Recent European quarter-final was a classic and champions’ Prem trip to the Midlands will likely produce similar
Was this the greatest game ever played, people were asking in the aftermath of that quarter-final of the Champions Cup a fortnight ago in Bath. Victory by the odd try in 11; home team roared on to successful comeback victory with that 11th try in the last five minutes; Northampton, the away team, 28-7 up after barely 20 minutes, playing rugby of the gods.
A personal opinion is that it certainly was the greatest game ever played … this month. Without wanting to prick any bubbles of enthusiasm that may have swelled in the moments after the latest epic, yes, the match was incredible – and if it had happened in the amateur era would have been consecrated as legend long ago – but have we already forgotten France v England not even a month earlier? What about Scotland v France a week before that? We could go on.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 22: Owen Tippett #74 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates his empty net goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Penguins 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Penguins face their first truly must win game of the season tomorrow night in Philadelphia. If they can do that, they would have another in Pittsburgh on Monday. If they won that, it’d be another must win situation setup for Game 6 in Philadelphia. If somehow they won that too, then there would be a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh.
As we all know the odds of that happening, realistically, are grim right now. Perhaps even non-existent. The Pens have been outplayed in any and every facet over the first three games, and the only time they were leading a game got thrown away due to a post-whistle scrum that quickly put them back behind. The goaltending has been spotty, and certainly much better for the other club. The adjustments made have made little difference. We could go on and on, but you probably get the picture and have already accepted that Pittsburgh’s impressive season is coming to a shockingly ugly end.
With that dose of reality out of the way, why not dream a little? It’s Friday, there’s no game today and 0-3 comebacks (completed or attempted) are on the rise in hockey. It’s still a fact that the series is almost a foregone conclusion – teams up 3 games to 0 have ended up winning 209 out of 213 times in NHL history in a stat from the Tribune Review, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all the drama has to be over just yet.
No one would know that better than Stuart Skinner. In 2024, the Edmonton Oilers fell down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers. Skinner, of course, was the goalie for the Oilers back then. Edmonton won the next three games to force a Game 7. They’d lose 2-1 to come so close to the ‘reverse sweep’ of winning four straight games after falling into a big hole.
“Playoffs are intense,” Skinner said. “There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of noise going on everywhere. I feel like when you go down 3-0, what really helped me in my experience was it kind of just frees you up. You don’t really have anything to lose. And we’re in a spot where we don’t have anything to lose, and they do. If we catch them a couple times — just talking about momentum — you can change momentum, and when that happens, things can go in your favor.”
By the way, Skinner’s performances in Games 4-7 of the ‘24 Stanley Cup Final were outstanding. He only allowed seven goals over the four games (1.76 GAA) and posted a .935 save%, he played some extremely great hockey with his back to the wall, so his words about getting freed from the pressure sound like they worked. It’s not like the first round against the Flyers carries the same burdens of playing for a Canadian team in the SCF where every question is built around if Connor McDavid can ever win ‘his’ Cup, so who knows how much that will change the performance this time around. At this point that sounds like one of the best straws to grasp at that at least the Penguins have a goalie who has been in this exact situation before and handled it extremely well.
The most recent time for a 0-3 series comeback in the NHL dates back to 2014, when the Los Angeles Kings pulled the trick against the San Jose Sharks in the first round. The Kings would go onto win the Stanley Cup that year. It’s crazy to think how close that was to going out the window in the very opening games of the playoffs, which goes to provide yet another instance of just how thins the margins are in the NHL this time of year between winning and losing.
Back in 2011, there were two close calls: the Sharks almost blew a 3-0 lead against Detroit, but SJ held on and earned a Game 7 victory. In that very same year and round, the then-defending Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks dropped an overtime Game 7 to fall just short of making an 0-3 comeback of their own against Vancouver at the very same time the SJ/DET series was going on.
The year prior, in 2010, Philadelphia was able to overcome a 0-3 deficit to the Boston Bruins in the conference semifinals and advance. There must have been something in the water during that 2010-14 time frame with a couple close calls (Detroit and Chicago in ‘11) and then a pair of successful comebacks (LA in ’14 and Philadelphia in ‘10) all happening in the same period.
For historical completion, the Penguins have been involved in a 0-3 series comeback, albeit on the wrong end. The NY Islanders made the massive comeback in 1975, serving as a sore spot for the franchise for many years, especially considering that ‘75 series made for a recurring trivia note since it was the only time from 1943-2009 that an NHL team blew a 3-0 series lead. The time before that, in 1942, was the Stanley Cup Final where Toronto pulled the comeback against Detroit.
It sounds daunting to even consider the Penguins joining those groups of teams to make a run. Based on the numbers (209 out of 213) it’s obvious a lot of these series are bound to conclude in four or five games when it gets to this situation. Just call it some Friday morning optimism that just because the vast majority of these instances are foregone conclusions doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unprecedented.
“We have to win a hockey game,” Dan Muse said. “So, we’ll have a practice [Friday], get ready for that game. Then, we’ll go into that game, we need to win a game. And so, that’s entirely where the focus is right now.”
Climbing out of an 0-3 hole is sort of like that old saying about eating an elephant. It has to be done one bite at a time. Game 4 is that first bite. Win that, extend the season and earn the chance to take that next bite in Game 5. It’s easier said than done but the Penguins still have an opportunity available to go down a path that exists for teams to at least make a run at pulling the reverse sweep.
“You broke their hearts, now go and take their souls!” That was the final phase of the Huskers’ team meeting Friday night after a big comeback win, exclaimed by pitching coach Rob Childress. And that really epitomized the approach the team took the remainder of the biggest weekend in at least 11 years at Hawks Field. That propelled the Huskers up the RPI ladder, where they now sit at 13. That puts them right in the thick of the battle to host a regional, one of the major goals for Will Bolt each year. Taking care of business with nothing like the 2021 Rutgers sweeping them at home, should mean we see June baseball in Lincoln.
Coach Dan Hartleb (somehow in his 21st season) and Illinois are stuck in the middle of the slog of the Big Ten. They sit at 8th with an 8-10 record, with 6 teams either tied in wins or within a game of them in the standings. They’ve basically won the series against the teams they should have (Minnesota, Rutgers, and Penn State) and have lost to the teams you’d expect them to (USC, Purdue, and Oregon).
The major thing the Illini have going for them is that they are finishing up a 3 week home stand, and Nebraska has been living on a bus since the USC series ended. But they are only 5-4 in the home stand against some “meh” teams, other than Oregon. They are going to be striving to not drop close to the 12 spot and be in danger of missing the Big Ten Tournament field.
Game 1: RHP Cooper Katskee (5-0, 4.02 ERA) vs. LHP Regan Hall (5-4, 5.37 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Carson Jasa (7-1, 3.93 ERA) vs. RHP Mitch Dye (1-0, 5.35 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Gavin Blachowicz (3-1, 3.02 ERA) vs. TBD
It’s safe to say Cooper Katskee’s first Friday night start didn’t go as planned. 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 5 walks in 3 innings against an average USC offense put Nebraska in a hole against the best pitcher in the conference. Katskee admitted he may have been a little too excited to start his first Friday night game in scarlet and cream, and may have overdone his preparation, which was also on a shorter week with the move from Sundays. Let’s see how a normal week lets him rebound.
From the first inning, Carson Jasa was in control against USC. He was hitting 97 mph on his fastball with ease, and had his big 12-6 curve working maybe the best it has all season to mix with his slider and cutter. He struck out 7 and didn’t give up a run until the 7th and final inning. He gave up both of his runs and 3 of his 5 hits on the day in that inning. He’d obviously run out of gas, but with some big arms doing lots of work Friday night, powering through for a complete game was a huge help to the bullpen.
In his return to the Sunday slot, Gavin Blachowicz also had a rough start, walking the bases loaded, tossing a wild pitch, and giving up back to back home runs in the 2nd inning. With the bullpen fully rested, the coaches wasted no time in going to new long reliever Ty Horn to steady the ship. Sweeping a ranked team despite 2 starters only tossing a couple innings each is beyond difficult and just shows the resolve of this team.
Regan Hall has been the Friday night ace for the Illini all season and has pulled off some big victories, including against Coastal Carolina. However, his last outing against Oregon makes Katskee and Blachowicz USC lines look like they were Roger Clemons and Pedro Martinez. Hall gave up eleven (ELEVEN!!!) runs on 11 hits with 2 doubles, a triple and 3 home runs by the Ducks in only 3.2 innings. His ERA jumped from 3.83 to 5.37. Woof. Hall has struck out 49 and only walked 11 in 55 innings. So he is coming right at you.
After being a lights out reliever for the first month and a half of the season, Mitch Dye was inserted into the starting rotation. He had gone 4 straight appearances without allowing a run, and in his first start against Minnesota, only gave up a single run in 4.3 innings. Since then his ERA has gone from 2.31 to 5.35. But injuries and ineffectiveness of other starters force him to remain in the weekend starting role. The Sunday slot is not yet declared, as the team weighs going with
Scouting Report
The Illini offense is nothing like it was in 2024 when they won the Big Ten regular season crown by just mashing the ball all over, and out of, the yard. They are in the bottom half of nearly every offensive statistic. One thing they do is take a ton of pitches, trying to both draw walks and get a team to its bullpen. They are only 13th in the B1G in batting average at .269, but tied for 3rd in walks. You have to attack them.
The player that has been the most steady performer on offense has been a freshman first baseman, AJ Putty. Putty has worked himself into being the team’s cleanup batter, leading the team with a .338 batting average. He also leads the team in extra base hits with 20 (11 doubles, a triple and 8 home runs), and RBIs with 43. He really looks to be the guy they can build around in years to come, if they can hang on to him. He is an home grown Illinois kid, so its not out of the question.
Leadoff batter and outfielder Nick Groves is one of the harder outs to get on the team. He is batting .320, but adds a team leading 30 walks to push his OBP to .451. The Senior outfielder loves to show off his speed. He is a team best 11 for 15 on stolen bases and also leads the team with 3 triples on the year. He currently has an on-base streak of 42, good for 4th in Illinois history. The team’s Director of Player Development Cam McDonald is the program record holder at 63.
The best power bat in the Illinois lineup is outfielder Collin Jennings. At 6’5” 215 lbs, he is an imposing centerfielder. He led the team in home runs and slugging last year, and is leading in home runs again this year. He currently has 10 home runs, and is second on the team with 31 RBIs.
The Illinois bullpen is fairly average. They have decent numbers that that are around the middle of the Big Ten teams, except for their walks. The staff as a whole only averages 3.5 walks per 9 innings, which is 3rd in the Big Ten behind UCLA and Michigan State at 3.2 and 3.4.
Reed Gannon is the top option in the bullpen. He leads the team with 16 appearances, and 3 saves. He can go multiple innings, having gone 5 innings against Penn State earlier in the season. He has 25 strikeouts and 6 walks in 32.1 innings of work on the year. Expect him to get a lot of work if one of the games still seems in the mix.
Sam Reed is another oft used left handed reliever. His ERA is only 3.27, but his other numbers suggest that should be higher. He only has 13 strikeouts to go with 8 walks in 22 innings of work. Batters are hitting .253 against him, which is very high for someone with that ERA. He makes up for that with only having allowed 6 extra base hits. He is quite the enigma with all of his numbers.
The young arm that seems to have the most upside is sophomore Sam Mommer. He is a transfer from Wisconsin-Parkside a D-II school where he won the conference freshman of the year last year before transferring to Illinois for this year. He has made 12 appearances, including 3 starts, with a bullpen best 2.45 ERA. He has 23 strikeouts and 11 walks in 25.2 innings on the year.
Illinois has a very good defense, fielding the ball at 97.8%.
Series History
Illinois owns a 16-15 all time record against Nebraska (Illinois claims it is 18-15). Nebraska won the last series in 2023. The last time the teams met in Champaign, you might remember the 5 hours worth of weather delays during the series finale. Nebraska was making a late season push to try and make the Big Ten Tournament, so was willing to stay as late as possible to try for a win, but gave up a run in the bottom of the 9th to lose 5-4. Then they would get tarp-ed the next week by Purdue. #NeverForget
On Deck
Drew Grego, current Big Ten co-Player of the Week and Freshman of the week, has 33 RBIs on the season. Thats 6th most by a freshman this century. He is 1 behind Brice Matthews (2021), and 4 behind Pat Kelly (2012).
Dylan Carey and Mac Moyer are tied for 2nd in the Big Ten with 65 hits, and Nebraska is the only team in the country with 2 players over 65 hits.
The 36 runs Nebraska scored in the USC series, is its second highest total in a Big Ten series. Against the team that led the conference in ERA.
Carson Jasa has 77 strikeouts on the year, 5th most in Nebraska’s Big Ten era, and 3 behind Emmett Olson (2023).
If you haven’t been a watcher of the cinematic recaps that the athletic department puts out, check out one of the best ones, the recap of the USC series.
Columbus Clippers Travis Bazzana (12) throws the ball to first base during home opener at Huntington Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Columbus should have pulled this game off. The Clippers rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 5-4 lead, but Cody Heuer picked a terrible time to surrender his first run of the season in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Then in the 10th inning, after Columbus failed to score, Franco Aleman, who also had not allowed an earned run all season, kept his streak alive — although the ghost runner scored to lose the game.
Kahlil Watson had the lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a stolen base. Milen Tolentino walked twice and stole a base and Petey Halpin tripled and walked.
Travis Bazzana’s hot streak continued as well, as he went 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk and a stolen base. He continues to look like he’s right on the verge of a call-up should Juan Brito continue to struggle on defense.
Travis Bazzana with a 110.1 mph laser for his second roundtripper of the year.
The RubbereDucks collected nine hits and walked eight times, but managed just two runs because they went a putrid 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Angel Genao led the way, going 2-for-3 with two walks. Jacob Cozart also had a great game, going 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk, accounting for all of Akron’s scoring on the day.
Christian Knapczyk went 2-for-5 with a double while Alex Mooney went 1-for-2 with two walks and Guy Lipscomb walked twice.
Starting pitcher Cam Favors was decent, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk in 6.0 innings.
Carter Rustad added 2.0 innings, allowing an unearned run with three strikeouts.
Braylon Doughty was the story of this game as his spectacular start to the 2026 season continues. Doughty was flat out impressive, allowing one run on five hits in 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts and zero walks.
Braylon Doughty had it all working tonight (4/23/26). Racked up 14 whiffs, mid-90s heat with command everywhere, and showed off his nasty curve and slider.
— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) April 24, 2026
The bullpen didn’t give up a run over the remaining four innings.
Offensively, Maick Collado had himself a game, going 2-for-5 with a home run and a double. Ryan Cesarini also went 2-for-5 with a home run.
Other standouts included Jaison Chourio, who went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk and Dean Curley, who went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Catching prospect Bennett Thompson went 1-for-2 with a double and three walks.
Joey Oakie was good, not great, but he pitched well enough to give the Howlers a chance to win before a late bullpen blowup cost Hill City.
Oakie allowed one run on two hits in 4.0 innings, but he walked five batters while striking out two.
Jervis Alfaro also pitched 4.0 innings. His first three innings were great, but then he got lit up in the eighth inning for five runs.
Robert Arias remains scorching at the plate. The 19-year-old blasted his third home run of the season, also his third in the last five games, while going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. If he keeps this up, he skyrockets up my prospect rankings into not just the top 10, but possibly the top five.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the ninth inning during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Thursday, April 23, 2026 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alyssa Piazza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Okay, I don’t have a great title for this one, but this is probably less a question post than a thoughts post, just masquerading as a daily question post.
With the best record in baseball, the Braves are surprising to probably everyone, except maybe themselves. I thought they’d be good, but not best-team-in-baseball good. Sure, a good team can play like the best team for a month (a bad team can play like the best team for a month), but it’s still surprising when it happens. Component-wise, coming into the season, the most common complaining refrain was about the rotation. I thought the rotation would be fine — maybe not great, but above-average. Through the Braves’ first 26 games, the rotation is instead, “funny” moreso than anything else: 78/106/99, ranking 23rd in FIP-, 16th in xFIP-, but third in ERA- thanks to the defense behind the arms. I’m not sure who, if anyone, was right about the rotation at this point, and it’ll work itself out in one way or another in the coming months, anyway.
My bigger concern was the middle infield. Ha-Seong Kim needed a bounceback, even before he (re-)injured himself in the offseason. Mauricio Dubon was a great get as a utility fill-in that could play a realistically good shortstop, but would be stretched as a quality regular. And then, we come to Ozzie Albies, whose career had been petering out. I won’t rehash the whole thing here (see his player review for 2025 if you want more), but Albies finished 2025 with a career-low 87 wRC+, a sub-.300 xwOBA (.299), below-average defense at second base for the third time in three years, and just 1.3 fWAR despite getting 667 PAs. Oh, and on top of that, he fractured his hamate bone late in the season, an injury that’s known to sap power for a long duration even after the player returns to the lineup.
Well, Kim is still injured, and we’ll get to Dubon another time. But Albies? At a surface level, joke’s on me: his career looks resuscitated. He has a 126 wRC+, the lowest strikeout rate of his career, and 0.7 fWAR, i.e., paced at 3.8 fWAR per 600 PAs (or 4.4 for 162 games). Albies is back, right? Maybe he’ll even get another extension to hang around and produce for the team in his 30s, which would be more aesthetically pleasing than tearing apart the Ronald Acuña Jr.-Albies BFFship, right?
Well… not so fast, maybe. Despite Albies’ fantastic plate results so far, he’s rocking a .296 xwOBA. His average exit velocity is down over two mph from last year, which was already about a mph off from 2023-2024. He’s posting a career-low barrel rate, and his xwOBACON is below .300, which is something I haven’t seen from anyone over three-four weeks, maybe ever. While he’s historically really only hit fastballs, his performance against non-fastballs is even worse now than ever before. On top of this, he’s making less contact while not generating any power. Inputs-wise, essentially, he does look like a logical progression from a poor 2025 while coming off a hamate bone injury. Which is sad, because we all want Albies to stick around and succeed, but…
If there’s one positive, it’s that Albies seems to have improved defensively, reversing the trend of him being a minus at the keystone. It’s a tiny sample, and his arm strength is still getting worse, now to the point where it’s essentially the worst throwing arm for an fielder that has to make throws in baseball. But, in the 2023-2025 stretch, he only had five positive defensive months at second, and 2026 has started off with one so far, as part of a teamwide defensive showcase. So, it’s not all bad.
Bottom line, Albies remains in an awkward position. The only thing that’s not awkward is that the vibes (and outputs) are approaching immaculate. So long as the team keeps winning, there won’t be many complaints; so long as he’s massively outhitting his xwOBA (a top ten overperformance), nothing’s gonna happen. But, we know these things don’t last, not even for habitual xwOBA overperformers like Albies, so… I dunno. Is Ozzie Albies on the rebound? I’ll still hope so, but it isn’t looking that way right now.
(I didn’t fit it in here, but Albies stopped hitting lefties well last year, and he’s continuing to have an issue there this year, with a sub-.250 xwOBA against them that he’s also massively outhitting.)
Windy Luebbers of Dunlap draws some attention as a giant inflatable pink octopus during the No Kings Rally 3.0 protest Saturday, March 28, 2026 along War Memorial Drive near Peoria Stadium. | MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Happy Friday, everyone! Extra happy that the Tigers do not need to play the Brewers today. Their exceptionally short trip back to Detroit is over and they’re on their way to Cincinnati to play the Reds this weekend. We’ve got some fun news bites to keep you occupied until tonight’s game. We’ll break down the numbers on Kevin McGonigle’s contract, see the broadcast crew do their best lip sync routine, and in one of the best things the Tigers have released on social media recently, we figure out what kind of fish each Tigers player is.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 6: Brandon Young #63 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on April 6, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles came into the 2026 season talking about rotation depth, and for once with actual justification. The team had failed to sign a big-name ace in the offseason, but they did have six starters for five spots (Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer)—seven, even eight, if you counted sometime starters Albert Suárez, Tyler Wells, and Cade Povich. The team even had, in theory, something in scant supply last season: health. Kyle Bradish was back from Tommy John, Zach Eflin was recovered from back surgery and reportedly feeling better than ever, Shane Baz was ready to go a full year. The Norfolk shuttle would be for prospect call-ups, not emergencies.
Then the season started, and it’s been going a little like Mike Tyson’s observation about everybody having a plan until you get punched in the face.
Ace Trevor Rogers has looked fallible, with five and four earned runs in his last two starts, respectively. Bradish, meanwhile, is not inspiring full confidence: his velocity is pretty much normal, but his two-seamer and slider are markedly less effective weapons. Eflin had a great spring, then exited his very first start on March 31 due to right elbow discomfort, underwent imaging and a second opinion, and ultimately had Tommy John surgery. He is gone for the year and possibly beyond. As for Kremer, who didn’t even make the rotation out of spring training, he was recalled after other injuries, pitched competently, but just went back on the 15-day IL with a strained right quad.
And that’s how we ended up turning to Brandon Young, called up Thursday to start against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Not even the team’s eighth-best choice for the starting rotation back in spring, it’s now looking like he might be sticking around for a while.
Brandon Wayne Young’s path to the majors has been long and interrupted. An undrafted free agent, he signed with the Orioles in 2020, missed that year entirely due to COVID, showed promise in 2021, then underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 after just three starts at Double-A. He spent 2023 bouncing between four affiliates while working his arm back. In 2024, he put it together: over 27 appearances between Bowie and Norfolk, he posted a combined 3.57 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 111 innings. It was enough to push him onto the Orioles Top 30 prospects list for the first time, appearing at No. 19.
From undrafted to sort-of top prospect, Young made his MLB debut the following year, in 2025. Interestingly, as now, it was injuries to Zach Eflin (a right lat strain then, Tommy John now) that vaulted Young into the O’s rotation. Cool opportunity, but results-wise, his season was mixed, at best. Over 12 starts and 57.2 innings, he went 1-7 and posted a 6.24 ERA. Yet amid those struggles, he produced two performances that ranked among the season’s best moments. On July 9 against the Mets, he threw an immaculate inning: nine pitches, nine strikes, three strikeouts, getting whiffs from Jesse Winker and Jeff McNeil on his changeup before blowing a 96 mph fastball past Luis Torrens. And then, on August 15 in Houston, he tossed a career-high eight innings, allowing only one hit, becoming the first Oriole rookie to throw eight scoreless innings while allowing one or zero hits since Chris Waters in 2008. He came within four outs of a perfect game. A hamstring strain ended his season shortly after.
Cut to 2026. Once again, Brandon Young didn’t figure to be central to the Orioles’ pitching plans, but intervening circumstances dictated otherwise. The big Texan began the season down in Norfolk, and his performance there started to turn heads. In three starts totaling 16.2 innings, he allowed just two runs and struck out 19. With a 1-0 record and 1.08 ERA, 0.54 WHIP and .111 opponent average, he was named International League Pitcher and Player of the Week, a fitting tribute to his strong start. Even better: on April 6, he was called up to the big leagues, where he threw five scoreless innings with two hits against the lowly White Sox, showing a command and ability to miss bats that was often absent from his 2025 work. Now, given another chance to start for the O’s, he’ll try his luck against Sox of a different color.
Is there reason to think something has genuinely changed for Brandon Young? Cautiously, because it’s been very little time, but yes. It seems last season he had some bad luck on contact, to judge by his xwOBA against (.320) was meaningfully better than his actual wOBA (.372), and for ERA (6.24 actual, 4.27 expected). This spring he’s simplified his pitch mix and cut down on walks, and for now, his fastball is generating more swings and misses than it did last season, with a positive run value. A pitcher with four good pitches who throws strikes is better than one who sort-of commands six. The sample is still small, but the underlying indicators point in the right direction.
The ceiling remains much what we expected (although in fairness, who saw that near-perfect game coming last year?). The Young four-seamer sits in the 92-95 mph range: it’s a solid pitch when he locates it at the top of the zone, and it plays up because everything comes out of the same delivery window. He’s upped the use of his splitter, his best swing-and-miss weapon, and replaced a hard-to-locate curveball with a slider. Fewer moving pieces to mess up here.
We’ll see what happens on Friday night, but I’m being obvious when I say that the Orioles could use good news on the pitching front. The rotation they built has already been significantly depleted, and this team has real offensive talent that deserves consistent support from the mound. Young is not a top-of-rotation arm, and his hold on a roster spot may be temporary once others get healthy. But given a chance to pitch, he may prove an unexpected asset. There were glimpses of this last season. This year, he may be ready to make the most of the opportunity.
BOZEN-BOLZANO, ITALY - APRIL 24: Mark Donovan of Great Britain and Team Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling leads the breakaway during the 48th Tour of the Alps 2026, Stage 5 a 128.6km stage from Trento to Bozen-Bolzano on April 24, 2026 in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hickory starter Kamdyn Perry went three innings, allowing three runs, striking out three and allowing a homer. Jormy Nivar struck out three in five shutout innings.
Paulino Santana drew three walks. Dewar Tovar was 2 for 3 with a homer and a walk. Esteban Mejia had a hit, three walks and a stolen base. Josh Spring was 2 for 4 with a double. Yolfran Castillo had a hit. Hector Osorio was 2 for 4.
Hub City continues to put its early season offensive woes behind them, exploding for 16 runs in its win over the Dash on Thursday.
J’Briell Easley allowed one run in 2.2 IP, striking out three. Bubba Hoopii-Tuionetao threw 1.1 scoreless innings.
Paxton Kling was 3 for 6 with two doubles. Gleider Figuereo was 2 for 3 with a walk. Yeison Morrobel was 3 for 6 with a double. Rafe Perich was 2 for 5. Ben Hartl was 2 for 3 with a homer.
Winston Santos’ difficult start to the 2026 season continued, as he got the start for Frisco but was pulled with two outs in the first after 31 pitches. He allowed one run and one hit, walked two, struck out two and hit a batter.
Bryan Magdaleno’s impressive rebound from his awful 2025 season continued, as he struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, walking two. Wilian Bormie struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings.
In Game One, Josh Stephan struck out six in four innings, walking one and allowing a two run homer. Rehabbing Carter Baumler allowed a run in an inning of work. Michel Otanez walked two and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Robbie Ahlstrom struck out two and walked one in a scoreless inning.
Cam Cauley was 2 for 4 with a walk. Justin Foscue was 2 for 4 with a walk. Michael Helman had a hit and a walk.
In Game Two, Ryan Brasier struck out two in a scoreless inning. Dane Acker struck out three and walked two in 2.1 IP, allowing three runs. Emiliano Teodo threw 31 pitches (18 for strikes) in 1.2 IP, walking one, striking out four and allowing a run. Josh Sborz allowed a solo homer and struck out two in an inning.
Cam Cauley homered, walked three times, and stole a base. Aaron Zavala homered, walked twice and stole a base. Justin Foscue drew a pair of walks. Michael Helman was 1 for 4 with a walk.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 21: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Brandon Nimmo #24 after making a catch that robbed Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates (not pictured) of a home run in the fifth inning at Globe Life Field on April 21, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rangers 6, Pirates 1
See, that was much better than the previous game.
A couple of big innings early to get a comfy lead, and good pitching throughout.
A 10 strikeout game from Jacob deGrom, his first double-digit K game since May 10, 2025. Just one walk. Just one run, when Oneil Cruz once again sent a ball into the stratosphere. I’m glad to see Oneil Cruz leave town.
A very impressive 21 whiffs from deGrom in the game — nine on his fastball, six on his slider, four on his changeup and two on his curve.
That’s tied for the fourth most swings-and-misses in a game this season. Shota Imanaga and Dylan Cease have each had a 24 whiff game, and Jacob Misiorowski had a 22 whiff game.
Interestingly, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter are the only two pitchers this year in the majors to generate 20 swings and misses in a game.
The one walk was on a 3-2 pitch to Ryan O’Hearn with two outs in the sixth. That was the last batter deGrom faced, as the Rangers continue to be cautious with his pitch count (deGrom ended the night with 89 pitches) early in the season.
Gavin Collyer was summoned to finish out the sixth and while he maintained his perfect ERA he scared us in the process, hitting Nick Gonzales with a pitch and then issuing a four pitch walk to Spencer Horwitz before getting Konnor Griffin to ground out to end the inning.
Jalen Beeks and Jakob Junis each pitched a scoreless inning before Peyton Gray came in for the ninth in his major league debut. He retired all three batters he faced, with the final out coming on a Griffin strikeout, which was Gray’s first major league strikeout.
So a day after both the starter and the pen had problems, the starter and the pen were very good for Texas.
Texas threatened early against Pirates starter Bubba Chandler, loading the bases in the first on a Brandon Nimmo single, a Corey Seager single, and a Josh Jung HBP before Evan Carter got called out on strikes on a 2-2 pitch to end the inning. Carter challenged the K call, and it was close, but the pitch just nicked the zone.
Chandler wiggled out of a two on, two out situation in the second after Alejandro Osuna singled and Nimmo walked, with Joc Pederson hitting one deep the opposite way, but not deep enough.
Not deep enough in the Shed, at least. Per Statcast, it would have gone out at Fenway, at the Juice Box, at Petco, at the Rogers Centre, at Citizens Bank Park, and at Rate Field.
It was fun-having time in the third, though, as, after a Josh Jung single, Evan Carter hit a blast to right center that caromed off the wall and resulted in an inside-the-park home run. Look!
The inside the park home run is, I think, the most fun play in baseball. I still remember, as a kid, watching Toby Harrah and Bump Wills hit back-to-back inside the park home runs off of Ken Clay at Yankee Stadium. Its one of the most memorable Rangers moments of my childhood.
The Rangers turned a small lead into a big lead in the fourth. Josh Smith walked and stole second. Alejandro Osuna walked. After Brandon Nimmo fanned, Joc Pederson singled home Smith. Corey Seager followed that up by yanking a 1-0 Bubba Chandler changeup down the right field line and into the stands for a three run bomb. That made it 6-0 Rangers, and the offense at that point decided to save the rest of the runs they might have scored for the weekend.
Incidentally, regarding Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler…Bubba is not an acceptable name for a pitcher. If you are named Bubba you need to be a position player. Probably an outfielder, but maybe a big beefy first baseman.
Bubba Chandler does throw really hard, at least. If you’re a pitcher named Bubba, you should at least be bringing the gas.
I feel like the nickname Bubba has gone out of style of late. When I was younger it seemed like there were lots of Bubbas around. I had a teammate named Bubba on my little league team. He was the best player on the team, and I think if you’re a little leaguer you don’t get to be called Bubba unless you’re one of the best players on the team. You can’t be named Bubba and be bad. Kind of like the rule that, if you are a baseball player and your uniform number is “1,” you should be a small guy, but you have to be a good small guy. You can’t be a bad small player and wear “1.”
Also, if you are named “Bubba,” you kind of have to have an edge to you. Like, I was thinking about who on the Rangers would be the best one to be nicknamed “Bubba,” and I was thinking about Evan Carter, but he seems to nice to be a “Bubba.”
My preferred bubble gum as a kid was Hubba Bubba. I don’t know if they still make that. I’m kind of out of the chewing gum game.
Someone offered Ben’s four year old son Tibsy a piece of gum the other day, and Ben’s mom said he was too little to have it. Tibsy said he could have gum when he was old like daddy, because then he won’t have any hair for the gum to get stuck in.
Jacob deGrom maxed out at 98.7 mph on his fastball, averaging 97.5 mph. Gavin Collyer hit 98.1 mph with his fastball. Jalen Beeks reached 95.2 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis’s sinker touched 92.5 mph. Peyton Gray’s fastest pitch was his first major league pitch, a 92.5 mph fastball.
Alejandro Osuna had a 106.0 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 104.7 mph home run. Brandon Nimmo had a 102.3 mph double. Evan Carter’s homer was 99.3 mph.
Rangers are tied for first place in the American League West with the A’s of Northern California, who are rolling into town for three games.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 22: Yordan Alvarez #44 and Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros celebrate scoring on a two-run home run hit by Alvarez during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 22, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a rivalry showdown in Fenway Park, the Yankees keep with the theme and head to another rival’s outpost in Houston. The Astros have had what can safely be described as a bad start to the 2026 season, despite a valiant effort from a Bondsian Yordan Alvarez. The Yankees will look to take advantage of their lulling AL West rival this weekend. The Bombers won’t have the front end of their rotation in line for this three-game set, so the offense may have to carry a bit more weight down in Texas.
Friday: Will Warren vs. Lance McCullers Jr.(8:10 pm ET)
The opening game will see Will Warren taking the bump, who has gotten off to a terrific start in 2026. The right-hander, who co-led the Yankees in starts last season, is managing would-be career-best 2.49 ERA and 3.06 FIP marks, and is coming off of one of his better efforts on the year. Notably not pitching deep in many games, Warren completed seven innings last weekend against the Royals, racking up 11 strikeouts (tied a career-high) while giving up a pair of runs. He’ll look to build on one of the more impressive starts in his young career.
Opposite of Warren will be Lance McCullers Jr. Once an exciting young pitcher, the now 32-year-old has spent years in injury purgatory. Since 2022, he hasn’t pitched more than 55.1 innings in a season, and that includes entire missed seasons in 2023 and ‘24. Despite a hot start, McCullers has allowed 13 earned runs in his last three starts, in part due to some tough luck (3.98 FIP). He’ll try to get back on track Friday.
Saturday: Ryan Weathers vs. Mike Burrows(7:10 pm ET)
Similar to Warren, Ryan Weathers has also enjoyed a very good start to the year. The lefty is coming off his best start in pinstripes to this point, where he tossed 7.1 scoreless innings and struck out eight against the Royals. The Ryan Weathers experience has been an up-and-down one to this point, but we could be on an upswing now, with the lefty racking up 18 strikeouts in his last two starts.
Mike Burrows will toe the rubber on Saturday for the ‘Stros, a newer member of Houston’s squad acquired in a trade from the Pirates. The right-hander brings a four-pitch changeup-heavy mix to the bump, but is coming off some forgettable starts. The Astros get decent length out of Burrows, but he’s allowed ten earned runs in his last two starts (10.2 IP)
Sunday: Luis Gil vs. Spencer Arrighetti(2:10 pm ET)
In the finale, Luis Gil will make his fourth start of the season for New York. He too is coming off of his finest effort this far, in which he allowed just two hits across 6.1 scoreless innings against Boston. His strikeouts have been down to this point in the year, as he’s managed just two Ks in two of his three starts this year. His 13.8 percent K-rate is close to half of his rookie season, so it’ll likely correct a bit, a trend the Yankees would like him to kick off on Sunday.
Sunday will see Spencer Arrighetti on the Hill for the Astros, who’s looking to bounce back after a mostly lost 2025 season. He looked promising in a 145-inning rookie season in ‘24, but made just seven starts last year. Arrighetti has made two appearances this year, and is off to a good start, allowing just three earned runs in 11 innings of work. In his season debut against Colorado, he racked up double-digit strikeouts. He last faced the Yankees back in that rookie season, when he allowed a trio of homers and five earned runs in May of that season.
Ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline, the Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Andrew Mangiapane and a 2027 first-round pick from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach. Mangiapane was thrown into this deal for salary cap purposes.
It was a tough 2025-26 season for Mangiapane. In 52 games with Edmonton before being traded to Chicago, he had seven goals and 14 points. He then had one goal and one assist in 10 games for the Blackhawks. With this, he finished the season with eight goals and 16 points in 62 games, which is far below expectations from the 30-year-old forward.
While Mangiapane had a tough year, the possibility of him bouncing back next season, whether he remains with the Blackhawks or plays elsewhere, should not be ruled out. In 2024-25 with the Washington Capitals, he had 14 goals and 28 points in 81 games. He also recorded at least 40 points from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
With this, Mangiapane has shown many times during his career that he can provide solid secondary offensive production when playing at his best. It is going to be interesting to see what kind of season Mangiapane can have in 2026-27 from here.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 23: Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the third inning at Oracle Park on April 23, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Wednesday night, the Dodgers suffered their first shutout loss of the year by falling 3-0 to the San Francisco Giants. On Thursday, the Dodgers returned the favor and shut the Giants out by the exact same final score.
Only Luis Arraez could break through Tyler Glasnow on Thursday, as the right-hander dominated through eight shutout innings allowing just one hit and one walk— both to Arraez— while striking out a season-high tying nine hitters. It was the first time in two years that Glasnow completed eight innings, and he and Tanner Scott helped the Dodgers narrowly avoid being swept by San Francisco and dropping five of seven games on the road trip.
It’s been an amazing start to the season for Glasnow, who now holds a 2.45 ERA on the season with a 0.70 WHIP, 38 strikeouts and seven walks over 34 innings through his first five starts. Glasnow has only allowed one run and three hits over his last 15 innings on the mound, and Dave Roberts commended him following Thursday’s contest for his insurgency as the Dodgers head back home off the heels of a shutout victory, per Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA.
“He just knew we needed to win, and I think all three of our guys that went out— as far as starters— did a great job. Today we were kind of on a little funk offensively, and he set the tone… He helped the ‘pen, got us a win, and like I said before, this is who he is, and so for me this is not surprising.”
Links
Thursday was a much needed offensive boost for Kyle Tucker, as in his first game demoted to cleanup in the starting lineup on Thursday, he went 2-4 with a double and a run scored after going hitless in the first two games against San Francisco.
The plan for the “foreseeable future,” as noted by Sonja Chen of MLB.com, is to have Tucker keep hitting cleanup while Freddie Freeman will hit behind Shohei Ohtani at second in the lineup.
“I think it’s more of just trying to give Kyle a different look. I think that he’s obviously going through it right now and not feeling great at the plate,” Roberts said before the game. “So sometimes, the different visual, letting the game come to you a little bit before jumping in there in the two, changes your outlook and potentially the results.”
Tucker spoke with Watson postgame about the lineup adjustment, to which the outfielder insisted that his main goal is to produce no matter where he’s hitting.
“Being there is fine. Wherever I am in the lineup, I’m trying to help this team win, and I’ll do it. It’s kinda been a little bit of a grind, but we got a couple knocks today.”
As the Dodgers head home with a 5-4 record over their last nine games, they host a Chicago Cubs team that has rattled off nine straight victories, fresh off a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies that sent them to their eighth consecutive loss. At the helm for Chicago is the brief former Dodger Craig Counsell, who had some choice words to say about MLB’s Shohei Ohtani rule, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.
“I’ve never understood it,” Counsell said. “It’s an offensive rule, essentially. It’s a rule to help offense, more than anything, if you ask me. And then there’s one team that’s allowed to carry basically one of both, and he gets special consideration, which is probably the most bizarre rule. For one team.”
The rule does indeed apply to every team in baseball. It just so happens that the Dodgers have the only incarnation of Babe Ruth in the game today.
It’s time to check LeBron James’ birth certificate. Is he really 41?
James, the NBA's oldest player – unless we discover otherwise – is the first component of the Los Angeles Lakers’ secret code. The code they’ve used while taking a 2-0 lead over the Houston Rockets in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series, with Game 3 set for Friday, April 24 in Houston.
You did see LeBron’s reverse windmill jam in Game 2, right? He’s flying high, all right. In Game 1, he turned in a double-double (19 points and 13 assists), and in Game 2 he scored a game-high 28 points.
The Lakers are getting big-time performances from one-time role players while Luka Dončić and Austin Reeves remain sidelined with injuries. In fact, without their two leading scorers, the Lakers seemed more likely to be trailing the Rockets 2-0 than leading them 2-0.
Bottom line: the Lakers would not be thriving without James excelling.
Weeks ago, he agreed to play a supporting role that allowed Dončić and Reaves to get the shots they need for the Lakers to be at their most potent. But at least through two playoff games, James has proven he still has what it takes to lead a team in the postseason.
Stifling defense
The second component of the secret code is impressive defense.
Credit Lakers coach JJ Redick for devising the plan. It called for double teams, triple teams and traps on Kevin Durant in the second half of Game 2 that helped hold the Rockets star to three points. Not to mention his nine turnovers.
Heading into the playoffs, the Rockets were averaging 115.2 points per game. In Game 1, they managed 98 points. Yes, Durant was out with a knee injury. But in Game 2, with Durant on the floor, the Rockets produced only 94 points. The Rockets shooting percentages also have dipped below their regular-season levels.
Redick and his assistants are responsible for the X's and O's. But part of the Lakers' defensive success has from the hustle and grit exemplified by Smart.
New sources of offense
The third component of the secret code is finding new sources of offense.
During the regular season, Dončić and Reaves averaged a combined 56.8 points. With those two sidelined indefinitely, Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart have emerged.
They combined for 42 points in Game 1 and 48 points in Game 2. Not Dončić-Reaves levels, but the kind of production the Lakers needed to survive.
Kennard ranks second on the NBA’s list for career 3-point field goal percentage at 44.2%. The numbers don't lie. In Game 1, he made all five of his 3-point attempts and finished with 27 points, a career playoff high. In Game 2, he was 3-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 23 points.
Meanwhile, Smart is channeling the best days of his nine-year stint with the Boston Celtics. He had 15 points in Game 1 and 25 points in Game 2.
Experts fueled Lakers
The fourth component of the secret code is responding to external doubt.
The NBA experts made themselves clear: The Lakers had virtually no shot against the Rockets. After their victory in Game 1, the easy explanation was, duh, Durant was out. The Rockets were return to form in Game 2.
Think again.
Now the experts are having to rethink their predictions with the Lakers off to this unimagiably hot star to the playoffs.
The Lakers are only too happy to thank those experts. The dire predictions appear to have strengthened their determinatioiin to overcome adversity and prove the doubters wrong,
The Los Angeles Lakers have a 2-0 lead against the Houston Rockets without top scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as they enter Game 3 on April 24 (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
LeBron James has led the Lakers alongside inspired efforts from Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton. They hope to maintain their level of play as their leading scorers work their way back from injury.
Los Angeles has got to feel good about where it is currently, especially given the latest news on its stars.
Doncic, ruled out of the first round with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, was able to get some shots up during the Lakers' practice on Thursday. He was seen completing controlled, light movement and shooting with assistant coach Greg St. Jean.
Doncic first injured his hamstring with days remaining in the regular season, during a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. He was ruled out for the rest of the regular season following an MRI. \
Luka Doncic doing some controlled, light movement shooting after practice under the watchful eye of Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean pic.twitter.com/dofhMZaUdx
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 19: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates with his teammates in the locker room after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays with a score of 3 to 0 in game five to win the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 19, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Some Guardians players were at the Cavs-Raptors game in Toronto ahead of their series vs. the Blue Jays last night.
