Morning, all!

Mackenzie Gore left Monday’s game against the Rockies with Kat tightness but isn’t expected to miss another start, and Wyatt Langford may start back on a hitting progression by Friday.

Chris Martin has been activated from the IL.

Kumar Rocker has over an 11.00 ERA in the first inning of games this year and the Rangers have decided to do something about it.

The decision to go with an opener Tuesday night against the Rockies paid off, with Kumar Rocker pitching 7.2 innings of shutout out ball on the way to a 10-0 win.

Nobody knows why Rocker has been having so many problems in the first inning, and maybe the opener didn’t change anything about the outcome of the game.

Skip Schumaker also went with a new lineup and saw it put up a season high 10 runs, so maybe the Rangers should try new things more often.

Rangers prospect Malcolm Moore has been lighting the South Atlantic League on fire.

The Tampa Bay Rays have made a flurry of roster moves ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Kevin Cash advised reporters that infielder Ben Williamson was dealing with a stiff back. Then following the Rays 4-1 victory over Baltimore, the team acquired infielder Oliver Dunn from the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitcher Joe Rock.

This morning, the Rays officially activated Dunn and placed Williamson on the Injured List with a back strain. The Rays also activated starting pitcher Steven Matz and optioned Chase Solesky to Triple-A Durham.

Dunn is a 28-year old versatile defender that is capable of playing in both the infield and outfield. This season, he has primarily been a third baseman but has spent time at shortstop, left field, and second base. Over 183 plate appearances in Triple-A for the White Sox this season, Dunn was hitting .295/.393/.545 with 9 HR and 9 SB, registerin ga 132 wRC+.

Originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round of the 2019 draft, Dunn has bounced around the league having already played within the systems of the Yankees, Phillies, Brewers, and White Sox. In 2024 he made his big league debut while with Milwaukee and over parts of two seasons he hit .206/.261/.290 with 1 HR over 145 plate appearances.

Joe Rock’s tenure with the Rays comes to an end during his third season with the team. The Rays originally acquired Rock at the end of spring training in 2024 for former first round draft pick Greg Jones. Rock was primarily a starting pitcher but made his big league debut in 2025 with three relief appearances. Thus far in 2026, Rock has been a full-time reliever, and has seen a vast increase in his strikeout numbers but also a significant spike in walks.

Meanwhile, there has not been update for Yandy Diaz, who was removed from last night’s game after being hit on the fingers by a 93mph splitter.

The good people of New York like to consider themselves tough. If you can make it there, as Frank Sinatra crooned, you’ll make it anywhere.

Do not confuse hot takes with sounding tough. Two New York sports talk hosts this week took daft shots at Joe Davis and came off — in the last adjective with which any true New Yorker would want to be described — as soft.

Let’s rewind: Davis is the lead voice of the Dodgers on SportsNet LA. He is also the lead voice of the national baseball broadcasts on Fox. In the latter role, he called last Saturday’s game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

At one point, Mets outfielder Carson Benge dropped an easy fly ball. Without missing a beat, Davis said: “Oh, no! Oh, no, the Mets!”

It was the perfect call. The foibles of the Mets are so many and so weird that Mets fans themselves have embraced a term for them: LOLMets. You can learn all about it in a 23-minute YouTube video narrated by a former Mets pitcher.

Firing one manager (Willie Randolph) at midnight in Anaheim? Dumping another manager (Carlos Beltran) before he could manage a game because he was the only player cited in the commissioner’s report on the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal? Opening this season with baseball’s highest payroll and spending some time with baseball’s worst record?

“This year, and in recent years, there have been so many moments where it looks like the Mets are right there, ready to make a run or win the division or win a championship, and then something just tends to go wrong,” Davis said in San Diego Tuesday.

“They were in a stretch right there where every single day, they were getting a stud hurt. They put together a winning streak against the Tigers, then Clay Holmes has the comebacker break his ankle.”

The next day, Benge totally clanked it, and Davis totally nailed it — in the moment, not with some scripted phrase waiting in his pocket.

“You hope that your reactions in those moments — in any moment in this job — are authentic,” Davis said. “You don’t have much time for it to be anything else.”

On Monday, Evan Roberts — a host on WFAN, New York’s top-rated sports station — unloaded on Davis for “mocking” the Mets.

Read more:Shaikin: Pitching injuries are piling up again for Dodgers. Can the starting rotation hold up?

“Joe Davis has become a clown for the Los Angeles Dodgers and we all hear it,” Roberts said, in remarks posted by the Awful Announcing website.

Got anything else?

“I think he’s a Dodger fanboy,” Roberts said. “I think he wants to just make love to Shohei Ohtani every time he talks about him … He’s a great broadcaster, and I’ll admit it. But, for now, I think Joe Davis is a Dodgers shill and it’s obnoxious.

“And I’d give him this advice, not that he cares, he doesn’t care: Don’t go to the Dodger parade and be the emcee. It’s a bad look. It just is. You’re sitting there as the national voice and now you’re pom-pom waving at the Dodger parade. Come on, man.”

Davis works for the Dodgers. When the boss wants you to emcee the World Series championship rally, you do. Would the Mets’ broadcasters do the same? When the Mets win their first World Series championship since 1986, we’ll find out.

Let’s hear from Sal Licata, formerly at WFAN and now working independently: “What’s up with Joe Davis, by the way? You Dodger homer. ‘Oh no, the Mets,’ that’s a national unbiased broadcast? You biased Dodger blue fool.”

Read more:Shaikin: Justin Turner is playing for the Tijuana Toros. Why he 'wouldn't trade it for anything'

There always will be people who claim Davis is biased toward the Dodgers, just as people claimed his predecessor, Joe Buck, was biased toward the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck worked for Fox on weekends and called Cardinals games during the week.

And, for the people who see only what they want to see, Davis is the voice of baseball’s evil empire. Maybe that aggravates New Yorkers, but consider how aggravated we are that we have to fight through hellish traffic to get to Dodger Stadium or a television set by 5 p.m. so we can see our team play in the World Series because the East Coast needs to see the game in prime time.

Or how annoyed we are that we get televised Yankees-Red Sox games shoved down our throats when Red Sox management has opted for irrelevance and the best rivalry in baseball is here, between the Dodgers and Padres.

Better yet, how about we all chill? It’s just a game. We could break bread with New York’s famous bagels, except the New York Times told us we have the better bagels.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Alex Freeland and Cole Irvin headlined a win for the Comets, as only the Loons ended up on the losing side of a full slate of games in the Dodgers minor league system on Tuesday.

Player of the day

For only the second time this season and the first one in front of his home crowd in Oklahoma City, left-handed starter Cole Irvin had a scoreless start. The veteran starter was able to hold the Aces silent through six innings, allowing but just one extra-base hit and no free passes.

After starting the year with a 1-3 record, Irvin has managed to secure the W in three of his last four starts, with the six strikeouts he secured against the Aces representing a season high.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

One rally that started with the bottom of the order had the Comets scoring half a dozen runs on their way to beating the Aces 6-3 at home, also in large part thanks to a standout performance from Cole Irvin. The veteran left-hander was rewarded for delivering six innings by seeing his offense break through in time to earn him the victory.

Ever since he was sent down to make room for Mookie Betts’ return to the big league club, Alex Freeland has played with a point to prove in Triple-A. In this home win, the Comets’ leadoff bat recorded his fifth straight multi-hit performance in the minors, reaching base safely in three of his four plate appearances.

Reigning PCL Player of the Week Alex Freeland already throwing his hat in the ring for this week's honor 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nMT644HY70

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) May 20, 2026

Continuing to work his way back, Kiké Hernández had one hit in four at-bats, responsible for two of the five strikeouts from Comets hitters.

Double-A Tulsa

Despite trailing big early on, as starter Patrick Copen couldn’t find his footing, the Drillers overcame a 3-0 deficit thanks to an outstanding effort from Josue De Paula. At just twenty years of age, De Paula is delivering quite a campaign in the minors’ second-highest level—a key piece of this Drillers team that’s now 23-17 after a 7-5 victory.

For the sixth time in his last seven games, De Paula netted at least one RBI, this time tallying four thanks to a double and a home run, his sixth of the year.

Josue De Paula hits a 2-run home run and we have a tie ballgame‼️ pic.twitter.com/iMHK9yrCMj

— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) May 20, 2026

That top of the order with De Paula and Kendall George continues to be a problem for Double-A pitchers, both hitting and on the base paths—each of them stole a bag and combined have now 31 stolen bases in 2026, 20 for George and 11 for De Paula.

High-A Great Lakes

When you get out-homered by your opponent four to zero, a loss is virtually guaranteed. All things considered, the Loons did a decent enough job of making this a competitive game late with a four-run rally in the eighth, as they ultimately fell by a score of 6-4.

Reaching base three times with a double and a pair of walks, also stealing two bases successfully, Eduardo Quintero was the Loons’ standout performer offensively. Quintero was one of the few hitters shining for a team that suffered early on against opposing starter Wande Torres, responsible for six shutout innings.

Single-A Ontario

The Tower Buzzers put on a very peculiar display, blowing out the 66ers 12-4 and doing so with an absurd 17 strikeouts from its lineup—that included a golden sombrero for third baseman and cleanup hitter Chase Harlan, who certainly represented his first name well in this performance.

It should be noted that two-thirds of those 12 runs came in the ninth inning, with the Tower Buzzers padding a lead. Easton Shelton, who had already homered in the sixth, finished his game with four RBI, the most he has had this season.

Interestingly, with starter Cam Leiter completing just 2.1 innings, each of the six Tower Buzzers pitchers who took the mound for this one struck out exactly two hitters.

Transactions

The biggest moves were Mike Sirota’s call-up to Double-A and right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills getting sent down to Triple-A, with plenty of shuffling between all minor league affiliates for the Dodgers this Tuesday.

Tuesday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 6, Reno 3
• Wichita 5, Tulsa 7
• Great Lakes 4, Wisconsin 6
• Inland Empire 4, Ontario 12

Wednesday’s schedule

• 3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Zach Root) vs. Wisconsin (Braylon Owens)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Christian Romero) vs. Reno (Tommy Henry)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Wyatt Crowell) at Wichita (Ty Langenberg)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Inland Empire (Aiden Butler)
• game 2: Ontario (TBD) at Inland Empire (Scott House)

Mason Miller walked Max Muncy on a borderline pitch that was initially called a strike, but was challenged by Muncy and overturned, resulting in ball four. Muncy was replaced by pinch runner Alex Call and that proved to be a game-winning decision by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Miller faced Andy Pages with one out and Call at first base. The pinch runner left the base early attempting to steal second and should have been thrown out. Instead, Miller threw the ball to first base, and it tipped off the glove of San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France and rolled into foul territory up the right field line. By the time the ball got back to the infield Call was standing on third base. Pages won a nine-pitch at-bat against Miller and hit a fly ball into right field which allowed Call to tag up and score on the play to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. Miller was replaced by Ron Marinaccio and he struck out the following batter to end the inning.

San Diego needed a base runner and some of their late-inning magic if the Padres were going to avoid the loss. It was not to be as France struck out on a check swing and Freddy Fermin grounded out to shortstop for the first two outs of the ninth. Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped in looking to extend the game and the Friar Faithful were hoping he would launch his first home run of the season and tie the game, but Tatis grounded out to third base to end the game and the Padres suffered a 5-4 loss at Petco Park.

Griffin Canning started on the mound for San Diego and allowed a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to Freddy Freeman. The Padres were in a hole when they came to the plate in the bottom half of the inning and Manny Machado tied the game with his own two-run home run. The game remained tied until the bottom of the third inning when Miguel Andujar hit a two-run home run to make the score 4-2. The Dodgers were able to get a run in the fifth and tied the game in the sixth inning when Freeman hit his second home run of the game to make the score, 4-4. That set the stage for the top of the ninth.

San Diego will try to win the series against Los Angeles today at 5:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Fernando Tatis Jr. is not the first Padres slugger to struggle. He added that fans should not expect it to continue.

• Rodolfo Duran waited a long time to get his shot at the MLB level and he does not appear to be willing to give it up any time soon.

• The big three of Tatis Jr., Machado and Jackson Merrill are still looking for offensive consistency, but the rest of the lineup is picking them up and that has resulted in a winning record.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees were on the losing end of two challenges – at least that is how the umpires ruled it – and that was enough to send Yankees manager Aaron Boone over the top in their 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

• Ivan Herrera hit a 10th inning home run to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a walk-off win.

• Washington Nationals slugger James Wood hit his first career grand slam, and it never cleared the wall.

• Jacob Misiorowski dominated the Chicago Cubs and helped the Milwaukee Brewers take over as the leader in the NL Central.

• Yandy Diaz helped the Tampa Bay Rays get their 20th win in their last 24 games.

• Jackson Holliday returned to the Baltimore Orioles roster on Tuesday and may be making a position change.

• Martin Perez recorded 10 strikeouts and helped the Padres eat the Dodgers.

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It's another busy day across the majors, which means lots of value in my MLB player props.

I'm keying in on big days from Corbin Carroll, Chris Sale, and Cam Schlittler. 

Read more for my MLB picks for Wednesday, May 20. 

Best MLB player props today

Corbin Carroll Over 1.5 total bases (+124)

Corbin Carroll is having another impressive season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. While the power numbers aren't huge, the outfielder is still batting .285, and he's raking lately. Carroll is hitting .429 over the last week with two doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Six of his nine hits during that span have been for extra bases. 

Carroll has cashed the Over in total bases in six straight contests heading into the finale against the San Francisco Giants this afternoon. Although he's never faced Tyler Mahle, the righty has an ERA north of eight on the road, and owns chase and whiff rates in the 26th percentile or worse. 

• Time: 3:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: DBACKS.TV, NBCS Bay Area

Chris Sale Under 1.5 earned runs (+100)

Chris Sale looks primed to be in the NL Cy Young conversation again. The Atlanta Braves ace is dominating, compiling a 6-3 record and 1.96 ERA through nine starts.

Opponents are hitting only .183 against the left-hander. Sale has allowed Under 1.5 earned runs in five of his last six appearances, and he tossed six scoreless frames last time out against a solid Cubs team. 

Sale will face the Miami Marlins tonight, who are around the middle of the pack offensively. He's truly looked unhittable this season, and all signs point to Sale tossing another gem as he continues to strengthen his Cy Young odds case.

• Time: 5:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Braves.Vision, Marlins.TV

Cam Schlittler Over 5.5 strikeouts (-147)

Shifting over to another Cy Young candidate in the American League, as Cam Schlittler takes the mound tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees righty is one of the breakout stars of the 2026 season, leading the Majors with a mind-boggling 1.35 ERA. He's also sixth in strikeouts with 68 in just 60 innings of work. 

Schlittler has hit the Over in Ks in three of his last four, and he just registered nine punchouts in his most recent appearance against the struggling Mets.

Toronto doesn't typically strike out a lot, but they've been worse lately, averaging 8.33 Ks across their last three games. Schlittler also has all the confidence in the world right now, and ranks among baseball's elite in chase, whiff, and strikeout rates. 

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, YES

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

It has been a long time coming, but it finally feels like the Washington Nationals have an identity as a team. They are a young and hungry group that can mash and play the game hard. This is also one of those teams that is never out of a game, no matter the deficit.

In the past week, the Nats have erased two 5-0 deficits and have come back to win both games. That never say die attitude has become a staple for this team. Sure, the pitching can be rough at times and they can make some frustrating mistakes in the field, but they can always make up for it with the bat. They are also a hard charging and aggressive team on the bases.

If an opponent is not on their A game, the Nats can make team’s lives miserable. We saw that last night against the Mets. The Nats aggression and tenacity caused the Mets to make multiple mistakes in the field. Nats base runners and hitters were putting pressure on the Mets defense, and eventually they cracked. On another night, the Nats aggression could have bit them and been seen as reckless, but that is just who they are as a team.

A rough 4th inning in the field for the Mets pic.twitter.com/4gU57UkceD

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2026

After the stench of last season, it is fun to have an identity again. There were times in 2023 and 2024 where it felt like the Nats were beginning to build an identity, but it never stuck. I have faith that this identity can stick. The Nats have a whole new staff and braintrust now. Also, those other teams were never leading baseball in runs scored.

It is wild that we are sitting here on May 20th and the Washington Nationals are leading baseball in runs, and it is not even close. The Nats have scored 271 runs, and the next closest team only has 258. These Nats are scoring over 5.5 runs per game, which is absolutely bonkers.

I remember worrying about the Nats offense when they hit .194 in Spring Training. Little did I know that there was absolutely nothing to worry about with this offense. The duo of James Wood and CJ Abrams has been one of the best in the league and the two youngsters have been the engines of this elite offense.

Speaking of Wood, he had a monster night at the plate. Of course, his signature moment was when he hit an inside the park grand slam in the second inning. That was the moment where the game turned. The game went from a comfortable 5-0 lead for the Mets to a 5-4 ball game. It felt like the Mets clenched up after the Nats immediately erased their big lead. This was Wood’s first grand slam, and he made it an exciting one.

JAMES WOOD INSIDE-THE-PARK GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/8P0K4jhApZ

— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2026

Wood tends to be a pretty even keeled guy, but he was all smiles after that. You could tell when talking to him at his locker that he was in a great mood. He was smiling ear to ear talking about his inside the park grand slam. Wood does not show emotion too much, so it is very exciting when he does come out of his shell like he did last night.

While Wood is not the most emotional guy, part of the Nats identity is based on emotion. You saw it when Richard Lovelady closed out the game. Another time you saw it was when Daylen Lile hit a go ahead homer in Cincinnati last week. This team is young, hungry and having a great time right now. Last season, especially in the second half, this was not a team having a lot of fun. They were beat down after a long season, but they have been rejuvenated by this new staff.

Another part of the Nats offensive identity is their power hitting. They are in the top 10 in home runs after ranking towards the bottom of the league the last few years. Obviously, Wood and Abrams are leading the way there, but it is not just them. Jacob Young is showing power we have not seen from him before. Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz are also showing increased pop. Jose Tena is another guy who has been hitting lasers, and we saw that tonight when he went deep.

JOSE TENA TIES THE GAME AT 5‼️#Natitudepic.twitter.com/JyTt1BcgzN

— SleeperNationals (@SleeperNats) May 20, 2026

Despite having that home run power, this is not a home run reliant offense either. This team has mastered the art of the double this season. They have 98 doubles this season, which is the most in all of baseball. Under new hitting coach Matt Borgschulte, Nats hitters have loved shooting gaps and driving guys in via the double.

Obviously, they lost due to a 12th inning implosion the other night, but that was a great example of the Nats double heavy offense. They were able to score plenty of runs without homering. This was able to happen because the Nats hit six doubles, all from different players. James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and Keibert Ruiz all have at least 10 doubles on the season.

For a young, fast team, it is fitting that doubles are a part of their identity. The Nats play such an exciting brand of baseball. Obviously it is not a perfect brand of baseball, and as this team matures, they need to clean some things up. However, as a Nats fan, all I could ask for this year is a team that is fun to watch. That is what we have been given in Blake Butera’s first year as manager. They are not a great, or even good team yet, but the Washington Nationals are an exciting team to watch and have a clear identity.

Hickory starter Moises Morales allowed five runs in six innings, including three home runs, striking out two and walking one. Michael Trausch threw a scoreless inning, striking out two and walking one.

Josh Springer was 4 for 5 with two doubles. Yolfran Castillo was 2 for 5 with a homer. Paulino Santana doubled. Hector Osorio doubled and homered. Marcos Torres had a hit and a walk. Dewar Tovar was 3 for 4 with a homer. Daniels Flames had a hit.

Hickory box score

Aidan Curry had an excellent start for Hub City, going six shutout innings with nine Ks and three walks. Joey Danielson struck out one in a scoreless inning.

Malcolm Moore’s hot streak continued, as he doubled twice and homered. Paxton Kling and Yeison Morrobel each had a pair of hits.

Hub City box score

Frisco starter Josh Trentadue had another rough outing, giving up three homers in three innings, and seven runs overall, while striking out three and walking one.

Dylan Dreiling was 2 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. Arturo Disla doubled and homered.

Frisco box score

For Round Rock, Alexis Diaz struck out two in a scoreless inning. Emiliano Teodo threw a scoreless inning, with 11 strikes out of 19 pitches, striking out one, walking one and allowing two hits.

Cam Cauley had two walks and a stolen base. Aaron Zavala tripled and drew two walks.

Round Rock box score

ACL Rangers box score (Monday)

ACL Rangers box score (Tuesday)

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It's a getaway slate with lots of potential rain spots on the board. The hot weather has come and gone, so digging for some home run gems and MLB player props means circling the few HR-plus matchups.

Merrill Kelly is coming back down to Earth today after going the distance at Coors Field in his last start, and the HR potential in Anaheim today might be the best on the board.

These are my favorite MLB home run predictions for Wednesday, May 20. 

Best MLB home run props today

Home run pick: Mike Trout (+316)

I'm kicking myself for avoiding Mike Trout yesterday in a good spot, but at a sub-300 pricetag, it was a pass. That won't be the case today at +316 with a fair price at +280. Trout snapped a 12-game HR drought last night in Anaheim, and his swing speed is not dropping as we enter the Summer months of the season, which can be a worry for the oft-injured outfielder.

Trout gets Aaron Civale, who is a bottom-25 starter in BlastCont% and a pitcher he has already taken deep in a small six-at-bat sample. He isn't the only Halo projecting +EV, as Zach Neto (+433) and Jo Adell (+399) are also on the list. Neto has been crushing, and I bet Adell in yesterday's MLB picks, so the day-after theory is in full effect.

With a lot of rain on the slate, 6-mph winds blowing out to center with mid-70-degree temperatures are creating one of the better hitting environments with a pair of bad bullpens.  

• Time: 9:38 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ABTV, NBCSCA

Home run pick: Willy Adames (+557)

I have Merrill Kelly ranked as one of the worst starters on the board today. He gets hit hard, his fly balls leave the yard, and the expected metrics suggest the damage is fully deserved. He’s also coming off a complete game, and that recent two-start stretch against weaker offenses feels due for a hard correction. Just three starts ago, he was carrying a 9.95 ERA with six home runs allowed over a 19-inning span.

Willy Adames is the target today, and Rafael Devers was unfortunately left off the card yesterday despite getting plenty of consideration. Adames has logged 25 at-bats against Kelly, which is a meaningful sample and gives the hitter a sizeable information edge. He’s already taken him deep twice and owns a .946 OPS in the matchup.

Adames has homered in back-to-back games and has an extra-base hit in four of his last five. I’m backing the hot bat in what could be the best starting pitcher matchup on the board, especially with potential weather concerns hanging over the Zack Littell spot.

• Time: 3:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: DBACKS.TV, NBCS BA

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.