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Diamondbacks News

(The Denver Post) Rockies waste Zach Agnos’ brilliant start, get walked off by D-backs

Colorado’s demise on Thursday began ominously when reliever Juan Mejia walked Moreno to open the frame. Mejia also walked Ketel Marte to move Moreno into scoring position. All told, Colorado pitchers issued eight free passes.

The Rockies, who were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, wasted a brilliant start from usual mid-game reliever Zach Agnos. Making his first start since high school, Agnos pitched five shutout innings, giving up one hit, striking out four and walking just one.

(SI.com) Corbin Carroll’s Walk-Off Winner Puts Diamondbacks in New Territory

But despite the surprisingly-meager crowd of just 14,761 (the lowest since May 8 of 2023), the cheers rang out around Chase Field as Carroll shot a single through the first base gap with two outs in a 1-1 game, scoring Gabriel Moreno from second base. It was Carroll’s fourth career walk-off hit.

But the hit stood for more than just an exciting Thursday night. With that win, the Diamondbacks are suddenly in new territory: a five-game winning streak. That is their longest win streak of the season, and their longest since June 9-14 of 2025. Arizona has not had a six-game win streak since August of 2024.

(Arizona Sports) Corbin Carroll walks off Rockies, Diamondbacks win 5th straight

This was the second walk-off win of the week for the Diamondbacks and third of the year. Ketel Marte hit a game-winning home run on Tuesday, as Arizona’s top two hitters have come through in the clutch during this homestand.

The Diamondbacks have won five straight games (season high) to improve to 26-23, starting this Rockies-Giants-Rockies-Giants stretch of the schedule 6-1.

(SI.com) Diamondbacks’ Strange Attendance Drop is Starting to Raise Concerns

Through the first 24 games of 2025, the D-backs had drawn 32,607 fans per game. So far in 2026 that number in the same amount of games is all the way down a whopping 5,413 per game. That is by far the biggest numerical drop of any team in the league. The second-highest drop is the Kansas City Royals, down 2,527 fans per game.

MLB News

(Yahoo! Sports) A’s $2B Las Vegas Strip stadium on schedule to open before 2028 season, officials say

“The lower-suite level is progressing substantially,” said Tyler Van Eeckhaut, project director for contractors Mortenson-McCarthy. “We’re starting to see a lot of rooms taking shape and a lot of that environment has really started to become a component of the stadium.”

Buttress work has been completed to mark a significant milestone, and the upper deck began going up in April. A parking garage on the southeast side will be phased in with 1,500 lots initially available and 2,500 by the time construction is completed.

(Battery Power) Ronald Acuña, Jr. leaves game with thumb issue; is day-to-day (Updated)

When getting ready to take the field in the bottom of the fifth, Acuña, Jr. lingered near the dugout while his thumb was examined before jogging back to right field. Acuña, Jr. had singled in two runs in the top of the inning.

(CBS Sports) A’s pitcher J.T. Ginn loses no-hitter and then the game vs. Angels in span of four pitches

Major League Baseball still hasn’t seen a no-hitter since Sept. 4, 2024. J.T. Ginn of the Athletics strongly flirted with snapping the drought on Monday evening in Anaheim against the Angels. In fact, he took the no-hitter to the ninth inning with a 1-0 lead. But instead of making history, he came out on the wrong side of a walk-off loss.

The game was actually tied, 0-0, heading to the ninth, and a small rally gave the A’s the lead and set the table for Ginn. Adam Frazier singled to start the ninth inning for the Halos. Three pitches later, Zach Neto hit a walk-off home run to center field.

(NBC Sports) Tarik Skubal takes ‘great step’ in recovery from elbow surgery, throws third bullpen session

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Stubal threw another bullpen session, his third since his rehab program from elbow surgery began.

The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner underwent a non-invasive procedure on his left pitching elbow on May 6 to remove a loose body. He threw his latest bullpen session prior to Detroit’s home game against Cleveland.

Manager A.J. Hinch called it a “great step” but stopped short of saying when Skubal might return to action.

Before we get to the Astros, a note: The Cubs moved half a game ahead of the Cardinals into second place in the NL Central when St. Louis lost to Pittsburgh on Thursday.

The Astros started the year 6-3, but since then have gone 14-28. Only the Angels (13-28) are worse over that span.

So this could be a really good time for the Cubs to host them.

For more on the Astros, here’s Patrick Creighton, manager of our SB Nation Astros site The Crawfish Boxes.

Nothing has really gone right for the Astros this season, and once again the primary culprit is injuries. Houston players have already had 22 IL stints this season, including long-term injuries to ace Hunter Brown, starter Cristian Javier, and SS/3B Carlos Correa with Correa being lost for the season. Closer Josh Hader has yet to pitch this season and the team has stated he will not be activated when eligible May 24.

Additionally, the team is also down franchise icon Jose Altuve, starting catcher Yainer Diaz, OF Joey Loperfido, and SP Lance McCullers Jr.

The Astros were planning on leaning on some young players like Loperfido (injured), Brice Matthews (.202 AVG, .609 OPS), Cam Smith (.206 AVG, .618 OPS) and Zach Cole (.186 AVG, .623 OPS), but none have risen to the occasion as yet.

Offseason acquisitions SP Mike Burrows (2-6, 5.75 ERA) and Tatsuya Imai (1-2, 8.31 ERA) have both struggled badly this season.

The Cubs, however, will see the three starters who have pitched the best for Houston: Spencer Arrighetti (5-1, 1.50 ERA), Kai-Wei Teng (2-3, 2.61 ERA) and Peter Lambert (2-4, 3.57 ERA).

Houston’s pitching is starting to normalize, as both RHP Bryan Abreu and RHP A.J. Blubaugh have started to find themselves after slow starts, while LHP Steven Okert has gotten his command in line lately as well. The addition of hard-throwing RHP Nate Pearson and rookie RHP Alimber Santa (4-2, 2 Sv, 1.42 ERA at Triple-A Sugar Land) should give the bullpen some of the swing-and-miss capability it has sorely lacked this season.

Offensively, the team really goes as DH Yordan Alvarez goes. Alvarez leads the team in most every major offensive category (AVG, OBP, OPS, SLG, H, R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB) and when he’s hot, the team scores. When he goes 0-for, it’s very hard for them to overcome currently. Jeremy Pena and Jake Meyers have just returned to the team a few days ago. Christian Walker (11 HR 31 RBI .255 AVG .819 OPS) has rebounded strongly from a subpar 2025, while Isaac Paredes is off to a slow start (.244 AVG, .711 OPS) after a big season last year.

So far this season, the Astros have not been able to match up effective pitching with timely hitting. After leading the AL in runs in April, the team’s offense has fallen flat in May. Since a 10-0 victory in Cincinnati May 8, Houston is 4-8 and has scored 23 runs (less than 2 runs per game).

The Astros offense has struggled with strike zone management, striking out at high rates and walking at low rates.

While the team still hopes to get hot once it gets healthy, the current roster has not been able to maintain any kind of momentum, resulting in swirling rumors about the job status of manager Joe Espada and GM Dana Brown.

Fun facts

The Cubs have lost 47 more games against the Astros than they have won, 385-338, but are 189-170 at Wrigley Field, including a three-game sweep when the teams met most recently on the North Side in April of 2024. Last year, the Cubs lost two of three in Texas.

This is just the third series between the teams at Wrigley since the Astros switched to the American League. The first was in 2013, their first season in the AL. The Cubs won two of three. In all interleague matchups, each team has won nine games.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (2-3, 4.97 ERA, 1.204 WHIP, 6.68 FIP) vs. Spencer Arrighetti, RHP (5-1, 1.50 ERA, 1.194 WHIP, 3.61 FIP)

Saturday: Colin Rea, RHP (4-2, 4.98 ERA, 1.426 WHIP, 4.09 FIP) vs. Kai-Wei Teng, RHP (2-3, 2.61 ERA, 1.097 WHIP, 3.79 FIP)

Sunday: TBD vs. Peter Lambert, RHP (2-4, 3.57 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, 3.31 FIP)

NOTE: Sunday should be Shōta Imanaga’s turn; for some reason the Cubs do not have him officially listed yet.

Times & TV channels

Friday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Apple TV (how to watch)

Saturday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Sunday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

The Astros seem a bit of a conundrum. If you look at the three starters for this series, you might wonder why they are 11 games under .500. Largely, it’s because their other starters have been pretty bad (overall 5.02 starter ERA) and the bullpen has been worse (5.72 ERA for relievers, and closer Bryan Abreu has been horrific, with an ERA over 8).

So the game plan here, I think, should be to get the Houston starters out of the game as early as possible.

The Cubs should right the ship by taking two of three here.

Up next

The Cubs travel to Pittsburgh for a four-game series against the Pirates beginning Monday afternoon.

Happy Friday Athletics Nation!

After beginning the season as the team’s Opening Day center fielder, Denzel Clarke has seen his 2026 season get worse and worse as the season has progressed. The gifted defender struggled in the batter’s box from the jump and was slashing just .170./.228/.417 with no home runs at the time he suffered an injury to his right foot, which ultimately required a trip to the injured list.

Some fans hoped that the time off could be a sort of mini-reset for the young outfielder as he looked utterly lost facing major league pitching. With his amazing defense at a critical position Clarke doesn’t need to be a force with the bat, but he can’t be as big of a black hole as he was during the first month of the season. Getting away from the bright lights of the major leagues and getting back to basics down in a less stressful environment like the minor leagues seemed like as good as any idea to get him back into a rythym in the batter’s box. The early returns, though small, were encouraging as he went 4-for-6 in two games for Stockton in Single-A then 1-for-2 in his first game with the Aviators.

Unfortunately his rehab stint will be cut short. He hasn’t suffered a setback with his foot, but instead has suffered what the organization is calling a “significant hamstring strain”, which will cost him the next couple of months at a minimum:

It’s another tough break for the 26-year-old outfielder. Clarke jumped onto the scene last year and A’s fans immediately saw him flash the leather as he became a near-daily highlight reel in center field. The A’s haven’t had this gifted a defender on the grass in quite a while and though the bat didn’t exactly strike fear into opposing pitchers the team was happy with that as long as they continued to get Gold Glove caliber defense up the middle. Things were cut short earlier than anticipated though as he suffered a season-ending adductor strain in mid-July, ending his year and also depriving the A’s of a longer look at the light-hitting center fielder.

This hamstring strain doesn’t bode well for Clarke in the near or long term. His struggles with the bat were already a cause for concern entering this season and those worries are much larger now after seeing a regression with the stick this year. Add in the fact that the A’s have a shiny new young center fielder named Henry Bolte and the situation is quickly developing into a quagmire. Clarke’s defense is spectacular but the team just can’t stomach him in the lineup on an everyday basis. It’s like playing with eight players in a nine-man lineup.

Bolte doesn’t have the ceiling of Clarke’s glove but he’s no slouch with the glove in his own right, and he’s always been a better hitter than Clarke at every level. Bolte is off to a solid start to begin his big league career and now that he doesn’t have to worry about Clarke coming back anytime soon the A’s should give him plenty of run in center field. If he continues to progress and takes ahold of the position then the organization will suddenly be in a tough situation regarding Clarke. He looked like the center fielder of the future as recently as last summer, but he could soon be the odd man out of a crowding outfield picture the A’s have going for them right now. It’ll be fascinating to see how manager Mark Kotsay and the team handle things when Clarke is finally healthy and ready to return.

We got a new series tonight as the team heads further south to take on the San Diego Padres. It’ll be Walker Buehler for the Friars while the A’s have yet to make it official but it’ll likely be Jeffrey Springs on the bump tonight. First pitch is at 6:40. Until then, have a great weekend everyone!

A’s Coverage:

• “State Of The Rotation”: A Projected Weakness, An Actual…?
• Jump, A’s No. 3 prospect, dazzles to extend scoreless streak
• Guerrero touts West Sacramento’s MLB experience as expansion looms large
• A’s Come Back In Extras, Beat Angels 6-5
• A’s clobber Angels 14-6 in Anaheim
• A’s Suffer Heartbreaker to Open Road Trip
• ’Gut-wrenching’: Ginn takes no-no into ninth only to give up walk-off home run
• Michael Stefanic Elects Free Agency
• A’s Bullpen, Defense Collapse in Series-Deciding Loss to Giants
• How John Fisher betrayed Oakland (again) by finally spending on the Athletics
• Kurtz in rarefied air through 162 career games
• The Giants-A’s rivalry is officially dead
• There’s Forcing Your Way Up And There’s Bolte — Is There A Spot For Him?
• May Roster Shuffle Could Help The A’s — But They’d Have To Want It
• Athletics’ Wei-En Lin Continues Rising The Ranks
• Now that we’ve seen a two-way player, what about a three-way player?
• A Walk In The Park Is Nice…To A Point

MLB News and Interest:

• Robby Snelling To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
• Tigers’ Tarik Skubal throws bullpen session, takes ‘great step’
• Yankees’ Grisham has no structural damage to knee, tests show
• Padres Shopping For Bullpen Help
• Mock draft: Shift in the top five, after that, uncertainty abounds
• Mets’ Kodai Senga to begin minor league rehab assignment Friday
• Braves Select Carlos Carrasco
• Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer survives nasty car wreck while chasing MLB comeback
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Very interesting:

Time to swap out Lopez for Jump?

Things may be moving in that direction…

Followed by an Arnold promotion to Triple-A?

Stadium…. update?

And it’s not even close!

ICYMI:

Good morning friends and happy Friday!

The Mariners kick off a weekend series in Kansas City this afternoon, with Logan Gilbert trying to right the ship against the 20-30 Royals.

As we prepare to enter the holiday weekend with lovely weather on the horizon for those of you in the Seattle area, what plans do you have? Are you going on a trip? Hanging out with friends and/or family locally? Or maybe hunkering down and soaking in Mariners baseball?

In Mariners news…

• Between injuries and underperformance, several Mariners players have been pushed beyond their comfort zones for the sake of the team, writes Daniel Kramer.
• The Lookout Landing staff got together for a round-table discussion about the Mariners’ weird six-man/piggyback rotation plan.
• Zach Mason likened players on the Mariners roster to things in his apartment as a way to express his feelings about the team in the first quarter of the season.

Around the league…

• In a major scoop, Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic reported that the Angels and Rays agreed to a trade during the 2023 deadline that would have sent Shohei Ohtani to Tampa — but Angels owner Arte Moreno shut it down (only for Ohtani to leave a few months later anyway). The Mariners should be thanking their lucky stars this deal never came to fruition. ($)
• The new Las Vegas stadium for the Athletics is reportedly on schedule for a 2028 opening.
• The Pirates are promoting outfield prospect Esmerlyn Valdez to make his major league debut.
• Don’t look now, but the Washington Nationals are off to their best start to the season since 2018.
• Nats infielder Paul DeJong will miss the rest of the season after undergoing hamstring surgery.
• A’s outfielder Denzel Clarke is out until the All-Star break with his own hamstring ailment.
• Has Sandy Alcantara successfully revitalized his career? Michael Baumann at Fangraphs gave his verdict.
• Fastballs are faster than ever before. Louisa Thomas at The New Yorker wonders what this extreme level of strain does to the human arm.
• Paul Sullivan at The Chicago Tribune pointed out that as a player, it’s impossible to win once you start talking back to chirping fans.
• Patrick Dubuque at Baseball Prospectus wrote about how difficult it is to determine a manager’s worth, and how strange it is that teams and fans act otherwise. ($)
• Did you know that you can bring outside food into the stadium? Tayla Minsberg at The New York Times spoke to fans about their favorite meals and snacks to bring to the park.

Anders’ pick…

• A group of students at the University of Washington have resurrected a portion of the Seattle cityscape that was lost when I-5 carved through it in the 1960s.
• Kyle Busch, one of the greatest drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, died suddenly yesterday from an unexplained illness at the age of 41. Busch drove in two races this past weekend, winning on May 15 and noting in seeming premonition that “you never know when the last one is.”

The New York Mets (22-28) return to the scene of the crime (the conclusion of their 2025 collapse) as they prepare to seek some revenge against the Miami Marlins (22-29). You will remember that the Amazins were shut out 4-0 in the final game of the 2025 season, which prevented them from earning a postseason spot as the Reds also lost their final game of the season. That game also helped Miami steal the season series from New York, taking seven of the 13 games that the two teams played.

The team’s series against the Nationals was a mixed bag, resulting in a 2-2 split in Washington DC. The team sandwiched the series win wins, 16-7 on Monday and 2-1 on Thursday, while enduring rough losses in the middle of 9-6 on Tuesday and 8-4 on Wednesday. The wins could not have been any different, as they used a 10-run twelfth inning to bludgeon the Nationals after escaping the first nine innings tied at 5-5. They originally trailed 3-1, then grabbed a 5-3 lead, then slowly let that slip away when the Nationals tied it in the eighth. It’s not often you see a position player pitching in extra innings. Then in the series finale, the team that has scored the most runs in the league and given up the most runs in the league only scored one and allowed two, which was enough for the Mets to earn the hard fought victory, courtesy of David Peterson and a great performance from the bullpen.

The two middle games were incredibly sloppy and disheartening, especially for a team that, coming into Tuesday night, had won six of its last seven contests. You could make a case for Tuesday being the team’s worst loss of 2026, as they blew past Washington in the early innings, building a 5-0 lead on the back of two two-run homers from a suddenly-rejuvenized Bo Bichette. With Nolan McLean on the mound, the Mets and the Flushing Faithful felt like this on in the bag, but it was not to be, as McLean was not as sharp as he normally is, and the defense let him down. This game featured an inside the park grand slam, which is another wacky rarity you don’t see much these days. Wednesday featured Zach Thornton’s major league debut, which did not go great, as the Nats’ bats jumped all over him early. Juan Soto tried to keep the Mets in this one, hitting two monstrous home runs along the way, but it was not enough for New York.

One positive to take away from the team’s recent series was the play of Bichette, who came to life after looking lifeless for much of the early portion of the season. Entering Monday with just two homers on the season, he hit three in the four games, and hit the decisive two-run single in the third inning of Thursday’s win. Overall, he went 7-for-18 in the series while driving in nine of the team’s 28 runs and scoring five of them. Juan Soto continued his torrid pace, recording 6 hits in 16 at-bats with three homers of his own. Dating back to May 14, he has five homers in his last eight games.

There is probably nothing more encouraging than the recent play of top prospect Carson Benge, who led the club with eight hits in the series. Over the month of May, he’s slashing .351/.400/.459 and is second to Soto with an .859 OPS. This is especially encouraging after he finished April with a .189/.247/.289 slash line and a team-worst .525 OPS (among qualified hitters). He’s shown a quick adjustment after a slow start, especially as he’s learned to hit pitchers that are higher in the zone and muscle them into the outfield for hits, something we’ve seen a lot more in recent days. Benge is second in the NL in batting average during the month of May.

The only person who has a higher batting average is Otto Lopez (.370), who suits up for the last place Marlins. The Marlins lost three of four to the Braves, falling 8-4, 9-1, and 9-3 after stunning Atlanta 12-0 in the opening game of the series. The three losses, paired with New York’s win yesterday, moved Miami into last place in the National League East.

As mentioned, Lopez leads the team in batting average in May, as well as wRC+ (144) and OPS (.870). On the season, the shortstop is slashing .342/.373/.487 with a 140 wRC+ and a team-best 2.2 fWAR. The only person with a higher wRC+ is Xavier Edwards at 149. Edwards enters play hitting .316/.395/.484 with a 2.0 fWAR in a team-high 51 games. Their catcher, Liam Hicks, leads the way with nine home runs and 42 runs batted in (exactly double the player who is second on their team, which is also Lopez). He owns a 126 wRC+ and a 0.9 fWAR in 48 games.

Friday, May 22: Tobias Myers vs. Eury Pérez, 7:10 PM EDT on WPIX

Myers (2026): 29.0 IP. 23 K, 6 BB, 5 HR, 3.41 ERA, 4.38 IP, 87 ERA-

Myers has been a weapon for the Mets out of the pen this year, acting as a swiss army knife who is versatile enough to take on many roles. He can give them length, or pitch one high leverage inning to preserve a lead, and now he will take on a new role as a starter to give Freddy Peralta, Christian Scott, and Nolan McLean an extra day of rest. With the Mets in the middle of a 16-games-in-16-days stretch, those pitchers have logged a lot of innings, so the rest will do them some good. This is technically Myers’ second start of the year, as he served as an opener and pitched two shutout innings against the Cubs back on April 19 in an eventual loss.

Pérez(2026): 52.1 IP, 58 K, 28 BB, 10 HR, 5.33 ERA, 5.21 FIP, 129 ERA-

Pérez has had a rough start to his 2026 campaign, with an ERA that’s over one run higher than his final line from 2025. Since earning his second win of the season back on April 19—an outing that saw him allow just one unearned run on three hits with seven strikeouts over six innings against the Brewers—the right-hander has lost each of his last five starts. In that stretch, he’s allowed 19 earned runs over 26 1/3 innings (6.49 ERA). In that stretch, he’s walked 16, struck out 31, and has posted a 5.77 FIP. He’s allowed at least four earned runs in three of those five starts.

Saturday, May 23: Freddy Peralta vs. Max Meyer, 4:10 PM EDT on SNY

Peralta (2026): 54.1 IP, 54 K, 25 BB, 6 HR, 3.31 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 84 ERA-

In his last start against the Yankees, Peralta allowed three earned runs on two hits over five-plus innings, with two of the three runs crossing the plate after he exited the game. The right-hander didn’t do himself any favors, as he walked a season-high six while striking out four. In fact, just 44 of the 96 pitches (46%) he ended up throwing were strikes, and it’s generally rare to see a starting pitcher throw fewer than 50% of their pitches for strikes. For the record, that’s the most batters he’s walked in a game since issuing six free passes as a member of the Brewers back on May 5, 2024.

Meyer (2026): 53.2 IP, 60 K, 19 BB, 4 HR, 2.85 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 69 ERA-

Meyer, the third overall pick int he 2022 MLB Draft, has broken out in this, his fourth big league season for the Marlins. The right-hander, who posted a -0.1 bWAR in two starts in 2022, a -0.2 bWAR in 11 starts in 2024(he missed all of 2023 with injuries) and a 0.0 bWAR in 12 starts last year, has posted a 1.7 bWAR in 10 starts for Miami this year. He’s currently ninth in the NL in HR/9 (0.67) and ninth in K% (26.7%) while also posting a very respectable 8.4% BB%. His last time out, he shut out the Braves over six innings, scattering three hits while striking out six and walking two.

Sunday, May 24: Christian Scott vs. TBD, 1:40 PM EDT on SNY

Scott (2026):19.2 IP, 25 K, 12 BB, 1 HR, 4.12 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 105 ERA-

The Mets have won four of Scott’s five outings so far this year, but he has yet to factor in the decision for any of them and enters this start still seeking his first career major league victory. The right-hander lasted just four innings his last time out while allowing three earned runs (a season high) on four hits. He walked three and struck out five, and his pitch count reached 81, which led to his exit. He threw 49 of those pitches (60%) for strikes.

TBD

The Marlins have not named a starter for Sunday’s game.

It’s Friday, usually the day after my day to do the game recap. They didn’t win because they did’t play, but I have yet to write a winning game recap this season. Well, I won’t be writing a losing one next week – they’re off again on Thursday.

As such, I’m feeling a little grouchy. Okay, more than a little. It’s cloudy outside, it’s in the 60s the day before most pools open, the Timberwolves are out of the playoffs and miles behind the Spurs and Thunder, I’m currently in a reading funk, there’s no new episode of Widow’s Bay (my new fave show, which you should totes watch) until next week, and oh the Royals are awful.

Yes, awful. They’re losing a ton of games, and they’re not even fun to watch. Bad pitching, bad hitting, bad baserunning (okay, atrocious baserunning), and bad defense. To boot, they have a bad manager and a bad front office.

Outside of Bobby Witt Jr., there’s not really a reason to watch this team. It’s a collective group of disappointments.

But what player has been the biggest disappointment?

I have five candidates—three everyday players and two starting pitchers—for the offending dishonor, and at the end, Dear Reader, you’ll get to decide via vote. I’m taking these guys in alphabetical order. Bear witness.

Jac Caglianone

Jac is the only one of the five candidates with a positive bWAR, which is currently at 0.8. The 23-year-old right fielder looks better than he did last year, but that’s a low bar. He’s still striking out entirely too much (30%!) while his on-base percentage is sub-optimal. Luck seems to be on his side, too, as he’s hitting .344 (as compared to .172 last year) on balls in play.

Despite a couple of bloop singles last night, he looks horrible against lefties. For the year, he’s slashing .205/.225/.333 against southpaws with only three extra-base hits. His last at-bat against the Red Sox ended with the expected, an ugly whiff against the lefty Jovani Moran.

As noted, he does have a positive WAR, and he has improved over his trainwreck of a rookie season. But he’s still not tearing it up, he’s not the power threat the Royals need him to be, and seems to take personally every out he makes. Add in that the guy taken right after him in the 2024 draft is rocking it across the state, and yeah, Jac’s leaving a bit to be desired.

Noah Cameron

The Royals would not have finished 2025 with a winning record were it not for Noah Cameron. With the pitching staff injured, maligned, or otherwise ineffective, Cameron sparkled during his rookie season, finishing 4th in the American League Rookie of the Year voting as he went 9-7 with a 2.99 ERA across 24 starts and 138.1 innings pitched.

It’s been a quick, precipitous fall in 2026 for the local kid.

Cameron’s started all eight of his appearances this season, but his ERA’s jumped to 5.40. To his credit, Cameron has actually lowered his FIP and increased his strikeout rate but he’s also walking more batters and surrendering 10.6 hits per nine innings, an increase of over three hits per nine from last year.

His biggest culprit are the balls hit in play against him. Last year batters slashed .214/.279/.361 against him with over 41% of batted balls being hit on the ground. This season, those numbers are much worse for Cameron. Now, batters are lighting him up to the tune of .287/.337/.468. Groundballs have decreased by nearly 11% while hard-hit balls have increased over 6%—from 37.4% to 43.8%. Line drives are up 9%.

It’s great that Cameron remains durable while the pitching staff takes some hits, but with a fully healthy staff, he’s probably relegated to the bullpen.

Vinnie Pasquantino

Strangeness is that Vinnie is struggling so badly while madness is that whoever fills out the lineup card—and I have my doubts that it’s Quatraro 100% of the time—keeps putting him in the middle of the order.

Vinnie’s struggles feel more than him being a slow starter. Not only does he look frustrated out on the diamond—which is understandable—he looks lost. Is he pressing? I mean, I get it if he is. He’s supposed to be one of the team leaders, and it’s hard to lead with an OPS 28% below league average. Is he hurt? What’s up with him?

Whatever the reason, Pasquantino, 28 and arbitration-eligible for the next two years, is having the worst year of his career when the Royals obviously need to him to have…not the worst year of his career. Of the three batters on this list, I’m most confident of Vinnie to snap out of it, but time’s running out for that to make much of a difference.

Salvador Perez

Did Salvy’s tweet, or X post, about not needing a mental breather sour him to anyone else? I lost not a small amount of respect for him when he used social media to express his disagreement with getting an off day. That type of exchange needs to occur behind closed doors, not in the open.

Aside from that, I went into Perez at length when I posited some ways for the Royals to handle their aging slugger. He’s had two multi-hit games since then with a pair of homers and three walks. And yet, his OPS+ is 77 (23% league average) and he still looks like he’s stuck in cement.

Barring injury, he’ll undoubtedly pass George Brett’s franchise record for career home runs this season. That may be his, and the team’s, only highlight of 2026.

Cole Ragans

I wanted to avoid players on the IL as much as possible, which is why I didn’t list Jonathan India, who’s out for the year, or Carlos Estevez, who barely pitched.

Ragans is different, though. He’s already pitched a fair amount this season and should have the chance to pitch plenty more.

In 2024, his first full season with the Royals, Ragans looked like a budding ace, a pitcher who has the stuff that could someday win him the Cy Young. Injuries derailed his 2025, but it’s been ineffectiveness that’s curtailed his 2026.

The culprits: walks, fly balls, and home runs. Working in reverse, Ragans is allowing home runs at the worst rate of his career, giving them up 6.6% of the time, which is almost double his previous worst mark. Batters are slugging .488 against him, also the worst of his career, and by far the worst during his time in Kansas City. It’s up over 100 points from last year!

Related, his fly ball percentage has jumped from 27% last year to 37.3% this year. Perhaps most concerning, though, is his walk rate: Ragans is walking 15.2% of the batters he faces as compared to 7.8% last year and 8.8% in 2024.

Hopefully he’s corrected himself during his time on the IL.

Alright, Readers, time for you to vote: what Royals player has been the biggest disappointment so far in 2026?

Thursday was a lighter day on the Major League schedule, though the Yankees still had time to squeeze in a tough loss. The Bombers mustered just three hits at the plate and spoiled a solid Carlos Rodón start in their 2-0 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays. The loss locked in a split of their four-game series, but the task becomes even taller this weekend, as they welcome the Rays into Yankee Stadium for a huge series.

Elsewhere, it was a short day on the American League schedule, with just some movement in the Central taking place in the afternoon. Here’s a look at how things shook out. Spoiler alert: We will at least temporarily be bidding adieu to the Tigers from this daily feature after today unless they’re playing someone relevant because boy are they ugly right now.

Cleveland Guardians (30-22) 3, Detroit Tigers (20-31) 1

In some Thursday afternoon action in the American League Central, the Guardians sat in the driver’s seat wire to wire against the Tigers. It was a rather quiet affair on the offensive side, one that grew Cleveland’s lead in the division, as well as Detroit’s depth in the basement.

This one pitted Casey Mize against Joey Cantillo, both of whom have enjoyed terrific starts to the 2026 season on the mound. In line with what we’ve seen thus far, both hurlers continued that trend on Thursday. For the Guardians, Cantillo made his 11th start of the season a good one. The 26-year-old lefty tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out six.

For Detroit, Mize had the good stuff going for the most part as well. The former first overall draft pick is enjoying easily the best season of his career to this point in year six, and Thursday’s performance did little to tarnish that thought. The right-hander worked two spotless frames to begin the outing, before the Guardians kicked off scoring in the third inning. With two quick outs already on the board, Brayan Rocchio was the rally starter, pitching in with a double, quickly being scored by another two-bagger from Daniel Schneemann. Before the inning was over, José Ramírez upped the Cleveland lead to 2-0 with a single into left field.

Aside from the two-out rally the Guards staged against him, Mize’s afternoon was another good one, as he ended up working 6.2 quality innings against his division’s first place club, with the two runs in the third inning being the only real mark on his record for the day.

Cantillo exited the game for Cleveland in the sixth, after recording a pair of outs, though the Tigers’ bats wouldn’t have much more luck against their bullpen. In the top half of the eighth, the Guardians tacked on some insurance against Burch Smith out of the Detroit ‘pen, when former Platinum Glover Patrick Bailey swatted his second homer of the season, a solo shot.

The Tigers finally woke up a bit in the eighth inning. Squaring off against Tim Herrin, Dillon Dingler led off the inning with a solo shot of his own, his ninth long ball of the 2026 season.

Despite a little bit of life out of the Tigers late in the game, it was too little, too late. Hunter Gaddis came in for the ninth out of the Guardians’ bullpen, the sixth pitcher they used in the game, and quickly locked things down for the save. The win marked the 30th for the Guardians in 2026, while the Tigers fall to 11 games below .500, as they find themselves in last place in the AL Central.

After a short schedule on Thursday, the Blue Jays will welcome the Pirates while the Rays head to Yankee Stadium for some important weekend series.

Former Major Leaguer Ryan Sweeney, who serves as studio analyst on Chicago’s Marquee Sports Network, sits down to preview the Astros upcoming series with the Cubs at historic Wrigley Field.    

Q:  When it’s all said and done, could the Cubs have the best rotation in all of baseball this season?

A:  Cubs have had a lot of pitching injuries so to say they have the best rotation in baseball would be a stretch. With Boyd and Steele and Cade Horton out they have been piecing it together, but up until last night Shota had been pitching like a true ace. Also to think where they would be without Ben Brown and Colin Rea, they have been great.

Q:  Does something just seem “right” in the universe when the Cubs are playing a string of day games at Wrigley?

A:  Yes.  Day games at Wrigley are the best especially when you are the home team.   The Cubs had won 15 in a row at Wrigley up until Monday Night when that was halted.   I think everyone coming into town loves day games as well because Wrigley is a special place.

Q:  Astros fans miss Alex Bregman and justifiably so.  How has he made the transition to the Northside?     

A:  Alex is a great dude and I have had some interactions with him especially with the racehorses haha I own some as well . He’s just a winner and I think people respect that . That being said, with the big contract people expect him to produce.

He is a historically slow starter but has been swinging the bat better as of late, and I expect his numbers to be great by the end of the year . But I also think he loves Chicago and the team all gets along and has a good vibe together .

One of the benefits of waiting until late May to look at statistics is that individual games have less of a difference on overall numbers. In April, it looked like the Astros hitting coaches were the toast of the town. The team was leading the American League in runs scoring. They were taking more pitches. They were taking more walks. It felt like there was a new message being delivered to hitters and they were listening. Of course, not we have gone most of the way through May (May 19th as of these numbers) and those gains may have slowed.

We have been looking at bases per out now for a couple of different articles. We looked at the catchers and we will look at the infield and outfield eventually, but this time we are looking at the offense as a whole. For comparisons sake, we will take a look at the 2025 numbers since those numbers were probably the numbers that got the past two hitting coaches sent out of town.

Now that the offense has seemingly come back to earth it bears asking whether there were any meaningful and lasting changes in the Astros offense. With one very notable exception, the players are basically the same. That exception is Yordan Alvarez as he spent most of 2025 on the shelf and wasn’t himself for most of the time when he was healthy. Is that enough to explain the difference?

Keep in mind that we will add BPO+ for reference sake. In case you missed our primer article, the major league BPO in 2025 was .670. The BPO so far this season is .663, Last year Daikan Park was perfectly neutral while this year it is playing one percent above average. Given that information let’s see if we have seen in real gains from 2025 to 2026.

That’s not an insignificant improvement. Of course, those gains might be short-lived as the Astros will live without Jose Altuve for a month and Carlos Correa for the remainder of the season. That doesn’t even mention any parts and pieces that will be bartered off before the August 3rd trade deadline. However, if we assume that forces will remain constant (never a good assumption) then we can note where the gains have occurred.

If we note where the gains have occurred then we can possibly isolate those gains down to either hitting talent or hitting approach. Keep in mind that the BPO formula is made up of four components. Total bases is obviously the biggest driver and one probably more dependent on hitting talent. The smaller components are walks, hit by pitches, and stolen bases. Walks are the main component tied to hitting approach.

Before we dive into the numbers, we have to acknowledge the impact of usage. This is why we will break down the infield and outfield in subsequent labs. Those numbers tell us who should play and how often they should play. Naturally, some of that is dependent on availability, but some of that is in the hands of the manager. A statistic like BPO can tell us more about damage than traditional numbers like batting average or more crude sabermetrics like OPS.

The Astros are 49 games into the season, so we will not look at the totals for these four components. Instead we will look at the per game averages to see where if any growth we see in the numbers. 30 BPO points is pretty significant, but as you will see the per game totals might be more subtle. It shows you how small tweaks can have a pretty significant impact on the numbers.

Seeing the numbers expressed this way also helps us understand the relative impact of each metric. The best team in baseball history in steals may have averaged 1.50 steals per game. So, an extra base per game is all you would get out of that exchange. However, as you can see, the 2026 is walking nearly 0.6 times more per game than the 2025 outfit. The impact of hit by pitches is also negligible.

So, the bulk of the difference will come from total bases and walks. The combined additions there equal almost one more base per game. That is the difference between a below average offense and an above average offense. Two total bases would probably take you from below average to elite. So, we aren’t really talking about huge differences this year.

The question then comes down to how we explain the improvement. It is an overall hitting approach improvement or are we talking isolated improvements in personnel. So far, Alvarez has not missed a game and has hit like expected, It turns out that 2025 might be the anomaly there. Otherwise, it looks like Christian Walker is the only significant hitter to show considerable improvement from 2025 to 2026. Can that be attributed to the hitting coaches? I suppose anything is possible.

it should be noted that Jake Meyers and Jeremy Pena have done very little and they were solid and very good respectively last season. There is still a ton of time for them to look more like they looked last year and that could further boost the numbers we are seeing. A more productive Yainer Diaz could also give a little boost to the lineup. Nothing is ever fixed in the middle of a season. So, given these numbers do you lean more on the hitting coaches being the reason for improvement or is it because of individual performances?

Mason Miller joined the San Diego Padres at the 2025 trade deadline, and his acquisition came at a steep price. The top prospect in the San Diego organization, Leodalis De Vries, had to be in the return for Miller and left-hander JP Sears. Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller paid the price for one of the top closers in MLB with four-plus years of control, but the move was questioned by many. To his credit, Preller banked on MLB experience, which Miller had, and took a risk that the loss of De Vries, as vaunted a prospect as he is, may not hurt too bad in the future. He also saw an opportunity for Miller to become an even better closer under the tutelage of pitching coach Ruben Niebla. So far, Miller has made the trade a success. Prior to a throwing error on a pickoff attempt in the second game against the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, Miller coming into the game was a winning recipe for the Padres. He did not enter in a save situation, but manager Craig Stammen believed that Miller could get through the top of the ninth with the game tied, which would give San Diego a chance to win it in the home half of the inning. That opportunity was lost and so was the game, but it was not because Miller could not throw strikes, he rushed a throw to first base and Ty France could not bring it in, which put the runner at third with one out. He later scored on a sacrifice fly and that was all the Dodgers needed. Miller is looking for an opportunity to erase that memory and he may get the chance over the next three days against the Athletics. It is not a sure thing we see Miller in one of these games, but for now he is the biggest piece of the trade between the two teams that has any chance at making an impact at the MLB level. That may change when De Vries finally makes his debut, but that will not be this week or any time soon.

Padres News:

• The Padres offense has struggled to find its stride this season, and that is in large part due to the stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill getting off to slow starts. That has not affected the defensive play of Tatis, who has returned to the infield dirt and has assumed the role of starting second baseman.

• It was a tough day for San Diego minor league affiliates with El Paso and Fort Wayne taking losses.

• Preller is not waiting for the trade deadline to start looking to improve his team. It may come as somewhat of a surprise that the Padres general manager is looking at improving the team’s biggest and most consistent strength – the bullpen.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees were held to just three hits by five Toronto Blue Jays pitchers in a 2-0 loss.

• Yankees send Spencer Jones back to minors.

• The Cleveland Guardians got a 3-1 win to complete a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.

• Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who had surgery two weeks ago, is throwing bullpens and his velocity is already near game speed.

• The Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 9-3 but their superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. left the game early with a thumb injury.

• Corbin Carroll gets walk-off hit to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Colorado Rockies, 2-1.

• The Athletics got a comeback win over the Los Angeles Angels and Jose Soriano.

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We're starting early with our favorite MLB picks for Friday, taking a side in the lone afternoon game on the MLB schedule.

Read on to see why our baseball experts like the Cubs to hold down the fort at Wrigley, while we also have plays in Dodgers/Brewers and Rockies/Diamondbacks — plus more picks coming this morning!

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: LAD/MIL o8.5	+100
Neil Parker: CHC ML	-138
Joe Osborne: ARI -1.5	+113

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Dodgers/Brewers Over 8.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

On a bad-weather slate loaded with rain concerns and heavy winds blowing in, let's target an Over 8.5 that appears as the best spot on the board. THE BAT is projecting 10.10 runs, with a fair price of -137. The pitching matchup looks appealing, if you’re only staring at the ERAs, but shaky BlastContact numbers suggest regression appears to be coming for both starters — Logan Henderson is stranding 98% of his runners over his last two starts, while Justin Wrobleski is carrying a .223 BABIP that feels due for some correction.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: BREW/SNLA

Neil Parker's expert pick: Cubs moneyline

Price: 58¢ (-138) at Polymarket

Jameson Taillon is holding opposing hitters to a well-below-average .300 wOBA, leading a tidy 3.28 ERA across 250 innings at Wrigley Field since signing with the Chicago Cubs in 2023. I give the North Siders a sizable edge on both sides of the dish, especially with Astros righty Spencer Arrighetti headed to the bump, who sports a career 5.15 ERA on the road.

• Time: 2:20 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Apple TV

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Diamondbacks -1.5

Price: 47¢ (+113) at Polymarket

The Arizona Diamondbacks have dominated the Rockies at home, winning 10 of the last 11 meetings in the desert. Michael Soroka has been outstanding in Arizona, with a 1.59 ERA across five home starts, and allowing one earned run or fewer in four of those outings. That’s a tough matchup for a Colorado lineup sitting at 27th in OPS vs. RHP over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Sugano faces a D-backs offense that leads MLB in runs scored over the last week. Arizona also holds a major bullpen advantage, ranking sixth in bullpen ERA over the last two weeks, while Colorado is 23rd.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: One national/two local

More MLB best bets for today

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.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Marlins play a three-game series in Miami starting on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on PIX11.

5 things to watch

The starting rotation is in flux

With Clay Holmes out long-term, New York is patching things together in the rotation.

Against the Nationals in Washington, D.C., the four games were started by Christian Scott, Nolan McLean, Zach Thornton (in his MLB debut), and David Peterson (without an opener in front of him, as had become routine lately).

In Miami, Tobias Myers will start on Friday night, but he is not stretched out. That means he'll likely not go much beyond 35 or 40 pitches, and that the Mets will need plenty of length behind him. That length could come in the form of Jonah Tong, who has been held out in Triple-A just in case. Or, New York could possibly turn to Sean Manaea, who has been struggling.

The plan beyond Friday is unknown, though it will almost certainly include Freddy Peralta and one of Scott or McLean. 

Bo Bichette is heating up

Bichette went off during the series against the Nats, smacking three homers and driving in nine runs.

Over his last five games, Bichette is hitting .348/.375/.783.

Despite his prolonged slump to start the season, a rebound from Bichette wasn't hard to see coming. During his struggles, Bichette's BABIP was well below his career level despite similar metrics to his career norms.

In addition to Bichette, Carson Benge has been on fire -- and his tear dates back roughly a month.

Since April 23, Benge is slashing .347/.385/.469 (.854 OPS). He has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, with six multi-hit games during that span.

Juan Soto is also scorching, with a 1.357 OPS and five homers over his last eight games.

How will Nolan McLean bounce back?

McLean had a rough night against the Nats on Tuesday, allowing nine runs (six earned) on eight hits in 5.2 innings.

There were some caveats, though.

Four of the six earned runs against McLean came on an inside-the-park home run by James Wood that caromed off the glove of left fielder Nick Morabito. It was a tough play, but one that could've been made.

Beyond that, there was some concern after the game that McLean was tipping his pitches. 

If McLean doesn't pitch on Sunday in Miami, he'll likely get the ball at Citi Field on Monday against the Reds. 

The Marlins have been sinking

Miami had a nice start to the year, racing out to a 5-1 record. But it's been a slog since then.

The Marlins are 6-12 since May 3, and have lost seven of their last 10 games -- including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Braves earlier this week.

Their offense has been feast or famine, with 16 runs over their last seven losses and 31 runs in their last three wins.

Miami's starting pitching remains solid, though, and will feature Eury Perez and Max Meyer this weekend, with Sunday's starter TBD. 

Otto Lopez is having a huge season

If there's one standout for the Marlins on offense, it's Lopez. 

Lopez had a .686 OPS in parts of four seasons before 2026, but a switch has flipped for him.

The infielder is leading the majors with a .342 batting average and 68 hits, getting on base at a .373 clip, and slugging .487. 

Lopez has been an extra-base hit machine, with 13 doubles, four homers, and two triples, and has also swiped eight bags.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Juan Soto

Soto has been absolutely locked in since breaking out of a mini-slump about a week ago. 

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Freddy Peralta

Peralta will be looking to bounce back after an uneven start last weekend against the Yankees.

Which Marlins player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Jakob Marsee

Things haven't come easily for Marsee in his second season, but he's one of the most talented bats in Miami's lineup.