Just Baseball Highlight Reel: Walk-Offs For Mom!

Mother’s Day across Major League Baseball always means pink everywhere, but in 2022 it also meant walk-off wins! There were four of them across the league Sunday, so why waste any time and start anywhere else?

Walk-Offs For Mom

Yankees 2, Rangers 1 (Game 1)

The Yankees held a 1-0 lead behind Gerrit Cole into the seventh, when Kole Calhoun tied the game with a solo shot. Cole struck out 10 in 6 1/3 one-run innings, while Dane Dunning allowed just two hits and three walks in six one-run innings.

The game remained tied until the 9th, when Gleyber Torres hit one over the wall in right, that I am sure nobody will have any complaints about. Either way, it gave the Yanks a 2-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader.

Angels 5, Nationals 4

The Angels just cannot be stopped at the moment. They have won four-of-five and the offense has been the spark behind it all. They fell behind to the Nats today, trailing 3-0 in the sixth, but brought it back with two in that inning.

Washington seemed to have them held off by adding on in the seventh, but Los Angeles had an answer. Trailing 4-2 in the ninth, Shohei Ohtani doubled in a pair to tie it. He then came around to score the winning run on a single by Anthony Rendon and was as fired up as we have ever seen him. It is nice to see the transcendent star enjoying himself on a winning club.

Padres 3, Marlins 2

As a South Florida native, I can tell you right now this one was just so Marlins. The Fish took an early 1-0 lead, then Jazz Chisholm Jr. continued to do awesome stuff with a home run to extend the lead to 2-0. The Marlins kept it at 2-0 until the ninth, where their relievers have struggled. They brought on Cole Sulser, who had allowed just one run all year, and he allowed two base runners to reach. With two outs, the Padres pinch hit former Marlin, Jorge Alfaro, and I doubt I need to tell you what happened next.

They set the fireworks off before the ball even went over the fence.

Mariners 2, Rays 1

George Kirby made his Major League debut and absolutely dazzled for Seattle. He struck out seven, walked none and allowed just four hits in six shutout innings.

The game went scoreless until the eighth when Manuel Margot continued his torrid May, racking up his 13th hit so far this month. He has a hit in every game this month, this one a solo shot to take the lead.

However, Seattle responded in the ninth, with Abraham Toro tying it in the ninth with a solo shot of his own. After holding the Rays off the board in the 10th, they cashed in their ghost runner and walked it off on an RBI single by Ty France.

White Sox 3, Red Sox 2

The battle of the Sox goes in favor of Chicago this round as the White Sox sweep the Red Sox. Dallas Keuchel got the start for Chicago and gave them just enough, working six two-run innings despite allowing eight hits.

That was all they needed because they jumped on Boston starter, Tanner Houck, scoring three early runs. Houck was unable to get through three, as the White Sox scored three runs in that frame, capped off by a two-run double for José Abreu.

The Red Sox got two back in the sixth inning but were unable to close the gap. They fall to 10-19 on the year and are certainly one of the biggest disappointments in the league.

Meanwhile, the White Sox have suddenly won six-in-a-row and are back over .500 at 14-13.

Phillies 3, Mets 2 (Game 1)

Bryce Harper loves hitting on Mother’s Day and he continued showing out for momma with a home run in the first inning.

He picked up another hit in the third inning that put the Phillies up 2-0, before the recently recalled Bryston Stott made it three in the fourth. Philadelphia got to Max Scherzer, racking up 10 hits against him and those three runs. Just like the Red Sox, the Mets got two back but could not get any closer.

The win has the Phillies at a frustrating 12-15, while New York had to wait until later to pick up their 20th win.

Mets 6, Phillies 1 (Game 2)

Luckily the wait for 20 was not too long, as the Mets cruised past Philly in game two. Pete Alonso stole the show in this one as he put the Mets ahead 2-0 in the first with his sixth of the year.

The dude just loves to crush baseballs apparently because he did not wait much longer to do it again. This one went even longer and it put the Mets up 5-1.

Chris Bassitt was solid again, allowing just five hits in 5 2/3 one-run innings and dropping his ERA on the year to 2.45. Behind him and Alonso, the Mets became the first team in the league to reach 20 wins. Meanwhile, the Phillies continue to struggle as they fall to 12-16 and fourth in the NL East.

Royals 6, Orioles 4 (Game 1)

The second of three doubleheaders on the day saw the Royals take game one. The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the first, before the Royals tied it in the third. In the fifth they added two more on a groundout and a sac-fly. Baltimore got one back in their half of the fifth, then retook the lead in the seventh on an RBI double by Rougned Odor.

The Royals tied the game in the eighth, then took it away from the Orioles with two in the ninth. Michael A. Taylor drove in the go-ahead run with a single, then Salvy drove in an insurance run with a single of this own.

Orioles 4, Royals 2 (Game 2)

The Orioles got three in the first and it turned out to be all they needed. Eight different guys had hits for the O’s but none of them had more than one. Bruce Zimmerman continues to be really good, dealing six two-run innings, and dropping his ERA to 2.67.

For the Royals, Bobby Witt Jr. continues to struggle and after an 0-4 he is hitting just .231 with a .604 OPS. Baltimore is now sitting at 11-17, while Kansas City fall to a disheartening 9-16.

Braves 9, Brewers 2

Charlie Morton finally settled in and put together a good start, allowing just two hits and three walks in five shutout innings.

With the Braves already up 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Matt Olson came up with a big hit to open the game up, doubling in a pair. Then to really pour it on, William Contreras launched a three-run homer to make it 9-0.

The Brewers offense came back down to Earth after not facing the Cubs or Reds, scoring just two in each of their two losses against Atlanta. The Braves have won three-of-four as they look to get their season back on track at 14-16. The series loss is a step back for the Brewers, but they still sit at 19-10 and lead the NL Central.

Rangers 4, Yankees 2 (Game 2)

After the walk-off in game one, the Rangers answered back in game two to even up the series. Texas’ pitching staff held the Yanks to just three hits, but one of them was a mammoth blast by Giancarlo Stanton to put New York ahead 2-0 early.

The Rangers did not begin to answer until the sixth when Eli White clubbed his first home run of the year. Texas tied it up in the next inning on a wild pitch, then took the lead on a two-run homer by Brad Miller. The two runs allowed by Michael King were just his third and fourth allowed all year, and buried the Yankees in this one.

The two teams have one more game tomorrow after back-to-back postponements pushed the series into Monday’s off day.

Reds 7, Pirates 3

The Reds won a game! Not only that, they won a series!

With two wins this weekend, they nearly doubled their win total to five. They were down 2-1 in the sixth, when Colin Moran stepped up with the bases loaded and crushed a ball to right to give them a 5-2 lead.

Bryan Reynolds made it 5-3 with a homer of his own, but Moran struck again. He hit his second of the game, a two-run shot, to make it 7-3 and they never looked back.

Tyler Mahle was finally good, allowing just one run on two in five innings of work while striking out six. The Reds look to get hot against the Brewers this week, while the Pirates (11-17) host the Dodgers.

Guardians 4, Blue Jays 3

This was a good game of baseball, going back-and-forth a few times at the end. Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a single by Teoscar Hernández. Cleveland answered back with two in the third, the first coming on an RBI triple by José Ramírez.

The scoring stopped until the seventh, when George Springer drove in a run on a sac-fly. It was no ordinary sac-fly, as Myles Straw made a tremendous diving catch to save more damage.

Then it happened for the Guardians in the eighth, tying the game on an Owen Miller solo blast.

Then Oscar Mercado came through with an RBI single to take the lead, allowing Emmanuel Clase to shut it down. The win pushes the Guardians back to .500 at 14-14, while the Jays 17-13 record may surprise you. They seem a whole lot better than a team that is just four games over.

Astros 5, Tigers 0

Jake Odorizzi and Christian Javier basically piggy-backed this one and went eight scoreless innings combined. Javier’s ERA on the year drops to 0.83 and the Astros keep rolling. Aledmys Díaz did the damage in this one, smashing a grand slam in the third to open up a 4-0 lead. Alex Bregman added a solo shot later and that was all the scoring in this one.

The Astros are scorching hot, having won seven-in-a-row and 11-of-13. They are a sneaky 18-11 and sit a half game back of the Angels in the NL West. Meanwhile the Tigers continue their mighty struggles, falling to 8-19 on the season.

Twins 4, Athletics 3

The A’s have crashed back down to Earth and boy has it happened fast. The Twins swept them right out of town this weekend with all three games decided by a run. Sunday’s was the highest scoring matchup of a series that lacked offense from both sides.

Neither team homered in this one and just four of the 16 combined hits went for extra bases. Both starters got roughed around in this one, with Chris Paddack allowing three runs in just 2 2/3 innings, and Daulton Jeffries allowing four in five frames.

The A’s led 3-1 in the 3rd, when the Twins came through with three runs and neither team scored again. Jorge Polanco gave the Twinkies the lead with an RBI single and the next six innings went scoreless.

The Twins are red-hot, winning fourteen of their last seventeen, and have opened up a three-game advantage in the AL Central at 18-11.

Giants 4, Cardinals 3

After losing five-in-a-row, the Giants took back-to-back games against the Cardinals to salvage a split. LaMonte Wade Jr. is back with San Francisco and after the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead, he hit a two-run homer to tie it up.

The Giants would take the lead 3-2, before the Cardinals evened it up again in the sixth. San Francisco responded extremely quickly, with Mike Yastrzemski crushing a go-ahead homer to give them a 4-3 lead. The ball was a true Splash Hit, landing in McCovey Cove on the fly.

Both teams now sit at 16-12, as the Giants recover from COVID issues and the Cardinals look to jump start their season.

Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 0

Zac Gallen is really good. Like dark-horse Cy Young candidate good. He struck out seven more in seven shutout innings today while allowing just five hits. The performance drops his ERA to 0.95 for the season which would lead MLB if he qualified.

The D-Backs put up three in the second inning which was all they really needed, though they got another in the fifth. Ketel Marte had three hits, while Alek Thomas made his Major League debut and picked up his first career hit. Thomas, who ranked #27 on Just Baseball’s Top 100, roped a double the other way for his first hit.

Both of these teams, especially Arizona, could be considered overachievers in the early part of the season. The D-Backs are a game over .500 at 15-14 after the victory, while Colorado is even with the Giants at 16-12 in the NL West.

Dodgers 7, Cubs 1

Clay Snowden asked me on the NL Central State of the Division this week whether this is really what the Cubs are and the answer is yes. They are just not an interesting baseball team, nor a particularly good one either.

The Dodgers enforced their will on them this weekend, sweeping Chicago by a combined score of 20-3. The Cubs are now 9-18 and if not for the Reds would be bottom feeders in the NL Central. Walker Buehler was spectacular again Sunday, and the LA offense scored seven on 10 hits. They are a juggernaut, and own the best record in the bigs at 19-7.

A new week in baseball begins Monday with 11 games on the slate, beginning with the Yankees-Rangers makeup game at 1:05 p.m.