Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Wednesday was a good day. For the second day in a row, the San Francisco Giants and their four Minor League Baseball A-ball affiliates all won their games. That’s a whole lot of winning, so let’s talk about it!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

AAA Sacramento (7-4)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 8-7 (11 innings)
Box score

It took a pair of extra innings, but the River Cats managed to win their 4th consecutive game. And they did it with a fair amount of drama. Sacramento allowed the Manfred Man to score in both the 10th and 11th innings, and in the 11th, they started off the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, failing to move the runner over. But shortstop Osleivis Basabe, who hit 1-3 with an error, drew his 2nd walk of the day, and center fielder Drew Gilbert put the ball in play, reaching base safely — and knocking in the tying run — on an error.

And that brought up second baseman Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL), who ended the game by smashing an RBI double.

Rodríguez finished the day 2-5 with a walk, and is really heating up after a slow start. After being held hitless in the season opener, the righty has hit safely in 7 straight games, and so far in 3 games against Vegas, he’s 6-13 with 2 extra-base hits, 2 walks, and just 1 strikeout, which has brought him up to a .754 OPS and a 104 wRC+. He’s still a few weeks away from turning 24, and he’s on the 40-man roster … don’t be surprised if he makes his Major League debut in the coming months, whether as a backup catcher, a fill-in second baseman, or a utility player.

But while Rodríguez provided the winning hit, the most notable hit belonged to the most notable player on the roster: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL). Eldridge needed just 1 at-bat in this game to provide a sight for sore eyes: a towering, majestic, absolutely gorgeous 2-run home run, though we sadly were deprived of audio for it.

It’s weird to say, but we hadn’t seen Eldridge’s power in a little while. Counting Spring Training, he had gone 24 consecutive games without putting a ball over the fence, with just 6 total extra-base hits during that time (though, admittedly, he wasn’t playing full Spring Training games).

But no more. Eldridge has his 1st home run of the year … and the 1st of many, I’m sure. The only question is how many will be in a Sacramento jersey, and how many will be in a San Francisco jersey.

Still, the warnings I issued in yesterday’s roundup are still true for Eldridge, who finished the day 2-5 with 2 strikeouts. While the nice day boosted his batted ball metrics, which had been lagging behind what we’ve grown to expect, the strikeout issues are still concerning, as the tall lefty is 16th percentile in strikeout rate, 11th percentile in whiff rate, 12th percentile in in-zone contact rate, and 32nd percentile in swinging strike rate. Work to be done, but a big step forward.

Another player who figures to hit a lot of home runs this year in either Sacramento or San Francisco went deep as well: left fielder Victor Bericoto (No. 35 CPL), who went just 1-5 with 2 strikeouts, but bashed a tie-breaking home run in the 8th inning.

Like Eldridge, Bericoto is striking out a little too much (26.2%), though that’s not been a big issue in his career, so probably something that will lower as he adjusts to the level. The sample is small, but through 9 games this year, Bericoto looks nothing like the hitter who struggled in 11 games at the level last year. Then he hit .196/.196/.283 with a wRC+ of 16; this year, he’s hitting .306/.381/.583, for a 155 wRC+.

And the final member of the home run party was center fielder Drew Gilbert, who hit just 1-6 but smacked a solo home run.

Gilbert had a rough Spring Training as he dealt with a shoulder injury and never was able to find a rhythm. But he’s been hitting very well in Sacramento, with an .833 OPS, a 135 wRC+, and more walks than strikeouts. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for right fielder Grant McCray, whose strikeout issues are starting to return, as he hit 0-4 with a walk and 2 Ks. McCray is mired in quite a slump at the moment: in his last 5 starts, he’s 0-16 with 7 strikeouts. He does have 6 walks in that time, and that’s been his saving grace this season: he’s hitting just 6-35 with 0 home runs, but has drawn 10 walks and been hit by a pitch.

While the hitters who are on the 40-man roster mostly had good days, the same cannot be said for the pitchers. Unfortunately, it was another rough outing for RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 12 CPL) who got the start but simply could not find the strike zone. The silver lining (if you really squint) is that McDonald was unhittable, ceding no hits all game. But that was because he was wild, and not effectively wild, either. He needed 52 pitches to get through 2.1 innings, and threw just half of them for strikes. While that did earn him a pair of strikeouts, it also resulted in 4 walks, a hit batter, and 2 runs to his name … and it could have been more than that, as he left with the bases loaded and just 1 out, but only 1 of the inherited runners scored.

McDonald was one of the stars of the start of Spring Training, but it’s been all downhill since then for the recently-turned 25-year old. In his last 6 games — 3 each in Spring Training and AAA — McDonald has pitched 12.2 innings and allowed 13 hits, 7 walks, 3 hit batters, and 14 earned runs, albeit with 14 strikeouts. He’s got some ironing out to do to catch the other young, unproven pitchers on the 40-man roster.

Replacing McDonald was RHP Tristan Beck, who is trying to work his way back to the MLB bullpen. He didn’t enter the rosiest situation, but also didn’t pitch his best, allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run in 1.2 innings of work, with 1 strikeout. Beck’s been fine so far this year — he has a 3.18 ERA, a 1.87 FIP, and 9 strikeouts against 3 walks in 5.2 innings — but isn’t yet forcing the issue.

Unlike McDonald and Beck, RHPs Gregory Santos and Will Bednar (No. 24) aren’t on the 40-man roster, but they have some of the best fastballs in the organization, and are hoping to become part of the Major League bullpen plan at some point soon. They had so-so days: Santos gave up 2 hits and an earned run in 2 innings, with a strikeout, while Bednar pitched the 10th and 11th innings and allowed both Manfred Men to score, but gave up just 1 hit and no earned runs, with 1 strikeout. Bednar is performing much better than he did in his brief glimpse of AAA last year. His velo was notably down in this game, but that could potentially be due to the fact that he wasn’t supposed to pitch in this game, and was called into action when it went to extra innings.

AA Richmond (4-1)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve (Pirates) 5-3
Box score

It was a very well-balanced attack for the Squirrels on Wednesday, as they, too, drove their winning streak to 4 games. The biggest contribution came from the hitter at the very bottom of the lineup: center fielder Jonah Cox.

By now, you’re likely familiar with the story of Cox, the 2023 6th-round pick whom the Giants stole from the A’s in the Ross Stripling trade. He’s arguably the best baserunner in the system (Jared Oliva takes the cake if we’re including the Majors), and plays quality defense at all 3 outfield positions. It’s an Oliva-esque 4th/5th outfielder profile, and that’s Cox’s ceiling unless he can start hitting better. Last year he spent the full season in High-A Eugene, where he had a modest .731 OPS and a 103 wRC+.

But he’s off to quite a start in Richmond. On Wednesday the 24-year old righty hit 2-4 with a double and a strikeout, raising his OPS to .831 and his wRC+ to 124. There will be some regression — he has a 27.3% strikeout rate and a .500 BABIP — but still. It’s good to see him making things happen with the bat.

His legs, meanwhile, did what we’re accustomed to them doing, as he stole a pair of bases. Through 5 games he now has 5 thefts in 6 attempts. What a fun player.

Third baseman Dayson Croes had yet another nice game, hitting 2-5 with a double. He’s hit safely in all 5 games this year, which includes 3 multi-hit games, and he’s 10-24 on the year. I talked quite a bit about Croes in yesterday’s roundup, so you can get a refresher there if you missed it, but don’t be surprised if the Giants find a way to get him in AAA soon. He spent a chunk of time there last year, and hit quite well, and is probably only in AA because Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) is occupying a very similar role for the River Cats.

Catcher Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL) continues to make an enticing case that last year’s breakout season was no fluke. The lefty hitter, who had the breakout season of all breakout seasons after 2 middling years following a 17th-round selection, hit 1-3 with a double and a walk. It’s only been 3 games — he’s splitting catcher duties with Adrián Sugastey — but Cavanaugh is hitting about as well as you could possibly hope, as he’s 6-11 with 5 extra-base hits and 4 walks. Perhaps most impressively, though, is that a year after running a 28.3% strikeout rate in AA (and a 27.4% rate across 4 levels), Cavanaugh has yet to strike out.

Also great days for second baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) and right fielder Turner Hill. Velasquez, a contact maven who is lacking a bit in power and physicality, hit 1-2 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout, raising the 22-year old switch-hitter’s OPS to 1.264 through 3 games, with a 263 wRC+. Hill, a lefty who just turned 27 and who has a very similar profile to Cox, went 1-3 with a triple, a walk, 3 RBIs, and a strikeout, boosting his OPS to .818 and his wRC+ to 105 through 5 games.

It was an odd pitching game for Richmond. They gave up just 3 hits on the day, but walked 9 batters. The only player immune from the walks was the closer, RHP Tyler Vogel, who pitched a scoreless inning with a hit and 2 strikeouts. Vogel has been sensational through 3 appearances this year, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs, while striking out 7 batters. He was dominant in 16 innings with Richmond last year, and earned a cup of coffee in Sacramento, so I’d say he’s not going to be a Squirrel for much longer. He’s really meeting the moment, and since he’s Rule 5 eligible, I’d guess the Giants would like to see what he can do in AAA.

The start was the organizational debut for RHP Logan Martin. A 24-year old taken in the 12th round in 2023, Martin came to the Giants over the winter in the Mason Black trade. It was also Martin’s AA debut, as he spent all of last year with Kansas City’s High-A affiliate, where he had a 3.45 ERA and a 3.79 FIP in 22 starts.

It was a so-so introduction to the level, as Martin pitched 4 innings and gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs, with 5 strikeouts. Only allowing 2 hits is great, though they were both extra-baggers, including a home run. But needless to say, the walks will need to come down. Still, the strikeouts proved encouraging: Martin only K’d 7.7 batters per 9 innings last year, so it will be interesting to see if the Giants have untapped some better swing-and-miss stuff, or if this was just an outlier where his wildness made amateur hitters uncomfortable.

Really funny scoreless relief appearances from LHPs Jack Choate (No. 37 CPL) and Dylan Carmouche. Neither of the 24-year old late-rounders (9th round in 2022 for Choate, 15th in 2023 for Carmouche) could find the strike zone, for better and for worse. Choate tossed 2.2 no-hit innings with 4 strikeouts, but walked 3 batters. Carmouche was even more extreme, with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts in just 1.1 no-hit innings.

High-A Eugene (5-0)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 5-2
Box score

Eugene saw Sacramento and Richmond’s 4-game winning streaks and said they’ll do one better: a 5-game winning streak! And a 5-game winning streak to start the season, no less.

The most notable players on the Emeralds roster are on the position player side, but let’s start with the pitching, because it really was a sensational day on the mound for the Ems. And it started, as things tend to do, with the starter: LHP Tyler Switalski.

Switalski, a 16th-round pick in 2024, is not generally a strikeout artist. He K’d just 7.6 batters per 9 innings in his debut season last year, which was split 75% in Low-A and 25% in High-A.

But you wouldn’t know he wasn’t a big strikeout guy if you watched Wednesday’s game, when he simply wore down Vancouver’s hitters all game long. He gave up just 2 hits in 4.1 innings, and only walked 1 batter while throwing 53 of 73 pitches for strikes. And the kicker? A whopping 9 strikeouts.

You couldn’t craft a better start to the year for Switalski, who through 8 scoreless innings has issued 4 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 17. By comparison, he also struck out 17 batters in High-A last year … except that came in 23 innings, not 8. Obviously the sample size is small, but if he’s made tangible improvements to his stuff, then he’s worth keeping an eye on. Funky lefties can always rise the ranks … but most pitchers stall out if they can’t strike out batters.

Speaking of southpaws with strikeouts, LHP Esmerlin Vinicio made his season debut and struck out 3 batters in 1.2 no-hit innings, with 1 walk allowed. Vinicio only recently turned 23, but this is his 6th season of Minor League Baseball, and he’s still trying to prove himself in High-A. It might be a make-or-break season for him.

RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 21 CPL) showed off both his electricity and command issues in the 9th inning, throwing just 14 of 27 pitches for strikes, while walking 2 batters, allowing a hit, and giving up a run. But he also hit triple digits, and struck out the side. That’s the Maldonado package: he has some of the nastiest stuff in the system, and if he can figure out how to slash the walks in half, he could fly from A-ball to a high-leverage MLB role in a shockingly short amount of time. After a few years of being developed as a starter, it looks like the Giants are now committing to using the 22-year old strictly as a reliever, which seems like a good idea to me.

There was a lot of excitement on the offensive side, primarily from Eugene’s pair of highest-ranked prospects, center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) and shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL).

Kilen’s season has been nothing short of a 5-game revelation, and that continued on Wednesday, when he hit 2-4 with a double and a sacrifice fly. Some people — not ashamed to admit that I’m very much included in that group — might have had concerns about how last year’s 1st-round pick would fare with an opening assignment in High-A, after posting a .561 OPS and a 58 wRC+ in a 10-game sample in Low-A last year.

Smarter people — again, not ashamed to admit I’m very much not included in that group — felt confident in the assignment, given that the lefty, who turned 22 a few weeks ago, is a highly polished hitter coming out of the best conference in college (the SEC), and who was playing through an injury in his debut last year.

A 5-game sample is small, but it’s also enough to tell us emphatically that if Kilen is at the wrong level, it’s because he should be up a ring, not down one. All he’s done in Eugene is hit, hit, and hit some more. He’s hit safely in all 5 games, with 4 multi-hit showings. In total, he’s gone 10-20 with 5 extra-base hits, 3 walks, and only 2 strikeouts. And while there will be a lot to do in the coming months and years to prove that he can stay at shortstop, he’s looked good there so far.

As for Jordan, a fellow high-impact SEC bat, things have been not quite as solid, but plenty electric. The strikeout issues that plagued his career at Mississippi State — and led to him falling to the 4th round in 2024, despite having some of the best power, speed, and athleticism in the draft — took a step in the right direction last year in Low-A, but have come roaring back in High-A. That didn’t change at the start of this game, as he K’d in his 1st pair of at-bats … but after that? A double, followed by a double, followed by a double.

No, let me correct that: a loud double, followed by a loud double, followed by a loud double.

We’re seeing both sides of the coin with Jordan right now. He’s hitting 6-22, which is good, and all 6 of his hits have gone for extra bases, which is beyond great. He’s also struck out in 13 of his 23 plate appearances, which … well, yeah. You don’t need me to editorialize or contextualize there!

It’s a new level and it’s cold in the Pacific Northwest this time of year, which is something that someone who was born and raised in the south probably isn’t all too familiar with. So perhaps there’s no need to overcomplicate this … it might just be an adjustment period. But no matter how scary the strikeouts are, the impact when he makes contact has me drooling.

The other good offensive day belonged to someone in desperate need of one: catcher Diego Cartaya. You’re all probably familiar with Cartaya’s story at this point, but if not, here’s the quick and dirty: he was one of the best prospects in all of baseball in the Dodgers system, but fell apart as he reached the upper Minors, and was released (he was on the 40-man roster) last year. He got picked up by the Twins last year, and almost exclusively struck out — seriously, while playing for Minnesota’s AAA affiliate, he hit 5-59 with 40 strikeouts. They released him, and the Giants signed him to a multi-year Minor League deal.

San Francisco has, wisely in my opinion, decided to hit the reset button with Cartaya. Despite his experience in the upper Minors (he has 595 plate appearances in AA and 277 in AAA), they’ve sent him down to High-A to be in a lower pressure environment. It started very poorly: in his 1st 3 games, he hit 0-9 with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. But Wednesday was a reminder as to the talent he has, as he got his 1st hit of the year, launching an absolutely stunning home run.

In his other 3 plate appearances, Cartaya struck out once and walked twice. There’s a lot of work to do. A lot of work to do, both for Cartaya and for the organization … but my goodness, that swing sure is gorgeous when it connects. Sadly there’s no video of the home run to back that up, but trust me!

Second baseman Zander Darby had a very nice day, hitting 3-4 with a stolen base and a strikeout. A lefty who was taken in the 12th round in 2024, Darby had a very strong year in Low-A last season, but struggled following a late-season promotion to Eugene. So far he’s putting those struggles behind him, as he’s 8-15 with 3 extra-base hits on the year.

Low-A San Jose (4-1)

San Jose Giants beat the Visalia Rawhide 8-2
Box score

Bryce Eldridge might have had the most exciting game in the system thanks to his proximity to the Majors. But there can be no denying who had the best game: shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL).

2025 was a breakout year for Level, a switch-hitter who turned 19 just a few weeks ago. But if the 1st week is any indication, 2026 is somehow going to be an even better year.

Level was utterly superb in this game, hitting 3-5 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 1 strikeout. Yeeeeeesh.

Level held his own in a short High-A stint last year, which was mighty impressive given his age. But this year he’s downright killing it, hitting 12-23 with 6 extra-base hits, 2 walks, and 3 stolen bases. Given his prospect pedigree and his defensive chops, plus the fact that he spent some time at the level last year, it wouldn’t be surprising to me if he ends up getting a fairly early promotion, assuming he keeps hitting like this. In the meantime, if you live in the Bay Area, maybe get to a Baby Giants game and enjoy the show while it’s still there. This dude is unreal!

Catcher Junior Barajas is having quite a professional debut, as he had yet another standout game, hitting 2-4 with a home run, a walk, and a strikeout. The 11th-round pick last year has hit safely in all 4 of his games in his debut season, and that underscores just how good he’s been: he’s 8-19 with 6 extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. Those are good numbers for anyone, but especially exciting stats for a player who has some solid chops behind the dish.

Taken 1 round ahead of Barajas last year was designated hitter Isaiah Barkett, who is a second baseman by trade. The 22-year old out of Stetson has only played in 2 games in his debut season, but he has also made quite an impression: after going 2-3 with a double and a walk in his debut, he went 3-4 on Wednesday, hit his first professional home run, and bopped another double. Happy debuts all around!

First baseman Jeremiah Jenkins, a 14th-round pick in 2024, continued his nice season, hitting 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout in his 2nd game of the year.

The best game on the mound came from a great story: RHP Sam Bower. Bower was an 11th round pick back in 2022 out of St. Mary’s, and was born in Visalia (hey, that’s who the Giants were playing!). But, due to a series of injuries, the 22-year old entered 2026 — technically his 5th season as a pro — still looking to make his Minor League debut.

That debut happened on Friday, and it didn’t go well, but it was a huge milestone nonetheless. But on Wednesday he made his 2nd appearance, and this was one he’ll remember, as Bower tossed 2 no-hit innings in relief, allowing just 1 baserunner on a walk, while striking out 3 batters and recording his 1st career win. What a great moment, and hopefully there are many, many more games in his future.

RHP Mauricio Estrella, who turns 22 next week, continued his great season of relief, throwing 2 shutout innings with 3 hits allowed … but 4 strikeouts. Through 2 games, Estrella has 7 strikeouts in 3.2 scoreless frames.

Like Bower and Estrella, RHP Dylan Carter pitched in his 2nd game of the year, and like Bower, it put a bad season debut well behind him, as the 2025 UDFA threw a perfect 9th inning with 2 strikeouts.

RHP Cody Delvecchio got the start, and it didn’t go as well as his sensational debut last week. The 2025 12th-round pick out of UCLA gave up some hard contact, as he allowed 4 hits (including 2 doubles) in 3 innings of work. That, plus a walk, tagged him for 2 earned runs, though he struck out 4 batters. Impressively, the recently-turned 22 year old threw 49 of 64 pitches for strikes, which you know the Giants love to see.

Home run tracker

2 — Victor Bericoto — [AAA]
2 — Jhonny Level — [Low-A]
2 — Junior Barajas — [Low-A]
1 — Bryce Eldridge — [AAA]
1 — Drew Gilbert — [AAA]
1 — Diego Cartaya — [High-A]
1 — Isaiah Barkett — [Low-A]

Thursday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Las Vegas (SP: Carson Whisenhunt)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Altoona (SP: Greg Farone)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Vancouver (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 6:00 p.m. PT vs. Visalia (SP: Jordan Gottesman)

The Yankees have generally gotten off to a winning start this season, with only a few things here and there going wrong. One thing that has definitely gone wrong for them has been the fact that they’ve gotten hardly any production out of the lower order of the lineup. As it turns out, that’s a big issue when the top part of the lineup also has a bad day.

Facing Jeffrey Springs and the Athletics, the Yankees were held to just one hit all day, as it took very late into the game to even get on the board there. Springs allowed just one Ben Rice single and two walks in his seven innings, before turning it over to an A’s bullpen that didn’t give up much more.

On the mound for the Yankees, you can’t really complain about anything that happened there. While he does go down as the losing pitcher, Ryan Weathers had a very good afternoon. He ended up going eight innings, allowing one run on seven scattered hits, while striking out seven. He very much looked like the intriguing pitcher the Yankees traded for, and that should and probably will be a performance that gets rewarded almost every other time.

However, it wasn’t in this one, as the Yankees’ offense struggled too much, dropping the game and the series in a 1-0 loss to the Athletics.

The pitching matchup on paper didn’t seem like it had massive pitchers’ duel potential, but that’s what it was. As mentioned, the Yankees didn’t record a hit until the seventh, and Weathers was able to at least keep putting up zeroes in the run column, even though the A’s had a couple more chances. Eventually, the Athletics broke through for the game’s only run.

Leading off the top of the seventh, Max Muncy tripled after Cody Bellinger (filling in for Trent Grisham, who had the day off) slightly misplayed the ball off the wall. Tyler Soderstrom immediately followed that with a hit of his own to plate Muncy with the game’s only score.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees finally got into the hit column when Rice singled. Giancarlo Stanton had already drawn a walk, and the hit set up the Yankees’ first real RISP chance of the day, but that failed to amount to anything. Similarly, they had a couple runners on in the eighth against Justin Sterner for Aaron Judge, but he could only muster an inning-ending groundout.

Despite allowing a double, Paul Blackburn threw a scoreless frame in the top of the ninth to keep the Yankees in striking distance. However, they would only remain in striking distance and not actually striking, as they went down fairly meekly at the hands of Hogan Harris, who retired them in order in the ninth.

This was a game where you can’t even bemoan them stranding runners in scoring position as, while they did do that a little bit, they didn’t even get a ton of opportunities. The left-on-base total for the game ended up at just five. As a result, the Yankees have taken a series loss for the first time all season, and we have our first stretch that we can truly complain about in 2026. Hooray?

Having wrapped up their first homestand of the season, the Yankees will now head south. They’re set to make their first trip to the reopened Tropicana Field tomorrow night at 7:10 pm ET. Luis Gil will make his 2026 debut in that one, going opposite Steven Matz.

Box Score

Mets left-hander A.J. Minter began his rehab assignment with a clean inning at Single-A Port St. Lucie on Thursday afternoon.

The reliever had a quick outing, needing only nine pitches to get the three batters he faced, including a strikeout looking, aided by a timely ABS challenge.

Speaking in Queens ahead of Thursday’s game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza indicated it could still be a bit of time before the 32-year-old reliever is ready to pitch again in the big leagues as he looks to return from a torn left lat.

“We started the clock,” Mendoza said. “It will be one of those where, if we have to use every single day, we will. But the fact that he’s in real competition is a good sign.”

Minter averaged 93 mph on his four fastballs, which was down 1.5 mph from his average last season. He got one whiff on three swings, which came on his hardest heater of the afternoon at 93.5 mph.

The cutter was good, getting three called strikes on four pitches, including the put-away on the strikeout. His average velocity of 89.8 was right in line with his average from a year ago.

The Mets have 30 days for Minter to complete his rehab, which puts him on track for a late-April or early-May return.

Fresh off a come from behind, ninth inning victory over the New York Yankees last night, the two teams were back at it this morning for the rubber match of the 3-game series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Jeffrey Springs got the start for the Athletics today against Ryan Weathers for the Yankees.

Both pitchers were rock solid through five innings. Weathers allowed four hits and no walks, and Springs held them hitless through five with just one walk. The only negative so far was Brent Rooker leaving the game during his first at-bat. After a swing and a miss, he immediately asked to be lifted from the game in pain. Lawrence Butler replaced him. The initial report was right side soreness. Look here for more info once we hear anything.

Springs continued holding the Yankees hitless through six innings, but despite a mattering of hits, the A’s have yet to score. Max Muncy tripled off the wall in deep right-centerfield to open the seventh inning.

Tyler Soderstrom drove him in with a single to right. Austin Wynns dropped a nice sacrifice bunt to move Soderstrom to second with just one out.

With one out in the seventh, Springs walked Giancarlo Stanton and then Ben Rice singled for the first hit of the game for the Yankees. The Yankees successfully executed a double steal with pinch runner Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rice. But Austin Wells flied out to left to end the inning and the threat. Headed to the top of the eighth inning, the A’s led the Yankees 1-0.

Springs exited the game in the bottom of the eighth, replaced by Justin Sterner. After two quick outs, he walked Amed Rosario. That brought up Aaron Judge. After working Sterner to a full count, Judge grounded out to second to end the inning.

Former A’s hurler Paul Blackburn came in to pitch the ninth for the A’s. With one out, Max Muncy doubled. Soderstrom grounded out, but that allowed Muncy to advance to third, but now with two outs. Wynns struck out to end the top half of the inning and brought a bottom of the ninth showdown.

Hogan Harris entered to pitch the ninth. He got Bellinger and Chisholm Jr. on pop outs. That brought up Ben Rice. He may have spoiled Springs’ no-no, but he was not going to spoil the win for the A’s and the save for Harris. The A’s took the series from the Yankees and now head to Flushing Meadows for a three-game set against the neighboring Mets.

For the Yankees, avoiding infamy might have felt like a minor victory.

But there was no real victory. And for 12 innings stretching across two miserable days, there was not even a hit.

Out of nowhere, as if their bats were suddenly dealing with a termite infestation, the Yankees offense disappeared. Following a single from Amed Rosario in Wednesday’s fourth inning and into Thursday’s seventh inning, Yankees batters went 0-for-36 and made Jeffrey Springs — less ace and more crafty lefty — look like Gerrit Cole.

Ben Rice ensured the 40,392 chilly fans in The Bronx would not witness history, but that proved to be the most positive moment of the matinee in what became a 1-0 loss to the A’s, who handed the Yankees their first series defeat of the season.

“We got shut down today,” said manager Aaron Boone, an eternal optimist who found no offensive silver lining. “The previous games where we’ve struggled scoring, I feel like we’re getting the traffic, we’re having quality at-bats.

“Today was the day we got beat.”

The Yankees (8-4) had looked like a buzzsaw until pitching from West Sacramento created a malfunction. Against Luis Severino and the A’s bullpen Wednesday, the Yankees totaled one hit after the first inning — the Rosario knock, which was erased by a double play — and flirted with true disaster a day later, finishing with a single hit.

Springs took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and never threw a pitch that registered even 93 mph. The veteran lefty was efficient, in control and pitching to weak contact on an afternoon when hopeless Yankees at-bats lent some belief that the 33-year-old could etch his name into history books.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, a walk cracked open the door. Giancarlo Stanton worked a strong at-bat and earned the Yankees’ second base on balls of the game, and first baseman Nick Kurtz — likely aware of Stanton’s sneak-attack steal a few days prior — held him on first base.

Rice took advantage of the hole and grounded a single through the right side, prompting cheers from the fans and exhales from the Yankees.

There was “a little bit” of a sigh of relief, Rice acknowledged, but even the breakthrough was mitigated.

“Kind of a seeing-eye ground ball,” Rice added. “But it feels good to see one get through.”

The hit did not lead to a run. With two on and one out, Randal Grichuk struck out and Austin Wells flied out to strand two. That would conclude the drama, the Yankees unable to find a second hit.

Wells went hitless in three at-bats and is batting .167 through 10 games. José Caballero, who is ensuring that Anthony Volpe’s job is safe, owns a .135 average. Ryan McMahon, who heard boos Wednesday and found himself back in the lineup even against a lefty a day later, is down to .069 in 12 games with a revamped batting stance that apparently takes some time to master. Add in the struggles of Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.186), who came off the bench and stole a base but flied out in his lone at-bat, and the bottom of the Yankees order is a wasteland.

“We’ll get this going,” said Boone, whose Yankees — for all their recent hitting struggles — have lost by a single run in each of their defeats. “We got a few guys struggling to get on track a little bit.”

Thursday was not a case of smashed line drives from the Yankees dying in gloves.

Against Springs — who struck out six in seven innings and maxed out at 92.6 mph — the Yankees struck one pitch that left a bat over 100 mph — a second-inning flyout from Rice. Otherwise, a lineup intended to mash a lefty — featuring Rosario as the leadoff hitter and Grichuk, righties who were brought in for these exact scenarios — looked like one that is not looking forward to seeing southpaw Steven Matz in Tampa on Friday.

“We didn’t generate much. We didn’t hit a lot of balls on the screws,” said Boone, whose club wasted excellence from Ryan Weathers (eight strong innings of one-run ball).

The Yankees cannot wait to get hot. At least they can do so literally beginning at Tropicana Field on Friday.

“Definitely looking forward to that [weather],” Rice said.

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Just when it feels like the home run market can’t get any tighter, MLB rolls out a six-game Thursday slate filled with tricky spots for targeting long balls and MLB player props.

That said, Kansas City stands out as the premier hitting environment on the board. With a high total, favorable wind conditions, and plus-money value on both sides, the matchup at Kauffman Stadium offers some of the best opportunities of the day. There are several +400 or longer home run prices worth targeting in this game, while the rest of the slate presents far fewer appealing options.

As a result, I’m locking in three bats from the Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals matchup for my favorite home run props and MLB picks on Thursday, April 9.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Munetaka Murakami	+410
Bobby Witt Jr.	+470
Miguel Vargas	+590
💲Today's HR parlay	+14148

Munetaka Murakami (+410)

Kauffman Stadium has the best home run conditions on the board today, as Thursday features one of the thinnest slates of the year, with just a handful of games and cold weather across the East Coast.

Munetaka Murakami projects as the most likely player to go deep, with a 0.28 HR projection per Covers, powered by THE BAT. With a fair price around +320, the Chicago White Sox slugger offers solid expected value in a limited market.

Seth Lugo is prone to giving up power, allowing 27 home runs over 145 innings last year, ranking among the higher HR/9 rates. With double-digit winds blowing out to left field, the total has climbed as high as 9.5.

Murakami hasn’t piled up hits yet, but half of his knocks have gone over the fence. The matchup, environment, and price all line up well in this spot.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network App, ROYL

Bobby Witt Jr. (+470)

Although Bobby Witt Jr. has yet to go deep, he leads the Kansas City Royals with a .409 xwOBA, which ranks inside the Top 25 in baseball. He’s been unlucky, but positive regression should be coming soon.

The hitting conditions at home are among the best on the slate, and he gets a favorable matchup against Anthony Kay, who has allowed a home run in each of his two starts and profiles as a contact-heavy arm.

Kay is also giving up plenty of hard contact — 92.4 mph average exit velocity — and the Chicago bullpen is also without three key arms. 

As the weather improves, Witt’s HR price will likely drop below today’s number more consistently. This is a good spot to buy in on one of the top players in baseball in a strong matchup and favorable environment.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network App, ROYL

Miguel Vargas (+590)

Let’s keep attacking one of the best home run environments on the board and go back to the Chicago side with the No. 3 hitter, Miguel Vargas, who projects better than his current price. THE BAT has Vargas closer to +500, creating a solid edge.

Vargas draws a favorable matchup against Lugo, a pitcher who can be vulnerable to the long ball. The profile fits — we’re not looking for singles here, just power — and the conditions only help with double-digit winds blowing out.

On a thin slate, there’s value in double-dipping against a homer-prone arm in a strong weather spot.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Chicago Sports Network App, ROYL

Today’s HR parlay

Munetaka Murakami	Bet Now +14148
Bobby Witt Jr.
Miguel Vargas

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The San Diego Padres are returning to Petco Park today after a wonderful stretch for the Friars on the road.

After starting off the season 2-4, they won both away series and are coming back to San Diego sitting at .500. The vibes are high after their 8-2 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday.

With a pitcher’s duel going through six-plus innings between starters Michael King and Mitch Keller, the Friars put up a four-run seventh inning. It was a lead they wouldn’t surrender, despite King and Kyle Hart allowing two runs in the bottom of the seventh to the Bucs.

The game reminded the Friar Faithful who the Padres are. Their pitching mostly dominated, the offense hammered mistakes and they were aggressive on the base paths.

With a four-game series against the division-rival Colorado Rockies starting today, San Diego will look to capitalize on their momentum.

Taking the mound

Jimmy Herget (COL) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

With José Quintana scratched after landing on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, the Rockies didn’t announce their starting pitcher until today.

They’ll likely make it a bullpen game after ace Michael Lorenzen pitched 5 2/3 innings against the Houston Astros in Colorado’s 9-1 win yesterday. Jimmy Herget will lead off the group.

The Rockies’ bullpen has been quite good through the first two weeks of the season, posting a 2.91 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. It would be a surprise if San Diego can’t find a solution for their division rivals, with them going 10-3 against Colorado last season.

However, in the past the Friars have (for whatever reason) had difficulty beating the struggling Rox. They did a good job last year putting those woes to bed, hopefully they can tonight as well.

Vásquez has shown flashes of bonafide ace stuff in his first two starts for the club. In 12 innings pitched, he has a 0.75 ERA with only one run allowed thus far.

Vásquez was a back-end starter for the Padres going into this year, but he’s pitching like a front-end one. He’s managed to stymie a Detroit Tigers lineup that, two days earlier, tagged Nick Pivetta for six runs.

There’s nothing to suggest he can’t handle this Rockies lineup just like he did the Tigers and the Boston Red Sox already this year. But, if Vásquez does stumble, the bullpen is rested well enough to dominate.

Batter up!

With Manny Machado getting a rest day yesterday, he’ll be back at the hot corner tonight. But Miguel Andujar had a great day in his place, going 2-for-4 at the plate. This road trip has been great for Andujar, after ending the homestand with a .167 batting average, he’s since raised it to .310 in the last six games.

But Nick Castellanos was also great yesterday (1 H, 2 RBI, 1 BB). This is exactly what San Diego had in mind when they signed Castellanos and Andujar: make it difficult to not have them in the 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. Nick Castellanos, 1B
8. Freddy Fermin, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

If the offense can keep it rolling after pounding out 24 hits against Pittsburgh, they’ll be able to solve the Rockies’ pitching staff easily.

Relief corps

King went six full innings yesterday and came back out for the seventh before giving up back-to-back hits. That forced manager Craig Stammen’s hand and he was lifted in favor of Kyle Hart. Hart looked a little shaky but managed to get out relatively unscathed (1 H, 1 BB).

Behind him was Jeremiah Estrada in the eighth inning and closer Mason Miller in the ninth. Estrada looked more like his usual dominant self despite his recent lackluster performances.

Miller’s strikeout streak came to an end at 11 with Jake Mangum’s game-ending groundout, but he has still yet to allow a run in 26 2/3 innings.

Today’s game will likely see Bradgley Rodriguez, Wandy Peralta, Ron Marinaccio, Adrian Morejon and David Morgan available out of the ‘pen.

Morejon has struggled lately, and that was highlighted by his inability to get more than one out in Tuesday’s 1-7 loss to the Pirates. If he can begin to rebound from his (thus far) dull performance, it will go a long way towards assuaging worries about his relief appearances.

Miller will likely be available as well to close even though he pitched yesterday. He was efficient, only throwing 10 pitches, and the Friars have shown a willingness to use him in consecutive games.

The Yankees fell to the Athletics by a score of 1-0 on Thursday afternoon, dropping the rubber match of the three-game series.

Here are the takeaways...

-- With lefty Jeffrey Springs on the mound, Aaron Boone changed things up with the lineup. Amed Rosario led off, playing second base, and Randal Grichuk got the start in left. Of note, Paul Goldschmidt did not get the start at first base against the lefty, with Ben Rice getting the nod. Boone said before the game that with the Yanks facing lefties in three of their next four games, Goldschmidt will see plenty of playing time.

But the Yankees had no answers for Springs. The former Ray held them hitless through the first five innings, allowing just one walk and striking out four during that span. 

Finally, after 6.1 innings of no-hit ball, Ben Rice came through with a single through the right side, which followed a Giancarlo Stanton walk to put a couple of runners on base. The A's got out of it, though, as Austin Wells flew out with a pair of runners in scoring position to end the threat.

Springs went 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out six and walking a pair. He lowered his season ERA to 1.47.

--The A’s lineup suffered a blow early, as right fielder Brent Rooker appeared to tweak something in either his back or side when swinging at a pitch in the first inning. Rooker, the three-hole hitter, had to be removed from the game and replaced by Lawrence Butler.

--Ryan Weathers, who has gotten off to an inconsistent start to his Yankees career, looked sharp early. The lefty started the game with three scoreless innings, striking out three while allowing just two hits. 

Weathers and Springs traded zeros through the first six innings, but Weathers allowed a leadoff triple to Max Muncy to start the seventh. Tyler Soderstrom cashed in with an RBI single, putting the first run on the board for either team.

Weathers turned in what was easily his best start as a Yankee, going 8.0 innings while allowing just one earned run on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

-- The Yankees finished with just one hit, and have just two hits total since the first inning of Wednesday's game.

Highlights

They call it the hot corner for a reason 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/TdWddMPbSc

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 9, 2026

Aaron Judge catches Nick Kurtz sleeping for the inning-ending double play pic.twitter.com/VrxI1aNScF

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 9, 2026

A hit pic.twitter.com/r7QtZsSgHu

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 9, 2026

Upcoming Schedule

The Yankees head to Tampa for three games against the Rays, beginning on Friday at 7:10 p.m.

Luis Gil faces Steven Matz in the series-opener.

The Royals continued to shuffle their bullpen Thursday, adding relievers Eli Morgan and Mitch Spence from Triple-A Omaha, while sending Luinder Avila and Steven Cruz down. Avila and Cruz each pitched extensively in Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland. Morgan was up last Saturday as the 27th man for the doubleheader against Milwaukee, pitching three scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Morgan has pitched parts of five seasons with the Guardians and Cubs before this season, posting a 4.15 ERA in 275.2 innings, mostly as a reliever. His best year came in 2024 when he posted a 1.93 ERA, although he pitched in just 32 games. He pitched in just seven games last year before he injured his elbow in April and missed the rest of the season. The Royals signed the 29-year-old as a minor league free agent this past winter.

Spence was acquired from the Athletics in a trade for minor league reliever A.J. Causey. He has pitched parts of the last two seasons with the Athletics, mostly as a starter, with a 4.77 ERA in 236 innings. Last year he made 24 relief appearances and 8 starts, with a 5.10 ERA in 84.2 innings. He gave up just one unearned run over five innings in his only start for Omaha this year.

Avila has given up 14 hits, 4 walks and six runs in six innings with the Royals. He is ranked as the #9 prospect in the farm system and the team considers him a future top-of-the-rotation starter. Cruz has given up eight runs in five innings for a 14.40 ERA, with four home runs allowed, tied for the most in the league.

What's really behind Phillies' recent offensive drought originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The four-run seventh inning of Monday’s game at Oracle Park feels like forever ago.

That’s because the Phillies have not scored a run since then — 20 consecutive scoreless innings without one.

“Has it been that long?” Bryce Harper asked reporters after yet another shutout loss in San Francisco, sounding genuinely thrown by the number.

When the Phillies embarked on this West Coast trip after last Thursday’s electrifying comeback win, capped by Justin Crawford’s walk-off hit against the Nationals, it felt like the offense had some life again.

When they got to Colorado, they wasted no time carrying that momentum with them. They hung a statement seven-run first inning on the Rockies. Eleven batters came to the plate. They saw 44 pitches. It was an offensive clinic.

And yet, from that point on, the lineup has looked like a different group.

The Phillies did win the series in Colorado, but after that first inning, they scored only six runs over the final 26 innings against one of baseball’s weakest pitching staffs. Then they went farther west and into San Francisco, where they fell behind 4-0 through four innings in the opener before clawing all the way back behind six unanswered runs.

That game, more than anything, now looks like the exception.

Since that first inning in Denver, the Phillies have scored just 12 runs in 53 innings. That is the fewest in baseball over that span. They are batting .199 with a .574 OPS in the stretch, the third-lowest OPS in the sport.

So where is the real problem?

Recently, it has not been the top of the order.

That group was the main topic through the first six games of the season, all played at home. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper finished that first week slashing .164/.256/.315, a .571 OPS.

Over the last six games on the road, that same trio has slashed .302/.436/.508, a .944 OPS.

That is a massive swing, and it’s key, because the easiest storyline early on was that the stars at the top had not started hitting. Right now, that is not where the offense is breaking down. And it is hard to pin it on the bottom, either.

The Phillies have gotten quality at-bats from the last two spots in the order, mostly J.T. Realmuto and Crawford. Those lineup spots have combined for the second-highest on-base percentage in baseball at .362, trailing only the Dodgers.

That leaves the middle. More specifically, it leaves the fourth through seventh spots.

On the season, those spots are slashing .199/.256/.306, almost identical to what the offense has looked like during this recent dry spell. And when you split it apart further, the picture gets clearer.

Adolis García, who has spent time in that section of the lineup, has not been the issue. Neither has Brandon Marsh. García owns a .738 OPS. Marsh is at .727. Both have looked like contributors.

The bigger issue has been Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, who have primarily occupied the cleanup and fifth spots. Bohm is hitting .186 with a .550 OPS. Stott is hitting .167 with a .405 OPS, the fourth-lowest mark among qualified National League hitters.

That is where the offense has bogged down. Oddly enough, though, there is a caveat.

One issue that has been there since day one is the Phillies’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position. The club is batting .200 in those spots, second-worst in the league.

But the team’s two best hitters in those situations so far, even in a small sample, are Bohm and Stott.

Bohm is hitting .333 with runners in scoring position. Stott is at .250.

So the criticism of that four-five pocket is fair, but it is not as simple as saying those two have been the reason the Phillies have not scored. In the spots that matter most, they have actually been among the better producers.

The issue is that the lineup has not clicked in order. Too often, when one section has gotten going, another has stalled. That is why Rob Thomson’s postgame comments Wednesday were worth paying attention to. He did not sound like someone ready to overreact. But he also did not sound like someone ruling out a tweak.

When asked if he might shake up the lineup after the off day, he said, “Yeah, a little bit. I might.”

That is important because the likely changes are not hard to see.

García can move into the cleanup spot. Marsh, against right-handed pitching, can slide into the fifth spot. Bohm and Stott can each move down a couple of slots.

And if García and Marsh keep getting on, that could put Bohm and Stott in the exact situations where they have actually had success so far — with traffic on the bases and less pressure to be the engines of the offense.

A major topic all offseason was how to give Harper more right-handed protection in the middle of the order. Dave Dombrowski’s answer was García on a one-year prove-it deal worth $10 million.

Thomson, though, has long preferred a contact-oriented run producer like Bohm in the four-hole. That is understandable. It is also why this part of the season is magnified. It is where roles start to sort themselves out.

García’s biggest problem over the last two seasons has not been bat speed or power. It has been patience and pitch selection. His average chase rate over that stretch was 34.7 percent. His swing rate sat at 52.1 percent. His in-zone contact rate was 78.5 percent.

This year, in a smaller sample, the changes are real. He is chasing at just a 29.8 percent clip, swinging 48.2 percent of the time and making contact on in-zone pitches at an 87.5 percent rate. Those improvements mirror the progress he made in spring training, when he walked eight times and struck out only five.

If García can maintain that, and if Marsh continues doing what he has always done against right-handers, the middle of the order could start to look a lot more functional.

But that is the point. “Could.”

The Phillies are 6-6. They are playing .500 baseball. They are only 1.5 games out of first in the NL East. This is not a crisis piece. It should not be one. They’re just 12 games in.

Harper, looking at the bigger picture, put it plainly after Wednesday’s shutout loss in San Francisco.

“We have to be that team,” he said. “Because if we’re not, then we’re not going to be where we want to be at the end.”

That is probably the right way to read this. And a slump like this did happen last year.

The last time the Phillies were shut out for more than 20 straight innings was last June, when they went 26 innings without scoring against the Mets and Astros. Their next game, they scored 13 runs in Atlanta.

The Phillies and Thomson could certainly use one of those nights when they get back to home and face the Diamondbacks on Friday night. And if the skipper does make a tweak, it will not be because the lineup is broken.

It will be because right now, it just is not clicking in the right order.

If you’ve ever been to a game at Coors Field and wondered what that’s song, say, Willi Castro is walking up to, and the clip is too short to Shazam, Reader, I am here to answer your questions.

Below are (most of) the 2026 music selections of the Colorado Rockies.

Zach Agnos — Jacob Banks’ “Chainsmoking” (from the beginning)

Jordan Beck — A$AP Rocky’s “Everyday” (:16-:32)

Willi Castro— Crazy DesignRD’s “Porón Pompón” (:04)

Chase Dollander — Kai Uriah’s “Bound 2 Be” (from the beginning)

Brenton Doyle — Bad Wolves’ “Zombie Bad Wolves” (1:03)

Tyler Freeman — Cody Johnson’s “Dear Rodeo” (:52)

Hunter Goodman — Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t” (0:59)

Jimmy Herget — BigXThaPlug’s “Back on my BS” (from the beginning)

Jaden Hill — YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Bruce Wayne” (Best Clean Version from YouTube) (1:02)

Troy Johnston — Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” (0:03)

Edouard Julien — GIMS and Le Mano 1.9’s “Parisienne” (0:30)

Kyle Karros — Toro & Moi’s “The Difference Flume” (0:36)

Michael Lorenzen — KB’s “10k” (from the beginning)

Jake McCarthy — Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” (6:40)

Juan Mejia — Juan Luis Guerra’s “Soldado” (from the beginning)

Mickey Moniak — Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” (from the beginning)

José Quintana — La Moral’s “Criss 7 Ronny, lil Silvo” (from the beginning)

T.J. Rumfield — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark” (0:41)

Tomoyuki Sugano — HUNTR/X’s “Golden” (0:55)

Brett Sullivan — Big X Tha Plug’s “Holy Ground” (0:26)

Ezequiel Tovar — Rawayana’s “Inglés en Miami” (0:37)

Victor Vodnik — 2Pac’s “Ambitionz AZ A Riddah” (from the beginning)

We’ll try to keep this list updated throughout the season.

Let us know your favorites (or musical suggestions!) in the comments.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Welcome to The California Post’s weekly Dodgers main recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was –– publishing every Thursday.

TORONTO –– What became a controversial subplot in Game 7 of the World Series last fall has reemerged as a recurring storyline in this season’s early weeks.

For virtually every other pitcher in Major League Baseball, the rules about warming up for an inning are simple: A two-minute timer begins with the conclusion of the previous half-inning. If they’re not ready to face the leadoff batter by then, they risk incurring an automatic ball via pitch-clock violation.

For Shohei Ohtani, however, there is one loophole only he can really exploit.

As stated on the league’s website: “If the pitcher is on base, on deck or at-bat when the (previous) inning ends, the timer begins when the pitcher leaves the dugout for the mound.”

That modification, of course, wasn’t created explicitly for the Dodgers’ two-way star. In rare situations, a handful of pitchers still get at-bats each season.

Still, given there’s only one pitcher who hits full time in the majors anymore, it might as well be called the Ohtani Caveat.

“If you’re on the other side, you’re trying to rush him as much as possible and treat him like any other pitcher,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But the truth is, he’s different.”

Thus, don’t expect his routine to change soon.

Just like in Game 7 last year –– when he took his sweet time getting to the mound between innings, frustrating Blue Jays players and coaches wondering why he was granted so much leeway –– Ohtani has capitalized upon the carve-out during his first two pitching starts this season.

If he was at-bat, on base or on deck the previous half-inning, the clock has automatically been reset to two minutes once he reemerges from the dugout. Even if it takes most of the original two minutes for him to get out there.

On both occasions, the dynamic did not seem to go unnoticed by Dodgers opponents. Last week, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt came out to talk to an umpire the first time the clock was reset for Ohtani. On Wednesday, in Ohtani’s return to Rogers Centre to face the Blue Jays, it was veteran slugger George Springer who seemed to check with the crew about Ohtani’s added warm-up time.

Some drama between the #BlueJays and #Dodgers.

George Springer approached HP umpire Dan Bellino to inquire about the amount of warmup time for Shohei Ohtani.

Dave Roberts was visibly annoyed in the dugout.

(: @sportsnet) #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/HwghO9tdnQ

— Daniele Franceschi (@Daniele_Media) April 8, 2026

When asked about it postgame, Roberts said he could “understand their gripe.” However, he countered by referencing Ohtani’s unique two-way job title, arguing that “there’s got to be some grace, which I think the umpires are giving him.”

How much it really helps Ohtani is another question altogether. On the one hand, he’s only really getting an extra minute or two per start (time that is mostly spent in the dugout changing out of his batting gear anyway). On the other, any extra breather might make a difference for the 31-year-old right-hander, who said Wednesday he was battling some fatigue at the end of a long road trip.

Either way, MLB’s rules are clear –– which means the Dodgers won’t apologize even if it’s disproportionately helping their four-time MVP.

As Roberts said, Ohtani is different, right down to the way in which the rulebook applies to him.

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Christian Scott's second start of the year for Triple-A Syracuse went a lot better than his first.

The Mets right-hander, who is continuing to stretch out innings-wise after being out since September of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, fired five scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out seven.

Scott's four-seam fastball, which he relied on heavily, topped out at 97.2 mph. He also threw plenty of sweepers while mixing in his cutter and split-change.

Four of Scott's strikeouts came when he got batters to chase his sweeper, while one came looking on a slider. The other two came swinging on four-seamers. 

There wasn't much hard contact against Scott, who threw 76 pitches (52 strikes).

The 26-year-old impressed during spring training, when he had his first game action since 2024.

Along with Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger, Scott is a vital part of the Mets' starting pitching depth, and should impact the major league club at some point this season.

If the Mets have a need and Scott is performing well, it's possible he will be the first pitcher called upon. 

Tong has only made five career starts at Triple-A and is working to refine his secondary pitches, while Wenninger has yet to make his big league debut (and is not on the 40-man roster). 

The Mets, who are not planning to go to a six-man rotation any time soon, are using a five-man rotation that consists of Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Kodai Senga.

After tossing 5.1 shutout innings in his first start of the season, Peterson has struggled, allowing 11 runs (six earned) on 15 hits over his last two starts spanning 9.1 innings.

Manager Carlos Mendoza addressed Peterson's difficulties after Wednesday's game, saying the club was not considering a change in the rotation.

Peterson, who has been jumped by hitters early in counts a lot in his last two outings, believes part of his issue has been pitch sequencing.

Right-hander Christian Scott was excellent in his second start for Triple-A Syracuse

5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. He threw 76 pitches (52 strikes) and generated 14 swing & misses

His fastball touched 97.2 mph and he also threw his sweeper, gyro slider and split-change pic.twitter.com/zI3ZECAhML

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) April 9, 2026

Now that the minor league season is in full swing, I wanted to do an update on how players are doing at each level. The Nats system is deeper than it has been in a long time, so there is quite a bit to get to. So far, the Nats affiliates have been doing a lot of winning, with every team above .500. With that being said, let’s dive into some performances.

Low-A Standouts:

I am going to start at the lower levels and work my way up, so the Fredericksburg Nationals are the first team I will talk about. The Fred Nats are absolutely loaded with talent. Baseball America listed them as the 7th most talented team in the entire minor leagues. That means there are a lot of notable names to cover.

On a team with players such as first overall pick Eli Willits, MacKenzie Gore trade headliner Gavin Fien and others, Ronny Cruz has been the best hitter so far. Cruz came to the Nats in the Michael Soroka trade, and has been generating buzz all spring. He showed big time flashes on the back fields, and even hit a home run in big league Spring Training.

It looks like his impressive spring is translating to real games. Cruz has a 1.098 OPS so far, and all five of his hits have gone for extra bases. Two of those have been home runs. There was one game where the youngster was a single shy of the cycle. 

Cruz was seen as a raw prospect, but it looks like he has taken a major step in his development. Last season, he was decent in rookie ball, but now he is excelling in Low-A. Cruz had a winding journey that saw him go from the Dominican Republic to the US after an IFA deal fell through. Then, in his senior year of high school, he dealt with a knee injury. He was behind the 8 ball in terms of development, but now he has caught up.

The tools have never been in doubt with Cruz, but now he looks more polished. Despite a skinny frame, he has impressive power due to his raw bat speed. He is also a quality defender in the infield. Naturally, he is a shortstop, but has played second and third base with Eli Willits manning shortstop.

Speaking of Willits, he has not had the loudest start, only hitting .200 with a .604 OPS. However, I am confident the hits will fall. He only has four strikeouts and almost has as many walks, with three. It is only a matter of time before he heats up.

A couple other notable performers are pitchers Miguel Sime Jr. and Landon Harmon. Both made their pro debuts recently. Neither went very deep in the game, but both showed their excellent stuff. Sime was particularly impressive with 6 strikeouts in 2.1 innings to just one walk. 

High-A Standouts:

The next level we will visit is High-A. Right now, the Wilmington Blue Rocks are 3-1 and have looked good so far. They are not as stacked as the Fred Nats, but they have plenty of intriguing names we will discuss.

The first guy I want to talk about is Angel Feliz. Sending Feliz to High-A was an aggressive assignment that was likely caused by how many young infield prospects the Nats have. Feliz only played 31 games in Low-A, where he did not light it up. However, the Nats were bullish on his glove and wanted him to play shortstop at High-A.

So far, he has been surprisingly solid with the bat, despite being one of the youngest players in High-A. He has done a really good job controlling the zone, with 7 walks and just 2 strikeouts so far. Feliz is batting just .250, but his ability to get on base is why he has an .859 OPS. He also has a triple, which is his only extra base hit so far this season.

Taking your walks seems to be a theme in Wilmington so far. The two other top prospects at the level, Ethan Petry and Devin Fitz-Gerald are also walking a lot, with five each. Learning to take those walks will be helpful in these guys’ development. Eventually, they will get pitches to hit and we know these players have hitting chops.

Wilmington’s top pitching prospect is Yoel Tejada, who had an up and down first start. He struck out 7 in 4.1 innings, but he did allow three runs. Tejada is a massive 6’8 pitcher who has interesting upside. However, he is still quite raw.

Double-A Standouts:

From a record standpoint, the Harrisburg Senators are absolutely killing it. They are 5-0, and winning the game they are playing while I am writing this. Their offense has been explosive, and they have also had some fun pitching performances.

Right now, Sam Petersen is carrying the Senators offense. When Petersen is healthy, he absolutely rakes. It has been no different this season. Right now, he is hitting .364 with an OPS over 1.000. He may have been picked in the 8th round, but Petersen is the real deal.

MLB Pipeline has him as the 22nd ranked prospect in the system, which just feels too low. Petersen has a .937 OPS in his minor league career. Those numbers are just undeniable. The Nats have a lot of outfield prospects in the upper levels, but Petersen is the next man up and could force his way to the big leagues before too long.

However, Petersen is not the only hitter performing down there. After a rough start to his pro career, Seaver King has been heading in the right direction since the Arizona Fall League. His approach is much improved, and he is showing why the Nats took him in the top 10.

Right now, King has a .908 OPS on the season. He already has 8 walks, which is a great sign for a player who has faced concerns about chasing too much. We know King has the raw athleticism, he just needed to perform. With his athleticism and versatility, he could be in the big leagues by the end of the season.

On the mound, the Senators have a couple intriguing prospects worth following. While he is not in the Nats top 30 for MLB Pipeline, Davian Garcia is a name with a lot of helium. Baseball America listed him as a guy with breakout potential due to his uptick in velocity and improving command. In his first start, Garcia threw 4.2 innings of one run ball with five strikeouts and two walks.

Another high octane arm in AA is Eriq Swan. The Nats got him as part of the Alex Call return. Swan has control issues, but he has elite arm talent. He can touch triple digits and has a wipeout slider to go with it. In his first start of the season, he threw 4 no hit innings with two walks. This is likely a reliever profile, but if he looks how he did last night, he could be fast tracked.

Triple-A Standouts:

The Rochester Red Wings are such a fascinating team. They have prospects like Harry Ford, Abimelec Ortiz and others, but some of the most interesting guys are players with big league experience. The biggest name in that group is Dylan Crews.

The former second overall pick was sent down after a brutal spring. The idea was to have Crews rebuild his swing and confidence at a lower level. So far, the results have been solid, if not mind blowing. Crews is hitting .278 with an .830 OPS. One thing I do like is that he is walking at a 17% clip. The whiffs have been high, but after his spring, that is not a giant surprise. 

Crews hit a mammoth pull side homer the other day, which has gotten him going. In the last week or so, Crews has really heated up. If he can push that OPS close to .900, I think he will force Paul Toboni’s hand and get a call up before too long.

However, Crews is far from the only intriguing bat in Rochester. One player who has not done as well is Harry Ford, who the Nats acquired in an offseason trade. As usual, Ford is taking his walks, but the quality of contact has not been great so far. However, he had a slower April last year before hitting over .400 in May, so it is not time to panic at all.

One player I want to see in the big leagues soon is Abimelec Ortiz. He had a chance to win a job out of camp, but struggled this spring. However, he has had a great start in AAA. He has an .849 OPS and has more walks than strikeouts. I think he would plug in nicely to that DH spot against righties, a role currently held by Jose Tena.

On the pitching side of things, Andrew Alvarez and Riley Cornelio have been the standouts. Cornelio is the one who really catches my eye though. His stuff has been ticking up, and he is getting more whiffs than ever. The fastball has been particularly sharp so far, comfortably sitting in the mid-90’s.

Cornelio is 25 and on the 40 man roster, so I would not be opposed to giving him a shot in the rotation or the bullpen. The bullpen desperately needs help and I think Cornelio could be nasty in short bursts sitting 96-97 MPH. He will certainly get a big league look at some point, but it should happen sooner rather than later.

While there has not been much winning at the big league level, it is a different story in the minors. All of the teams are above .500, and I actually think that is a good sign for the overall health of the organization. Last year, the Nats minor league teams were not very good across the board. This year, that looks to be changing. Paul Toboni is taking a ground up approach to his project. Eventually, he hopes that minor league success will make its way to the big leagues.

Shohei Ohtani is back to being a full-time two-way player again, which adds another layer of complexity in managing his unique workload.

Ohtani pitched six innings in Wednesday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing only an unearned run. He was hitless in three at-bats at the plate, with a walk. That double duty is directly followed by the Dodgers’ scheduled off day Thursday, before starting a homestand on Friday.

“How you balance the workload, the focus on the pitching, to then still really lock in on those four or five at-bats, it’s not easy. Obviously, no one else is doing it,” manager Dave Roberts said last week during the opening homestand. “He definitely has a handle on it, I think as much as anyone can.”

Last year the Dodgers were deliberate in easing Ohtani back into pitching, a year and a half removed from his second Tommy John surgery. His two-way status affords the Dodgers an advantage currently unavailable to other teams — he doesn’t count against the limit of 13 pitchers on the active roster, so using a six-man rotation doesn’t deplete the bullpen; and when he pitches, he is allowed to remain in games as the designated hitter as long as he starts the game at both positions.

The Dodgers last year were fine with Ohtani pitching only one or two innings per start for the first few times out, because any amount he pitched were like free money, reducing the workload for the rest of the staff. But they also started him back on the mound in such a limited capacity because the alternative of building up in simulated rehab games proved to be too large of a burden on his time.

“We got to the point where it feels like we should take that next step, and almost finish the rehab at the major league level, because of the taxing nature of what he was doing,” general manager Brandon Gomes said last June. “So much of it the getting hot, throwing a live (batting practice) at 1:30, two o’clock, cooling down, then coming back and getting ready to lead off a game. I can’t even imagine how taxing that is.”

Another taxing stretch for Ohtani comes when pitching at home. When he bats leadoff, he has to pitch the top of the first inning, then go directly to the on-deck circle to prepare for his at-bat to begin the bottom of the frame.

“I do think that first at-bat is a tough one, especially when you’re at home. When you go from the mound to the on-deck circle to the batter’s box, I’m not saying it’s a throwaway, but it’s hard. It’s a quick transition,” Roberts said. “But then to figure out, how do you restructure the lineup for that one particular day, to appease that one at-bat, that’s a bigger question.”

Ohtani batted first in his March 31st start against at home, and grounded out to third base. He’s batted first 10 times in the bottom of the first inning directly after pitching the top of the frame, and has three hits, including two home runs, with two strikeouts. Roberts indicated during the homestand that it would take some time before considering moving Ohtani down in the lineup for games he pitches at Dodger Stadium.

“I’m more of a slow mover,” Roberts said. “So I would probably wait a little bit.”

Ohtani was fully stretched out by last September, and is stretched out now to start 2026. That means his workload could look more like his final three years with the Angels (2021-23), when he averaged 25 starts and 142 2/3 innings while also averaging 635 plate appearances per year.

Through Wednesday, Ohtani has batted 58 times and faced 47 batters while pitching, his 105 total plate appearances 19 more than Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, with the next-highest total. Ohtani’s most PA in a month last season was 193, batting 121 times and facing 72 batters while pitching last August.

In his rookie season, the Angels were conservative with Ohtani, who would not hit on the day he pitched, the day before, nor on the day after. He did not pitch in 2019 after his first Tommy John surgery and pitched only twice in 2021. In his first three seasons in Anaheim, Ohtani never batted the day he pitched (the two-way rule which allowed him to both pitch and be DH in the same game wasn’t implemented until 2022), and he only batted the day after he pitched once, in 2021, and was hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts.

Ohtani with the Dodgers has just four hits in 36 at-bats on the days after he pitched, but overall in his career his numbers in those situations have been pretty good, though with more strikeouts and fewer walks. The Dodgers are more concerned with managing his overall fatigue, and having fewer games batting the day after the heavy load of pitching, the better.

The schedule doesn’t always work out that cleanly for Ohtani to pitch the day before an off day, but it did this week, and likely will next week as well, with the Dodgers hosting the Texas Rangers and New York Mets at home before another off day next Thursday, April 16.

“If it’s feasible, we will certainly take that into consideration,” Roberts said. “I think you’ve seen that we’ve done that in the past.”

Last year, Ohtani made 14 regular season pitching starts plus four more during the postseason. Excluding the last of those starts — Game 7 of the World Series — Ohtani pitched before a Dodgers off day eight times in 18 start. One of which was by his own doing by eliminating the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series with arguably the greatest individual performance in baseball history, hitting three home runs to go with 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings on the mound.

Directly after the All-Star break last year, the Dodgers had six Thursdays off in a seven-week span, right around the time Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell returned, giving the team a fully-operational six-man rotation. Ohtani pitched five Wednesday’s in a row, four of which came with a built-in off day the following day. He also sat in a day game on Thursday, August 21 against the Colorado Rockies, his only true day off of last season while the division was still up for grabs.

After the Dodgers homestand, they play 32 games in a 34-day stretch, making it tougher to do any sort of maneuvering to pitch Ohtani directly before an off day. How they find ways to get him rest as he carries this dual workload will be one of the stories of the season. But it basically comes down to continually checking in with Ohtani to see how he’s holding up.

“When you’re pitching, the focus is pitching, then trying to layer in the importance of hitting. The day after, that’s case by case, start by start. Home, road, travel, there’s a lot of different variables,” Roberts said. “For me, it’s more just having a conversation and seeing how he feels, because he’s very in tune with his body.”