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The rubber game of the series, with the D-backs again seeking to get back to .500. That would be a good platform on which to build, because the rest of the month’s schedule is pretty favorable for Arizona. Indeed, right now, this will be the last game in May where we play a team who doesn’t have a losing record. We play twenty-two straight games against opponents below .500: seven against Colorado, six versus San Francisco, and series against the Mets, Rangers and Mariners. The best record among that lot are Seattle, who are currently 18-20. We definitely need to take advantage, and build a cushion above .500.

Good to see the starting pitching have a couple of good outings in this series, after a couple of wretched turns around the rotation. We’ll see if Zac Gallen can keep things going. His outing in Wrigley Field was very poor, and I wonder if – indeed, I’m hoping – it might have been a reaction to the getting drilled by a comebacker which ended his previous appearance. I’d prefer normal service to be resumed. Gallen’s ERA jumped from 3.14 to 4.45 as a result of that outing, while his FIP hardly budged (3.59 to 3.63). I’d like to see some regression going the other way for once, Zac’s ERA coming down towards the FIP.

If the D-backs can hold the Pirates to zero or one runs again today, that’ll be quite the achievement. From what I can see, the last time Arizona conceded two or fewer runs over a three-game series was September 2017. They went to Los Angeles and swept the Dodgers by a margin of 19-2, winning games 13-0, 3-1 (in ten innings) and 3-1. That came at the end of a franchise-record 13-game winning streak, over which the team’s ERA was 1.91. When you only typically need to score two or three runs a game to win, that’ll help. Be nice if the Diamondbacks were to go onto a similar streak now, and as noted above, the schedule may not give them a better chance in 2026.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for Mets left-hander Sean Manaea this season.

The starter-turned-reliever this year owns a 6.85 ERA in 22.1 innings pitched across eight appearances. But it doesn’t end there. While he has struck out 24 batters, Manaea still has a .312 batting average against and a 1.75 WHIP. Both would be career worsts.

His latest poor outing came on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies when he was unable to close it out in the ninth inning with New York up 10-4, allowing a run on three hits and a hit batter before getting pulled with the bases loaded and only recording one out.

It was Manaea’s shortest appearance of the season and came on the heels of a disastrous 2.2 innings against the Washington Nationals where he allowed six earned runs on seven hits, two walks and another hit batter. In fact, over his last three relief outings, Manaea has hit a batter in each one.

Manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about Manaea’s struggles after Wednesday’s game and admitted it hasn’t come easy for the former ace who just two seasons ago enjoyed a renaissance with the Mets in his first year in Queens.

“It’s been a tough stretch for Sean,” Mendoza said. “We understand that. He’s too good of a pitcher and he’s very important for us. We have to continue to support him, we have to continue to work with him, especially in moments like this."

The topic of Manaea came up again between Mendoza and the media on Thursday before the series finale with the question revolving around what the process looks like for the Mets to reach the southpaw’s full potential.

“A combination of a lot of things,” the skipper said. “Pitching coaches are really digging in here, watching film, talking to Sean, getting some feedback from him. We need him. That’s the bottom line. This is a guy that’s important for us and it’s our job as the coaching staff to get him back on track.”

In 2024, during Manaea’s career-year and New York’s unbelievable run to the NLCS, the left-hander went 12-6 and had a 3.47 ERA (1.08 WHIP) in 32 starts while unveiling a new side-arm delivery, similar to Chris Sale, that took him to new heights.

That offseason the Mets rewarded Manaea, a free agent after he opted out of the second year of his two-year deal, with a three-year, $75 million contract to be the team’s ace for the foreseeable future.

However, that deal hasn’t exactly worked out with Manaea pitching to a 5.64 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) in 2025 after beginning the season on the IL with a right oblique strain. 

Fully healthy during spring training this season, Manaea made three starts and although he had a 3.72 ERA (0.93 WHIP), he didn’t crack New York’s starting rotation because of concerns over his dip in fastball velocity.

Mendoza spoke to Manaea’s velocity which has not re-appeared thus far.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” he said. “We got a lot of people working really hard behind the scenes and [Manaea’s] doing a lot of different drills in between outings, whether it’s mechanics or the way he’s moving around the mound. But like I said, we gotta keep going with him.”

Pittsburgh Pirates, vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, May 7, 2026, 3:40 p.m. ET

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

Broadcast: 93.7 KDKA The Fan, Sportsnet

Pitching Matchup: Mitch Keller (3-1, 2.85 ERA) vs. Zac Gallen (1-2, 4.45 ERA)

The Pirates continue their road trip, traveling out west to face the Diamondbacks in a three-game series at Chase Field in Phoenix.

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The Dodgers and Braves had a nice little October tradition going recently, having met in three playoff series in a four-year span. But the last four seasons they haven’t been able to recreate the matchup. This year, Atlanta owns the best record in baseball heading into this weekend’s matchup at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers beat the Braves in the 2018 National League Division Series en route to winning a pennant. Then the two teams faced off in consecutive National League Championship Series in 2020-21, with Los Angeles overcoming a 3-1 deficit on their way to a title in the first of those years, and Atlanta getting hot at the right time to win their own title in 2021.

Both teams were excellent in the regular season the next two years as well, with the Dodgers winning 111 games and the Braves 101 in 2022. The next year the Braves won 104 and the Dodgers won 100. In both years they were the top two seeds in the National League playoffs, and in both years they lost the NLDS to a division rival, stunningly so.

The Dodgers overcame those October demons by winning the World Series in each of the last two years, the first repeat champion in the sport in a quarter-century. Atlanta made the playoffs as a wild card in 2024 before a terrible start torpedoed their 2025 campaign, finishing at 76-86, their first losing record in eight years.

This year the Braves found their way again, leading the majors in runs scored (5.61 per game) and leading the NL in home runs (55). Atlanta is third in MLB in fewest runs allowed (3.53). The Dodgers are not far behind in offensive categories, despite their recent woes, and pitching his been the strong suit for Los Angeles. Both teams are close in many stats, at or near the top in several categories.

Dodgers vs. Braves pitching matchups

• Friday, 7:10 p.m.: Emmet Sheehan vs. Chris Sale
• Saturday, 6:10 p.m.: Roki Sasaki vs. Spencer Strider
• Sunday, 1:10 p.m.: Justin Wrobleski vs. Bryce Elder

As Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker have struggled at the plate, the Los Angeles Dodgers have discovered a new steadying force.

A youth movement.

Andy Pages, the 25-year-old centerfielder, hit three home runs and helped power the Dodgers past the Houston Astros 12-2 on Wednesday, May 6. This season, he has eight home runs, second most on the team, and leads the team in batting average at .336.

Dalton Rushing, the 25-year-old backup catcher, went 2-for-5 in the victory over the Astros. He is third on the team in home runs with seven and his slugging percentage is a robust .724.

Hyeseong Kim, the 27-year-old backup shortstop, also went 2-for-5 in the same game against the Astros. Known as "The Comet'' for his speed, Kim is tied for second in steals on the Dodgers with five and he's batting .314.

In other words, as the trio's contributions are no aberration as the 31-year-old Ohtani and the 29-year-old Tucker look for their old form. And the added youth is undeniable, considering seven of the team's regular starters in a healthy lineup are on average 32 ½ years old.

And so Pages, Rushing and Kim have helped keep the Dodgers atop the NL West.

Pages on fire: Dodgers' Andy Pages continues insane season, has first 3-homer game of MLB career

The Diamond Heels come into this weekend having played a fair bit less baseball in the last couple of weeks than they usually have going into a weekend series. After their series win over Duke two weekends ago, they played their worst game of the season against Coastal Carolina, then cancelled a game against Queens College ostensibly due to weather (Queens’ RPI being in the 200’s probably didn’t motivate the coaching staff to try and work around it). They played an exam-weekend nonconference game against Duke that was over in 7 innings, and then had another midweek matchup cancelled, this one against Winthrop (Winthrop has an RPI near 100 and is in contention to win the Big South — this time, weather doesn’t feel like a convenient excuse to protect the team’s postseason positioning).

Rest versus rust is an open question in a lot of sports, but I tend to feel like baseball, as a sport that relies on a lot of unnatural motions and movements, falls generally on the rust side. Pitchers’ arms need to be working on consistent schedules to minimize injury risk from deviations to mechanical routine, hitters need to see pitches to keep their eyes sharp. Technology, including UNC’s Trajekt machine, is allowing players to come closer and closer to replicating game situations, but it’s still not going to be quite the same. So it’s going to take some work for the coaching staff to have their team game-ready for a Pittsburgh team that has been up and down of late but presents plenty of danger.

Pitt looked like they might be making a late push to be solidly in the Field of 64 after a 23-1 win against West Virginia followed by a sweep of Virginia two weeks ago, but find themselves back on a crowded bubble after losing four straight since then. There’s no shame in being swept by Florida State in Tallahassee, to be fair, but losing a midweek 13-5 against Kent State is not a fantastic look. With the regular season winding down, this series will probably be the Panthers’ best opportunity to renew that push to keep playing baseball through the end of May. With a sweep of Virginia, a series win over Louisville, and a competitive series against Georgia Tech under their belts, this definitely isn’t a team to take lightly, even though their conference record of 10-14 isn’t incredibly inspiring.

Everything for Pitt starts with star right fielder Lorenzo Carrier, who’s having an All-American caliber season. His OPS of 1.360 ranks 2nd in the country, and a look at his stats show a player who doesn’t really have holes at the plate: he’s walked more than he’s struck out, he’s hitting for both average (.378 BA) and power (31 extra base hits including 18 home runs), and while he’s maybe not a dynamic speed threat, he does have 6 steals on the season. He’s been somewhat cold lately; in his last four conference series he’s gone 3/10 (against Cal), 2/10 (VT), 8/13 (UVA, an obvious exception), and 2/11 (FSU). Those two hits against FSU were both home runs, though, so clearly he’s still a danger to change the game in any given at-bat, and his 10 walks over those 12 games show that his approach is as good as ever. Shortstop Caden Dulin is also having an excellent season with a .363/.443/.626 slash line and 12 home runs, while stalwart catcher Sebastian Pisacreta has taken a step up this year with 13 long balls and an RBI total of 43 that ties Dulin for second on the team.

They lead an offense that’s put up gaudy numbers this season — 18th in the country with a .310 batting average, 6th with a 1.000 team OPS, 8th with 92 home runs, 1st in walks with 322, and 11th with 411 runs scored. It’s not Georgia Tech’s lineup where 1-9 are threats to leave the yard — most of the slugging is taken care of by the top 4-5 guys — but they’re all tough outs who grind at-bats and make pitchers work. They’ve made some headlines this year for how well the entire team works in 2-strike counts, and it’s just become their identity that they’ll make pitchers throw enough that eventually they’ll find a mistake and punish it.

With offensive numbers like that, it might be a little surprising that this team hasn’t done better in conference. Part of it is a brutal schedule thanks to the unbalanced nature of conference play, but they also haven’t really had reliable pitching. Their team ERA of 5.90 ranks 6th-worst in the ACC, opponents hitting .277 against them is 5th-worst, and they have fewer strikeouts than anybody else in the conference. They have also allowed the fewest walks, so that’s something, but it almost seems like they could stand to throw a few more pitches out of the zone rather than allowing teams to get good swings off.

Pitt has been shaking up the rotation recently because they haven’t really gotten consistency from any of their starters. Antonio Doganiero has been the Game 1 guy lately, and his numbers have been solid with a 3.89 ERA and a 42:18 K-BB mark in 44 innings. Even so, he hasn’t really been able to last as long in games as a Friday night guy should — until his game against Florida State where he went 5.1 (and gave up 8 runs with 4 unearned), he’d only gotten out of the 5th inning in starts against Kent State and Youngstown State. Drew Lafferty has been the other consistent starter, sometimes going on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays, and the drop from Doganiero to him is fairly steep. Batters hit a whopping .317 off Lafferty, and while he gives them appropriate length for a Sunday starter, he simply has been too easy for hitters to square up, and that’s led to an elevated ERA at 5.51. David Leslie and Vincent Spizzoucco are the other guys who have started a lot of games for Pitt, and they both have ERAs north of 7. The Panthers rely on a lot of guys out of the pen — every pitcher who has made at least an appearance for them has made at least 8, and that’s a total of 15 arms. That tells me that their relievers don’t tend to last very long, with the exception of Freddy Beruvides, who’s been a pretty reliable if not shutdown closer. Freshman Brandon Reiter hasn’t thrown a lot this season, but his numbers have also been very good.

The last time I wrote a preview of a UNC opponent with a dangerous lineup and a weak pitching staff, it was Virginia, who proceeded to embarrass the Diamond Heels for two games straight before the Heels put up a fight to dodge getting swept. This UNC team is very good, but especially against a team that fills the zone to the point of their own detriment, they’re liable to get quiet at the plate, and this Pitt staff, for any of its shortcomings, is not going to bail them out with a ton of walks — the Heels are going to have to swing the bat and hit a lot of baseballs to win this series, the last regular season action that Boshamer Stadium will see this year.

Hitting Leaders

• Batting Average: CF Owen Hull, .379 (t-4th ACC)
• On-Base Percentage: Hull, .491 (4th ACC)
• Slugging Percentage: 3B Cooper Nicholson, .601
• Home Runs: Nicholson, 11
• Runs Batted In: Hull, 56 (t-7th ACC)
• Walks: C/DH Macon Winslow, 41 (5th ACC)
• Runs: 2B Gavin Gallaher, 57 (6th ACC)
• Stolen Bases: SS Jake Schaffner, 22 (6th ACC)

Pitching Leaders

• Earned Run Average: Jason DeCaro, 2.07 (1st ACC*)
• Strikeouts: Walker McDuffie, 65
• Innings Pitched: Ryan Lynch, 63.2 (7th ACC)
• Wins: DeCaro, 8 (4th ACC)
• Saves: McDuffie, 4 (1st ACC)
• Batting Average Against: McDuffie, .181 (1st ACC)

* Notably, UNC also has the #2 and #4 pitchers in the ACC by ERA — Caden Glauber ranks 2nd at 2.09 and McDuffie is in 4th at 2.40.

The Cincinnati Reds look to salvage a game from this brutal series against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon in a vintage Wrigley Field matinee.

Rhett Lowder starts for the Reds opposite Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga, and the Reds have tweaked their lineup according. Elly De La Cruz also gets his first start at DH today, so Matt McLain will slide over and man shortstop duties for the day (with Sal Stewart at 2B).

Lineups for both clubs listed below.

Go Reds!

Mets lineup

Juan Soto – DH
Bo Bichette – 3B
Mark Vientos – 1B
Austin Slater – RF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Andy Ibanez – LF
Francisco Alvarez – C
Tyrone Taylor – CF
Vidal Brujan – SS

SP: Christian Scott – RHP

Rockies lineup

Edouard Julien – 2B
Mickey Moniak – LF
Tyler Freeman – DH
TJ Rumfield – 1B
Troy Johnston – RF
Willi Castro – SS
Jake McCarthy – CF
Kyle Karros – 3B
Brett Sullivan – C

SP: Jose Quintana – LHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 3:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

The Colorado Rockies are one a bit of a skid, having lost six games in a row dating back to their series in Cincinnati. After a brief break for some snow, the Rockies now find themselves on the verge of being swept at home by the New York Mets for their seventh consecutive loss. The very same New York Mets the Rockies swept in Queens just over a week ago.

The left-handed José Quintana will be making the start for the Rockies. Quintana is coming off one of his best starts of the season against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched six innings while giving up just one earned run on a solo home run with three strikeouts. Quintana would unfortunately see the Rockies bullpen give up the lead he left the game with in an eventual loss.

On the mound for the visiting Metropolitans is Christian Scott. The 26-year-old righty made his debut in 2024 with a 4.56 ERA over nine starts. Unfortunately, he missed the entirety of the 2025 season needing Tommy John surgery with internal bracing.

Now healthy, Scott started the season with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets but has been called upon twice to start for the big league squad. His first outing of the season ended after just 1.1 innings when he walked five of the ten batters he faced, as well as hitting a batter and balking. Scott’s second start went much better. He struck out eight batters without any walks and gave up three runs—two earned—on three hits.

Scott has faced the Rockies once before, where he gave three earned runs on seven hits—two of which were home runs—in 4.1 innings. This season he is working with a five pitch arsenal: a mid-90s four-seam fastball, a cutter, a sweeper, a sinker, and a split finger.

First Pitch: 1:10 PM MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Mets SB Nation site:Amazin’ Avenue

Lineups:

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