There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves.
That’s why we’re here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days’ games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from this weekend in Major League Baseball:
Lance McCullers Jr. makes his first start in 915 days
It’s been a long road back to the mound for Houston Astros righty McCullers, who made his first appearance on Sunday since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. The 31-year-old underwent surgery on his right flexor tendon in 2023 and then had a setback in his recovery in 2024. Before that, he missed the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery.
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Now healthy again, the two-time World Series champ got the start for the first time in 915 days against the Chicago White Sox. McCullers threw 3.2 innings and didn’t allow a run, with three hits, three walks, four strikeouts and 87 total pitches.
He was taken out with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning after giving up a double to Andrew Vaughn and a walk to Joshua Palacios, putting runners on first and third. Tayler Scott took over and got the final out to preserve McCullers’ scoreless outing.
Unfortunately for the Astros, they didn’t get the win. The White Sox came back from down 4-0 to take a 5-4 lead after six innings. Weather delayed the game for 80 minutes before it was called, giving Chicago its first series win against Houston since 2021.
But if there was a silver lining for the Astros, it was McCullers’ most recent comeback. He hasn’t pitched more than 20 games since the 2021 season, when he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA. If he can resemble that pitcher again, though, then he can provide a big boost to Houston’s starting rotation.
The Braves FINALLY beat the Dodgers
Speaking of long-awaited moments in MLB, the Atlanta Braves at long last got a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Atlanta had dropped seven straight games to the reigning World Series champions, including a series sweep earlier in the season that was part of the Braves’ 0-7 start to 2025.
On Sunday night, Austin Riley powered the Braves to a 4-0 lead through the first three innings on a pair of two-run shots. He leads the team with eight homers and 24 RBIs.
The Dodgers added three runs after that, but the Atlanta bullpen pitched two scoreless frames for the victory.
Although the Braves are still under .500, where they’ve been all year, beating the team with the best record in baseball must have felt cathartic. And with slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. nearing his return, Atlanta has hope that the rest of the season will go better than the first month and change did.
The Royals set a franchise record with seven home runs — in one game!
Entering Sunday, no team had hit fewer home runs this season than the Kansas City Royals. They had a league-low 18 homers through their first 34 games, five fewer than the second-to-last team (Toronto Blue Jays).
On Sunday against the Orioles, Kansas City’s bats woke up from their deep slumber in Baltimore. The Royals erupted for seven long balls to set a club record for most home runs in a single game. Maikel Garcia had his first ever multihomer game with two solo shots, while Bobby Witt Jr. put KC up for good with one of his own in the seventh inning. Jonathan India added to the party with his first blast as a member of the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino, Luke Maile and Michael Massey also left the yard.
Royals vs. Orioles Highlights | MLB on FOX
The ball was flying at Camden Yards for both teams all afternoon, with the Orioles adding four home runs of their own: the two combined to tie a record for the most solo homers in a single game, with 10. The Royals’ 11-6 win wasn’t just unusual because of all the moon shots, though. Before Sunday, Kansas City averaged just 3.21 runs per game (ranking 28th out of 30 teams) and had only scored more than four runs five times this season.
Now the question is this: Was the Royals’ offensive explosion against the O’s an abberration or a sign of things to come?
Great Scott, Victor Scott!
Juan Soto has gotten off to a bit of a slow start with the New York Mets. Coming into a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, he had a .258 batting average, five home runs and 14 RBIs, none of which even ranked in the top 50 in the majors.
He almost had his first three-run bomb of the season in Sunday’s nightcap, which would have broken a 4-4 tie. Instead, Scott timed his jump perfectly to make a leaping grab and deny Soto the chance to pad his numbers.
Scott wasn’t done, either. He drove home the go-ahead run two innings later with a two-out double. St. Louis then held on for the 5-4 victory, completing the two-game sweep over New York on Sunday.
Strangely, the Cardinals won exactly four games this past week — all of which occurred during a doubleheader.
Could Chandler BE any faster?
How fast is Tampa Bay Rays rookie Chandler Simpson? So fast that even a rival like Aaron Judge gets excited to watch him on the base paths.
“He can change a game with one play like that,” Judge said after the Rays beat the New York Yankees 7-5.
Simpson’s speed played a big role in the win. He raced home from second base on Yandy Diaz’s infield single, beat out the throw on a grounder for an infield hit of his own and added another with a bunt single. The 24-year-old also stole a base, giving him six SBs through 14 games since he was called up.
Circle this weekend on the calendar: July 25-27. That’s when the Rays visit the Cincinnati Reds. If we’re lucky, we’ll get to see a race between Simpson and Elly De La Cruz.
Brandon Nimmo thinks his name is “Wookiee”
With Sunday May 4th – May the 4th be with you and all that – there was some “Star Wars”-related happenings in MLB. Including this image of Brandon Nimmo made to look like a Wookiee, but what we have to really focus on here is that he seems to think that Chewbacca’s name is “Wookiee.”
Luckily, “Star Wars” fans are known for not getting very upset about accuracy and canon at all, so surely no one is writing angry social media posts about this.
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