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[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks do not mess around with Rockies to close 6-1 homestand – The Arizona Diamondbacks smacked seven extra-base hits, none of which left the yard, in an all-around dominant win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, 9-1. Ryne Nelson threw a career-high eight innings with one earned run, while the offense supplied a 7-0 lead in the opening three innings to bury the Rockies early. The score was 9-0 after six, as the D-backs coasted to earn a four-game series victory, 3-1. With the win, Arizona finished its homestand against the San Francisco Giants and Rockies 6-1 and improved to 8-2 over the first 10 games of its Rockies-Giants-Rockies-Giants stretch.

[AZ Central] Corbin Carroll closes in on DBacks triples record in rout of Rockies – Carroll raised his career triple total to 51, two away from surpassing Stephen Drew for the franchise record. He had four hits in a game for the third time in his career. “There’s the value in taking the extra base, and if you can get there before two outs you don’t necessarily have to get a hit to score a run,” Carroll said. “Always trying to run hard and make the job easier for my teammate behind me.” “For what’s a standup double to everybody else, the majority of people in the big leagues, it’s a standup triple for him,” Lovullo said. “It’s done out of the box. When he hits that ball, he’s doing everything he can to get going full speed in order to get to third base.”

[AP] Carroll has 2 run-scoring triples, Diamondbacks blow out hapless Rockies – Nelson (2-3) scattered six singles and struck out three in his career-best third straight start of at least seven innings.Arizona (28-24) has won eight of 10 to climb four games over .500 for the first time since April 22. Quintana allowed six runs on six hits before being removed with one out in the second inning due to left elbow discomfort. Catcher Brett Sullivan pitched a perfect eighth for the last-place Rockies, who have lost eight of 11. Arizona scored two runs off Quintana in the first inning and Marte made it 4-0 in the second with a two-run double, prompting Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer to remove the left-hander with the team trainer at his side.

Team news

[Dbacks.com] Troy (D-backs’ No. 4 prospect) doubles twice in MLB debut – The D-backs’ No. 4 prospect laced his first Major League hit Sunday at Chase Field in a 9-1 win over the Rockies, ripping a double off left-hander Jose Quintana that just got under the glove of center fielder Jake McCarthy. It was the capstone moment of a whirlwind 48 hours that began when Troy got news that his dream of being a big leaguer was about to come true. Beyond having to get ready for a Major League game, Troy knew both his family and his girlfriend’s family had to be there. When the ball found the turf in the bottom of the second, his parents, Tommy Sr. and Temple, were watching from down the third-base line.“I’m still shaking, I’m so happy for him,” Temple told D-backs television reporter Jody Jackson. “I could feel the air vibrating when he was up there.”

[SI] Tommy Troy’s Debut Already Setting Up Another Tough D-backs Decision – Troy may not be able to produce at this type of clip every day going forward, but he’s yet another young player with a mature-looking approach and good bat-to-ball skills. His versatility and speed are pluses, as well. But suddenly, the Diamondbacks may have another tough decision to make. Gurriel is not expected to miss a great deal of time with his hamstring injury, and Jordan Lawlar will be returning from his wrist fracture at some point in the coming weeks. If Troy is a productive player, Arizona may have to make a tough decision to reduce Gurriel’s playing time, or even part ways with the veteran.

[Mercury News] Ex-Stanford, Los Gatos High School star shines in MLB debut – “Just everything that I could have dreamed of, honestly,” said Troy, who had his family and his girlfriend’s family in attendance. “All the guys here are so supportive, loosening me up because I was a little nervous at first. But such a great moment.” “I thought he seemed very comfortable,” said Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll, who went 4-for-4 with two triples and two RBIs on Sunday, of Troy. “I think he belonged, looked like he knew what he needed to do, took care of his business. I was impressed.” Troy helped lead Stanford to Pac-12 titles in 2022 and 2023 before he was taken in the first round, 12th overall, by the Diamondbacks in the 2023 MLB draft as an infielder. He graduated from Los Gatos in 2020 after helping the school to a runner-up finish in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs in 2018.

And, elsewhere…

[MLB.com] Hernández caps sweep of Mets with walk-off grand slam – The win completed Miami’s first three-game sweep of the Mets at home since 2019 and gave the Marlins their first three-game winning streak since opening the season with a sweep of the Rockies. Miami has won five of its past six games against New York dating back to last August.“ We have a good team, and the pitching was really good, too,” Hernández said. “Untouchable, like it has been all these three days.” Miami’s pitchers held New York to two runs over the three-game series, including Sunday’s outing from Tyler Phillips, who made his first Major League start of the season.

[The Independent] Family continues fight against MLB team after missing out on $13,000 raffle prize that they had to claim within 6 outs – One of the 10 tickets Annette Flynn bought was drawn but she couldn’t see it displayed from her seat, which had the scoreboard behind her, and she also didn’t hear the number announced, according to court papers. By the time Flynn learned she had the winning ticket and made it to the claim table on the loge level concourse, the deadline at the top of the 7th inning had passed. Flynn told WISN that an usher mistakenly told her to go to the main level, and security video — that was shared by the family — from inside the stadium reportedly shows her racing through the hallways trying to claim the ticket.

Project Hail Mary (2026)

• Rating: D+
• Dir: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
• Star: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce

This feels like bits pulled from far better SF movies, covering everything from Interstellar to Contact, ruthlessly purged of anything which might challenge or remotely concern the audience, replacing it instead with fluff. Y’know the Grogu drinking soup meme? This is that, extended to 156 minutes in length. It’s SF, only if the S stands for sentimentality. I will say, the visual elements are well-done, and on occasion spectacular. But any weight you might have considered appropriate, given the whole “imminent world destruction” thing, is consistently undermined by weak stabs at comedy. Grace falls over things. See? He’s relatable because he’s clumsy! Going by the box-office receipts, it must just be me, but I was hoping for something a bit more than Ted Lasso in Space.

Read more

The New York Mets (22-31) welcome the Cincinnati Reds (27-25) to Citi Field for a three game series. It is hard to muster anything close to excitement for this team after an incredibly flat series against an uninspiring Marlins team. The Mets won the Subway Series, split a series with the Nationals, and were set up to have a third straight positive series against the only team trailing them in the division. Instead, they scored two runs over three games and looked like a little league team at the plate.

I don’t truly think that there is no way they can salvage their season, but it is looking more and more clear that this is a season that would be better suited with developing young players than chasing a playoff appearance. That is a shame, because it means wasting a season of peak Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor (when he returns), and that is something that the team really can’t afford to waste. This isn’t asking them to tank, but it is calling for a different outlook on the club.

And that probably means being sellers sooner than later. With another few weeks that aren’t a marked improvement, Freddy Peralta and a couple of the bullpen arms look to be the most likely to bring in anything of note back in a trade. A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge should be starting just about every game for the club, and it may be a good idea to bring up Ryan Clifford and see what he’s got at first base. If not, give a returning Jared Young a chance to be something other than a utility guy. Let Jonah Tong, Zach Thornton, and Jack Wenninger all get multiple starts. Start seeing what you have out of some of the minor league relief arms.

There is every chance that those players will produce as much or more than what they Mets have been getting thus far, and you get a better sense of what the future looks like. And look, we all know that injuries are playing an inordinate role in where this team is. Losing Lindor, Clay Holmes, Francisco Alvarez, Kodai Senga, Luis Robert Jr, Jorge Polanco, Ronny Mauricio, Young, and Mike Tauchman all put this team at a disadvantage, even if players like Senga weren’t exactly helping the cause pre-injury.

Now, it seems like Senga, A.J. Minter, and Young are all fairly close to a return. There’s some optimism that Lindor can be back in late June, and Alvarez is likely closer to the All-Star Break. All of those returns could be good for the club, but aside from Lindor, none move the needle enough to see them as potential saviors for this season. With Polanco and Robert as true question marks, both in terms of their return and also what they might be able to offer the club, you have to think of both of them as true wildcards. If they return and give the club anything, that’s a perk, but it can’t be expected.

The Reds are 7-14 in May thus far, but have seemingly turned around the worst stretch of their season, where they lost eight in a row, including getting walked off three days in a row by the Cubs, earlier this month. Their division, the National League Central, still features five teams with winning records, even if the Pirates and Reds and just barely hanging on to that distinction.

Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart are both having monster years at the plate thus far, with Cruz slugging 25 extra base hits already, along with nine stolen bases, and Stewart stealing ten bases with 21 extra base hits of his own. Chase Burns is in the Cy Young conversation, but the rest of their pitching staff has been dealing with injuries. With multiple Wild Card spots likely coming out of the Central, it is too early to write them off, but they look like they’re a cut below the three teams in front of them.

Monday, May 25: Nolan McLean vs Nick Lodolo, 4:10pm EDT on SNY

McLean (2026): 58.0 IP, 63 K, 27 BB, 8 HR, 3.52 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 90 ERA-

McLean’s last start was easily his worst in the bigs so far, giving up six earned runs, including two home runs, eight hits, and two walks. But even in that start, he was felled by some poor luck/defense behind him. While McLean hasn’t exactly lived up to his brief debut last season in terms of hype, he’s been solid this season, and is still among the brightest spots on the Mets in 2026 which, admittedly, is a low bar.

Lodolo(2026): 15.0 IP, 11 K, 9 BB, 4 HR, 7.20 ERA, 7.48 FIP, 170 ERA-

Lodolo has started three games for the Reds thus far in 2026, with is most recent start being the best of the punch, where he threw five and two-thirds innings of three-run ball against the Phillies last week. But four home runs in 15 innings and almost as many walks as strikeouts isn’t going to inspire a ton of confidence.

Tuesday, May 26: TBD (Likely David Peterson) vs Chase Burns, 7:10pm EDT on SNY

Peterson(2026): 48.1 IP, 49 K, 20 BB, 2 HR, 5.03 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 129 ERA-

Peterson started on Friday for the first time in over a month. He had been working as the bulk man behind an opener to attempt to put his season back on track and, in limited appearances, it seems to have worked. In his first start since April 13, Peterson tossed five innings of one-run, four hit ball. Peterson may never get back to his first half of 2025 status, but he would be a welcome piece of the Mets’ rotation if he could approximate his performance since that April 13 start: an ERA a full point lower, a 105 ERA-, and an almost two to one strikeout to walk ratio. It won’t win him a Cy Young, but it’ll do enough.

Burns (2026): 59.0 IP, 64 K, 18 BB, 7 HR, 1.83 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 43 ERA-

Chase Burns is having himself a year. Aside from one bad start against the Angels on April 10, where he gave up five earned runs, Burns hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a single start, and has four starts in which he allowed no runs at all. He’s top 20 in strikeouts thus far this season, and has been excellent at limiting runs in just about every aspect of his game.

Wednesday, May 27: TBD (Likely Tobias Myers and Jonah Tong in some sort of opener/bulk role) vs Andrew Abbott, 4:10pm EDT on SNY

Myers(2026): 30.1 IP, 23 K, 7 BB, 5 HR, 3.56 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 91 ERA-

The Mets haven’t quite figured out how to use Myers yet this season. It’s been fairly clear for some times that Myers would be an improvement over some of the starting pitching, but with Christian Scott’s return to the rotation and Peterson straightening himself out, Myers might be again relegated to the long man/starter/jack of all trades that he’s been thus far this season. And while that is a valuable and useful role, it seems like it is somewhat wasting what Myers can be doing for this club.

Tong(2026): 3.0 IP, 2 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 0 ERA-

After a truly phenomenal minor league season and a mixed bag of a call up, Tong has been working on his secondary pitches in the minors, and so his minor league line isn’t a real good indication of what he’s capable of. Similarly, putting too much stake in a three-inning performance against the Marlins is probably silly as well. That said, Tong looked very good in said three-innings, and is always going to be one of the more exciting names to see pitching the Mets in 2026.

Abbott(2026): 56.2 IP, 38 K, 26 BB, 7 HR, 3.97 ERA, 4.72 FIP, 94 ERA-

Abbot has been lights out in May thus far, allowing just two earned runs in 22 innings pitched. If there’s a clear knock on his game at this point in his career, it is that he’s walking too many batters. But the results, at least as of late, have been good despite that fact.

Texas Rangers Pre/Post Game Host Jared Sandler from 105.3 The Fan KRLD-FM joins us to preview the upcoming four game tilt from Globe Life Field.    

Q:  How big is this 4-game series for each club?

A:  I’m just not a big believer that this time of year truly shapes or defines the rest of the season.  I think divisional rivalries are fun and that fans feel that with in-state bragging rights, but we don’t need to be prisoners of the moment.  Neither team has achieved what they were hoping to so far, but they’re both looking to turn the arrow into a positive direction.    

Q:  Last time we saw the Rangers, they were putting up 8 runs on the Astros, some of that damage coming from Kyle Higashioka.  What is the current state of the lineup, as it seems some guys are finding their stride and others (Evan Carter) are still grinding through some struggles? 

A:  The lineup has been interesting.  They’ve largely done whatever positive stuff without Corey Seager and (Wyatt) Langford, partly because of injury but also when playing, both of those guys haven’t produced at a level that is expected of them because of the high standard they set.     

When Corey is in the lineup and going right, he’s one of the best hitters in the world, so getting him back will be huge.     

Wyatt Langford was a 20-20 guy and there’s other guys like Brandon Nimmo.   

Josh Jung has also been really impressive, his willingness to go the other way and his plate discipline with two strikes, he’s the best two strike hitter in major league baseball from a batting average standpoint.     

The thing that’s most vital for the Rangers going forward is the ability to start slugging some home runs, which they’ve been lagging in.   

Q:  There are moments where Jaco deGrom appears to have turned back time and then moments where he’s less than stellar.  What have you seen from deGrom this season?

A:  Jacob deGrom has struggled recently, but he’s still Jacob deGrom.  I think one of the most impressive things about him is the intellectual and academic approach he takes to pitching.    

When he struggles, you don’t really lose confidence in him because he’s going to figure it out.   He’s still throwing in the high 90’s with a lower 90’s slider.  He has a really good change-up and curveball as well that people don’t talk about a ton.     

The other thing is his leadership.  He’s been awesome and I don’t think that picture was fully painted in New York, but that’s been the case here.

Q:  Finally, when do you anticipate someone in this division breaking out on a significant winning streak, thus creating some separation from the pack?     

A:  I don’t know when someone is going to make a huge push for this division, all of the teams are flawed.     

The Angels aren’t even a consideration, having the worst record in baseball.     

It might be that no one wins 90 games, and with that, it’s going to be a tight race.    

The one team that I do think that has the upside to make a huge push in the immediate future would be the Mariners, just because the Rangers and Astros are super beat up.    The A’s rarely have the starting pitching advantage, so they have to do it with their lineup, which is for real but it might not be possible to rattle off a ton of consecutive wins.     

Seattle is still the team on paper, and there’s a reason why a lot of people picked them at the beginning of the year. 

Here are five things to watch, plus predictions as the Mets and the Cincinnati Reds play a three-game series at Citi Field starting Monday at 4:10 p.m.

THINGS TO WATCH

Pivotal start? 

Nolan McLean starts Monday’s game looking to rebound after a dreadful outing in Washington his last time out. Gifted a five-run lead in that game, McLean could not hold it, leading to another disappointing Met loss. McLean allowed nine runs (six earned) and eight hits in 5.2 innings. Both were career-worsts. He also gave up two home runs, only the second time in his brief career he’s been hit for more than one in any start.

The Mets, coming off a 2-5 road trip that ended with getting swept in Miami, could really use an ace-level bounce-back from McLean. The 27-25 Reds, as a lineup, generally do not chase, so it’ll be fascinating to see how they react when McLean uses his otherworldly ability to spin the baseball.

Which will give? 

Two things that are true at once: The Mets often have trouble scoring runs. And the Reds have trouble stopping opponents from scoring runs. So the Mets should score against Cincy’s pitching staff, which is 25th in overall ERA (4.78), 29th in bullpen ERA (5.04) and has allowed the third-most home runs and the third-most walks. 

Shouldn’t they? 

We’ll see, of course. The Mets after all, are coming off a series in which they scored all of two runs against the Marlins, had just 11 hits in three games and mustered just nine total at-bats with runners in scoring position. The Mets are averaging 3.89 runs this season, fifth-lowest in baseball.

I’m (not) walkin’ here!

The Mets drew five walks in their loss Sunday, which is somewhat relevant because they had walked just seven times in their previous five games combined. This is a team with the keen-eyed Juan Soto as a lineup linchpin, mind you, even if he missed Sunday’s loss with illness. MLB pitchers are averaging 3.6 walks per nine innings, so the Mets have been missing on their fair share lately, whether it’s because of an approach flaw or running into a spate of precise pitching. Whatever the case, a few more free passes obviously would add something to a mostly punchless offense. The Mets enter this series with the worst on-base percentage (.293) in baseball. The MLB average is .318.

Rookie comp

McLean figures to be a candidate for NL Rookie of the Year and the Reds have one of their own, too, in first baseman Sal Stewart, who is a big part of a Cincy offense that is scoring 4.40 runs per game, slightly above the MLB average. It’ll be fun to watch McLean versus Stewart with their elite rookie status in mind.

Stewart leads NL rookies in homers, RBI, slugging and OPS and has also stolen 10 bases in 11 tries. Overall, Stewart is 10th in the NL in RBI with 34, one fewer than his teammate, Elly De La Cruz.

Chase rates

Chase Burns, who is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game, has been one of the best pitchers in baseball at only 23 years old. The Reds’ righty is having a huge season, ranking fourth in the majors in ERA (1.83) and fifth in WHIP (0.95). He is 6-1 and has won five straight decisions. 

His road ERA (1.46) is second only to Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, who has a 1.04 mark. Burns relies mostly on a 98 mile-per-hour fastball and a slider. He’s finished off 97 plate appearances with his slider and struck out 44 batters with it. Opponents are batting .137 against the slider and .183 overall. 

Burns, the second overall pick in the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Wake Forest, has never faced the Mets, so their hitters will have to rely on video for prep and not their personal experience. It’ll be a difficult solve for the Mets – Burns is allowing only 5.8 hits per nine innings this season.

PREDICTONS

Who will be the series MVP?

AJ Ewing: Yes, he’s been striking out some – he’s got seven straight games with at least one whiff and fanned five times in 11 plate appearances against the Marlins. But he’s still getting on base and his speed game could impact the Mets offense – the Reds have only thrown out nine would-be thieves in 48 stolen-base attempts (19 percent, five percent worse than league average).

What Mets pitcher will have the best start? 

Nolan McLean: He’s hyper-competitive, so his yearning to wash away the memory of his poor start against the Nationals, plus his elite talent, should mean a big outing.

Which Reds player will be a thorn in the Mets side? 

Elly De La Cruz: One of the most exciting players in baseball, De La Cruz hits the ball extremely hard (he’s seventh in average exit velocity, a few ticks better than Aaron Judge). The Mets have held him to a .196 average across 14 previous games, so maybe he’s due. De La Cruz has 25 extra-base hits (ninth in MLB) and he’s seventh in runs scored and 12th in RBI. 

For most of this season, the Nationals formula for success has been scoring runs in bunches. After all, they have scored the most runs in all of baseball. However, with the bats being quiet this weekend in Atlanta, the Nats had to find a different way to win. They did just that by outpitching the Braves en route to a series win.

It was a true team effort from the pitching staff, but the rotation was especially elite. If you count Miles Mikolas’ bulk relief appearance, Nats starters went 16 innings without allowing a run to the Braves offense. Given the firepower Atlanta has, that is extremely impressive. Mikolas, Jake Irvin and Foster Griffin all stepped up in a huge way.

Sure, the Nats have allowed the most runs in all of baseball, but the pitching staff has been very solid the past month. Since April 25th, Nationals pitchers have posted a 4.01 ERA. That is not elite by any means, but it is good enough with this offense. Fans have been wondering what this Nats team would be like with average pitching, and well we have seen it for the last month. The Nats are 16-11 since April 25th, when they started getting that solid pitching. 

While the Nats have allowed the most runs in the league, not all of that is on this pitching staff. The Nats have a 4.80 team ERA, which is actually only the fifth worst in the league. A big reason they lead the league in runs allowed is their leaky defense. We are still seeing plenty of defensive miscues, but hopefully that can improve like the pitching has.

The last two games of the Braves series were particularly excellent for the pitching staff. After a rough extra inning loss on Friday, where the bullpen could not hold on, the Nats needed a good start from Jake Irvin. That is exactly what they got, with the big right hander firing 5 hitless innings with 7 strikeouts. Irvin’s curveball had Braves hitters fighting for their lives and the fastball velocity was up.

However, Irvin had to come out of the game with an injury after 5 innings. With a depleted bullpen, Blake Butera had to rely on Brad Lord to give them length. As he usually does, Lord came through for his team, firing off three scoreless innings. Yesterday, I wrote about how important Lord is to this team and how much I love his no-nonsense style on the mound. 

Richard Lovelady got a big save on Saturday to finish that game off. Lovelady saw action in all three games this series. He was mostly excellent. In his first two outings, Lovelady threw two clean innings, one as an opener and the other as a closer. He came in to try and close out the finale as well. Lovelady got the ground ball he needed to end the game, but Nasim Nunez booted it. Eventually, he was pulled for Orlando Ribalta, who saved the day.

Lovelady has been a huge part of this bullpen since being picked up through the waiver process from the Mets. Since joining the Nats, Lovelady has a 1.72 ERA in 16 outings. Sure, he sometimes puts himself in messy situations, but he has been able to make the big pitch when he has needed it more times than not.

One of the heroes of yesterday’s win was Foster Griffin. As we all know, Griffin got off to an electric start before his ERA took a beating in his last two outings. The 30 year old southpaw got back on track in a big way yesterday. He fired 6 scoreless frames in the rain, in a badly needed bounceback outing. Griffin’s command was on point yesterday, rarely missing in the middle of the plate with any of his 7 pitches.

This was an outing that Griffin needed to show the world that he is no fluke. After coming over from Japan, he flummoxed hitters through his first 8 outings. However, it looked like the league was starting to figure him out in his previous two starts. Yesterday, Griffin showed that when he is locating, there are not many answers against him.

Location and execution was key all weekend. Mikolas, Irvin and Griffin were all locating at an extremely high level. That helped them carve through a Braves lineup that has been excellent for most of the season. With Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson slumping, the Nats may have caught the Braves at the right time, but the Nats pitchers are also part of the reason for these slumps.

The bullpen was more up and down than the rotation this weekend, but in 2 of the 3 games, they got the job done. Clayton Beeter looked extremely sharp in his first two outings off the IL. The previously mentioned Lovelady and Lord were also key parts of this series win.

However, a big shoutout has to go to Orlando Ribalta, who saved the day yesterday. He came into a bases loaded, one out situation with a one run lead. The Cuban righty was able to make the lead stick and win the game for the Nats. Ribalta struck out Friday’s walk off hero Chadwick Tromp, before getting Acuna to break his bat and roll a grounder to first to give the Nats the series win.

Ribalta has been very impressive this season. He has a 2.31 ERA in 12 outings, and has gotten his team out of some big jams lately. In my opinion, Ribalta has the best stuff of anyone in the bullpen. His fastball is in the upper 90’s, his slider is sharp and he also will throw a nasty changeup at times. The key for him this season has been improved strike-throwing.

In the past, control has been a big issue for the 6’7 right hander. However, he has been throwing a lot of strikes this season. His walk rate has gone from 14.2% to a much more manageable 8.5%. With his stuff, Ribalta is tough to hit when he is throwing strikes. Outside of a couple outings where he allowed some unlucky hits and briefly lost his command, Ribalta has been money.

At the beginning of the season, this pitching staff was a massive question mark. It felt like Blake Butera did not have any answers to turn to, but that has changed. This pitching staff is not elite by any means, but they have been solid for about a month now. They picked up the offense in a big way this weekend, but most of the time, average pitching will be good enough with this lineup.

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The New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals get together for an early-week series starting this afternoon.

This series has intrigue, and this pitching matchup between two arms that have overperformed their underlying metrics is no exception. We see the Yankees getting the best of the Royals in this spot.

Read all about it in my Yankees vs Royals predictions and MLB picks for Monday, May 25.

Who will win Yankees vs Royals today: Yankees (-140)

Kansas City Royals arm Michael Wacha is the perfect example of "does nothing great but does mostly everything well." That's typically a good quality for a starter, but it's also why his expected ERA sits over a full run higher than his actual mark, screaming negative regression. 

A below-average barrel rate (8.2%) and hard-hit rate (39%) are troubling against the team that ranks first in baseball in both categories.

When these two met in the Bronx in April, two of the three hardest-hit balls by New York Yankees hitters came off Wacha and resulted in unlucky line-outs. Play to -170.

COVERS INTEL:Will Warren's 5.9% walk rate sits in the 86th percentile, which limits free baserunners against a Royals offense that already struggles to manufacture rallies on its own.

Yankees vs Royals Over/Under pick: Under 9 (-110)

This is a touch high.

I haven't been thrilled about backing Warren this year, but his 86th-percentile strikeout rate should play well here against a Royals lineup with limited barrel threats. This means Warren should generate plenty of swing-and-miss. 

While I like the Yankees to get after Wacha, the story of the season so far for New York is at play here: There's still a good amount of easy outs at the bottom of the Yankees lineup. I made the total 8.7; this is not a huge edge but playable nonetheless. 

Yankees vs Royals odds

• Moneyline: Yankees -145 | Royals +118 
• Run line: Yankees -1.5 | Royals +1.5 
• Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9 

Yankees vs Royals trend

The Yankees have won all 10 of their last 10 head-to-head matchups with Kansas City, covering the -1.5 run line in all but two of those meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Royals.

How to watch Yankees vs Royals and game info

Yankees vs Royals latest injuries

Yankees vs Royals weather

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The Orioles getting swept by the Rays was a lightning rod to attract a lot of criticism about the way the Orioles have been doing things so far this year. This was so true that even MASN’s Ben McDonald, who gets his paycheck from a team-owned entity, was fired up enough to unload about analytics on a post-game show after the sweep.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I’m thinking about what McDonald had to say about the team and why a lot of ultimately misguided attitudes are flowing from that. I’m also thinking about an article that was in The Baltimore Banner the day after McDonald’s rant that suggested that no changes will be coming to the Orioles offensive philosophy because that “would be an admission of failure that … would only lend credence to the criticisms” of the front office.

For me, that was a disheartening article, and I try to get into why in this episode. High-level baseball is a game of constant adjustments, where you see how they’re responding to what you’re doing and then you respond to that, and then they respond to your response, and so on down the line. Perhaps if it seems like the Orioles are poorly adapting, it’s because Jon Meoli’s report that the front office doesn’t think there’s a need to adapt. If that’s the case, then Mike Elias has staked a lot on this season, and if it stays on the failure path, he shouldn’t get another season at the helm.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped into the batter’s box with the San Diego Padres trailing the Athletics 5-2 in the final game of the series at Petco Park on Sunday. Jackson Merrill and Ramon Laureano were on base after drawing walks and Tatis represented the tying run that could have sparked a ninth inning walk-off win or at least sent the game into extra innings. The Friar Faithful wanted to see their homerless superstar connect on a game-tying home run that would have ended his drought and propelled Tatis to a power surge to end the month. Instead, Tatis hit a 2-0 fastball on the outer half of the plate into right field. Jesse Agler calling the game on 9.3 The Fan, described the ball as high, but not deep and it came down into the glove of Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler to give San Diego a three-run loss. If you look at the box score, Tatis had a good day at the plate, finishing 3-for-5 but it is the final at-bat that will be talked about more than any other.

The Padres were able to collect nine hits in the game but were unable to push a run across the plate until the bottom of the sixth inning. Miguel Andujar led off the inning with a double and that was followed by a Gavin Sheets groundout, which pushed Andujar to third base. Manny Machado was able to lift a flyball deep into left field that allowed Andujar to tag up and score from third. Xander Bogaerts singled with two outs in the inning and was able to steal second base, but Merrill grounded out to end the inning, one batter later.

San Diego was trailing 4-1 when the Padres came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ty France changed that when he hit a one-out solo home run to right field to make the score, 4-2. A popout by Rodolfo Duran and a groundout by Tatis ended the inning.

San Diego had to claw out of a 4-0 deficit after Michael King went just 3.2 innings and allowed four runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts. It was not what anyone expected to see from King following his fabulous seven-inning start against the Los Angeles Dodgers his last time out. King had trouble throwing his changeup for strikes and he was unable to make the necessary adjustment to get control before throwing 81 pitches and being removed from the game.

The Padres bullpen did well under the circumstances. Ron Marinaccio pitched three scoreless innings allowing one hit, one walk and two strikeouts. Wandy Peralta followed with 1.1 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts. Bradgley Rodriguez came on in the ninth and surrendered a run one three hits to put the Athletics ahead, 5-2 but he did record three strikeouts while walking one.

Bogaerts and France joined Tatis with multiple hits int the game. They each had two hits, while Andujar and Sheets chipped in with one hit apiece.

The Padres open a series against the Philadelphia Philles today at Petco Park at 3:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• It was a tough day in the San Diego minor league system as all four full-season minor league teams took losses.

• The Padres could be looking to bolster their bullpen with a trade partner from within the division.

Baseball News:

• Aaron Judge hits walk-off home run to lead the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

• The Miami Marlins got a walk-off grand slam to beat the New York Mets, 4-0.

• Corbin Carroll hit two triples and helped the Arizona Diamondbacks get a 9-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.

• Former Dodgers player Chris Taylor retired, unretired and has now retired again.

• The Minnesota Twins completed a sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

• Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. exited the game early and the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1.

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It's another week, and it's time to look at home runs differently after a severe cold snap. I'm targeting the best bats in the best form all week, as trying to fade starters and bullpens has not been a winning strategy early in the season. It's time to get another perspective while also using Covers' MLB player prop projections.

The balls could be flying out of Sutter Health Park today, and the market hasn't caught up yet, while Yandy Diaz obliterated Kyle Bradish just five days ago and has a good chance to do it again today. 

These are my favorite MLB home run predictions for Monday, May 25. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Julio Rodriguez	+364
Yandy Diaz	+640

Home run pick: Julio Rodriguez (+364)

This one checks a lot of boxes and is a great way to start the week. Julio Rodríguez is in great form with the 18th-best slugging mark in baseball over the last week and the 15th-best BlastContact rate. He went deep yesterday at Kauffman Stadium and has multiple hits in three of his last four games.

He also gets the best hitting environment on the slate in Sacramento, with double-digit winds blowing out to center at 13 mph.

He’ll get a crack at Aaron Civale, who has allowed five home runs over his last two starts. J-Rod has also done damage against the Athletics starter in a solid sample, going 7-for-15 with a homer across 15 at-bats.

The +EV dinger carries a fair price around +300. It’s a great number for a late-night Memorial Day bomb.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSCA, Mariners.TV

Home run pick: Yandy Diaz (+640)

There is only one bat with a better slugging percentage over the last seven days than Yandy Diaz, who also ranks 22nd in BlastContact% over that stretch.

He looks fine after missing a game following a pitch off the hand last Thursday and delivered a two-hit day yesterday, including a double, vs. the Yankees. He has gone deep three times over his last seven games with four doubles and just two strikeouts against three walks.

There is a slight chance of rain in Baltimore, but conditions still feature 75-degree temperatures and light winds blowing out. A strong angle here is that Diaz just saw Kyle Bradish in his last start and tagged him for a home run and a double in three plate appearances. Both balls were crushed, with the homer leaving the bat at 111.3 mph and the double at 113.7 mph. That familiarity edge is firmly in Diaz’s favor today.

Diaz has also seen Bradish 22 times in his career and is hitting .455 off him overall. It’s one of the hottest bats in baseball in a matchup he has already handled well, at a strong price point.

• Time: 1:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, Rays.TV

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When the Mets’ 2026 season began, some fans were more confident than others in the potential of the roster that David Stearns built for the season. Among our contributors, though, nobody was predicting that the team would be this bad. The fact that it’s Memorial Day and we’re looking at trade chips is wild, but here we are.

On Friday morning, the Mets woke up in fourth place in the National League East, having won their series finale against the Nationals the day before while the Marlins lost to the Braves. With a three-game series in Miami starting that night, they had the opportunity to stay ahead of Miami with a series win. They were swept by the Marlins instead, returned to the cellar in the division, and they’re 22-31 and trailing Miami by two-and-a-half games.

It sure seems like the team should prioritize player development rather than pretend a comeback season is in the cards, and to their credit, the Mets have started calling up players from the minors to give them major league experience. It would be surprising to see them fully admit that they are sellers this early in the season, but with pitchers being their best trade chips and the tendency for pitchers to get hurt, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start making moves now rather than at the trade deadline.

The best trade chips

Freddy Peralta: The 29-year-old was one of the Mets’ biggest additions over the winter, and while he hasn’t replicated his sub-3.00 ERA from his career year in 2025, he’s been his usual self. That’s a pitcher who rarely goes much longer than five innings, carries an ERA somewhere in the mid-to-upper threes, and takes his turn in the rotation every time.

He isn’t an ace, as he ranks 34th among 71 qualified starting pitchers in ERA and 45th in FIP, but he’d be useful to a team that has a need in its rotation and a deep bullpen. You’d have to figure the Mets would get at least a decent return, especially if they were to trade him soon, in spite of the fact that Peralta will hit free agency after the season. It doesn’t hurt that he’s on an $8 million salary this year, either.

Brooks Raley: Since joining the Mets ahead of the 2023 season, the 37-year-old left-handed reliever has a 2.26 ERA that ranks fourth in baseball among relievers who’ve thrown at least 100 innings. Yes, he missed a huge chunk of the 2024 and 2025 seasons because of Tommy John surgery, but he looks even better right now than he did in his very good 2022 season with the Rays and in the 2023 season with the Mets.

Like Peralta, Raley is a rental who’s on an affordable contract, having signed a two-year, $6.25 million deal while he was in the midst of Tommy John recovery ahead of the 2025 season. His 1.35 ERA and 2.93 FIP in 20.0 innings this season should make him appealing to a contender.

Potentially appealing options

David Peterson: Mets fans might be over the David Peterson experience, but the lefty has started to turn things around after an abysmal start to his age-30 season. Since the first outing that saw him work with an opener ahead of him, he has a 4.08 ERA in 28.2 innings of work. That stretch included one traditional start that went terribly, but his most recent outing was a traditional start that went well. Nobody’s likely to treat him like the All-Star pitcher that he was last year thanks to a great first half, but with free agency looming at the end of this season, Peterson could be appealing to a contender, especially if he strings together a few more encouraging outings.

Luke Weaver: Signed to a two-year, $22 million deal ahead of this season, Weaver would be a bit of an unorthodox trade chip, but the 32-year-old is looking nearly identical to the very good reliever he was with the Yankees in 2024 and 2025. In The Bronx, he had a 3.21 ERA and a 3.58 FIP over the course of those two seasons, and he has a 3.22 ERA and a 3.40 FIP in 22.1 innings thus far with the Mets. Sure, trading him would weaken the Mets’ bullpen for 2027, but if another organization were willing to send the Mets a real prospect to get Weaver now, it shouldn’t be too challenging to find a similar reliever in free agency this winter.

Huascar Brazobán: A versatile reliever who’s been incredibly helpful to the Mets this season, the 36-year-old would be an intriguing trade chip. He’s under team control through the end of the 2029 season, and he’s having the best year of his career thus far by ERA and FIP. Late-breakout relievers are fun players to root for, and it would be a bit of a bummer to see him pitching elsewhere for the next few years, especially if he’s anywhere near as good as his current 1.73 ERA. But if the Mets decided this was a good time to sell high, it would be understandable.

Some long shots

The question here is really whether or not another team sees something in a player who’s objectively been bad that they think they can fix. Marcus Semien looks like he’s toast at the plate, but maybe the glove-first sales pitch that was given to Mets fans at the time the team traded Brandon Nimmo for him can work on another team—if the Mets eat all or the vast majority of the final three years of the seven-year, $175 million deal he signed with the Rangers.

Mark Vientos and Brett Baty are both in their age-26 season, and neither one has done anything to indicate they can replicate the lone two-win season each of them had in the past. Vientos was worth 2.9 fWAR in 2024 as he hit 27 home runs with a 132 wRC+ and had his best defensive season at third base. Since then, however, he has a 95 wRC+, and he’s been worth -0.3 fWAR so far this season thanks to his struggles both at the plate and in the field.

Baty’s success is more recent, as he was worth 2.3 fWAR last year, and he only made 432 plate appearances to get to that point. A small part of the reason for that playing time was the fact that he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse early in the season, but he was much better after that brief demotion. Still, he’s sporting a 92 wRC+ so far this year and has been worth just 0.2 fWAR.

These are shots in the dark at best, and if any of these three players can be traded, the Mets could benefit from clearing up some of an infield logjam that’s had square pegs for round holes for too long, a problem exacerbated by the deliberate decisions the front office made between the 2025 and 2026 seasons.