Sunday’s MLB highlights
Sunday’s MLB action included Shohei Ohtani homering on the first pitch he saw, the Braves racking up 19 hits during Sunday Night Baseball, and the Rays completing a sweep of the Yankees for the first time since April 2021. (x.com) (x.com) (x.com)
Sunday, April 12, delivered three early-season markers across Major League Baseball: Shohei Ohtani went deep on the first pitch he saw, Atlanta erupted for 13 runs, and Tampa Bay finished a sweep of New York. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) (mlb.com 3) Ohtani opened the Dodgers’ game by driving Jacob deGrom’s first-pitch four-seamer into the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium. It was his second straight leadoff homer, and it pushed his on-base streak to 46 games. (mlb.com) Texas still won 5-2 after deGrom settled in for six innings, struck out nine, and allowed only four hits after Ohtani’s blast. The loss left Los Angeles at 11-4 and denied the Dodgers a three-game sweep. (espn.com) (mlb.com) In Atlanta, the Braves beat Cleveland 13-1 on Sunday Night Baseball behind a season-high 19 hits and six innings from Chris Sale. Jorge Mateo had four hits, Dominic Smith hit his third homer, and Ronald Acuña Jr. drove in a run during a three-run second inning. (mlb.com) Sale, 37, also showed rare velocity, throwing consecutive fastballs above 98 miles per hour and touching 99.4 in the third inning. He gave up one run over six innings after allowing six runs in four innings against the Angels on April 6. (mlb.com) The Braves had entered the weekend tied with Cleveland as the only clubs that had not yet lost a series in 2026. Atlanta took two of three and moved to 10-6, while Cleveland fell to 9-7. (mlb.com) (espn.com) In St. Petersburg, Drew Rasmussen returned after the birth of his daughter and carried the Rays through a 5-4 win over the Yankees. He retired 18 of 19 batters, worked six scoreless innings on 76 pitches, and struck out seven without a walk. (mlb.com) (espn.com) That result gave Tampa Bay its first three-game sweep of New York since April 16-18, 2021, lifted the Rays above.500 at 8-7, and extended the Yankees’ losing streak to five games. Aaron Judge’s two-run homer in the ninth cut the margin to one before Mason Englert recorded his first save. (mlb.com) (espn.com) By the end of Sunday, one pitch had been enough for Ohtani, 19 hits had barely been enough for Atlanta’s box score, and Tampa Bay had turned a routine April series into its cleanest statement against New York in five years. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) (mlb.com 3)
