Rob Blake is taking on a new front-office role in the NHL, joining Chris MacFarland in Nashville as the Predators continue reshaping their leadership group.
The former Colorado Avalanche defenseman and longtime Los Angeles Kings executive has been named Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Nashville Predators, linking up with MacFarland shortly after his appointment as president and general manager. The move brings two familiar hockey minds together in a new market, rather than reuniting them within Colorado’s organization as some had speculated.
A Familiar Name In A Different Direction
Blake, a key member of Colorado’s 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team after arriving as a trade deadline addition, spent the final years of his playing career with the Avalanche through 2006. While Ray Bourque often drew the spotlight during that championship run, Blake provided steady, experienced defensive play that helped solidify Colorado’s push to another title.
Following his retirement, Blake moved into management and eventually became general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, a role he held from 2017 until 2025. His tenure ended after another first-round playoff exit, closing out an eight-year run at the helm of the franchise.
Rob Blake had talked to Chris MacFarland during the season about maybe joining him in Colorado next season. Instead, he joins him in Nashville. Excellent hire by the Preds who are on a roll. https://t.co/A5NjrYtOPJ
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, Blake had also explored the possibility of joining the Avalanche in a front-office capacity under MacFarland. Instead, the opportunity in Nashville ultimately became the landing spot, pairing him once again with a familiar executive partner in a different setting.
Nashville’s Reset, Colorado’s Next Chapter
Colorado’s front office has also undergone change, with Joe Sakic stepping into general manager duties “for the foreseeable future” following Chris MacFarland’s departure. Despite regular-season success that included a Presidents’ Trophy, the Avalanche are now in a recalibration phase after falling short of expectations in the postseason.
The idea of a reunion between Blake and Sakic briefly surfaced as a natural extension of their shared history in Colorado’s championship era, but those plans never materialized. Instead, Blake’s arrival in Nashville strengthens a Predators leadership group attempting to accelerate a return to contention.
For both organizations, the move represents a quiet but meaningful shift—one team leaning into continuity, the other betting on a newly formed executive partnership to change its trajectory in a competitive Western Conference.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 04: Carlos Rodon #55 of the New York Yankees in action against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium on June 04, 2026 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Guardians 2-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees eked out a win on Thursday to avoid being swept by the Guardians, largely on the back of an excellent start from Carlos Rodón. Rodón held Cleveland to a run on two hits and three walks against seven strikeouts in six innings. That makes it three straight starts by the veteran southpaw of at least five innings and just one run allowed, lowering his season ERA to 2.88 through five outings. There as a moment in the fourth inning that I felt showcased the Rodón of old, earning the nod for Sequence of the Week.
We join Rodón with no outs in the top of the fourth, facing Travis Bazzana. There are runners on first and second and no one out after José Ramírez led off with a single followed by a Rhys Hoskins walk. Bazzana was selected first overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, made his debut at the end of April, and has been one of the Guardians’ most productive hitters with a 128 wRC+ entering play, lauded for his bat-to-ball skills and all fields approach. Given the way the Yankees offense had been struggling in the wake of Aaron Judge’s broken rib, it became imperative that Rodón silence this threat.
Rodón starts Bazzana with an elevated 96 mph four-seamer.
This is exactly the type of fastball that Rodón was known for at the very peak of his powers — high velocity, late life, and pinpointed right to the top shelf of the strike zone. Bazzana has no shot at catching up with this heater and whiffs underneath it late.
Now that Bazzana has shown a willingness to swing at a fastball up and in, the logical follow-up pitch would be a slider down and away that starts down a similar tunnel before dropping off the table late.
Unfortunately, Rodón is a little too high with his release point. The slider therefore exits his hand looking like a ball well above the strike zone and never looks like a strike during its path toward home, making for an easy take from Bazzana.
Given how good the first pitch fastball must have felt coming out of Rodón’s hand, it is no surprise to see him return to the heat here to get back ahead in the count after the mis-executed slider.
He nails almost the exact same location as the first four-seamer he threw and the end result is effectively the same. Bazzana is late with his swing and underneath a pitch that just doesn’t drop as much as he is expecting thanks to its excellent life, fouling it back over the screen for strike two.
With the count to two strikes, Rodón instantly goes for the kill with his typical put-away pitch against lefties — the slider low and away. The question is whether he can make the mid-AB adjustment from the first one he threw.
The answer, as it turns out, was no. Rodón sails another slider, this one even worse than the first. It’s almost like the pitch slips out of his hand with how high it lands. This is about as non-competitive a 1-2 slider as you are going to see and about as automatic a take as Bazzana could hope for with the count leverage so overwhelmingly not in his favor.
Following two substantial misses with the slider this AB, I’ll admit I was surprised to see Rodón double up on the pitch in this spot.
That’s now three sliders and three pieces of poor execution. This pitch starts aimed at Bazzana’s front shoulder, the late glove-side movement and Bazzana’s evasive maneuvers combining to prevent this from being a hit-by-pitch.
Rodón has worked himself into a spot of bother with those two sliders, going from fully in the driver’s seat, 1-2, to being a ball away from walking the bases loaded with no outs. It becomes obvious from this point forward that all Bazzana is going to see is four-seamers, a fact of which I’m sure the hitter is fully aware. That being said, Bazzana has not shown in this encounter that he has the ability to put Rodón’s fastball in play, provided that Rodón keeps hitting his spot at the top of the zone.
That’s exactly what Rodón does, unleashing his third perfectly executed four-seamer of the AB. This pitch just nips the top of the zone, meaning Bazzana has to swing or risk being punched out looking. However, he has not made the adjustment to his swing path to be able to get on top of this pitch, and once again all he is able to do is fight it off foul despite knowing exactly what is coming.
With Bazzana’s eyes clearly set for the elevated four-seamer but with no other pitch he can reasonably throw in this spot, there is an opportunity for Rodón to exploit what Bazzana is hunting by climbing the ladder a little higher than the previous pitch, in effect throwing the pitch that the hitter wants him to but in a spot that is just out of reach.
Talk about a literal perfect pitch. Rodón elevates this four-seamer ever so slightly higher than the previous one, and this time Bazzana can’t fight it off to stay alive. This is such an enticing pitch given it is over the plate, and it’s close enough to the top shelf of the zone that Bazzana is forced to swing. But Rodón commands it inside enough such that the hitter is not given a chance to get extended, which would make it easier to foul off, and the heater handcuffs Bazzana as he whiffs underneath for a huge first out of the inning.
This snapshot is as good as I can remember Rodón’s four-seamer in pinstripes. Over the spring, he talked about how the bone spurs were preventing him from really letting lose and throwing the pitch with full conviction in 2025. The pitch currently sports its highest whiff rate (25%) during his time with the Yankees with a little extra velocity and almost an inch less drop than last year, taking the pitch from a 104 Stuff+ grade to 108.
This was also a bit of a “welcome to the big leagues” moment of sorts for Bazzana, who has been otherwise great thus far for the Guardians. Look at that tight grouping of heaters at top of strike zone. The final four-seamer for the strikeout was 97 mph with 18 inches of induced vertical break, both elite marks that the Cleveland rookie will have to get used to seeing in the majors. Bazzana has done most of his damage off the off-speed in his young career, so the attack plan of heaters up and me confirms that Rodón and J.C. Escarra read the scouting report.
Lastly, I liked seeing the mid-game adjustment when it became obvious Rodón had no feel for the slider. Most of his sliders including the three in this AB sailed high, which tells me that Rodón hasn’t quite found the release point that made the pitch so deadly last year. It looks to me that he’s not quite finishing the pitch all the way out in front, which should be something to monitor in his next start. All the same, this AB tells me that Rodón is pretty much all the way back from his injury and can even improve upon his stellar results from last year, which would make it four straight seasons of getting better than the year before.
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama wasn't sure what just happened. He was a jumble of emotions after Game 2.
He understands that is the issue.
"I'm still very blurry. That's the whole problem. I need to have more poise, more control over the game," Wembanyama said from the podium.
Wembanyama is learning that poise in these biggest of moments is earned, and the path to it can be a painful one to walk.
Wemby was born with incredible gifts — size, athleticism, touch — and has worked relentlessly to hone and master them. Wembanyama has challenged himself mentally and works as hard on his mind and that side of the game as he does on the physical side.
However, poise on the biggest stage in basketball is often earned through painful lessons. In that way, these NBA Finals for Victor Wembanyama follow in the footsteps of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and countless other legends of the game who struggled in their first playoffs and/or first NBA Finals. It's not a lesson that can be learned in a gym or sitting with Shaolin monks. It is unique to this stage.
Wembanyama rough 12 seconds
Through six quarters of these NBA Finals, Karl-Anthony Towns and a physical Knicks defense that bumped Wemby on every roll to the rim, bodied him up, threw different looks at him and generally just made him uncomfortable. Wemby was still putting up counting stats, but he wasn't putting his imprint on the game the way he did from the start against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals (a more familiar opponent).
ABC showing replays of Victor Wembanyama struggling against physicality in the 1st half pic.twitter.com/iQJHiw6eXA
That changed in the third quarter of Game 3, not coincidentally when Towns went to the bench with four fouls (a couple of them questionable, considering how the rest of the game was being called). Wemby found space to operate.
After taking four shots in the entire first half, Wembanyama took double that in the third quarter alone and four of them at the rim. He scored a dozen points in the frame, but could not totally close the gap against the Knicks as a New York lineup of Mikal Bridges and four bench players outplayed the Spurs and had New York up nine entering the fourth quarter.
That lead stretched out to 14 midway through the fourth quarter, when Wembanyama really took over and led a run — with Dylan Harper and De'Aaron Fox making plays, too — that tied the game, and the Spurs ultimately took a two-point lead with 57 seconds left on a Wembanyama and-1. Brunson tied the game with a jumper, setting up the final seconds.
San Antonio got the stop it needed thanks to a Wembanyama contest, then — as only he can do, he covers so much ground — Wemby recovered, grabbed the rebound and started up court. The other Spurs players on the floor quickly recognized that coach Mitch Johnson was not going to call a timeout (and let the Knicks sub offense for defense), and so they sprinted to their lanes while Fox hung back as the outlet for Wemby. Then Wemby threw a look-ahead pass to Stephon Castle, who had his back turned and never saw it. Brunson picked up the loose ball, and in rushing to try to grab the ball to make up for his mistake, Wembanyama bumped Brunson and fouled him.
Jalen Brunson misses the jumper over Victor Wembanyama, who passes to Stephon Castle, who isn't looking, and the ball bounces off his back to Brunson, and Wemby fouls him.
Brunson splits the clutch free throws and the Spurs call a timeout.
"Yeah, I threw that one away. I messed up," Wembanyama said, taking ownership of the moment.
The Spurs still had a chance. Brunson hit just one of two free throws, a bucket gets San Antonio the win. Mitch Johnson called for a Fox/Wembanyama pick-and-roll, Fox made a perfect pass when both defenders shifted to cut him off, and Wembanyama got as clean a look as could be hoped for in that moment, he just missed it off the back of the rim.
"Of course I liked the shot. I feel like in this moment you need to shoot to score," Wembanyama said. "In moments like this, it's like results matter more than process, if you know what I mean. We just need to score. I just need to score."
Hard lessons on biggest stage
Victor Wembanyama is walking a path many other legends of the game have walked before.
Kobe Bryant wanted to be the man in his first NBA playoffs, but he airballed a jumper in Game 5 of a second-round series against the Utah Jazz, sending the game to overtime, where the Lakers lost (and ultimately were eliminated). In Kobe's first trip to the NBA Finals in 2000, he averaged just 15.6 points per game on 36.7% shooting and 20% from 3 against Indiana (fortunately, he had peak Shaq on his team to utterly dominate and the Lakers got the ring).
In LeBron James first trip to the NBA Finals — where he lifted a Cavaliers team to a moment it was not fully ready for — he shot just 35.6% from the floor and 20% from beyond the arc as San Antonio swept Cleveland.
The list goes on and on, and it doesn't take reaching the NBA Finals to learn those lessons.
"I have been on the other side where you're a young team and you're trying to do a lot to win the game," Towns said, referencing his years in Minnesota, and showing empathy for Wemby and the Spurs, but also recognizing that his past pain fuels how he has played in these Finals. "I think that for us, we keep leaning on experience and we keep leaning on the word 'execution.'"
Wembanyama gets the big picture, too.
"We didn't play great as a team. We needed to win that game. This game was ours," Wembanyama said. "But at this point, it's done. Yes, am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely."
That's what should scare the rest of the league. Wembanyama — and Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle, and coach Mitch Johnson, and on down the line — are soaking up some painful, hard lessons in these Finals. Ones that will fuel them in the future. Ones that will make them better. It's all part of the process that so many legends had to go through before.
That doesn't make the present any less painful in San Antonio.
NEW YORK (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning has won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender.
The league announced the award Saturday. It is the second Vezina honor of Vasilevskiy’s career after he also won the award in the 2018-19 season.
The 31-year-old Russian was a runaway winner in voting by the league’s general managers. Vasilevskiy received 17 first-place votes among the 31 ballots cast.
Vasilevskiy led all goalies with 39 wins, going 39-15-14 to backstop Tampa Bay to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division and a ninth consecutive playoff appearance.
With a 2.31 goals-against average and .912 save percentage, he ranked second to Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood in those categories but started 15 more games, 58 to 43.
The New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin was second, Boston’s Jeremy Swayman was third, Washington’s Logan Thompson fourth, Wedgewood fifth, Philadelphia's Dan Vladar sixth, the New York Rangers' Igor Shesterkin seventh and Dallas' Jake Oettinger eighth.
He may not be a household name, but Michael Massey is torching baseballs right now.
He has three homers in his last six games and a 47.6% hard-hit rate during that span. The 21.2-degree average launch angle over the last week also stands out, and it's particularly important for this matchup.
Joe Ryan takes the hill for the Minnesota Twins, and he's allowed a 43.2% hard-hit rate across his last two outings. Additionally, 47.2% of the contact against him during that stretch has come through the air, with 17.6% of those fly balls leaving the yard.
With Massey consistently generating hard contact and lift, and Ryan struggling to keep the ball on the ground lately, this is an appealing spot for another long ball.
I'll play this pick up to +600.
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Royals.TV, Twins.TV
Home run pick: Isaac Paredes (+510)
Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes has an astounding .550 ISO over his last six games, and it's no surprise that he's also gone deep three times.
But it gets better.
He also owns a 62.5% hard-hit rate and 25% barrel rate over the last week, with an average launch angle just above 20 degrees.
The matchup tonight will see him face Athletics rookie Kade Morris, who is making his big-league debut. While there's limited data on Morris at this level, he did allow eight home runs across 11 Triple-A starts before his promotion.
That's far from ideal against a hitter swinging the bat as well as Paredes.
With the Astros third baseman consistently generating elite power numbers, this looks like another favorable spot for a long ball. I'll play this pick up to +450.
Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NBC Sports California, Space City Home Network
Painter has given up 1.86 home runs per nine innings across his last two appearances, while opponents have generated a 36.4% hard-hit rate against him. Additionally, 51% of the contact against Painter during that span has come through the air.
His 5.32 xFIP also suggests he's been vulnerable lately.
While Benintendi's fly-ball rate over the last week sits just below 40%, his recent power surge is difficult to ignore. If Painter continues allowing elevated contact, Benintendi has a strong opportunity to take advantage.
I'll play this pick up to +400.
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 9-60, -15.56 units
Today’s HR parlay
Michael Massey
Bet Now +24702
Isaac Paredes
Andrew Benintendi
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama walks off the court as time expires on Friday night in San Antonio.Photograph: Eric Gay/AP
San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama could barely remember the details of the late-game miscues that cost the Spurs in their agonizing 105-104 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the NBA finals on Friday.
The Spurs used a 14-0 scoring run to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and briefly took a one-point lead before it all fell apart.
Wembanyama keyed the comeback, but two crucial misses – including a potential game-game winner – and an inexplicable turnover with a pass into teammate Stephon Castle’s back doomed the Spurs’ rally bid.
“I’m still very blurry,” he said of the plays. “That’s the whole problem. I need to have more poise, more control over the game.”
The score was knotted at 104-104 with 9.5 seconds left when Wembanyama threw the pass that Castle never saw coming.
“I was looking at him when he first got the rebound,” he said. “I just started to take off to try to give him some space to dribble up the court. I didn’t see him throw it to me.”
“That’s the most frustrating thing, to throw it away after putting in all this work,” Wembanyama added. “Urgency at this point. It’s like body reacts quicker than mind.”
San Antonio still had a chance to win it, but Wembanyama’s final jump shot bounced off the rim.
He said he got the shot he was looking for on the inbounds play but couldn’t get it to drop.
“Of course I liked the shot,” he said. “I feel like in this moment you need to shoot to score.”
And Castle said there was no other player the Spurs would want to see taking that shot than Wemby.
“He’s made that shot a thousand times,” Castle said. “He has a game-winner with that shot this year.”
The Spurs now need an unprecedented comeback as the series shifts to New York for Games 3 and 4.
“We’re digging ourselves a hole. That’s been the theme so far,” Wembanyama said.
No NBA team has lost the first two games of the finals on their home floor and come back to lift the trophy.
“We needed to win that game,” Wembanyama said. “This game was ours. But at this point it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
“Yeah, I threw that one away. I messed up,” he added.
Gerry Meehan, one of the rare figures whose influence bridged the birth of a franchise and its rise into a contender, has died at 79, leaving behind a legacy that shaped the Buffalo Sabres from expansion curiosity to hockey institution.
Meehan’s connection to Buffalo began in 1970 when he was selected in the NHL expansion draft, joining a brand-new organization still searching for identity and direction. He immediately became one of the team’s most productive forwards, finishing third in both goals and points during the Sabres’ inaugural season and recording the first assist in franchise history, an early marker of his place in the team’s foundation.
We are sad to announce the passing of former Sabres captain and general manager Gerry Meehan.
The thoughts of the entire Sabres community are with his friends and family. 💙
As we remember Gerry and all he did for our organization, read more on his Sabres legacy →… pic.twitter.com/SmpW3aAMbE
By his second season, Meehan had already become a central voice in the locker room and was named captain, only the second in franchise history. He held that role through October 1974, guiding a young roster through growing pains and into its first postseason appearance in 1972-73. That year, he also delivered a career-best 31 goals, anchoring Buffalo’s early competitive breakthrough.
Over the course of a 10-year NHL career, Meehan played for Toronto, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Vancouver, Atlanta, and Washington. Though his journey took him across the league, his identity remained closely tied to Buffalo, where his playing days first took shape and where his most lasting contributions would eventually emerge.
Following his retirement, Meehan shifted into law, earning his degree from the University at Buffalo before rejoining the Sabres organization in a front office role under Scotty Bowman in 1984. That move marked the beginning of a second career that would prove even more impactful than his time on the ice.
Building A Powerhouse In Buffalo
Meehan rose to become Buffalo’s fourth general manager during the 1986-87 season, taking over a franchise ready to transition from promise to expectation. His tenure became defined by a series of bold, franchise-altering decisions that reshaped the Sabres’ competitive core and elevated them into one of the NHL’s most dangerous teams in the 1990s.
Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Gerry Meehan, a man whose impact on hockey extended far beyond the scoresheet.
On the ice, Gerry enjoyed a distinguished professional career in the National Hockey League, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers,… pic.twitter.com/84htBCGkEC
He was responsible for acquiring several cornerstone players, including Pat LaFontaine, Dale Hawerchuk, and Dominik Hasek, moves that fundamentally changed Buffalo’s trajectory. His pursuit of Alexander Mogilny also became one of the most significant international acquisitions in NHL history, as Meehan and Sabres staff navigated the complex and risky process of bringing the Soviet star to North America in 1989.
Meehan’s role in that operation extended beyond scouting and negotiation, involving direct coordination during Mogilny’s defection and transition to the NHL. That move helped open the door for other Soviet players to follow in subsequent years and marked a turning point in league history.
He also played a decisive role in one of the most consequential trades in Sabres history, insisting on retaining Mogilny during discussions with the New York Islanders and instead sending Pierre Turgeon the other way. That decision directly set the stage for the formation of one of the league’s most explosive offensive duos, as LaFontaine and Mogilny combined for historic production in the early 1990s, including a 1992-93 season in which LaFontaine posted 148 points and Mogilny scored 76 goals.
Perhaps his most defining move came in the acquisition of Dominik Hasek, then an overlooked backup goaltender in Chicago. Meehan’s conviction in Hasek’s potential proved transformative, as the netminder evolved into one of the most dominant goaltenders in NHL history, capturing six Vezina Trophies and two Hart Trophies during his time in Buffalo.
Meehan remained in the Sabres’ front office through the 1995-96 season before continuing his involvement with the organization through alumni events and community engagement. In recognition of his contributions, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
He is survived by his wife, Mirella; their children Dan, Adam, and Kate; and their grandchildren Christian, Alexander, Nathan, and Juniper.
The Los Angeles Angels, ranked fifth in the AL West with a 24-40 record, face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are first in the NL West with a 41-23 record. The Los Angeles Dodgers are favored with a -375 moneyline compared to the Los Angeles Angels' +290. Starting pitchers are Jack Kochanowicz for the Angels, with a 5.23 ERA, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers, with a 2.86 ERA.
How to watch Los Angeles Angels vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Date: Saturday, June 6
Time: 10:10 p.m. ET / 7:10 p.m. PT
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
TV Channels: SportsNet LA, ABTV, presented by Pechanga Resort Casino, KCOP 13
The Boston Red Sox, ranked fifth in the AL East with a 27-35 record, face the New York Yankees, who are second in the AL East with a 37-26 record. The New York Yankees are favored with a -120 moneyline compared to the Boston Red Sox's +110. Starting pitchers are Ranger Suarez for Boston, with a 3.38 ERA, and Will Warren for New York, with a 3.22 ERA.
Saturday, they recalled right-hander Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa.
To make room for Assad on the 26-man roster, right-hander Ethan Roberts was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
Assad has made eight appearances for the Cubs this year (three starts) with a 5.88 ERA and 1.269 WHIP. At Iowa, Assad has posted a 7.88 ERA in five starts. He was sent to Iowa to stretch out to start but threw just one inning and threw only six pitches in his last outing June 3. The short outing might have been to keep him available for this recall.
Roberts has a 1.96 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 14 relief appearances for the Cubs this year. He’s been fairly reliable, but the Cubs might be looking for someone who can go multiple innings, as Assad can.
BALTIMORE - OCTOBER 11: Al Holland of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during Game one of the 1983 World Series at Memorial Stadium on October 11, 1983 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images) | Focus on Sport via Getty Images
In honor of the Philadelphia Phillies playing host to the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, we here at The Good Phight are launching a yearlong series that focuses on the history of the Phillies and the All-Star Game.Check back regularly for posts about the Phillies participation (or lack thereof) in the Midsummer Classic over its history.
At last, we’ve reached the first period of real sustained success the Phillies have had in their history as we take a look back at all of their one-time All-Stars. The eighties started off pretty well with the team’s first championship and included another World Series appearance in 1983 after many disappointments at the end of the seventies. But by the latter half of the decade, the team once again slid into mediocrity and, eventually, back into the basement. That made it prime territory for one-and done All-Stars, and as such, this will be another two-part entry in this series. If you’d like to catch up with the rest of the series, you can with the following links: 1930s, 1940s part 1, 1940s part 2, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Al Holland, 1984
Holland was the forgotten relief ace of the forgotten 1983 pennant winning Phillies, but way before that he was the oldest of four boys born to Charles Holland and Sylvia Wade of Roanoke, Virginia. Al excelled in sports at Lucy Addison High School, a segregation-era school for African Americans. Holland was good enough to be able to play baseball and football at North Carolina A&T State University; a historically black university located in Greensboro.
His two-sport success peaked in 1972, when after leading the football team in rushing, Holland led the country with 143 strikeouts and pitched to a 0.54 ERA. His mind-blowing baseball season also included a no-hitter with 25 strikeouts and one ball being hit in fair territory. He would throw three more no hitters in his college career, one each season. Despite his athletic success, Holland planned to use his bachelor’s degree in Recreation to run youth recreation programs. He was drafted twice, once by the Rangers in the 30th round in 1974 and by the Padres in the fourth round in 1975, but Holland chose not to leave college either time. Because of this, he ended up being an undrafted free agent following his collegiate tenure and ultimately signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in June of 1975.
Holland excelled in his first full season of professional ball in 1976, posting a 2.96 ERA in 39 games with 4 starts in A-ball. He continued to impress in 1977, and by late September of that year, Holland earned a call to the Majors to make his MLB debut on September 5th against the Phillies. The 24-year-old lefty entered in the 7th inning of a 9-1 game his Pirates were on the wrong end of. Holland allowed a single to Gary Maddox to begin the inning before retiring Tim McCarver, Ted Sizemore, and Steve Carlton on a fly out and a pair of groundouts.
Despite making two MLB appearances to end 1977, Holland spent all of 1978 and the majority of 1979 in Triple-A Portland. That was until he was traded by the Pirates to the San Francisco Giants in late June 1979. Holland was sent to the Giants as part of a six-player deal that brought Bill Madlock to Pittsburgh. Holland made his Giants debut on September 9th and threw three scoreless innings in relief. He made two further MLB appearances that year that were also scoreless, bringing his shutout inning streak to seven.
Holland made the Giants roster to start 1980 and quickly showed why he belonged there. His first eight appearances were all scoreless, extending his shutout streak to 16.2 innings. Holland rose to be the top left-handed option for the Giants out of the bullpen and finished his first full season in the Majors with a 1.75 ERA in 82.1 IP across 54 appearances. He struggled to begin 1981 but righted the ship by June, just in time for the MLBPA strike that shut down the season until July. By late September, the Giants opted to give Holland a chance at starting, and he ran with it. Holland made three starts to close the 1981 season and went 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 21.2 IP.
The 29-year-old was a full-fledged member of the 1982 rotation, even being named the Opening Day starter. But Holland was back to the bullpen by June after missing almost all of May with a hamstring injury. He settled back into a reliever’s role, preferring the opportunity to pitch almost every day, once saying “If we play 162 games, I’d say I’d want to be in at least half of them.”
However, the Giants decided they had enough left-handed pitching in their bullpen that they could afford to trade one. Holland became the choice to be moved, and he was traded to the Phillies along with 39-year-old Joe Morgan in exchange for Mike Krukow, Mark Davis, and C.L. Penigar. The deal was the second the Phillies made in less than a week to try and remake their roster in order to have one last ride with their championship core, as they traded Manny Trillo for outfielder Von Hayes six days earlier.
Holland suffered an elbow injury in spring training and missed the first month of the 1983 season, but he returned in May and quickly rose to be a stalwart in the Phillies bullpen, throwing his power fastball almost exclusively in an era of relievers focused on deception. Holland pitched to a 2.26 ERA in 91.2 IP across 68 appearances and collected 25 saves while striking out 100 and walking only 30, earning the nickname “Mr. T” thanks to a pair of gold chains given to him by his wife. One of the games Holland finished on the mound just so happened to be Steve Carlton’s 300th career win on September 23rd in St. Louis. Another notable game was the 1983 NL Pennant clincher against the Dodgers when Holland struck out Bill Russell to send the Phillies to the World Series. Holland excelled in the 1983 postseason, throwing 6.2 scoreless innings across four appearances, but the Phillies ultimately lost the World Series to the Orioles in five games.
The 1984 season started off well for Holland, as he was sitting on a 2.80 ERA and 17 saves by the time of the All-Star break. That strong performance earned him a trip to the All-Star game, conveniently being held in his old stomping grounds of Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Unfortunately for Holland, he did not appear in the game that ended in a 3-1 NL win. Part of the reason may have been that Phillies manager Paul Owens was the manager for the NL squad and opted to use Goose Gossage as closer instead and save his own closer. However, Holland took offense at the slight, telling the Philadelphia Daily News “I’m very disappointed in not pitching. Back in San Francisco, my first All-star game…I really wanted to pitch.” Holland added that he was never told if or when he was going to pitch, despite Owens claiming that he would have used Holland if the game went into extra innings.
Nevertheless, Holland, much like the Phillies, tailed off in the second half of the season. Despite breaking his own franchise record for saves in a season with 29, Holland pitched to a 4.34 ERA across 37.1 innings while the team went 36-42 in the second half, ultimately finishing 81-81. He was particularly bad in August and September, with a 6.86 ERA in 19 games and allowing 28 hits and five home runs in 21 IP. 1985 started with discussions about Holland’s weight, with it later being revealed that there was a $10,000 bonus in his contract if he could stay under 210 pounds, and speculation about Holland’s future as he entered the final year of his deal. Team president Bill Giles downplayed trade rumors, but a trade did eventually come to fruition. The 32-year-old Holland and minor league pitcher Frankie Griffin were shipped to Pittsburgh in exchange for 38-year-old reliever Kent Tekulve on April 20th.
But Holland wasn’t in Pittsburgh for long, as he was traded once again later in the season to the California Angels before finishing the 1985 with a 2.90 ERA in 56 appearances. However, his free agency was compromised due to his involvement in the Pittsburgh Drug Trials that investigated cocaine use in baseball. Holland was one of the players suspended 60 games but avoided serving the time by agreeing to donate 5% of his salary to drug prevention programs and completing 50 hours of community service. He eventually signed with the Yankees and became a favorite of George Steinbrenner for his no-nonsense attitude, but Holland began the season in Triple-A and then saw his season mired by injury and ineffectiveness before being released in August. He re-signed with the Yankees for 1987 but made just three big league appearances before a suffering a major injury to his pitching arm on August 9th. That would prove to be his final game, as Holland never threw another professional pitch and to this day cannot straighten his left arm.
Glenn Wilson, 1985
Wilson was a first-round pick by the Detroit Tigers out of Sam Houston State University in the 1980 MLB amateur draft. As a 21-year-old in his final year in college, the 6’1, 195-pound Wilson played third base and hit a staggering .469 with 11 home runs in 46 games. Despite this and being the 18th overall pick, Wilson wasn’t viewed as the Tigers biggest prospect acquisition at the time. That title would go to Eduardo Cajuso, the first Cuban refugee to be signed by a Major League club after commissioner Bowie Kuhn lifted the ban on such signings.
Unlike Cajuso, who only played 23 career games, all of which at A-ball, Wilson quickly rose through the Tigers system and made his MLB debut on April 15th, 1982. Wilson, now playing right field, pinch-hit in the eighth inning of a 4-2 game with the Tigers leading. Wilson struck out looking against the Blue Jays’ Jerry Garvin, but that inauspicious first impression didn’t last too long. Wilson went on to hit .292 with a .778 OPS and 12 home runs across 84 games in his rookie season, winning the Tigers Rookie of the Year honors.
Wilson posted another steady season in 1983, hitting .268 with 11 home runs. Spring training 1984 started with swirling trade rumors for the Tigers, but a potential trade of John Wockenfuss to the Philadelphia Phillies for Gregg Gross fell through due to Gross exercising his 10 and 5 no-trade rights after neither team offered him financial incentives to waive them. Wilson meanwhile was the victim of a prank in the Tigers clubhouse on March 23rd when he arrived to see a shirt with the Tigers old English “D” on the front and “Trade Bait” written on the back. It turned out that prank was prophetic though, as Wilson was traded the next day to the Phillies along with Wockenfuss in exchange for reliever Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman. To clear room for Wilson, the Phillies traded 1983 NLCS MVP Gary Matthews to the Cubs in a trade that landed Philadelphia reliever Bill Campbell and catcher Mike Diaz. Team president Bill Giles put the reasoning bluntly by saying “We feel Glenn Wilson will be better than Gary Matthews, but that’s yet to be seen.”
That statement didn’t age too well at least in 1984, as Wilson had the worst year of his career to that point when he hit a pedestrian .240 with a career-low 6 home runs in 132 games. The Phillies reportedly tried to trade Wilson at the winter meetings in 1984 as part of a package to acquire Luis Salazar, Luis DeLeon, and shortstop prospect Ozzie Guillen from the San Diego Padres but the talks never advanced.
It turned out the Phillies were lucky that trade never materialized, as Wilson had one of the best years of his career in 1985. He was hitting .266 with 8 home runs and jockeying for the league lead in RBIs with 61 while leading all outfielders with 12 assists by the time of the All-Star break. Despite this, Wilson was originally not named to the NL All-Star team because the 37-49 Phillies already had their representative in catcher Ozzie Virgil. However, Wilson was eventually added to the roster as an injury replacement for the Dodgers’ Pedro Guerrero, sending him to the game to be played at the Metrodome in Minnesota.
Despite being one of the last men named to the squad, Wilson did actually appear in the game when he pinch hit for pitcher Jeff Reardon in the 9th inning with the bases loaded and the NL leading 4-1. The man Wilson would face was of course Willie Hernandez, the exact player he was traded for. Vin Scully, who was calling the game for NBC, realized the moment and remarked “Here’s the trade. Here you have it.” Wilson flailed at a screwball in the dirt for strike three.
Wilson continued to have solid offensive seasons in 1986, hitting a career best 15 home runs with a .275 AVG, and 1987 while continuing his exceptional defense, leading all NL outfielders in assists in both seasons. He made his pitching debut on August 5th, 1987, when he pitched a perfect ninth inning against the Mets in a 13-3 blowout loss. Wilson’s Phillies tenure ended on December 9th, 1987, when he was traded along with Dave Brundage to the Mariners in exchange for Phil Bradley and Tim Fortugno. He went on to play four more seasons in the Majors for the Mariners, Pirates, and Astros. Wilson was a free agent following the 1990 season but was not offered an MLB contract after a pedestrian season in Houston where he hit .245 with 10 home runs in 118 games as a 31-year-old. He played in Triple-A for the Braves organization in 1991 before retiring. But the Pirates brought him out of retirement in 1993 for his second stint with the team, signing the 34-year-old Wilson to a minor league deal in January. He appeared in just 10 MLB games that season and hit .143 before retiring again for good.
Shane Rawley, 1986
An impressive year at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa was enough for Shane Rawley to get on the radar of MLB teams. It was there as an 18-year-old that Rawley went 7-2 on the mound and racked up 63 strikeouts. The Dodgers first selected the Racine, Wisconsin native in the fourth round of the January draft in 1974 but he did not sign, rather waiting until he was selected by the Montreal Expos in the second round in the June draft. It’s likely a no hitter he threw in between the selections on May 27th helped bump up his draft positioning.
Rawley pitched well in rookie ball for the Expos and quickly earned a promotion to Class-A Kinston where he struggled as a still 18-year-old pitcher. 1975 was kinder to Rawley, as he finished the year good enough to earn a promotion to Double-A for 1976 where he went 11-7 with a 2.69 ERA in 25 starts. Despite the 20-year-old lefty progressing well, the Expos elected to trade him along with Angel Torres to the Reds in exchange for 24-year-old MLB hurler Santo Alcala on May 27th, 1977. Alcala would appear in only 31 games with the Reds with a 4.69 ERA and never appeared in the Majors again after 1977. Rawley meanwhile was traded again following the 1977 season, this time being shipped to the Mariners in a deal for outfielder Dave Collins. The then farm director for Seattle, Mel Diddier, was who originally signed Rawley to the Expos in 1974. Rawley welcomed the move, later saying to his hometown newspaper that he “didn’t like Cincinatti too well” and that they “didn’t treat their minor league players with any respect.”
Rawley made the MLB roster for the Mariners to begin 1978 and made his debut in the second game of the season on April 6th. The youngest player on the Mariners at just 22-years-old, Rawley entered his first game in the second inning with the Mariners down 4-0. He got future Hall of Famer Rod Carew to ground out to end a scoring threat and then continued to throw four scoreless innings in relief with three hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. Rawley’s efforts allowed the Mariners to rally back to within one run but were ultimately doomed by baserunning mistakes in a 5-4 loss. Rawley though went on to appear in 52 games his rookie year with two starts and logged a 4.12 ERA in 111.1 innings pitched.
1979 started off well for Rawley, as by the end of June he was emerging as an ace in the Mariners’ bullpen. But that all changed after collecting his tenth save the night of June 29th, as he and teammates Rick Honeycutt and Mike Parrott got involved in a bar fight in Caledonia, Milwaukee after the game. Rawley ended up suffering a fracture in his left pitching hand after trying to break up the altercation, forcing him to undergo immediate surgery and keeping him out of MLB action until August 21st. Rawley finished the year with a 3.84 ERA and 11 saves in 84.1 IP across 48 appearances.
Rawley had his best year to date in 1980, totaling a 3.31 ERA in 113.2 IP with 13 saves. But the Mariners finished with the worst record in baseball, and he saw his name dangled in trades talks all winter as the team was in the process of being sold to new ownership. Rawley wasn’t traded that winter of 1981, but he did suffer a broken foot playing in a basketball game in January that required surgery and for the foot to be in a cast for six weeks. He only missed about two weeks of the regular season, but Rawley struggled to get going when he did come back. He had a 4.41 ERA in 32.2 IP by the time the 1981 player’s strike halted the season. Rawley pitched better when the season resumed and finished the year with a 3.95 ERA.
The next winter brought more trade rumors but this time, they came to fruition, albeit in spring. Rawley was traded on April 1st to the Yankees in exchange for three players and cash. The 26-year-old didn’t really lament the trade, telling the media that “it really gets old, losing” and that he didn’t believe Mariners new owner George Argyros “cared about the players as people,” adding that Argyros “doesn’t know the game as well as he thinks he does.”
Unfortunately for Rawley, more losing was in his future, as the Yankees finished 1982 in fifth place at 79-83, just three wins better than his old team in Seattle. 1983 was better for the Yankees and Rawley, as he was moved into the rotation and pitched a career-high 238.1 innings with 13 complete games while sporting a 3.78 ERA. One of those came on June 24th where Rawley went 5.1 innings and allowed 3 runs on 10 hits. That game is notable because it was the infamous “pine tar game” where George Brett’s g0-ahead two-run homer was disallowed due to “excessive” pine tar on his bat, giving the Yankees a 4-3 win. American League president Lee MacPhail later ruled that the game had to be resumed on August 18th with Brett’s home run counting, leading to the real final score to be a 5-4 Royals win.
Rawley started the 1984 season in the rotation again but this time it didn’t go as well as before. He dealt with injuries and had a 6.21 ERA across 10 starts by June 30th. That’s when he was then traded to the Phillies in exchange for Marty Bystrom and Keith Hughes. The 28-year-old turned his season around in Philadelphia, making 18 starts and going 10-6 with a 3.81 ERA, but the Phillies could not keep up a strong first half and finished 81-81. The lefty was even better in his first full season in Philadelphia in 1985 when he went 13-8 with a 3.31 ERA and threw 198.2 innings, proving to have been a shrewd trade for the Phillies at a time when such moves were almost non-existent.
Rawley appeared to be growing into the ace the Phillies desperately needed to start 1986, as he was 11-5 with a 2.96 ERA across 146.1 IP by the time of the All-Star break. The young lefty couldn’t shake the constant comparisons to another famous lefty who was recently the ace of the Phillies staff. “You can’t replace a Steve Carlton,” Rawley told the Daily News, adding “The very idea of that is ridiculous.” What wasn’t ridiculous was that Rawley was named an All-Star for the game to be played at the Houston Astrodome. However, unlike his teammate Mike Schmidt who started at third base, Rawley did not appear in the game that was a 3-2 AL win. Dwight Gooden started for the NL and was relieved by Fernando Valenzuela, Mike Scott, Sid Fernandez, and Mike Krukow.
The good times soon ended for the Phillies’ new ace, as he struggled mightily to begin the second half, allowing 12 runs in just 8.2 total innings in his first two starts after the All-Star break. Then he suffered a strained muscle in the upper part of his back that sent pain down his pitching shoulder and forced him to leave his third start on July 29th in the fourth inning. The injury was severe enough that Rawley missed the rest of the season as injuries dampened the Phillies chances of winning the division.
Rawley took a step backwards in 1987, going 17-11 but with a 4.39 ERA in 229.2 IP. He logged another ERA over 4 in 1988, but this time had a losing record of 8-16 and allowed a career-worst 250 hits as the Phillies’ rotation finished as the worst in the league. Rawley also got into a physical altercation with teammate Juan Samuel during a game on September 25th. Samuel had reportedly gone to the mound after a walk and suggested to Rawley, who was never shy about airing his grievances about his teammate’s play, to start throwing strikes. Rawley reportedly answered that Samuel was welcome to do the pitching if he liked. The second baseman didn’t like that and slugged his pitcher in the dugout tunnel before the fight was broken up by John Vukovich.
Rawley’s Phillies tenure ended on October 24th when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for second baseman Tommy Herr. Rawley made sure to get a parting shot in on Samuel in his reaction to the trade though, telling the Daily News “They got Tommy Herr and that frees up Juan Samuel to go play the outfield. That makes the pitching better, because I just don’t think Juan Samuel can play second base at the major league level.”
It turns out, Rawley couldn’t pitch at the major league level much longer either, as he lasted only one season with the Twins and went 5-12 with a 5.21 ERA. The 33-year-old was a free agent following the disappointing season and signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox on January 10th, 1990. But he did not make it through spring training with Boston, as they elected to release him during cut downs on April 2nd, effectively ending his career.
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 5: Mauricio Dubón #14 of the Atlanta Braves flips his bat after hitting a home run in the third inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park on June 5, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Folks, I’m afraid that we’re going to have to talk about Mauricio Dubón once again. Well, I’m not so much “afraid” of it as I am happy to do so, since this has been one heck of a week at the plate for ol’ Dubie. Dubón hit another big homer during Friday’s 6-3 win for the Atlanta Braves over the Pittsburgh Pirates and he’s now hit a homer in three straight games — a new personal best mark for Dubón in terms of homer streaks.
Earlier this week when he spoke to the media, Dubón stated that he was a “confident” guy and that he was relishing the opportunity to get the chance to show what he can do with the bat in big-time situations. This was yet another case of Dubón coming through in the big moments as both of hits came with two strikes on the board this time. I asked Dubón about where his confidence level is at right now and whether or not it’s spiking at the moment or if this is just how he normally operates.
“I’m very cocky,” said Dubón. “I know I can do it. I know I can go out there and […] let my game speak for itself. I’ve always got the chip on my shoulder so I know I can go out there and perform.”
He’s definitely been performing as of late, as he’s upped his slash line to .259/.315/.418 with a wOBA of .324 and a wRC+ of 105. For Dubón, his current wOBA and wRC+ would both be career-high numbers for him and while he did also acknowledge the ebbs and flows of a season, he seems determined to make sure that he’s making the best of this opportunity that he’s got so far.
Dubón also credited manager Walt Weiss for giving him the opportunities in the first place and Weiss was more-than-happy to deflect that praise onto his capable utilityman. “With all of the big hits he’s had, it’s pretty easy to write his name in the lineup,” explained Weiss when he was asked about Dubón’s performance so far. “It’s easy for me to write Dubón’s name in the lineup because of what he’s been doing all year. He seems to be in the middle of a lot of really good things this year.”
“He’s a treat to be around,” continued Weiss when he was asked further questions about Dubón. “It’s good energy every day. He loves playing baseball and I know that sounds weird but he truly does. You never see him without a smile on his face. Even on the days when he’s not playing, he’s a pro and he’s already ready. When he’s not in the starting lineup, he’s ready to pinch-hit or go in the game. He doesn’t even have to get any warning.”
“He’s a really good player and I think the Atlanta fans are seeing what this guy really is,” exclaimed Weiss. “Maybe he hasn’t had so many opportunities along the way but you put this guy out there and he helps you win games.”
Dubón as certainly helped the Braves a ton this season and we’re only seeing it start to ramp up with his performances this week. We’ve already talked about the versatility that he brings to the table and his sky-high confidence and now we’re starting to see him really put it all together in order to hit a level that we haven’t seen from him in other destinations. We’ll see if Dubón can continue to keep things going in the right direction as he continues to get the job done for the Braves here in 2026.
Things did not go well for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night, dropping Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Finals series to the Toronto Marlies by a 5-1 margin. It was close game into the third period before the Marlies erupted late in the game to take over.
It sends the series back to Northeast Pennsylvania on Sunday night for Game 6 with the Penguins facing elimination in a 3-2 series hole.
The series is by no means over, but it is going to take back-to-back wins to get through to the Calder Cup Finals.
Whether they pull that off or not there have been some big developments for the Penguins prospect pool during this playoff run.
First, there’s been the play of the young forwards that are in that “NHL Tweener” category in Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty. While they have yet to establish themselves as NHL regulars, they have been excellent AHL producers and have continued that through the playoffs. Both players have matching stat lines of four goals, five assists and nine total points in 14 games, while McGroarty just scored a huge game-winning goal late in Game 4 of the series, forcing a turnover and then finishing the play with a slick goal.
They still need to translate that over to the NHL, but seeing them perform in bigger games and bigger moments is an encouraging development.
Defenseman Harrison Brunicke has also been, by all accounts, an absolute force on the blue line and at 19 years old, with only 32 games of pro hockey experience (AHL and NHL combined) entering this playoff run, has become the team’s unquestioned, without-a-doubt, No. 1 defenseman.
“Since I saw him in Buffalo two years ago (at the 2024 prospect tournament) until now …” MacDonald started, shaking his head. “He’s been doing a great job. The physical tools have always been there. But now he’s recognizing when to go (jump into the play), and when not to go. He is realizing he doesn’t have to do everything for everyone on the ice. You can see it.”
And also:
“Everyone talks about his skating ability,” MacDonald said. “And how he can move pucks. But did you see how many shots he blocked (in Game 4)? That, to me, is what separates him. The way he competes in the D-zone. He makes great players offensively for us at this level. But he’s great on the penalty kill. He’s great down low. Great stuff.”
Given the Penguins lack of elite prospect depth on defense, and given the ages of their current right-shot defenseman, the development of Brunicke might be one of the most important elements of their prospect pool at the moment. Especially given his age, talent and upside. Stepping right into an AHL role at 19, with little pro experience, and taking over games as your team’s “go-to” defenseman is a massive development.
Hopefully a big confidence boost as well.
Then there is starting goalie Sergei Murashov.
While he has had a couple of shaky moments over the past few games, he has been a big part of getting the Penguins to this point of the playoffs and is still owning a .930 save percentage through 14 playoff games.
His AHL numbers continue to pop off the page, and he is still making highlight reel saves (and a lot of them) on most nights.
There have also been some new faces making immediate impacts at forward.
Mikhail Ilyin, the Penguins’ fifth-round draft pick in 2023, came over from Russia late in the regular season, and after appearing in just two regular season games the 20-year-old forward has wasted no time making an impact in the AHL. He is up to nine points in 14 games this postseason after scoring his second goal of the playoffs on Friday night.
The player that might be one of the most positive developments, however, is 2025 first-round pick Bill Zonnon.
After showing up at the start of the playoff run, having already studied and learned the Penguins system before he even arrived and sat down with the coaches, Zonnon simply started producing right from the word go and is up to seven points in 10 games. From the moment he was drafted there was a belief that he might have been the most NHL-ready and most sure-thing (as if such a thing exists in the NHL Draft) of the Penguins’ three first-round picks. Maybe not an overly high-ceiling player, but at least somebody that could be a very good middle-six forward in the NHL.
He has done nothing to dispute those claims, and might even be raising expectations a bit.
He is only 18 years old, had no pro hockey experience prior to a month-and-a-half ago, and has not only held his own in the AHL playoffs, he has been one of their most productive players since arriving.
The Penguins farm system is still lacking that one “dude” at the top that has franchise-changing ability. Maybe Murashov can be that due to his position and ability. Maybe. Projecting goalies is like projecting Southwestern Pennsylvania weather. Who really knows? Even so, there is legitimate depth and a nice list of potential NHL players that could be productive players as early as next season. They are taking big steps toward that this postseason in the American Hockey League. It is encouraging to see.
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela has homered in back-to-back starts, and his hitting profile suggests he’ll continue his hot play at the plate against Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, making his hits prop an attractive play at -130.
Read on for my Blue Jays vs. Orioles predictions and MLB picks for Saturday, June 6.
Orioles vs Blue Jays predictions
Orioles vs Blue Jays best bet: Brandon Valenzuela Over 0.5 hits (-130)
Brandon Valenzuela is hitting the ball well over his last nine games, sporting an .870 OPS in that stretch, including back-to-back games with a home run.
The rookie slugger profiles extremely well against Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, who primarily throws a sinker/slider combination.
The rookie catcher owns a .400 batting average and .920 slugging percentage against those pitches, while generating hard contact at a 61.1% clip.
Additionally, Valenzuela has cashed this prop in 11 of his last 15 games.
Despite his recent surge, the books are still mispricing him by having him priced at -130, which is well below every other Toronto Blue Jays hitter on the market today.
I’d play Valenzuela’s Over 0.5 hits up to -145.
COVERS INTEL: Bradish’s 3.44 ERA suggests regression as his 4.04 xERA ranks in the 51st percentile, while sitting in the 13th percentile in barrel rate.
Orioles vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)
I’ll continue to bet on the Blue Jays' bats today and wager on both George Springer and Nathan Lukes getting a hit.
Springer has dominated Bradish in his career with a 1.263 OPS with six extra-base hits in 19-career at bats.
He’s also starting to heat up at the plate with nine hits in his last eight games.
As for Lukes, he’s eclipsed his hits total in nine of his last 10 outings, sporting a 191 WRC+ in that stretch, while also owning a .333 batting average against sinker/sliders.
Orioles vs Blue Jays SGP
Brandon Valenzuela O 0.5 hits
George Springer Over 1.5 total bases
Nathan Lukes Over 0.5 hits
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Orioles vs Blue Jays home run pick: Brandon Valenzuela (+700)
Bradish has allowed just two homers in his last five outings, so we’ll make this just a half-unit wager.
However, the Blue Jays hitter with the best power profile against Bradish is once again Valenzuela, who has gone yard in back-to-back games.
He's been swinging a hot power bat recently, and since May 1, the slugging catcher owns a .400 average and a 1.067 slug-rate against Bradish’s two most commonly thrown pitches.
Valenzuela also owns a 60% hard hit rate against them, which ranks 2nd on the Jays behind Yohendrick Pinango.
2026 Transparency record
Best bets: 30-32, +2.85 units
SGPs: 13-49, +10.35 units
HR picks: 9-53, -0.80 units
Orioles vs Blue Jays odds
Moneyline: Baltimore -105 | Toronto -105
Run line: Baltimore -1.5 (+153) | Toronto +1.5 (-175)
Over/Under: Over 8 (-115) | Under 8 (-105)
Orioles vs Blue Jays trend
The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the Game Total Over in 6 of their last 7 games (+4.90 Units / 65% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Orioles vs. Blue Jays.
How to watch Orioles vs Blue Jays and game info
Location
Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
Date
Saturday, 6-6-2026
First pitch
3:07 p.m. ET
TV
MASN, SN
Orioles starting pitcher
Kyle Bradish (3-6, 3.44 ERA)
Blue Jays starting pitcher
Bryadon Fisher (2-1, 2.62 ERA)
Orioles vs Blue Jays latest injuries
Orioles vs Blue Jays weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
KANSAS CITY, MO - MAY 20: Kansas City Royals catcher Elias Diaz (43) gestures as he runs the bass after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning during a MLB game between the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals on May 20, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
MLB Rumors: The Texas Rangers are signing free agent catcher Elias Diaz, per multiple reports.
Diaz, 35, has been with the Kansas City Royals this season before being released earlier this week. He has spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. In 2025 he was with the San Diego Padres, slashing .204/.270/.337 in 283 plate appearances over 106 games.
The Rangers have an open 40 man roster spot due to Sam Haggerty being designated for assignment yesterday. The speculation is that Danny Jansen could be headed to the injured list. The Rangers don’t have another catcher on their 40 man roster aside from Jansen and Kyle Higashioka, and none of their AAA catchers are guys you’d feel comfortable using in a regular backup catcher role in the big leagues.
After starting the year in AAA, Diaz had slashed .227/.261/.591 in 23 plate appearances over 10 games for the Royals after being added to their major league roster. Diaz came up to be the Royals’ third catcher due to concerns about Salvador Perez’s health, but was dropped in favor of Tyler Tolbert last in late May.
Michael Massey
Isaac Paredes
Andrew Benintendi 
COVERS INTEL: Bradish’s 3.44 ERA suggests regression as his 