Chinese Taipei won the Little League World Series International Championship for the 17th time, defeating Aruba 1-0 in a pitchers' duel, and will compete in the championship game to end a 29-year drought.
The article covers upcoming roster moves for the Red Sox, a key series between the Brewers and Cubs at Wrigley Field, and an exciting pitching matchup between the Mariners and Phillies in Philadelphia, highlighting the significance of these games in the MLB season.
The article highlights key baseball events this weekend, including the start of the 2025 MLB Draft with top teams like the Nationals and Angels picking early, a pitchers' duel between the Twins and Pirates featuring Joe Ryan and Paul Skenes, and the Mets' rotation getting reinforcements with the return of Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea, amidst ongoing trade deadline considerations.
The Nationals have made leadership changes, parting ways with GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, with Mike DeBartolo stepping in as interim GM. A key series begins between the AL contenders Rays and Tigers, with Tampa aiming to improve in the AL East and Detroit leading the majors. Additionally, a pitchers' duel in Milwaukee features NL All-Star representatives Freddy Peralta and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, promising an exciting game.
Max Scherzer is set to return from injury for the Blue Jays, Zach Neto may miss time due to shoulder soreness, and a notable pitchers' duel is scheduled in Milwaukee between Jacob Misiorowski and Paul Skenes, highlighting key developments in baseball today.
The article highlights a doubleheader between the Royals and Cardinals due to rain postponements, a pitchers' duel in Game 2 featuring Ragans and Liberatore, and potential pitching staff changes for the Athletics with Mitch Spence's first start of 2025, amid a busy schedule for the Cardinals.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in a pitcher's duel. Brett Kennedy and Jose Berrios traded zeroes before the bullpens took over. Kennedy made a spot start for the Reds and threw five shutout innings, while the bullpen followed up with four hitless innings. Matt McLain had two hits for Cincinnati, and the win puts the Reds in sole possession of second place in their division.
Jordan Montgomery, former Yankees pitcher now with the St. Louis Cardinals, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and outdueled his former teammate Gerrit Cole, helping the Cardinals secure a 5-1 win over the Yankees. Montgomery credited Cole and Corey Kluber for helping him develop his pregame routine and expressed excitement about facing off against his friend. The Cardinals' offense provided run support, and Montgomery has now allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts.
The Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York Yankees 3-1 in a pitchers' duel between Kyle Gibson and Clarke Schmidt. The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning and added two more runs in the eighth. Gibson pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits and four walks while striking out three. The Yankees' bullpen struggled, while the Orioles' bullpen held on for the win. The Orioles finish their road trip with a 5-1 record and head home to face the Texas Rangers.
Kyle Gibson pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees in a pitchers' duel. The Yankees offense struggled to get anything going, with their only run coming in the ninth inning. Clarke Schmidt had a solid outing for the Yankees, allowing just one run in five innings, but was tagged with the loss. The Orioles took the away series from the Yankees with the win.
The Seattle Mariners completed their first sweep of the season against the Colorado Rockies, with pitcher Luis Castillo leading the way with six innings of shutout baseball and nine strikeouts. Rookie pitcher Noah Davis also impressed in his first big league start, but ultimately the Mariners prevailed with a 1-0 victory. Jarred Kelenic made key plays on both offense and defense to secure the win. This was the Mariners' first sweep of the Rockies at home and the first time they have been at .500 this season.
The Milwaukee Brewers won the final game of their series against the San Diego Padres 1-0 in a pitchers' duel between Wade Miley and Yu Darvish. Miley allowed only four hits and struck out eight in seven innings of work, while Garrett Mitchell's small ball helped the Brewers score the lone run of the game. Devin Williams closed out the game with a strikeout to Trent Grisham with the bases loaded. The Brewers took three of four games in the series and will face the Seattle Mariners next.
The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Atlanta Braves 5-4 in a pitcher's duel that ended with a walk-off homer from Sean Murphy in the 10th inning. The Reds erased a two-run deficit in the ninth inning and took the lead in the 10th, but Murphy's homer sealed the win for the Braves. Graham Ashcraft and Bryce Elder both pitched well, but Ashcraft allowed two runs while Elder gave up none. The Reds' Jose Barrero had two infield singles and raised his batting average from .143 to .222.
Nebraska's Emmett Olson carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Brice Matthews hit a two-run homer in the 10th to lead the Huskers to a 3-1 victory over Michigan in a pitcher's duel on Friday. Shay Schanaman pitched 2.1 shutout innings in relief to earn the win, while Casey Burnham and Matthews each hit a home run for Nebraska. The two teams will continue their series on Saturday.
LSU defeated Tennessee 5-2 in a highly anticipated pitchers' duel between projected first-round MLB picks Paul Skenes and Chase Dollander. Skenes struck out 12 batters over seven innings, while Dollander gave up two earned runs over 4 2/3 innings. The game was tied 2-2 in the eighth inning before LSU capitalized on a crucial error by Tennessee to score three runs and secure the victory. The game drew a record crowd of 13,068 and 75 major-league scouts.