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The last week has been a difficult one for the San Diego Padres. Perhaps the first such week since Opening Week. The Friars dropped five of their last eight contests, but they managed to stave off a sweep with yesterday’s win over the Chicago White Sox.

It was exactly what San Diego needed. Newcomer Griffin Canning impressed in his 2026 debut, pitching five innings of one-run ball. He made only one mistake, giving up a home run to Drew Romo in the third inning. But Canning did exactly what the Friars needed him to, striking out seven and keeping San Diego in the game.

The offense came to life (somewhat) with a three-run fourth inning before Chicago tied the game with a two-run shot against Adrian Morejon. The lefty struck out the side in the sixth inning but struggled to open the seventh before recording three outs.

From there Jason Adam pitched the eighth, setting up a go-ahead swinging bunt from Xander Bogaerts. It was the only run the Padres would need as Mason Miller slammed the door with three strikeouts in the ninth.

San Diego now turns to San Francisco to face the division-rival Giants for the first series of their road trip. But, in order to do that, the Friars’ offense will need to wake up just a little bit more.

Taking the mound

Trevor McDonald (SF) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

McDonald is making his 2026 debut for the Giants. The No. 16 prospect in San Francisco’s system hasn’t been particularly solid. He was just optioned back to Triple-A on Friday but was called back up to start today’s game.

How deep McDonald can go (or will be allowed to go) is the bigger question. He was in the Giants’ bullpen as the 27th man but was never called upon. It remains to be seen what San Francisco expects from the career 3.88 ERA (minor leagues) starter.

Vásquez, on the other hand, has been phenomenal for the Friars. He was supposed to start Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox but was swapped in favor of Canning in order to give him his debut start in the more friendly confines of Petco Park.

The righty owns a 2.94 ERA with 34 strikeouts across 33 2/3 innings. It’s Vásquez’s first time ever facing the Giants after not starting against them in last month’s series. San Diego is betting that San Francisco will be hard pressed to figure out Vásquez (like most other clubs this season).

Batter up!

With the righty McDonald on the mound, the Padres’ lineup feels pretty well-set. But Miguel Andujar has been raking lately.

Despite being signed to help solve the Friars’ problems against left-handed pitching, he has produced better against righties, putting up a .364/.386/.527 slash line compared to a .208/.269/.417 mark. That, as well as his two homers across the last seven games, could propel him into tonight’s lineup.

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Gavin Sheets, 1B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

Tatis got an off day in yesterday’s finale which means he’ll be back for tonight’s series opener. In spite of the fact he’s still without a home run in 2026, Tatis has had a hot bat lately with a .296 batting average in his last seven games. And — seriously — he’s got to get one soon… right?

Relief corps

The Padres used their three high-leverage pitchers to secure Sunday’s win. Adam, Morejon and Miller covered four innings, meaning they’re likely out for the series opener. That being said, don’t count Miller out if the Friars have a narrow lead in the ninth.

But that leaves Jeremiah Estrada, Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez. Hart has been the least used in recent memory, so he’ll likely be the first one out of the ‘pen first after Vásquez exits.

The San Diego bullpen has been off lately, moving from third place to 13th in ERA across MLB with a 4.00 mark. They’ll need to turn that around soon if they hope to regain their status as an elite group.

With the Mets set to begin another three-game series with the Rockies in Colorado on Monday, looking for revenge after they were swept by them at Citi Field at the end of April, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to the media before the series opener and gave updates on a couple of injured players, plus shared some words about the passing of long-time Yankees broadcaster John Sterling.

Mets on the mend

New York is getting some reinforcements to the big league club soon with reliever A.J. Minter and infielder Jorge Polanco progressing with their injuries.

Closer to a return is Minter who pitched a scoreless inning for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. The plan now is for the left-hander to pitch in back-to-back games for the first time during his rehab starting on Wednesday, per Mendoza. If he feels good, Minter will be back on the mound on Thursday to check off the final stage of his recovery process.

"Right now he’s gonna pitch again on Wednesday," Mendoza said. "So Wednesday and hopefully he goes back-to-back – maybe shorter, maybe a hitter or two the following day, but just trying to get him in the back-to-back, the routine, getting in the bullpen, warmup, and then getting in the game."

If all goes well for Minter, who has been on the IL since April of last season recovering from a lat strain that required surgery, he should be activated at some point during the weekend, although Mendoza couldn't commit to a specific day.

"If he goes back-to-back he’ll probably need a couple of days so we’ll see," the skipper said.

In other bullpen news, RHP Carl Edwards Jr., who was designated for assignment on April 30, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse. Although, similar to Tommy Pham last month, the veteran elected free agency instead of accepting the assignment. 

As for Polanco, the veteran was back doing baseball activity on Monday and is ramping back up after dealing with a right wrist contusion alongside ongoing bursitis in his left Achilles that has had him sidelined since April 15.

"He ran, he’s gonna take BP, he’s gonna do defense and we’ll see how he responds after another heavy day today, tomorrow and see what happens," Mendoza said.

Before landing on the IL, Polanco was hitting .179 with a home run and two RBI after signing a two-year, $40 million contract to be the Mets' first baseman. Due to the nagging bursitis in his Achilles, though, Polanco had been DHing most of the time before going on the IL. 

It remains to be seen how New York will use Polanco once he returns with Mark Vientos assuming the everyday first baseman position in Polanco's absence. 

Mendoza remembers John Sterling

With the news of Sterling's death on Monday, Mendoza, who was a coach for the Yankees from 2018 to 2023 before he was hired by the Mets, offered his condolences to Sterling's family and friends and remembered his time with the iconic broadcaster.

"I want to start by sending our thoughts and prayers to John Sterling’s family and friends. Obviously we lost a big one today," he said. "We are all in this baseball community and he was a part of what we do on a daily basis on and off the field."

Asked how well he got to know Sterling during his time in the Bronx, Mendoza said "very well".

"I still remember getting texts from him as recently as a few months ago," he said. "When I got the job here, he was one of the first phone calls that I received. I created a very good relationship with him and he will be missed."

The Cincinnati Reds made official the return of righty Chase Petty on Monday. The 23 year old starter was recalled from AAA Louisville to start against the Chicago Cubs in the series opener between the National League Central rivals, taking the place in the rotation of the injured Brandon Williamson (who hit the injured list late last week with shoulder fatigue).

Zach Maxwell, who’s been well-travelled between the Reds roster and Louisville’s, was optioned to make way for Petty’s return. The Reds announced the move earlier on Monday.

The Reds are in Chicago on the back-half of a road trip that could not have gotten off to a worse start. They were absolutely drubbed in the first two games they played in PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates only for them to blow a Chase Burns gem in the series finale on Monday. As a result, they’ve slipped into a tie for 2nd in the Central with the Cubs two games ahead, and the Reds dismal -22 run differential is by far and away the worst in the division, to date.

In fact, it’s the same as the 14-21 Colorado Rockies and worse than the 13-21 Boston Red Sox, who sit dead last in the AL East. In other words, Cincinnati’s brilliance (luck?) in 1-run games, Sunday aside, is beginning to be a band-aid over cracks that are clearly showing in each of the offense, starting rotation, and bullpen.

For now, they’ll hope Petty can make the leap in this, his second year in which he’s logged big league innings. So far, he’s pitched to a 4.38 ERA at AAA at age 23, a mark that’s included a couple bad blips and some bouts of brilliance. He also pitched quite well in the spring, including in the Spring Breakout game, and hopefully that’s more who he is than the 22 year old kid who was shelled for 13 ER in just 6.0 IP in a trio of appearances with the Reds last season.

First pitch on Monday was moved up half an hour due to weather in the Chicago area, and is set for 6:10 PM CT (7:10 PM ET).

Here’s how the Reds will line up for the opener:

Winners of five of their last seven games, the Brewers travel to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals for the first time since last fall. After splitting the 12-game season series a year ago, right-handed pitcher Chad Patrick will take the mound at the start of a three-game series.

Much like last season, Patrick has been used in various situations this season, but tonight he will make his fifth start of the year. Last season, Patrick faced the Cardinals on two separate occasions, each lasting 4 1/3 innings, with similar line scores. This season, Patrick has a 2.57 ERA through six games, striking out 16 hitters and walking 13.

Pitching for St. Louis, making his seventh start of the season, is right-hander Kyle Leahy. It’s been a bit of a rough start out of the gate this season, allowing at least two runs in each appearance, but at least three runs in his last three outings. With that, Leahy enters today with a 3-3 record, 5.52 ERA through 29 1/3 innings pitched.

The last 24 hours have been a rollercoaster of speculation, as yesterday afternoon, Brewers No. 4 prospect Cooper Pratt was a late scratch in Triple-A Nashville’s Sunday afternoon contest. However, those wishing for a glimpse at the future will have to wait a little while longer, as Pratt was not included in today’s transactions.

On the other hand, the Brewers add two big pieces back to their lineup, as Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn were both reinstated from the 10-day IL. With these moves, outfielder Blake Perkins will be optioned to Nashville, and outfielder Greg Jones will be designated for assignment.

Vaughn last appeared on opening day against the Chicago White Sox, where he drove in a run on one hit. before hitting the IL. Chourio had a fantastic spring where he went 8-for-30, tallying a double, a home run, and driving in three. In the World Baseball Classic, Chourio played five games for Venezuela, where he had only three hits in 15 at-bats. After a scary moment in his final rehab game, both he and Vaughn have the green light in St. Louis.

Perkins has been a mainstay on the bench over the last couple of seasons, providing consistency throughout his four-year career in Milwaukee. However, he has been hard to plug into the lineup with how his play has been, as he’s batting .109 on the season with five RBIs, one stolen base, and no home runs. Over the last seven games, he has just one hit, and going back to the beginning of the year, he has accumulated just five hits overall.

For Jones, he was called up in mid-April and never found his footing. In his 21 at-bats with the Brewers, he recorded just two hits, driving in one run. It’ll be interesting to see if Jones is able to clear through waivers and if we’ll see him again at some point this season.

As you see below, the Brewers lineup already looks much improved as Chourio will bat second in tonight’s opener, while Vaughn serves as tonight’s designated hitter, batting sixth.

Like most nights, you’ll be able to watch today’s game on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio network. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m.

The Yankees finally made a decision on Anthony Volpe on Sunday night, optioning the shortstop to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after his rehab assignment came to an end. 

On Monday, manager Aaron Boone spoke about the decision, saying he spoke to Volpe before the announcement was made.

“We want him to have the best chance to be successful, and we have to acknowledge, first how well (Jose Caballero) has played,” Boone said. “He’s been a key factor in us getting off to a really good start this year on both sides of the ball, on the basepaths. So, it’s really as simple as that. It doesn’t change how we feel about Anthony or the kind of player we think he is and will be. But in this moment of time, we felt like this was absolutely the right thing to do, and a lot of that has to do with…. We have a lot of really good players right now competing for real roles and real spots. I think that competition ultimately is going to be a great thing for us. 

“So right now, I think this is the right choice for us, I think it’s the right thing to do even for Anthony, and hopefully this gives him even more time to accumulate those everyday reps, and we’ll keep evaluating.”

Caballero has a .711 OPS this season, while playing a strong defensive shortstop as well.

According to Boone, Volpe will stay at shortstop for now, though he wouldn’t rule out future conversations about moving Volpe around the infield. 

That means that top prospect George Lombard Jr. will “bounce around” a bit, with Boone noting that Lombard already has experience playing second and third base. 

On John Sterling’s passing

The Yankees lost a legendary member of their family, as iconic radio announcer John Sterling passed away at the age of 87. 

Boone was asked about what he’ll remember most about Sterling.

“One of a kind. An amazing career, an amazing life,” Boone said. “The soundtrack for so many New Yorkers and Yankees fans over the years.

“Like so many Yankees fans, any time there’s a big moment or a big game, man, I couldn’t wait to get home and ‘I wanna hear how John called this.’ And just such a nice man.”

In fact, Boone is such a fan that he’s started mimicking Sterling’s iconic call after every Yankees win.  

“When we win, I still do this, and my coaches look at me like I’m nuts. I don’t even know if they know what I’m doing,” he said. “As soon as that final out is made and I get up to shake players hands, I go ‘Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeee Yankees win!’ and I’m shaking all my coaches’ hands, so I get goosebumps thinking about that.”

There is a whole mess of injury news this afternoon:

• George Springer hit some pitches and says he ‘feels great’. He isn’t starting today, but he’ll be available off the bench and should start tomorrow. That’s gotta be the best possible result after he got hit on the broken toe just two days ago.
• Addison Barger will play with the Bisons tomorrow and likely Wednesday and then should be back with the Jays on the weekend.
• Alejandro Kirk will start swinging a bat later this week, which surprised me. I figured it wouldn’t be for a bit yet. But if he can do it, that’s great. I guess it is all on how much pain he can handle.
• Max Scherzer is ‘feeling better’. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if he’ll be back right away.
• Yimi Garcia will start a rehab assignment later this week. It shouldn’t take to long for him to be ready to job the Jays after that.
• José Berríos will meet up with the Jays in Tampa. And then they will talk about the next step. They don’t have to activate him from the IL if he’s not ready and if he isn’t throwing well….I don’t see putting him on the roster.

Today’s lineup is similar to yesterday’s, minus Sosa and Heineman, and Varsho is DH today. He was having some better at bats yesterday. Hopefully that will continue.

SB has a new system for polls, so I’m trying it out after having a failure with a poll last week.

Start with this: There's no replacing Tarik Skubal.

The Detroit Tigers are well aware that there's no readymade replacement for the reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner. But that doesn't mean they have to cash in their chances at winning their first American League pennant since 2012 – or their first World Series title since 1984.

Detroit suffered a significant blow when manager A.J. Hinch revealed Skubal will undergo elbow surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing arm, a procedure that will sideline him into the second half – and probably right up to the Aug. 3 trading deadline, when the club will assess its spot in the standings and decide whether to add or subtract from its roster.

At 18-17, the Tigers are in a five-team dogfight in the AL Central, one that figures to come down to Detroit, Cleveland and perhaps Kansas City. And with nine AL teams within four games of the .500 mark, the wild card spot should be even more of a taffy pull.

The Tigers certainly suffered a setback, but all is not lost. A look at the ramifications of Skubal's injury and how they may bounce back:

What are loose bodies? Tarik Skubal's injury, surgery explained

Pitching chaos is a given in Detroit, even with Tarik Skubal

Kind of appropriate that on the day Skubal's surgery was announced, Hinch anointed reliever Tyler Holton the starting pitcher for their May 4 game against visiting Boston.

"Second bullpen game in a row," Hinch noted.

And so it begins.

"Pitching chaos" has been a way of life in Detroit since the end of the 2024 season, when the Tigers rode Skubal and a menagerie of mound men to a startling late-season rally for a wild card spot and a playoff sweep of Houston before losing a stirring five-game ALDS to Cleveland.

As you know, tonight’s game time was moved up because there is a chance of rain this evening. Here’s the local radar for you to keep handy.

Monday notes…

• STREAKING, PART 1: The Cubs have won 11 straight games at home. It is their 19th double-digit home winning streak of the Modern Era, which began in 1901, and their 15th at Wrigley Field, their home since 1916. This is their first such streak since they won 14 in a row, May 18-June 22, 2008. A 13-game streak in 2001 and a 10-game streak in 1998 are their only others of the kind since 1970. Their record is 18 straight, Sept. 4-22, 1935, during a surge that lifted them to the pennant. The 2008 streak was one of five of 14 games. The 2001 streak was the only one of 13. They also had a lone streak of 12, in 1927, and of 11, in 1910, for a total now of 11 streaks of at least 11 in a row. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• STREAKING, PART 2: The 1910 streak was the only one that ended after 11 games, with a 3-1 loss to the Cardinals in Game 2 of a Memorial Day doubleheader. The Cubs extended the 2001 streak to 12 by beating the Twins, 11-4. They hit five home runs, two of them by Sammy Sosa, who drove in five runs. The 12th win in 2012 was a 4-3 walk-off over the White Sox. Aramis Ramirez homered on the second pitch of the ninth inning. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• FIFTEEN AND THREE: The Cubs are 15-3 in their last 18 games, their best 18-game record since they also were 15-3 from Sept. 12-30, 2017. They were 15-3 in nine spans, many overlapping, in 2016, and in four spans in 2015. The last time they were better was 16-2, from July 27-Aug. 15, 2015. Their previous 16-2 stretch was May 19-June 9, 2001. The Cubs were 18-0 in four overlapping spans in 1935 and 17-1 in 23 spans, many overlapping, in 1906, 1932 and 1935. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY:The Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Dodgers at Wrigley Field by scores of 7-1 and 4-3. These were scheduled seven-inning games; the nightcap went to extras and the Cubs walked it off on a David Bote single in the ninth. It happened five years ago today, Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

Cubs lineup:

Reds lineup:

Edward Cabrera, RHP vs. Chase Petty, RHP

Edward Cabrera has been pretty consistent throughout this season. His K rate has been down a bit from last year, but he’s still been getting outs, most of the time, and keeping the ball in the yard (just three home runs allowed in 35.1 innings).

The last time he faced the Reds was April 22, 2025 in Miami. He allowed three runs in five innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. Again, that’s pretty much what he’s done with the Cubs so far. Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer have homered off him.

Chase Petty is being recalled to take Brandon Williamson’s spot in the Reds rotation. Williamson has shoulder issues.

Petty was the Twins’ No. 1 pick (22nd overall) in 2021 and came to the Reds the following year in the Sonny Gray trade. He made three appearances (two starts) for the Reds last year and the results were not good: 19.20 ERA, 3.667 WHIP, 14 hits and eight walks in six innings, with three home runs allowed. At Triple-A Louisville this year he has a 4.38 ERA and 1.338 WHIP in six starts covering 24.2 innings. His walk rate is still pretty high (11 walks in Triple-A this year). As you can see from the 2025 chart below, he throws hard but doesn’t always know where the ball is going.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter. If you do go there to interact with Reds fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.