Worldwide Sports News

Wednesday can comfortably be filed away in the “bad” drawer for the Yankees. They mustered just a single hit in a shutout loss to the Orioles, a game in which Max Fried departed early with ever-troubling elbow soreness. The loss keeps them in the hole in the American League East, as they eagerly look to return to the form they took in the first month of the season.

But alas, the world goes on elsewhere, so here is a look around some exciting AL action on Wednesday.

Toronto Blue Jays (19-24) 5, Tampa Bay Rays (28-14) 3 (10 innings)

After a dramatic extra inning affair on Tuesday, which the Rays won, the Blue Jays got their revenge in similar fashion on Wednesday.

Both Griffin Jax for Tampa Bay and Dylan Cease for Toronto had the good stuff in this one. Through six innings of baseball in Toronto, neither the Jays nor the Rays had mustered much of anything, as this one remained scoreless into the later innings. Griffin Jax tossed five innings of shutout ball, while Cease got through seven strong, eventually allowing just a single run while striking out nine batters.

In the seventh, the Rays scored their lone run against Cease with an RBI single from Richie Palacios in the seventh. An inning later, the Jays tied it back up thanks to Kazuma Okamoto’s sacrifice fly. Both bullpens were able to keep things in check after that pair of runs, before the real fun started after the ninth.

In extras, Ben Williamson immediately got things moving for Tampa Bay, as his single plated the bonus runner in the tenth to give the Rays the lead. Williamson immediately stole second base, and was promptly scored thanks to another knock from Yandy Díaz for the all-important insurance run. Now, with a two run lead in hand, the Rays turned to Aaron Crooks to shut it down in the tenth.

The Jays would have none of it, however, as walks to Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Okamoto had the bases juiced after a quick first out in the inning. With the winning run now on base, Daulton Varsho decided to put an end to the game the easy way: by depositing a walk-off grand slam over the wall in left field.

The dramatic victory was about as fun as it gets for the Jays, and the Rays’ loss helps the Yankees keep within striking distance as well, as they remain two games back in the East.

Other Games:

New York Mets (17-25) 3, Detroit Tigers (19-24) 2 (10 innings): Speaking of extra innings, the Tigers took a tough loss at the hands of the Mets on Wednesday. After Framber Valdez held things in check, allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings, the offense was unable to put much together despite two quick runs in the first inning for Detroit. A Bo Bichette single tied the game up at two for the Mets, before Carson Benge’s clutch single in the 10th walked it off for New York.

Boston Red Sox (18-24) 3, Philadelphia Phillies (20-23) 1: Sonny Gray was excellent for the Red Sox at home as he tossed six innings, allowing just one run on two hits while racking up six strikeouts. After Boston and Philly matched each other with solo homers early on, it was Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run bomb in the sixth that decided this one, as Boston hopes to continue climbing out of their early season hole.

Cleveland Guardians (24-21) 4, Los Angeles Angels (16-28) 2: The Guardians took an early lead in the first inning, thanks in part to Angel Martínez’s solo homer, and never looked back. Although the Angels threatened at times, Cleveland was able to stay in the driver’s seat from wire-to-wire, as starter Parker Messick worked 6.2 quality innings, giving up a pair of runs and tallying seven Ks.

Houston Astros (17-27) 4, Seattle Mariners (21-23) 3 (10 innings): More extra innings on Wednesday, as Houston pulled out a late win over the M’s in ten innings. Solo homers did much of the heavy lifting, as round-trippers from J.P. Crawford, Luke Raley, and Christian Walker helped push this game through nine innings all tied up. It was a timely single from Zach Cole that sent Astros fans home happy.

Texas Rangers (21-22) 6, Arizona Diamondbacks (20-22) 5: If all of the late dramatics were not enough, the Rangers put on a performance of their own against Arizona. Down 3-2 in the ninth, the D-Backs rallied to go up 5-3 thanks to huge hits from Nolan Arenado and Ildemaro Vargas. The Rangers battled back in their half of the ninth, as hits from Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger helped to tie things up, and Danny Jansen’s single walked things off for the Rangers.

Good morning everyone! I hope you’re all having a great week so far.

The Mariners couldn’t hang on during a tough game against the Astros last night, falling 4-3. Though Cal Raleigh may have been injured during the contest (we’ll likely learn more today), it was a very encouraging return for Bryce Miller. What did you think of the right-hander’s first start of the season?

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, Logan Gilbert apparently talked Cal Raleigh into showering in his jersey before the game on Tuesday to break his hitting slump — and it worked!
• Max Ellingsen started his preview of the Mariners 2026 MLB Draft strategy, with many player profiles and nuggets to come as we get closer. Join the comments of the linked article to tell Max which potential fits you want him to cover!

Around the league…

• The MLB and MLBPA officially met on Tuesday to open up talks on the upcoming collective bargaining agreement.
• Max Fried exited yesterday’s start against the Orioles with a sore elbow.
• Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus tear. The team is hopeful he will be back within 6-8 weeks.
• The Reds placed right-handed starter Rhett Lowder on the injured list with right shoulder discomfort.
• Relatedly, Cincinnati agreed to a big league deal with righty Chris Paddack.
• The Dodgers hired former star outfielder Jason Heyward as a special assistant to the front office.
• A White Sox fan was hospitalized yesterday after falling into the visiting bullpen.
• The MLB Pipeline team named the hottest pitching prospect in each organization right now.
• Kiley McDaniel at ESPN unveiled his first mock draft of the season.
• Over at Fangraphs, our very own Ryan Blake wrote about Ceddanne Rafaela’s arm strength and what it really means to have a good arm in baseball.
• David Laruila at Fangraphs spoke to Yandy Díaz, who continues to be one of the sport’s most underrated hitters.
• Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker provided a full review of A.M. Gittlitz’s new book Metropolitans: New York Baseball, Class Struggle, and the People’s Team.

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The four-game series between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers comes to a close on Thursday night in Chavez Ravine.

Landen Roupp aims to continue his strong season on the mound as he duels with Emmet Sheehan.

My Giants vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks for May 14 see Roupp leading San Francisco to a victory.

Who will win Giants vs Dodgers today: Giants moneyline (+150)

Landen Roupp has performed at the level of a Top-10 starting pitcher, sporting a 2.52 xERA and 2.51 FIP. He’s suppressed hard contact expertly, allowing zero barrels and ranking in the 98th percentile in hard-hit rate. 

He gives the San Francisco Giants a starting pitching edge over Emmet Sheehan, who has lost a full tick on his fastball en route to a career-low 93 Stuff+.

The gap in hitting has narrowed lately. The Los Angeles Dodgers have plated three or fewer runs in 10 of their last 14 games, whereas the Giants have scored 5+ in five of their last eight. 

COVERS INTEL: The Dodgers haven't been making quality contact lately, ranking 26th in hard-hit rate over the last 10 days.

Giants vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-115)

Both starting pitchers have a strong track record against their rival. Roupp has limited L.A.’s projected starting lineup to a .167 AVG and .593 OPS in 48 at-bats, while Sheehan has held SF’s bats to a .088 AVG and .250 OPS across 34 at-bats.

Dave Roberts can turn to a bullpen that leads the majors in FIP (3.12). That’s a valuable card to play in a series where six of the last seven meetings have resulted in an Under.

San Francisco has hit the Under in 10 of its last 15 games and will rely on Roupp limiting a slumping Dodgers lineup in this series finale.

Giants vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Giants +146 | Dodgers -174
• Run line: Giants +1.5 | Dodgers -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Giants vs Dodgers trend

The Dodgers are 1-3 in Emmet Sheehan’s last four starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Giants vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Giants vs Dodgers and game info

Giants vs Dodgers latest injuries

Giants vs Dodgers weather

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Last night, the Washington Nationals showed just how exciting they can be. They erased a 5-0 first inning deficit, and came back to win 8-7 in extra innings. It was a crazy and emotional game where the boys rose to the occasion. They also wore their hearts on their sleeves, which I love to see, especially for a young team.

There were two instances of just raw emotion that I loved last night. The first one came in the 7th inning, when Richard Lovelady got out of a jam. Lovelady allowed a leadoff double to Elly De La Cruz and then Sal Stewart advanced him over to third on a ground out. The southpaw was in a tight spot, with the go ahead run 90 feet away with 1 out.

He walked the red hot JJ Bleday, and then induced a massive double play with Spencer Steer at the plate. Lovelady is always an expressive guy on the mound, but he went absolutely nuts after he got out of the inning. He was just yelling and screaming as he came off the mound. The only other time Lovelady was this fired up was after he got his first save against the Brewers.

Lovelady’s emotion on the mound is fun to watch, especially when you know his story. The lefty with the funny name has been the butt of jokes for a while, especially among Mets fans. He was the guy that David Stearns kept calling up and then DFA’ing. Lovelady was also not that great with the Mets. However, it is hard to perform when you keep bouncing around like that. Lovelady is just a 30 year old journeyman who is playing for his young son.

With that in mind, it is so awesome to see Lovelady go absolutely ballistic when he gets big outs. Since joining the Nats, Lovelady has a 0.84 ERA in 10 outings. He does not make it easy for himself most of the time, but so far, Lovelady is able to walk the tight rope and get out of the jams. When he does that, we get to see that primal emotion.

Richard Lovelady is always emotional, but Daylen Lile is not really someone I would have tabbed as a super expressive guy. Lile is not James Wood levels of stoic, but he usually is not the guy to flip the bat and make signals into the dugout.

Last night was different though, and a big part of why is due to family. Lile is from Louisville, Kentucky, which is close to Cincinnati. That means his family and friends are able to watch this series. With his loved ones watching on, Lile has been putting on a show. He already has 3 homers this series, including a massive go-ahead shot in the 10th inning last night.

After that homer, Lile pointed to the dugout and put his hand to his neck to signal the game was over. As the kids would say, Lile showed a lot of swag. With the Nats bullpen, the game over signal was a gamble from Lile, but he turned out to be right, his homer was the difference in the game.

I have never seen Lile that fired up before. We are seeing a different side of him in this series. Lile’s dad was also very fired up in the crowd, running down the stairs in pride when his boy hit that home run. Honestly, I would do the same thing if my hypothetical kid played in the big leagues and hit a homer in front of me.

Overall, this Nats team has been much more expressive on the field this year. Maybe there are times where it can go overboard, but for a young team, the emotion suits them well. Every time they win, this group is gaining more confidence. You can see the swagger building, whether it is Lile hitting a homer in extra innings, or CJ Abrams watching a grand slam fly.

I think Blake Butera’s culture allows for more emotion to be shown on the field. Davey Martinez did not prohibit celebrating, but he always preferred those celebrations to be in the dugout, and not on the field. He came from a different generation than Butera. I am not saying that one approach is better, it is just different.

For a veteran team, Martinez’s more old school approach may be a better fit. However, for a young team, I want them to feel free out there on the field. Maybe they are getting too loose sometimes on defense, but the emotion and excitement makes this team fun to watch.

This is the most fun I have had watching the Nats since that Kyle Schwarber led run in June of 2021. It just feels like this team is connected and having a ton of fun. In late 2023 and early 2024, we saw some of this, but it did not last in the end. Last season, it just did not look like the group was having fun.

That has changed this year. Of course the winning helps, but I think Blake Butera also has a part to play in this. Whether it is Richard Lovelady roaring after he gets a big zero, or Daylen Lile celebrating after hitting a huge homer in front of his family, the Nationals are expressing themselves. This team is having fun, and they are not afraid to show it.

It was a pitcher’s duel until the end. In what has become a regular occurrence for the San Diego Padres, they won it on Gavin Sheets’ two-out, three-run homer. It was a great way to make up for the fact that the Friars hadn’t done a thing to back up starter Michael King’s gem.

The San Diego pitching staff only gave up one run (mostly due to some batted-ball luck) while Milwaukee Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski went seven scoreless innings. He came out to pitch the eighth but exited because of an apparent injury sustained while warming up.

It was a win the Padres needed — which seems to be an oft-used saying lately — and it was one they got. They forced the rubber match and could take the series this afternoon if Griffin Canning can rebound from his last start.

Taking the mound

Kyle Harrison (MIL) v. Griffin Canning (SD)

Harrison has had a great start to the season, pitching to a 2.41 ERA across 33 2/3 innings. The young lefty has impressed after being traded from the Boston Red Sox for Caleb Durbin. He’s racked up 41 strikeouts in that time but has a high 1.22 WHIP.

The southpaw had two of his rougher outings lately against the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees, giving up one run and two runs respectively. Those were still great outings, but Harrison showed some issues with command in his most recent start, walking four Yankees batters across as many innings.

Canning’s last start was tough. He surrendered six runs to the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 1/3 innings on May 8. But that was all due to a tough-luck fifth inning that forced Canning out of the game. But he had a great debut, pitching five innings of one-run ball.

That recent outing is hurting his stats a bit, raising his ERA to 6.75 and his WHIP to 1.61 across 9 1/3 innings. If he can rebound against Milwaukee today, it would be a move in the right direction for Canning’s San Diego tenure.

Batter up!

Skipper Craig Stammen has spent this series in Milwaukee prioritizing offense in his lineup. He’s started Nick Castellanos in right field, meaning Fernando Tatis Jr. plays second base. Miguel Andujar and Gavin Sheets have been in the lineup consistently as well. That is likely to continue.

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

Bogaerts has been solid lately, and owns a .286 career average against Harrison. The same goes for Tatis whose career average is .444 with a 1.333 OPS.

But the real story is Castellanos, who owns a .600 average and 2.000 OPS against the southpaw. His bat could be a major addition to today’s series finale, but he may be out of the lineup instead given how much time he’s spent in right field lately.

Relief corps

Behind King’s great outing, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam and Mason Miller locked down the final three-plus innings. They each pitched scoreless appearances, with Miller pitching his 13th save of the season, regaining the major-league lead.

That saved the majority of the ‘pen for today’s series finale, with Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez available. Morejon and Rodriguez are the highest leverage options of the bunch. Should it be a close game when Canning departs, they’ll be the first two out.

Gavin Sheets may soon have a warrant issued for his arrest for stealing a game from the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Wednesday. Sheets stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with the San Diego Padres trailing, 1-0. There were two on and two out and Sheets was in an 0-1 hole when Brewers reliever Abner Uribe left an 88-mph slider over the plate. Sheets turned on the pitch and hit it just beyond the outfield wall in right-center field to put the Padres in front, 3-1. Mason Miller was called on in the bottom of the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff single to secure the two-run win for San Diego.

The Padres faced Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski who was dealing for Milwaukee. He completed seven innings without allowing a run. He only allowed four hits and recorded 10 strikeouts over the seven innings. San Diego sent its ace to the mound as well in Michael King. While not as dominant as his Milwaukee counterpart, King delivered another solid start, but he failed to get run support from his offense. If not for the heroic home run by Sheets, King would be looking at another loss with his offense spinning its wheels.

San Diego was outhit by Milwaukee 9-6, but the Padres needed just two of those hits in the ninth inning to get the win. Miguel Andujar hit a two out single into center field and Xander Bogaerts followed with a walk. That set the stage for Sheets to play her0 and as we have seen before this season, Sheets came through when his team needed it most.

The win by the Padres sets up the rubber match with the Brewers on Thursday. The game is set to start at 10:40 a.m.

Padres News:

• Padres first-year manager Craig Stammen has shown throughout the season he is not afraid to mix up the lineup or ride the hot hand. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball believes Stammen is still just experimenting with his lineup on a daily basis.

• Ethan Salas continues to perform at a high level in the San Diego minor league system. He homered again and seems to be fully recovered from the back issue that caused him to miss all but 10 games in the 2025 season.

• A roster crunch is coming for San Diego and the biggest question around the team so far is who is leaving when Lucas Giolito makes his Padres debut. The expectation is Walker Buehler, German Marquex (IL) or Matt Waldron are released.

Baseball News:

• Shohei Ohtani took the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants helped the Dodgers finally solve their rival to the north with a 4-0 win.

• Nick Kurtz hit a grand slam and helped the Athletics beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Carson Benge hit a walk off home run to lift the New York Mets over the Detroit Tigers. Mets superstar Juan Soto is listed as day-to-day after fouling a ball off his ankle.

• New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried is scheduled to get imaging on his sore elbow. The Yankees were also shutout by Kyle Bradish and the Baltimore Orioles.

• Caddane Rafaela hit a pinch-hit two-run home run to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

• Atlanta Braves spoil solid start from Shota Imanaga and beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1. It is reported the Cubs are adding closer Liam Hendriks on a minor league deal.

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It's a getaway Thursday for some, but for us here, betting the MLB player prop markets and digging for dingers, and it's moving day as I'm looking to get into the black on the season once again.

Today's the day Fernando Tatis Jr. gets that home run monkey off his back, and the Athletics can turn Michael McGreevy's luck into a dinger today at Sutter Health Park. 

And adding Bobby Witt Jr. to any home run card right now just makes sense, as he might be the AL MVP betting favorite by June.

These are my favorite home run props for Thursday, May 14.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Fernando Tatis Jr.	+525
Shea Langeliers	+350
Bobby Witt Jr.	+450
💲Today's HR parlay	+12891

Home run pick: Fernando Tatis Jr (+525)

The drought ends today for Fernando Tatis Jr., who somehow has yet to go deep this year.

He’s been one of the unluckiest hitters in baseball to this point. His xwOBA ranks second on the team despite slugging just .294. He also owns the fastest bat speed on the roster, ranks inside the Top 50 in baseball in that metric, and sits 25th in BlastContact%. Even his attack angle is in a great spot.

It’s a real head-scratcher, and it ends today against lefty Kyle Harrison, whom he’s taken deep over nine career at-bats while hitting .444.

Harrison is a fly-ball pitcher who might be pitching above expectations this season and profiles as a strong target today for a homerless Tatis, who feels more than due with the underlying metrics backing it up.

• Time: 1:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Brewers.TV, Padres.TV

Home run pick: Shea Langeliers (+350)

There aren’t a lot of +EV home run props popping up in the projections today, but Shea Langeliers is one of them with a fair price around +300 against Michael McGreevy at the homer-friendly confines of Sutter Health Park, where temperatures are expected around 80 degrees with slight winds blowing out.

THE BAT ranks Langeliers as the 15th-best home run hitter in baseball, and he’s launched four longballs over his last 28 at-bats.

McGreevy owns a .200 BABIP that simply isn’t sustainable, and his xERA sits nearly three full runs higher than his actual ERA.

He’s not a strikeout pitcher and will have to pitch to contact in a difficult environment. It’s a great home run hitter in a great home run park on a slate without many strong options.

• Time: 3:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSCA, Cardinals.TV

Home run pick: Bobby Witt Jr. (+450)

It’s tough to go wrong with Bobby Witt Jr. on the home run card.

The guy can do it the conventional way or the Little League way, and +450 is a great price on a tough board against lefty Anthony Kay, whom Witt has already seen this season. He’s also hitting lefties at the best rate of his career in 2026. 

Witt owns a 191 wRC+ over the last two weeks, along with the seventh-best slugging percentage in baseball. He’s gone deep five times during that stretch, entering today on a two-game home run streak.

He’s one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now and continues to climb the AL MVP odds board. I’d play Witt down to +400 in this matchup.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Royals.TV, CHSN

Today’s HR parlay

Fernando Tatis Jr.	Bet Now +12891
Shea Langeliers
Bobby Witt Jr.

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Rangers 6, D-Backs 5

• This game shall henceforth be known as The Jake Burger Game.
• I really should use “henceforth” more often. That’s a good word.
• And Paul Sewald coughing up a lead at the Shed brings back good memories, doesn’t it?
• If I were a D-Backs fan, I’d want to vomit.
• The Rangers had no business winning that game. Kumar Rocker was not good, the offense was largely stifled, the relievers offered little relief.
• When the ninth inning started, my thought was that the Rangers were in position to steal one here. Then, when Jacob Latz blew the save, my thought was that, well, this was a game the Rangers didn’t deserve to win in the first place.
• And then…
• And then…
• The unexpected happened.
• Crazy, huh?
• How Kumar Rocker managed to get through five innings without allowing any runs is beyond me. He threw 97 pitches, and the D-backs hitters swung and missed at just 5 of them. He couldn’t put batters away, with his 97 pitches spanning just 21 batters. Rocker walked four batters and struck out just three. Somehow, he gave up just three hits.
• Arizona starter Ryne Nelson, meanwhile, carved up the Rangers through four, with the only Ranger baserunner coming on a softly hit Evan Carter single.
• The Rangers’ fifth inning started with an infield single by Carter. After Ezequiel Duran struck out, Alejandro Osuna was hit by a pitch.
• Jake Burger swung at a first pitch fastball from Nelson and lofted the ball the opposite way…and it kept carrying, and carrying, and carrying until it reached the bleachers. Home run, 3-0 lead, Kumar Rocker is in line for the win.
• Then the Diamondbacks scored on Cole Winn in the sixth, and got a run home in the seventh, putting them in position to make that ninth inning comeback, while the Rangers had 11 of 12 batters retired after the Burger homer, with the one baserunner being due to a Josh Jung double, because apparently Josh Jung has to have a double every game.
• Come the ninth inning, Corey Seager struck out. Josh Jung singled. Evan Carter had a routine F-7.
• The Rangers, per B-R, had a 4% chance of winning the game after the Carter fly out. That win probability is based on a generic model, though. It doesn’t take into account the run-dampening qualities of the Shed, or the fact that the Rangers had Duran, Osuna, Burger and Danny Jansen — not exactly a Murderer’s Row (Murderers’ Row?) — due up.
• You know what happened. Duran doubled, bringing home Jung. Osuna drew a walk. Burger singled home Duran to tie the game. D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo pulled Paul Sewald for Juan Morillo, who apparently is taking a break from fronting Rage Against The Machine.
• And then Danny Jansen did this…

• Walk ‘em off, Danny Boy.
• Again, think how much this game must have stung for Diamondbacks fans.
• Arizona had 19 baserunners — 10 hits, 8 walks, and an E6. They left 13 runners on base. 13!
• The Rangers had 8 hits in the game — half of which came in the ninth inning. They had just one walk — the Osuna 9th inning walk. 10 baserunners, half of them coming in the ninth inning, six of them scoring.
• Texas was 3 for 4 with runners in scoring position in the game. You aren’t going to give up five runs, have just four at bats with runners in scoring position, and win many games.
• It reminds me of the old Buddy Hackett joke:
• “Ask me what the secret to comedy is.”
• “Okay, what’s the secret to co-”
• “TIMING!!!”
• Kumar Rocker’s sinker maxed out at 96.5 mph, averaging 94.7 mph. Cole Winn reached 95.7 mph with his fastball. Jalen Beeks’ fastball touched 95.2 mph. Peyton Gray’s one fastball was 92.6 mph. Tyler Alexander’s one sinker was 90.5 mph. Jacob Latz reached 97.3 mph with his fastball. Cal Quantrill’s sinker topped out at 95.7 mph.
• Evan Carter had a 103.9 mph ground out. Josh Jung had a 103.0 mph double. Ezequiel Duran had a 102.5 mph double. Joc Pederson had a 102.2 mph line out.
• Heading into an off day on a win — and a series win. Feels good.

Shōta Imanaga is pitching like the ace everyone hoped he would be.

Imanaga threw seven outstanding innings (and one batter into the eighth, and that inning led to the Cubs’ undoing), the third time this year he’s thrown seven. But Phil Maton could not hold a 1-1 tie together and the Cubs lost to the Braves for the second straight night, 4-1.

It wasn’t just Maton’s failure, either. The Cubs again didn’t generate much offense, just four hits and a single run. From BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs have made a total of 13 hits in their four straight losses: five, three, one and four.

Since 1901, they have made fewer in four consecutive games only once: 12, April 4-7, 2021: three, five, one and three. They won the first two games of that span, 4-3 over the Pirates and 5-3 over the Brewers, then lost to the Brewers, 4-0 and 4-2, the last game in 10 innings.

This is just the fourth time the Cubs managed only 13 hits in four games. The earlier three all were more than a century ago:  Sept. 3-4, 1905 (back-to-back doubleheaders); Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 1912; and Aug. 4-6, 1920 (doubleheader last day). The Cubs won one of the games in 1905 and lost all four in 1912 and 1920. 

Let’s go back to the beginning of this frustrating loss.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when Drake Baldwin homered off Imanaga. That shouldn’t be a game-killer; a solo home run that early isn’t the worst thing in the world. And in 54.1 innings this season, Imanaga has allowed only five home runs, four of them solo.

The Cubs managed to tie the game up in the top of the fifth. Carson Kelly led off with a single and advanced to second on a ground out. Dansby Swanson walked and the Braves replaced starter JR Ritchie with reliever Tyler Kinley.

Nico Hoerner singled off Kinley to make it 1-1 [VIDEO].

A note on Nico’s RBI hit:

That’s where the game stayed through seven innings. Imanaga was allowed to start the eighth because left-handed hitter Michael Harris II was the leadoff hitter. Imanaga ran the count to 3-1 on Harris, who then broke his bat on a weak contact grounder to Nico.

Oh, no, Nico! [VIDEO]

That’s a play Hoerner makes 999 times out of 1,000. Unfortunately, that was the 1,000th time. (Also, how is that not an error on Nico?)

Maton replaced Imanaga and allowed a single to Ha-Seong Kim, then struck out Dominic Smith. Mike Yastrzemski batted for José Azocar and doubled in Harris, but Kim was thrown out at the plate by Pete Crow-Armstrong and Swanson [VIDEO].

At 2-1, this game might still have been within reach, but Maton then served up a home-run ball to Mauricio Dubón to make it 4-1 and the way the Cubs bats have been going, it might as well have been 40-1. The Cubs did get a leadoff walk from Michael Busch in the ninth off Raisel Iglesias, but Iglesias then got Michael Conforto to hit into a double play, and PCA popped up to end the game.

Holding the Braves, who lead MLB in runs, to five runs Tuesday and four runs Wednesday isn’t too bad. But the Cubs offense has simply gone missing on this road trip and, well, they’re going to have to find it pretty soon. The other teams in the NL Central all lost Wednesday, so the Cubs still lead the division by 2.5 games over the Brewers and Cardinals.

A couple of notes on Imanaga’s outing from John:

Imanaga’s seven innings plus one batter is the longest start by a Cub this season.

He had pitched 7.0 twice; Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon, once.

Imanaga gave up no runs and one run in his previous two, with four and three hits. He struck out five and one. In this one: five hits, no walks, six strikeouts.

Imanaga now has six quality starts. Cabrera has four; Taillon, three; and Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton and Colin Rea, one each, for a total 15 in 43 games.

Here’s a bit more on Shōta’s pitch selection [VIDEO].

Imanaga struck out six [VIDEO].

Imanaga’s 59 strikeouts are third in the National League behind Jacob Misiorowski (80) and Cristopher Sánchez (67).

Here are some postgame comments from Craig Counsell [VIDEO].

The series finale, on paper, is the toughest pitching matchup. Ben Brown will make his second start of 2026 for the Cubs. Last time out, against the Rangers last Friday, he was really good (four no-hit innings). Hopefully that continues. The Cubs will have to try to get the offense rolling against Chris Sale. Game time is again 6:15 p.m. CT and TV coverage wil be via Marquee Sports Network (and streaming on Peacock, the Braves broadcast, outside the Cubs and Braves market territories).

The day is finally upon us. Many resigned themselves to the fact that when Ranger Suárez left in free agency over the winter, there would come a day in which he would be facing the Phillies. Suárez signing with the American League Boston Red Sox lessened that possibility, but the day has come, nevertheless. Suárez has had a good first month in Boston, as he owns a 2-2 record with a 2.77 ERA through seven starts. However, he left his last start on May 3rd after just four innings due to tightness in his right hamstring.

But we’re not here to discuss what Suárez has done with the Red Sox. Instead, let’s take some time to reminisce about Suárez’ Phillies career. Signed out of his native Venezuela when he was just 16-years old, Suárez grew to be a fan favorite in Philadelphia and pitched in almost every kind of role or situation you could imagine. He appeared in 187 games as a Phillie including 119 starts and went 53-37 with a 3.38 ERA. His trademark calm, cool, collected demeanor as well as his impeccable, nonchalant fielding became hallmarks of a very successful Phillies tenure.

However, the postseason is where Suárez really shined. His 1.48 career postseason ERA is seventh best all-time among pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched. That includes two scoreless appearances in the 2022 World Series. But of course, the Phillies wouldn’t have made it to that World Series if it weren’t for Suárez entering in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS with two on and one out in a one-run game with the Phillies clinging to the lead after Bedlam at the Bank. In true Ranger Suárez fashion, it took him only two pitches to record the final two outs and seal the pennant for Philadelphia.

It’s hard to top that when it comes to memorable moments for Ranger Suárez with the Phillies, but your opinion for your favorite may vary. So, what’s your favorite memory of Ranger Suárez with the Phillies?

I’m not going to argue one way or another, I’m just throwing the question out there.

The Braves got Mauricio Dubon in a salary dump. The Honduran utility man had a standout defensive year in 2025, accumulating 2.2 fWAR in just under 400 PAs, but that wasn’t enough for the Astros to be interested in retaining him for about $6 million in salary. He’d put up about 1 fWAR in 400 PAs the year before, and about 2 fWAR in 500 PAs in 2023. As he had never hit all that well, it was a defense-and-hope-the-bat-won’t-kill you profile.

Fast forward to, well, now, and Dubon has 1.0 fWAR in 165 PAs. He’s not playing defense at the same breakneck pace as last year, but it’s still good. His 108 wRC+ is a product of substantially outhitting his xwOBA (.328 wOBA, .309 xwOBA), but the xwOBA is his highest in a season since 2020, and decent in and of itself.

The Braves have benefited hugely from his versatility, as he served as the de facto starter at shortstop to help weather Ha-Seong Kim’s injury, only to shift around to the outfield to cover concerns with Michael Harris II’s quad and the seemingly-inevitable Ronald Acuña Jr. lower body injury. More to the point, unlike many “utility guys” (hi, Emilio Bonifacio, my longest-tenured enemy), Dubon has already accrued at least a run above average per Statcast’s measures at both shortstop and left field, and hasn’t been negative anywhere.

The bat continues to be a work in progress, but it really does feel like the emphasis is on the “progress” part of that idiom, after a fairly stagnant time in San Francisco and Houston. He has definitely oriented his approach to try and hit the ball harder, with the biggest change being more selective in terms of the strikes he offers at. It hasn’t been a profound shift as he still isn’t exactly clobbering the ball (.335 xwOBACON is well above his league-worst-ish marks the last two years, but still well below league average), but he’s done a good job shifting the boons available to him from his hand-eye coordination from “will make sure I make contact with everything” to “will make sure I hit everything at a productive angle, even if I don’t hit it all that hard.”

There have also been some interesting changes for him beyond that, as he’s completely remade his stance. He’s now standing further back in the box but also falling over the plate, which is letting him essentially fight the ball off to center and right, especially when he’s pitched outside. But, his stance is also much more open than before, which might help him turn on inside pitches (like he did last night), though I’m honestly not sure the exact mechanics of how an open stance helps when he’s geared a lot of his approach towards poking liners over the infield.

In any case, Dubon has been a huge part of the Braves being where they are right now — he’s filled multiple holes as they’ve arisen and come through quite a lot (11 games with 0.06 WPA or more), despite nothing particularly special in his overall WPA (it’s negative for the season) or clutch score (a very generic 0.20). (He also has 11 games with -0.06 WPA or worse. He’s been in the thick of it all year, but he’s come through as often as he hasn’t, basically.) Alex Anthopoulos has already made public statements about how depth has been huge this year while previously being a thing he ignored as somewhat of a counter-current to his former colleagues with the Dodgers/in the Andrew Friedman management tree.

So, will the Braves extend him? Or, will they let him hit free agency and re-sign him? An injury or performance decline could upend all of this, of course. But, the rest of the roster likely isn’t getting any younger or less injury prone, which means Dubon will have a clear role going forward should the Braves choose to retain him. His offensive track record suggests he won’t be in for a huge payday, but if he continues to polish himself at the plate, that might change.

Right now, I could see the Braves offering him about $15 million to hang around for next year. Dubon might try to angle for a bit more, but his camp might be better served and waiting to see how much of his current 4 fWAR-per-season pace he can sustain. The more he is able to, the larger a chance of a two-year-ish deal at league-average-regular ($20 million annually or so) that gets him to his mid-30s. But, if he really wants to stay and the keep the vibes near-immaculate, then yeah, I can see him signing something short to cover 2027.

What do you think?

As I write this, late at night on an irksomely chilly May 13, in a year where (like every year now) spring seems reluctant to arrive, the Chicago White Sox are a .500 ballclub. The cold, sun-shy temps can make a person think we’re just at the start of a season, where they might be sitting at 3-3 in a still-formless barely-born year, but the calendar gives lie to that. 

We’re 42 games in. A bit more than a quarter-way through the 2026 season, and the Sox are officially mediocre. And that’s a cause for minor joy, which might be slightly sardonic but is neither muted nor insincere. 

It’s been a long time coming. Last season, the high-point was 2-2. In 2023, they were as good as 3-3 before the wheels came off. In 2024 the White Sox started strong, at 0-0, but quickly went downhill. 

In fact, the last time the Sox had a .500 record this late in the season was 2022. If you remember that year, we were perpetually .500. They hovered a game or two on either side of middling for most of the year. In a nice piece of tuneless harmony, they were never more than five games under or over .500, and even the eight-game losing streak that wrecked any hope at returning to the playoffs was balanced by going 5-2 to finish a pointless 81-81. 

It is that part — the chance of returning to the playoffs, in a weak AL Central just there for the taking — that made 2022 so brutal, and so emotionally different than this by-standings unremarkable year. Despite getting trounced by Houston in the 2021 playoffs, the defending division champ White Sox were hot preseason picks to win the World Series. Injuries, bad management, regression and terrible roster construction led to a season that never got started, until it came to a thudding finish. It’s weird and unsettling to think how not very long ago there was optimism, before the bottom fell completely out. 

It’s also strange to think that there have only been three years completely in the wilderness — and you might even say that we began to leave the wilderness last year. So the years of wandering weren’t that long, it is just that the wilderness was so thorny and snake-filled and parched and really not very pleasant to look at. Not a photogenic wilderness. More of a superfund site than a wilderness, really. 

There’s a chance that metaphor got away from me, just like the excitement we have over a .500 club could be seen as our emotions getting away from us. After all, there are a lot of negative signs, including a run differential of -12, which leads to an x-W/L of … 20-22. So only one game. But even that minor blip can be chalked up to an early-season bout of looking really bad in losses and like a normal baseball team in the wins. 

And that’s what the Sox are right now: a normal team. Not a good one, but not a bad one. Certainly not a historically bad one, as we’ve been. Not a World Series contender, but in a terrible year for the AL in general and the AL Central in particular, a goofily fringe playoff hopeful. 

Being normal when you’ve been intensely abnormal is a good feeling. It’s qualitatively different from being frustrating and mediocre when you expect more. There isn’t the agony of expectation, just the silly joy of thinking that you might, one day, have those agonized expectations again. 

If the season ended today, the Sox would be in the playoffs. It doesn’t end today, of course. But at the very least, it feels like something else might just be beginning. And no matter what the temperature is outside, no matter how unnatural our seasons might be, that feeling of a new bloom is proof that you can never hold back spring.