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

The Yankees recently returned home from a successful roadtrip during which they swept the Royals and took two out of three from the A’s. The offense awoke from its mid-May slumber, putting up 51 runs across the six games. One of the unlikely contributors at the heart of that scoring outburst was Paul Goldschmidt. Initially re-signed over the winter as cover at first base but more importantly to retain his veteran leadership, the 38-year-old former MVP has been one of the Yankees’ most productive bats, bringing much needed stability to a DH role impacted by the injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez.

We join Goldschmidt in the top of the first inning last Friday in West Sacramento. The Yankees are looking to make a first inning statement facing old friend Luis Severino, and have already opened the scoring after Ben Rice reached on a throwing error and scored on an Aaron Judge single. Cody Bellinger followed with a single of his own, he and Judge advancing into scoring position on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. soft grounder. Goldschmidt is a base knock away from making it 3-0, but Severino is also an out away from limiting the damage to one.

Severino starts Goldschmidt with a first pitch sinker at 97 mph, he and catcher Shea Langeliers looking to bust Goldschmidt inside.

Severino executes just the pitch he was intending, the sinker starting over the plate before riding in on Goldschmidt. It requires an impressive take from Goldschmidt given the pitch lands just a few inches from the zone — he starts his swing before recognizing that the movement of the pitch will run it off the plate inside for ball one and stops his swing in time.

Perhaps Severino spots Goldschmidt’s initial temptation to offer at that sinker, because he looks to throw a sweeper down a similar tunnel hoping he can get the batter to chase a pitch that breaks in the opposite direction.

Instead, Severino releases this pitch early, and it sweeps across the inside edge for called strike one. It is clear this is not the location that Severino intended to throw to when you see the target low and away that Langeliers flashes, but he gets the desired result all the same.

Severino next looks to leverage the result of the previous pitch — a sweeper that starts aimed inside and breaks glove-side back into the zone — to try to get Goldschmidt to chase a sinker in off the plate. To Goldschmidt, it should look like a hanging sweeper, and the increased velocity of the sinker means that by the time the hitter realizes what pitch is coming, it should be too late to halt his swing.

Once again, Severino rips of perfect execution of a sinker up and in. He buries this slider in on Goldschmidt’s hands, but Goldschmidt is forced to fight it off given that this one is in the zone. The location and movement of this pitch makes it impossible for Goldschmidt to do anything but fight it off foul.

Now that he has pushed the count to two strikes, Severino goes for the kill with the sweeper, Langeliers again setting a target low and away as the pair attempt to induce a chase and whiff from Goldschmidt over the breaker.

This is such a piece of professional hitting from Goldschmidt. He must have diagnosed the pitch early out of Severino’s hand, because at first glance this sweeper looks like it is aimed at his front hip. He also must have cued in on a subtle deficiency in Severino’s release point with all four pitches sailing up and in. To the eye, it certainly appears that Goldschmidt is hunting a breaking pitch in exactly this location based on what he has seen already from Severino in this encounter as well as the scouting report that reveals Severino’s tendency to throw the sweeper immediately upon reaching two strikes. Look at the way he stays in their despite the pitch exiting Severino’s hand aimed at him before unloading on this hanging sweeper for a three-run homer to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead.

Here’s the full AB:

Goldschmidt’s re-signing was initially derided as representative of the Yankees’ broader run it back approach to the offseason. However, his retention has proven an inspired decision in the wake of the injuries to Stanton and Domínguez. At the time of writing, Goldschmidt boasts seven home runs, 23 RBIs, and a 151 wRC+ in 35 games, which makes him the Yankees’ third-most productive hitter in a limited sample. The fact this home run came off a righty when Goldschmidt was expected to bat exclusively against lefties is also encouraging. Ben Rice has credited him as a mentor in learning the intricacies of playing first base, Goldschmidt giving them a capable defender as a late game substitution or when they want to give Rice half a day off at DH. The Yankees would not be within touching distance of the Rays for first in the division if not for Goldschmidt filling the void at DH, removing a ton of pressure off Stanton and Domínguez as they recover from their injuries.

Due to injuries to both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, the Atlanta Braves are currently having to dip into their reserve tank for help at the catcher spot. Part of that help had been provided by Chadwick Tromp, who did deliver a walk-off knock not too long ago. With that being said, Sandy León has been getting most of the reps behind the dish since the both of them became the top catchers’ duo in Atlanta and as a result, Tromp is now the latest Braves player to take the uncertain ride on the DFA cycle.

The Braves announced that they’ve acquired catcher Austin Wynns from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for cash considerations. Wynns is clearly taking the place of Tromp on the roster because Tromp has now been designated for assignment.

To put this in the nicest terms possible, Wynns has been very underwhelming at the plate so far this season. He’s had 43 plate appearances with the SacramentoAthletics where he hit .077/.143/.077 with a .285 wOBA, a -40 wRC+ and three runs scored. Wynns had been released by the A’s in mid-May, picked up by the Angels a few days afterwards and stashed at their Triple-A affiliate from then until now, as he’s been acquired by the Braves and subsequently called up from Triple-A as well. With all of that being said, Wynns does play some solid defense and as evidenced by the fact that León is getting regularly playing time seemingly solely due to his defense, the Braves have made their decision as to what they value from the catcher’s spot while Baldwin and Murphy are gone.

There was also some shuffling going on elsewhere on the roster that corresponded with this move. Outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. reportedly had an opt-out in his contract where if he wasn’t added to Atlanta’s major league roster by a certain date, he could elect free agency. Well, apparently the Braves didn’t want to lose Keirsey to an opt-out because they called him up to the bigs and then immediately sent him back down to Triple-A. Congratulations on your return to the big leagues, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., we hope you enjoyed your time while it lasted.

Anyways, in order to make roster space for all of this to happen, Sean Murphy has now been transferred to the 60-day IL. This was always going to happen once the Braves needed a roster spot since Murphy’s going to be out for a significant period of time with that fractured finger. This doesn’t change anything with his recovery timeline but it does mean that the Braves can now maneuver with him being on the long-term IL instead of taking up a roster spot on the short-term IL.

So there you have it! There’s some more roster shuffling for you. What do y’all make of all these moves?

TV: NESN

First Pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET

The Red Sox and Orioles will compete in the rubber match of their three-game series on Thursday at Fenway Park.

Brayan Bello, who has been absolutely phenomenal as a bulk reliever, will return to the starting rotation with the hope that he can keep that form without the help (or lack thereof) of an opener. Jovani Morán and Tyler Samaniego, the two men who have opened for the veteran right-hander, have combined to allow nine runs in four innings across their four starts, while the should-be starter has a 0.71 ERA in 25.1 innings of relief in 2026.

It’s just a matter of bringing that same mentality and execution to his original role…

Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Willson Contreras will remain as the first four in the order, with Andruw Monasterio, Carlos Narváez, and Connor Wong slotting back into the lineup after missing the 8-1 victory on Wednesday. Marcelo Mayer, Masataka Yoshida, and Mickey Gasper are out.

Yes, Wong is the DH…

The O’s will essentially run things back, with Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser replacing Tyler O’Neill and Blaze Alexander. Trevor Rogers will get the start.

Worcester: L, 0-12 (BOX SCORE)

Simply put: the WooSox got carved up by the Bison (Blue Jays AAA) pitching staff. Former Ray pitcher Josh Fleming pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and retired 16 consecutive batters en route to an easy win. To say Eduardo Rivera and Angel Bastardo out of relief couldn’t keep up with this lack of offensive firepower would be an understatement; the WooSox couldn’t find the strike zone all night, walking fourteen Bison throughout the day while allowing them seven hits with runners in scoring position. It got to the point where Nathan Hickey, a first baseman, pitched the ninth and gave up a tater.

Portland: W, 10-7 (BOX SCORE)

No, Franklin Arias, did not hit a home run, though he did get a knock against Hartford (Rockies AA). Johanfran Garcia hoisted a ball into the seats, making a 7-6 game a 9-6 game in a shot that’d make all the difference. While the Sea Dogs pitching allowed three homers, the offense answered with three of their own and got them where it matters. And it wasn’t just home runs that made a difference in this game: the Sea Dogs had just a 12% chance of winning the game entering the fifth, but Abhram Liendo’s home run followed by a Nelly Taylor bases-clearing pop up just outside the infield certainly shifted matters.

Greenville: W, 9-3 (BOX SCORE)

While Jack Winnay’s ninth home run in High-A put a pebble in Rome (Braves High-A) pitcher Cedric DeGrandpre’s armor, the Drive hitting him around to start the sixth to the tune of five runs and boosting a tie game into a 7-2 lead. Despite committing three defensive errors, all it took was that one rally in which they hit around the lineup, and it completely changed the complexion of an otherwise close game.

Salem: L, 1-2 (BOX SCORE)

Seen enough of the Red Sox’s offense wasting good pitching starts? Well, it happened in A-ball as the RidgeYaks hit 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position against the Warbirds (Brewers A). Jason Gilman, the 23-year-old from Staten Island and a former Division III player (certainly a rarity…) looked incredible, making it through six innings with 64 pitches, allowing just two hits and no walks, striking out ten, even retiring one runner who reached base via a double play. But Salem just couldn’t pull a winnable game in, stranding 11 and getting caught stealing three times, even one of which would have been crucial.

Have a thunderous Thursday.

Here are the lineups for the series (and season) finale against the Padres. Let’s discuss!

For the Phillies:

For the Padres:

With the calendar now having flipped to June, it’s only natural to start thinking about other events looming on the baseball horizon (well, outside of the potentially apocalyptic event that’s awaiting everybody once this offseason officially gets underway). One of those is the Trade Deadline, which is set for August 3 this season.

As such, Jeff Passan of ESPN has decided that since we’re just under two months away from that always-fateful day in the baseball season, now’s the time to start figuring out what each team is going to be up to at the deadline. Some teams have more modest goals than others and some teams should be attempting to swing for the fences. Jeff Passan has our Atlanta Braves as one of the teams that should absolutely be going for it at the deadline and honestly, I’d agree with that notion.

Assuming the ball club keeps this up this incredible form, this could shape up to be Atlanta’s best chance in years at making a legitimate World Series run and one of the best ways to make sure that this team is continuing to pull in the right direction for the long haul is to give the squad an adrenaline injection around late-July/early-August with an impact addition or two.

In fact, Passan is suggesting that the Braves should make what would likely be the biggest impact addition of the deadline by adding All-World starting pitcher Tarik Skubal into the fold. Here’s a snippet from Passan’s article where he’s talking about what the Tigers should do at the deadline:

2026 unquestionably will be The Skubal Deadline. Provided the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner returns from his elbow scope healthy and effective, he will be the focus for every contender. It doesn’t matter that he’s a free agent after the season. The deadline is largely about contenders shoring up pitching staffs, and there’s no better bulwark than the best pitcher in the world. And, no, the prorated amount — around $10 million of his $32 million salary — will not be an impediment. If you can get Tarik Skubal, you get Tarik Skubal.

Here’s where Passan brings the Braves into it:

Hurston Waldrep, is on a rehab assignment. Another, Spencer Schwellenbach, is throwing. And A.J. Smith-Shawver, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, is ramping up bullpens. It’s not out of the question for all three to rejoin Atlanta by the end of the season.

So why Skubal? Because he’s Skubal. And because all those young arms — not to mention J.R. Ritchie and Cam Caminiti in the minor leagues, and Didier Fuentes at the big league level — give them the firepower to get him. To beat the Dodgers, teams need to assemble a wrecking crew that can go toe-to-toe with the first back-to-back World Series champions in a quarter-century. Starting a series with Skubal and Chris Sale — and having Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder to fill out the rotation — is quite a place to begin.

Now granted, it’s not like Passan is doing any type of actual reporting here — he’s just simply suggesting that the Braves should aim high when it comes to their Trade Deadline aspirations. He also has Skubal as the best fit for basically every team that’s currently flying high in the standings, so it’s also not like he’s exclusively linking Skubal to the Braves, either.

With that being said, I can see the vision. Sure, the Braves will have most of their planned rotation back in action by the time the second half of the season is in swing. They also have some encouraging pitching prospects on the farm that could potentially make some noise as well. Passan mentioned them in his clip and we’ve seen already with Didier Fuentes just how electric he can be when his stuff is really working.

Still, I like to relate this type of thing to that one episode of Family Guy where Peter Griffin and his wife Lois are talking with a sleazy salesman and deciding between receiving a gift of a boat or a mystery prize. While Lois is smartly suggesting that they should just take the boat, Peter is thinking “Yeah, it’s a boat but the mystery prize could be anything! It could even be a boat!” Then the mystery prize turns out to be tickets to a local comedy show while the couple returns home to watch all of their neighbors zooming around the neighborhood in their boats.

So while Ritchie, Caminiti and Fuentes and throw whoever else you want into this fold are all exciting prospects, they’re still mystery boxes at this point compared to the golden boat that is Tarik Skubal. If there’s any possibility of the Braves potentially getting Tarik Skubal and bringing him into the fold, no matter what the cost is, the Braves need to choose the boat in this scenario.

Even if the prospects turn out to become boats themselves, the Braves might be in need of a boat right now more than ever. If you look at the Braves and their “championship window,” you could say that they’re currently in Year 9 of that window after breaking through to win the NL East and return to the Postseason back in 2018. More-than-likely, the Braves are closer to potentially having to rebuild (or at least do a serious retool) than they are to having this window open much longer.

Chris Sale is still fantastic but he’s also 37. Matt Olson is still producing at the plate but he’s going to be 33. Ozzie Albies’ contract is going to be up soon. Sean Murphy may never be the same after his hip injury. Atlanta’s a year-or-two away from potentially having to answer a $500 million question about Ronald Acuña Jr. and his future. Left field is still a revolving door after Jurickson Profar made some pretty dumb decisions. Things are back on track right now but Alex Anthopoulos is going to have a tricky juggling session in the future when it comes to either extending this window or deciding to go in a different direction at some point in the relatively near future.

As such, this does seem like one of those years where if the Braves are in position to go for it, they should. If Tarik Skubal is available (which he likely will be) and Atlanta has any chance of swinging a deal with Detroit, they should be pursuing that with everything they’ve got. It’s one of those things that sounds like a wacky lil’ trade proposal that you’d see anybody cook up on social media because they’re bored and think that this is MLB: The Show but at the same time, when you have guys like Passan talking about it, the possibility of this happening is at least non-zero. That’s better than zero!

I’d like to once agin stress the fact that this isn’t reporting and this is just pure speculation from everybody involved. Alex Anthopoulos did indicate during a pregame interview on this past Sunday that the team would be active at the deadline in order to keep the foot on the pedal but there’s still nothing tangible linking the Braves to Tarik Skubal. With that being said, if there’s even the slightest possibility that Detroit is coveting what Atlanta has in terms of trade assets, there should be no hesitation from the Braves as to what they should do — at least in my opinion. We’ll see what happens.

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The red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers look to stay hot as they conclude a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks in triple-digit temperatures in Phoenix.

The hot stretch (16-4 in their last 20 games), combined with Justin Wrobleski’s unsustainable production, results in the visitors being overvalued.

See my full rationale for backing the home team and the Over with my Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks predictions and MLB picks for Thursday, June 4.

Who will win Dodgers vs Diamondbacks today: Diamondbacks (+118)

Justin Wrobleski’s fluky 2.87 ERA makes him an overvalued asset. He’s especially poor at missing bats, ranking in the fifth percentile in whiff rate and the 13th percentile in K rate. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are uniquely positioned to exploit this weakness. They have the lowest K rate (13.2%) against LHP over the last 30 days while sporting a robust 120 wRC+. 

Ryne Nelson is coming off a sizzling May (2.95 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) and has limited the Los Angeles Dodgers’ projected lineup to a .194 AVG and .630 OPS across 98 at-bats. 

Good up to +110.

COVERS INTEL: Arizona has been demolishing sliders, posting the third-most runs above average (7.4) against the offering in the last 20 days. Wrobleski relies heavily on the slider, throwing it 33% of the time as essentially his only non-fastball offering. 

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+110)

Two flyball pitchers facing two hot lineups at hitter-friendly Chase Field? Sign me up for the Over. 

Nelson has a fifth percentile groundball rate and a ninth percentile barrel rate, and LA has the best wRC+ (132) against RHP in the last 20 days. 

Wrobelski has a 25th percentile groundball rate and poor stuff (95 Stuff+), which could spell trouble at Chase Field (second-highest park factor of 104).

Both teams rank inside the top 10 in hard-hit rate over the last 20 days. The loud contact in the air from both starters will result in several big flies.

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -125 | Diamondbacks +122
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (+115) | Diamondbacks +1.5 (-140)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (-130) | Under 9.5 (+117)

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks trend

The Diamonbacks have cashed the moneyline in 31 of their last 50 home games. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks.

How to watch Dodgers vs Diamondbacks and game info

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37 Years Ago Today

This is one of my all-time favorite games, played in 1989. But then any game where we beat the Red Sox is a favorite game.

The Blue Jays defeated the Red Sox 13-11 in 12 innings.

After six innings, the Red Sox led 10-0.

Alex Sanchez started for the Jays. He was the team’s first-round draft pick in 1987 and quickly advanced through the minors—perhaps too quickly. Player development has evolved significantly since then. In 1988, his first full season of professional baseball, Sanchez threw 207 innings—a workload unheard of by today’s standards. Minor league seasons are shorter now, and no pitcher, especially a first-year pro, would ever throw 200 innings (very few throw 200 innings in the majors these days, only three in 2025). For comparison, in 2019, Yennsy Diaz led the Fisher Cats with 144 innings, which was likely the most by any Jays minor leaguer that year.

Sanchez made three starts and one relief appearance in 1989, his only season in the majors. This game marked his final start; he recorded just one out while allowing three hits, a home run, three walks, and five earned runs.

Xavier Hernandez entered to stop the bleeding in the first inning. He surrendered a run in each of the next three innings and two in the sixth, but managed to eat up innings, pitching 6.2 frames while allowing eight hits, five runs (two earned), three walks, and striking out two.

Hernandez was also a rookie that year, appearing in seven games for the Jays. After the season, he was claimed by the Astros in the Rule 5 draft. He went on to enjoy a 10-year MLB career, pitching in 463 games, mostly as a reliever.

The comeback began in the seventh. The Jays scored two runs after Red Sox starter Mike Smithson walked Lloyd Moseby and Ernie Whitt to start the inning. Bob Stanley entered in relief and walked Rance Mulliniks to load the bases. Nelson Liriano grounded into a double play, scoring one, and Junior Felix followed with a ground-rule double to bring in another. It still felt like a missed opportunity.

In the eighth, the Jays put up four more runs. With one out, George Bell, Fred McGriff, and Moseby hit consecutive singles to score two. After another out, Mulliniks doubled in another run, and Liriano singled, making it 10-6.

In the ninth, Toronto scored five runs. Tony Fernandez singled, Kelly Gruber walked, and Bell doubled, making it 10-7. After Moseby walked to load the bases, Whitt delivered a grand slam, putting the Jays ahead 11-10.

Unfortunately, Tom Henke surrendered a run in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game to extra innings.

Dennis Lamp pitched scoreless tenth and eleventh innings for the Red Sox, but Duane Ward matched him for the Jays.

In the 12th inning, Tom Lawless led off with a single, Liriano bunted him to second, and Felix followed with a home run. 13-11, Jays.

Ward pitched a perfect bottom of the 12th to secure the win.

Jays of the Day: Whitt (.612 WPA, mainly for the grand slam); Ward (.375, for three innings of no-hit relief); Felix (.298, 3-for-7, including the game-winning homer); and David Wells (.113, who recorded the final out of the ninth).

Other Award: Henke (-.405, for the blown save); Sanchez (-.358); and McGriff (-.144, 1-for-6 on the day, with three errors—two on a single play after mishandling a ground ball and then making an errant throw in an attempt to recover).

The Jays improved to 23-31, second-last in the AL East, while the Red Sox dropped to 24-27, third in the division. Toronto finished strong and claimed first place by season’s end, but ultimately lost to the A’s in the ALCS.

Boy, I wish that one wasn’t so eminently foreseeable. The Cubs have basically had no games this year where a starter had a small lead when he left and then the bullpen just passed the torch through the end of the game. That’s usually a pretty standard “shape” for a game. You might blow one occasionally. You might pile on in the late stages sometimes. But in the era of short starts and max effort bullpen work, this is a typical strategy. And yet, it hadn’t really surfaced much. When it did, one of those alternate scenarios basically always occurred.

The side result of that is that there are no real defined roles in the Cubs bullpen. Daniel Palencia was anointed the closer in 2025 and certainly hadn’t done anything other than getting hurt to lose that role. He’s healthy now. Between his 2025 results and his work for his home country in the WBC, his profile has only elevated. So he’s rightly the ninth-inning guy. But how would it line up leading to that? Well, Caleb Thielbar was the first one up after Palencia got hurt. So I guess Craig Counsell feels he’s that number two guy down there.

I’ve won no manager of the year awards nor managed any playoff games. But for my money, Jacob Webb is the number two guy and I would have wanted him for the top part of the A’s order. That would have had Thielbar face the seventh inning. There were two lefties and two righties facing Webb in the seventh. We can expect that the A’s would likely have used Colby Thomas, who homered in a pinch hitting role off of Thielbar in the seventh. So he’d very likely have faced three righties, assuming a four-batter inning (like Webb had). Webb would then have likely faced two lefties and two righties in the eighth.

Back seat driving is fun. I get the benefit of hindsight. Craig’s plan failed. So the bar for my plan is pretty low. Theilbar has been excellent as a Cub and it isn’t a given that your foe will pinch hit for their leadoff hitter. Of course they did. Of course it worked. That is the way everything is going. Seemingly every bounce is going the wrong way lately. If you believe in luck or curses or any of that stuff, then you have to think the Cubs have done something to righteously anger the baseball gods or something. Two 10-game winning streaks that close together broke some bond with reality or something.

There is so much baseball left to be played, but this season is increasingly feeling to me like 2021. Like this Cub team has a lot of players who were good in some past year or perhaps might be good in some future year. But too many of them are not good this year. None of that is cast in stone or immutable. But, I’m just saying all of your engineers have gone below deck and are trying to figure out how to stop the ship from continuing to take on water before the ship sinks in its entirety.

As fun as so much of last year was, this one is becoming torturous to follow. There is a lot of baseball to play is only a comforting thing to say when you expect the baseball to be played in the future to be a good thing. If this June was a test for this team, they’ve gotten the first few questions wrong on the test. I thought they needed to take advantage of this month and win 18 of 27 games. That’s a daunting challenge under any ordinary circumstances. Losing the first two only moved that goal further and further out of reach.

Not great.

Three Positives:

• Ian Happ had a pair of doubles and a run scored. He was the only Cub with multiple hits.
• Hoby Milner faced two batters and struck out one to finish the sixth and preserve a two run Cubs lead.
• Seiya Suzuki hit a long homer to start the mini comeback after the Cubs fell behind 2-0.

Game 62, June 3: A’s 5, Cubs 4 (32-30)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Daniel Palencia (.134). IP, K
• Hero: Colin Rea (.080). 5.1 IP, 21 BF, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K
• Sidekick: Ian Happ (.075). 2-4, 2 2B, R

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Caleb Thielbar (-.290). .2 IP, 4 BF, 3 H, 2 ER
• Goat: Pedro Ramirez (-.131). 0-4
• Kid: Alex Bregman (-.130). 1-4

WPA Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s strikeout with a runner on third and one out in the tenth, the Cubs down one. (-.249)

Cubs Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer with one out in the third gave the Cubs the lead. (.200)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 61 Winner: Jameson Taillon received 75 of 145 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Busch +21
• Nico Hoerner +13
• Ian Happ +10.5
• Michael Conforto +10
• Ben Brown +9.5
• Ryan Rolison/Phil Maton/Jameson Taillon -8
• Matt Shaw -10
• Dansby Swanson -13
• Seiya Suzuki -30.5

Up Next: Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.37) versus J.T. Ginn (3-3, 2.87). Surely just for fun, the wind will be howling out to left. There were times when the Cubs had really dominant records against righties and at home. But all of that is gone with this downturn.

Win a game. Stop the skid before you face the two worst records in the NL over the next two weeks.

Among the many problems that plagued the 2025 Washington Nationals, one of the most prominent and frustrating was their often sloppy performances in day games, especially those right before travel days. Last season, the Nats had a team wRC+ of 102 in night games, good for 12th best in baseball, with a 7.4% walk rate and 21% strikeout rate to go with it. In day games, their wRC+ dropped to 81, third worst in all of baseball, with a 3% rise in strikeout rate in the day as compared to the night.

The 2026 Nationals have begun to get right a lot of things that the 2025 Nationals got wrong, but so far, their struggles in the day are not one of them. At night, the Nats have the best offense in baseball, with their team wRC+ of 122 leading the league, with a strong 9.9% walk rate and 21.6% strikeout rate to go along with it. In the daytime, however, their team wRC+ of 89 is 6th worst in baseball, and actually a much larger discrepancy in performance than the 2025 club in the day vs the night.

So what are the Nats hitters doing at night that they’re not in the day? There doesn’t seem to be one answer, but rather a culmination of different factors. They’re striking out about the same in the day versus the night, but walking 1.5% less, perhaps having to do with the shadows that can make hitting difficult during the day.

They are also running a .270 batting average on balls in play during the day, as compared to .299 at night, so perhaps there is some bad luck at play as well, but a lower BABIP could also mean less hard hit balls, and this tracks with the Nats .374 slugging percentage during the day, bottom 10 in baseball, as compared to .448 at night, 2nd best in baseball.

The Nationals have taken more plate appearances during the day than any club in baseball in 2026 at 1161, and similar to 2025, the results have not been pretty. Day games are usually a sign of a team having to fly out of town that evening or the following morning, so perhaps there is a mental component at play when a young team is already thinking about the series and trip ahead of them.

Spencer Nusbaum claiming he has been told there isn’t much credibility to the Nats’ daytime struggles seems to indicate the coaching staff or front office does not believe this is a long-term issue to worry about, but entering year 2 of this now, it would be nice for the Nats to not look like a team ready to bounce town when they take the field in the daytime.

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Thursday has arrived, which means one of two things: the weekend starts today if we put together a banger of a card, or tomorrow is Friday. Either way, we're winning.

This evening, I have a mix of familiar faces and a few newcomers ready to help us kick off the weekend a little early. Let's cash some tickets and get a head start on the fun.

Read on for our MLB player props and MLB picks for Thursday, June 4. 

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Yordan Alvarez	Over 1.5 Total Bases	+103
Freddie Freeman	Over 1.5 Total Bases	+101
Ryne Nelson	Over 5.5 Hits Allowed	-133

Yordan Alvarez Over 1.5 Total Bases (+103)

I have to be on Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez today. Sure, you see me write about him daily, and you're probably wishing I'd back someone new, BUT I will never shy away from a mouthwatering matchup.

This evening, the big fella draws Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones, who made his first start in nearly two years last week and was completely shelled, allowing five runs on seven hits, including two home runs, across 4.1 innings against the Minnesota Twins. Try comparing Byron Buxton to Alvarez, you can't.

The Astros slugger not only owns the second-highest rating on Batters-Box tonight, but he also has 100% arsenal coverage against Jones' entire pitch mix. On top of that, Alvarez has posted a .504 wOBA and a 35.71% barrel rate over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.

The sample size on the Pirates starter is far too small to draw many meaningful conclusions, but taking on the scariest bat in baseball while he's this hot feels like a tall task for the young righty. I expect fireworks tonight, or Alvarez gets pitched around and walked a ton. I'm betting on the fireworks.

• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FS1

Freddie Freeman Over 1.5 Total Bases (+101)

Nothing like sprinkling on a guy to do a little bit of everything, and that’s exactly what I’m doing with Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman this evening. I fully advocate for his 2+ total bases prop at plus money, but I’m also dabbling in his double and home run props as well.

Despite drawing only a Strong rating in Batters-Box’s default model, Freeman carries an elite rating in the current season timeframe. In 130 Strong-rated spots over the last three years, the Dodgers slugger has cleared this prop 52.31% of the time.

In 56 Strong-rated road spots, that number climbs to 55.36%, while he’s gone yard in 25% of those games.

On top of that, Freeman owns 100% arsenal coverage this evening against Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson. Nelson carries the worst pitcher rating in both timeframes, posting poor marks in matchup ISO, hard-contact rate, strikeout percentage, and ground-ball rate.

Against left-handed hitters this season, he has had his hands full, allowing a 70.2% elevation rate (fly balls + line drives), a 10.5% barrel rate, and a 5.16 xFIP.

With Freeman seeing the ball extremely well lately, I think grabbing this prop at plus money is the play. Over his last 30 at-bats against right-handed pitching, he owns a .487 wOBA and 220 wRC+ while making hard contact 50% of the time.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ARID, SNLA

Ryne Nelson Over 5.5 Hits Allowed (-133)

Sticking with this matchup, the Dodgers have five elite-rated bats in the current season ratings on Batters-Box. Because of that, I think backing the entire offense and fading Ryne Nelson is the move.

Nelson's hits allowed prop is set at 5.5, with the over priced at -133.

In 37 poorly rated matchups, Nelson has allowed 5+ hits 51.35% of the time. In a smaller sample of 16 poorly rated home matchups, he has allowed 5+ hits in 50% of starts, 6+ hits in 37.5%, and 7+ hits in 31.25%.

The Dodgers are seeing the ball extremely well this season. Over their last 12 games, they rank first in wRC+, wOBA, OPS, and ISO. They also sit inside the top six in hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and fly-ball rate.

Even with Shohei Ohtani getting the day off, we're simply asking the rest of the Monstars of LA to step up, and I don't think that's asking much.

So, if you're looking for an alternative prop rather than throwing a dart at one of the Dodgers' sluggers to boom at the dish, this is a great way to attack the matchup.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ARID, SNLA

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The Yankees will try to find a way to score runs without Aaron Judge as they try to avoid a sweep against the visiting Guardians.

Cleveland has beaten Cam Schlittler and Gerrit Cole the last two days, so Carlos Rodon shouldn't scare them.

While the Yankees have struggled to hit, Cleveland has been raking, which is why my Guardians vs. Yankees predictions and MLB picks have the Guardians finishing off the sweep.

Who will win Guardians vs Yankees today: Guardians (+150)

Aaron Judge will miss his third straight game, and the New York Yankees aren't the same team without him. In the last five games without Judge, dating to last year, New York is 1-4, .200 without Judge, and averages 3.6 runs a game, compared to 5.2 runs and a .586 win percentage with him.

It's a surprise they're such heavy favorites, even with Carlos Rodon going. I'd take the Cleveland Guardians moneyline to +120.

The Guardians have scored 14 runs in the first two games, with Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo destroying Yankee pitching. The pair is 11-for-17 in the series with 6 RBIs, 5 doubles, and 2 homers.

COVERS INTEL: The numbers say Carlos Rodon feels healthy. He's added 1.5 mph to his sinker and is throwing both that and his four-seamer more often. Hitters are hitting .167 against the sinker, 90 points lower than last year, and .091 against the four-seam, a drop of 130 points.

Guardians vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-104)

Rodon is making his fifth start of the year after missing the start with an injury. He's in the top 10% in MLB in avoiding hard-hit balls and inducing grounders. Prior to the offensive explosion against New York in this series, the Guardians had gone 12 straight games scoring fewer than five runs.

Slade Cecconi starts for the Guardians. After a rough start to the season, he's settled down, throwing a cutter instead of his slider. He's allowed three runs or fewer in the last five starts, with the Guardians winning four of them. The Under seems like a good deal until at least -115 to -120.

Guardians vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Guardians +150 | Yankees -156
• Run line: Guardians +1.5 (-133) | Yankees -1.5 (+127)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Guardians vs Yankees trend

The Cleveland Guardians have hit the Moneyline in 29 of their last 45 away games (+19.75 Units / 41% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Yankees.

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Ryan McMahon’s stat line still does not look impressive. Entering June, the Yankees infielder is still hitting just .207 on the season. However, if you dive a little deeper, McMahon appears to be adjusting his approach and has found more, albeit still limited, success doing so.

The most obvious evidence of improvement shows up in the most traditional statistic, batting average. After hitting a lowly .167 in March and April, McMahon raised that mark to .244 in May. Additionally, during this stretch he also saw his OPS, a stat the Yankees often emphasize, increase by 130 points to .711 for the month.

In March and April, McMahon looked like a hitter trying to do too much. Nearly half of the balls he put in play were worm burners pulled to the right side of the infield or shot up the middle to a fielder standing behind second base. Hitting the ball hard is not the issue. McMahon ranks in the 86th percentile in hard-hit rate and around the 65th percentile in both average exit velocity and barrel rate. Even if you hit the ball hard, the easiest way to tank your offensive numbers is to strike out and hit ground balls into the shift. McMahon was doing both in spades.

However, May looked different. McMahon’s groundball rate dropped from 50 percent to 35.8 percent while his fly-ball rate rose 15 percentage points. Just as important, he began using the entire field. McMahon’s opposite-field rate more than doubled, climbing from 17.8 percent to 38.9 percent, a figure much more in line with his career norms.

The change becomes even more interesting when looking at the quality of contact. During March and April, 31.1 percent of McMahon’s balls in play were classified as hard hit. In May, that figure climbed to 37 percent. The most important number, though, is the strikeout rate, which he managed to cut down by roughly two percentage points.

These changes might not feel significant, but baseball is a game of inches. Within those margins, it is also worth noting that McMahon’s soft-contact rate increased from 2.2 percent to 25.9 percent. At first glance that might seem like a negative, but it might reflect a hitter becoming less concerned with squaring up or pulling everything and more focused on simply putting the ball in play. As countless coaches have preached over the years, you do not always have to hit the ball hard if you hit it where the defense is not.

These changes in contact resulted in a .244/.263/.449 slash line for the month. That’s not a typo — McMahon only walked twice the entire month but was still able to get his stat line from deplorable to decent. The irony is that the numbers turnaround happened during a month that included one of the worst stretches of McMahon’s career. At one point in May, McMahon went hitless in 24 consecutive at-bats.

Despite this stretch, McMahon’s production for May placed him right at league average at the plate with four home runs to his name. In addition, McMahon has been solid in important spots. With runners in scoring position, McMahon owns a .270 batting average, .774 OPS, and 120 wRC+. He has also produced in high leverage situations, slashing .250/.357/.500.

Looking at his career monthly splits, McMahon has often performed better once the calendar turns to May. Across his career, he owns a .231 batting average in March and April before improving to .257 in May, .242 in June, and .261 in July. Let’s be clear: I am not calling this a breakout performance. What I am saying is that if history is any guide, May was a return to form for McMahon.

The second half of the season has often been a different story. McMahon’s career batting average falls to .227 after the All-Star break and drops further to .212 during September and October. Whether that trend is physical, mental, or simply the result of a long season is difficult to know. It is also fair to wonder whether spending his career on Rockies teams that were often out of contention by the time summer arrived may have played some role.

During last year’s playoffs the Yankees saw a glimpse of the player they hoped they were acquiring. Across six playoff games, McMahon hit .286 with a home run, continued to provide strong defense, and while not fast, was a strong baserunner. While that is a small sample size, it reinforced the idea that he can be a useful contributor especially when it matters most.

Before the season, Aaron Boone said it was the coaching staff’s responsibility to help unlock McMahon’s offensive potential. Boone maintained that belief through a brutal start and that painful 0-for-24 skid in May. In mid-April, the manager suggested some of the changes the Yankees had been working on were beginning to take hold. Looking at McMahon’s batted-ball profile now, it is becoming easier to see what Boone and the coaching staff believed they were building toward.

Call me an optimist, but I believe there is a reason eight of his 10 extra-base hits have been oppo-tacos and the strikeout rate decreased. I believe that reason is the adjustment the staff is making to McMahon’s approach. For a player whose primary value is defense, hitting at a league-average level with a 20-home run pace is a solid contribution.

McMahon is not a great hitter, but he is an average one and a good baseball player. The cold streaks are almost unbelievably bad, which is why they tend to dominate the conversation. However, according to the law of averages, most nights McMahon does enough to help you win and, just as importantly, does enough to avoid costing you a game.

Like an old vehicle, McMahon’s offensive engine appears to cough, sputter, and require constant tinkering to run smoothly. The challenge for Yankees fans is remembering that the highs and lows are part of the same player. McMahon will never be the lineup’s biggest engine, but he remains a useful contributor when the bats around him help provide a spark and get him in a position to keep the lineup rolling.