielder Drew Gilbert singled in a run and fellow outfielder Jung Hoo Lee doubled in two runs, giving the Giants a 6-2 lead, which would be the final score. Right-hander Adrian Houser pitched 5 ⅔ innings for the Giants, who improved to 4-1 against the Dodgers this season and have won four of their last five games. The Detroit Tigers got out to a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets in the top of the second, but that would be all the offense that Detroit would muster, as a New York avalanche ensued. Over the next seven innings, the Mets racked up 13 hits and 10 runs, scoring in all but one of those seven innings. Among the biggest standouts was center fielder A.J. Ewing, who had a spectacular MLB debut. Ewing, whom New York selected with the No. 134 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and ranks as their No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, reached base in four of his five plate appearances, recording an RBI triple and three walks, one of them driving in a run. Prior to getting called up to the big leagues, Ewing had totaled two home runs, 11 RBIs and 17 stolen bases across 30 combined games in Double A (18 games) and Triple A (12 games) this season, boasting a .339/.447/.514 slash line. As for New York’s 10-2 win over Detroit, outfielders Carson Benge, Juan Soto and Austin Slater, infielders Bo Bichette and Mark Vientos and catchers Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens each drove in at least one run (Ewing had two RBIs). Starter Freddy Peralta surrendered two runs and posted seven strikeouts over six innings. If one blinked, they may have missed Bailey Ober’s heroics on the mound. Why’s that? The Minnesota Twins’ right-hander pitched a complete-game shutout against the Miami Marlins, surrendering just two baserunners (two hits), recording seven strikeouts and throwing only 89 pitches to accomplish the feat in what was a 3-0 victory. Through nine starts, the 6-foot-9 Ober has recorded a 3.46 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, 39 strikeouts, a 126 ERA+ and 1.4 wins above replacement across 52.0 innings pitched. It was the second complete game of Ober’s five-plus-year MLB career (2021-present); he owns a career 4.03 ERA and 105 ERA+. Minnesota scored its three runs in the bottom of the fifth, with center fielder Byron Buxton stealing home on a de facto double steal (runners stole second and home) and catcher Ryan Jeffers smacking a two-run home run to left field. The Twins have won three consecutive games. The recurring “bang” that was heard near the Ohio River on Tuesday night wasn’t construction: It was the Washington Nationals cracking the seats at Great American Ball Park with the long ball. The Nationals brought the big sticks to Cincinnati, blasting six home runs, which accounted for nine of their 10 runs in a 10-4 win over the Reds. First baseman Luis García Jr. and left fielder Daylen Lile each cranked two home runs and had three hits apiece, with right fielder James Wood and third baseman Brady House also hitting home runs of their own. Eight of nine Washington starters had a hit. The Nationals’ other run came off a ninth-inning RBI double from designated hitter Jose Tena. As for those who went yard, Wood has totaled 12 home runs and 29 RBIs, while sporting a .244/.392/.538 slash line; Garcia has totaled 21 RBIs, boasting a .434 slugging percentage; House has totaled six home runs and 21 RBIs; Lile has driven in 19 runs; meanwhile, shortstop CJ Abrams, who had two hits on Tuesday, has racked up nine home runs, 36 RBIs — which is second in MLB — and seven stolen bases, while possessing a .293/.391/.531 slash line. Speaking of the Nationals, their former ace, left-hander MacKenzie Gore, had one of the best starts of his career in Game 2 of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gore lasted eight innings, marking the longest start of his MLB career, surrendering just one run and four baserunners (three hits and one walk) in a 7-4 victory for the Rangers; the D-backs got three runs off reliever Gavin Collyer in the top of the ninth. Entering his Tuesday night start, Gore, a 2025 All-Star, owned a 5.18 ERA over eight starts, with opponents hitting .300 on balls put in play against him. As for the Rangers’ offense, they got solo home runs from designated hitter Joc Pederson in the bottom of the first and second baseman Ezequiel Durán in the bottom of the fourth. Texas later plated four runs in the fifth with RBI singles from Duran, outfielder Alejandro Osuna and first baseman Jake Burger — who had another RBI single in the second — and an RBI force-out from shortstop Corey Seager. Burger and right fielder Brandon Nimmo each had three hits. The Tampa Bay Rays are a runaway freight train, but the Toronto Blue Jays nearly derailed them. Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Jays struck for five runs, which ultimately sent the game to extra innings. Those five runs came on a two-run double from outfielder Yohendrick Piñango, an RBI double from outfielder Jesús Sánchez, an RBI single from designated hitter George Springer and a Tampa Bay error on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ground ball. All that said, the Rays scored two runs in the top of the 10th, as shortstop Taylor Walls singled home a run and first baseman Jonathan Aranda drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, with the latter run being the difference, as Tampa Bay won, 7-6. Rays’ right fielder Jonny DeLuca had a game-high three hits, while Aranda, third baseman Junior Caminero and left fielder Ryan Vilade — who hit a solo home run in the seventh — each had two hits. Tampa Bay, which has the best record in the American League at 28-13, has now won 10 of its last 11 games and is 5-0 against Toronto. Old reliable appears to be back in midseason form. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, who missed the first month of the season due to a shoulder injury, tossed a gem in what was his fourth start of the year, giving up just one run and six baserunners (six hit) over 7 ⅓ innings in a 2-1 win on the road for the Phillies over the Boston Red Sox; Wheeler threw just 87 pitches. Over four starts, Wheeler, a three-time All-Star, has recorded a 2.55 ERA, an 0.93 WHIP, 22 strikeouts, a 170 ERA+ and 1.1 wins above replacement in 24 ⅔ innings pitched. Wheeler has pitched through six innings in each of his last three starts. Regarding Wheeler’s run support, designated hitter and 2025 NL MVP runner-up Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run in the top of the first and second baseman Bryson Stott, who finished the night with two hits, had an RBI double in the second. This marked the fifth straight game that Schwarber has hit a home run, with him uncorking a combined six long balls over that span; Schwarber leads MLB with 17 home runs. Meanwhile, Stott has a four-game hit streak and recorded a hit in six of his last seven games. “It was his hat, Mr. Krabs. He was No. 4!” Actually, he was No. 1, but the point here is the No. 4 was a theme for the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of their four-game set against the Houston Astros. With the game tied at 2-all in the top of the fourth, Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone crushed a grand slam to right field. Canzone finished what became a 10-2 victory for Seattle with five RBIs. The Mariners’ other five runs came on a two-run home run from left fielder Randy Arozarena in the second, a fifth-inning RBI single by shortstop J.P. Crawford, an RBI double from Arozarena in the seventh and a Crawford walk and Canzone sacrifice fly in the ninth. As for Arozarena, the two-time All-Star finished the game 4 for 4 and is hitting a team-high .303. Seattle got six innings from starter Bryan Woo, who totaled nine strikeouts and gave up just two runs and six baserunners (four hits and two walks). Seattle is 6-0 against Houston this season. After losing a two-run lead in the seventh inning on Monday, the New York Yankees got ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the early going on Tuesday — like, on the first pitch early. On the first pitch of the night, Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt lifted a Trevor Rogers fastball into the left-field seats. Two innings later, New York put five runs on the board, as left fielder Cody Bellinger brought in a run on a force-out, second baseman Amed Rosario had an RBI single and center fielder Trent Grisham hit a three-run home run. Those six runs would be all the Yankees needed, as they went on to win, 6-2. Goldschmidt, who’s now 6 for his last 11, and superstar Aaron Judge each had two hits for New York, which got 5 ⅔ innings from starter Will Warren, who surrendered two runs and posted six strikeouts. The Yankees’ bullpen proceeded to give up no runs over 3 ⅓ innings. On the season, Warren owns a 3.42 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP and has totaled 59 strikeouts over 47 ⅓ innings pitched (nine starts). New York’s victory over Baltimore terminated a four-game losing streak. Paul Skenes didn’t escape the first inning on Opening Day. Ever since, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ superstar right-hander has been otherworldly. On Tuesday, Skenes pitched eight scoreless innings at home against the Colorado Rockies, recording 10 strikeouts and giving up just two baserunners (two hits) in a 3-1 win for the Pirates. Moreover, he struck out the first six batters of the game. Over his last eight starts, Skenes, the 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner, has a 1.09 ERA, while opponents are hitting just .157 on balls put in play against him. Skenes has pitched eight shutout innings in each of his last two starts, surrendered no runs in four of his last five starts and given up more than one run in just one of his last eight starts. Pittsburgh got its three runs on RBI singles from infielders Nick Gonzales (bottom of the first) and Brandon Lowe (bottom of the fifth) and outfielder Bryan Reynolds (bottom of the seventh). Meanwhile, center fielder Oneil Cruz had a game-high three hits, including two doubles. Regarding the aforementioned run-producers, Cruz and Lowe have each hit a team-high 10 home runs this season, combining for 57 RBIs; Lowe owns a .558 slugging percentage, while Cruz boasts a .491 slugging percentage; Gonzales has driven in 19 runs and owns a team-high .321 batting average; Reynolds has driven in 24 runs. The Pirates have won six of their last 10 games and are 23-19. Uh-oh, we have a 23-19!