Category: Baseball

Ty France came in to pinch-hit in the top of the seventh inning and hit a two-out, two-run triple to score Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano to give the San Diego Padres a 3-1 lead over the San Francisco Giants. Xander Bogaerts, who entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning as a defensive substitution, added a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 5-1 and the Padres went on to beat the Giants and win the series before returning home to Petco Park. San Diego only outhit San Francisco 6-3 and the Padres were 2-for-10 with RISP, while the Giants were held without an opportunity to hit with runners in scoring position.

Matt Waldron did not start the game, instead he followed Bradgley Rodriguez, who pitch one inning without allowing a run to open the game. Waldron came into the game in the bottom of the second inning and pitched five innings without allowing a walk. He finished his five innings with one run allowed on two hits with seven strikeouts. Adrian Morejon covered the seventh and eighth innings and allowed one hit with four strikeouts. Mason Miller was called on to get the final three outs in the ninth inning and he did just that while recording two strikeouts.

The Padres return to home today to host the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park at 7:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Sung-Mun Song has provided a boost of energy to the Padres lineup since he joined the team earlier this week.

Baseball News:

• The Chicago Cubs won their third consecutive game in walk-off fashion.

• Paul Skene nearly threw a perfect game, but ultimately, he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 12-2 thanks to three home runs from Andy Pages.

• Juan Soto hit a leadoff home run and helped the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies.

• The Texas Rangers knocked off the New York Yankees, 6-1.

• The Washington Nationals broke out for 15 runs to beat the Minnesota Twins.

• The Philadelphia Phillies got past the Athletics, 6-3.

The Yankees broke their five-game winning streak on Wednesday, their offense finally getting stopped as Yankee Killer Nathan Eovaldi dominated them once again. Their last two losses both came at his hands, as he tossed seven shutout innings in their series in Texas before going eight strong with just an Aaron Judge solo shot blemishing his line in the Bronx.

The loss opens the door for the team’s rivals to have a rare chance to catch up with them, as they’ve lost just 3 of their last 18 games. Only one team taking the field was really within eyesight, and unfortunately they moved closer in that rear view mirror after taking advantage of the chance.

Tampa Bay Rays (24-12) 3, Toronto Blue Jays (16-21) 0

The Rays have also been red-hot, especially at home, and their home cooking kept going as they shut down the defending AL champs. Shane McClanahan pitched into the sixth inning, allowing just two hits and a walk against four strikeouts, and the rest of the Rays’ bullpen allowed just two hits the rest of the way to suffocate Toronto’s chances of ever starting a rally.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay struck in the fourth inning against Patrick Corbin. After Junior Caminero led off with a lineout, Jonathan Aranda walked to put a runner on ahead of Jonny DeLuca’s RBI double. Corbin got the second out to nearly keep it a minor scratch, but Chandler Simpson singled to right to score DeLuca and put up a crooked number in the inning. As it wound up, that would be all the damage that Tampa needed, but they got an insurance run in the eighth as Cedric Mullins singled and got moved around on a pair of grounders, eventually scoring on a throwing error from Ernie Clement.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (16-21) 4, Detroit Tigers (18-20) 0: Jack Flaherty had a rollercoaster of a day, striking out 10 batters in just five innings but allowing four runs (two earned) in the process. The two earned came in the third inning on an RBI double from Caleb Durbin and a sacrifice fly from Willson Contreras, while the two unearned came in the fourth after a grounder bounced off of Colt Keith into the corner in left field. Sonny Gray made his first start since April 20th and delivered five shutout on the other side, and the Sox bullpen prevented any hits from the Tigers bats to finish the sweep. Bad times in the Motor City, while Boston might feel a tad refreshed.

Cleveland Guardians (19-19) 3, Kansas City Royals (17-20) 1: Kansas City struck first, getting a sacrifice fly from Salvador Perez in the third inning, but it was all Cleveland the rest of the way. A leadoff walk and a single in the top of the fifth set up a double steal to put runners in scoring position with one out for Chase DeLauter, who drove them both home with a single to left field. The eighth saw them get some insurance, José Ramírez leading off with a walk and stealing second before eventually scoring on a groundout to third that bounced off of Maikel Garcia forcing Bobby Witt Jr. to field the ball.

Seattle Mariners (18-20) 3, Atlanta Braves (26-12) 1: Facing off against the team with the best record in baseball, the M’s managed a series victory in the rubber match thanks to six strong from Bryan Woo. It was the first time all year that Atlanta lost a series. Woo struck out nine batters and allowed just a single hit, walking two and giving up no runs. Martín Pérez did his best to match him, going 5.2 innings, but a double play ball in the third inning still brought home a run and Julio Rodríguez launched a solo shot in the fifth to give Seattle a 2-0 lead. Atlanta cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Seattle got it right back thanks to an RBI double from Cole Young.

It’s a headline that’s grammatically difficult to write. It’s a concept that’s rationally hard to stomach.

The Cincinnati Reds have lost back, to back, to back games to the Chicago Cubs to begin this four-game series, and they’ve been walked-off in all three of them. The last two of them have even come in extra-innings.

Wednesday’s will be the one that ends up the most difficult to stomach, at least for now. That’s assuming the depths to which this 6-game losing streak overall continues. After trailing early and often, the Reds got a standout performance from reliever Tejay Antone when they needed it most, the former fireballer back in the big leagues over two years after the most recent of his three Tommy John surgeries.

To say his inning had an ‘uplifting’ effect would be putting it mildly. There was pep in the step of the defense behind him, and it carried right over to their bats in the Top of the 9th inning. Spencer Steer socked a homer to lead the charge, JJ Bleday chipped in with a vital RBI single to tie the game, and Elly De La Cruz plated a pair with a sacrifice fly so deep into RF that it caused Seiya Suzuki to fall at the wall.

The Reds had roared back to claim a 6-4 lead, and they turned things over to their closer to close it out. Except, of course, closer Emilio Pagan had hurt his hamstring the previous night and been put on the shelf for at least a month, and instead Graham Ashcraft was summoned to do a job he’s got almost no experience doing before. He left a meaty pitch over the plate, Pete Crow-Armstrong lifted it to left-center, and it landed in the first row of the Wrigley Field stands for a game-tying homer…

A game-tying homer that would have literally only been a homer in Wrigley. Only Wrigley.

The Reds then failed to plate the Manfred Man in the Top of the 10th. Then, they walked the bases loaded intentionally in the Bottom of the 10th to set up more appealing matchups for pitcher Brock Burke only for Burke to then walk in the game’s winning run unintentionally and wrap things up.

Even after sleeping on the result, it’s hard to think this series of events won’t end up haunting the Reds over the course of the season. The NL Central is simply too good for it not to, and the Reds have already seen their electrifying (and razor’s edge) start to 2026 see them fall to 4th place within their own division thanks to this brutal run of form.

Something is going to need to change to bust them out of it. The sentiment surely seemed to suggest that would be Antone’s return, but not even that changed the tides. Getting Eugenio Suarez back soon may help, though it will also once again return the flaws and overlaps in the team’s roster construction.

The Reds are 20-17 on the season with over 3/4ths of the season left to play, yet the ship couldn’t possibly seem more leaky than it does right now.

Pitching in Colorado is already tough. 

It’s even tougher when you have to do it on a cold, windy night. 

Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta knew exactly what he’d be facing going in, though, and he tired to stay as prepared and loose as possible throughout Wednesday’s outing. 

“It was crazy weather,” he said postgame. “I knew what I was facing, though. I knew it was going to be a little crazy so between innings I was riding a bike to keep myself warm and ready to go.”

That resulted in Peralta gutting his way through five scoreless innings of work. 

The Rockies did do a good job of making him battle, as he threw a total of 91 pitches on the night, but he held their offense in check and left with a big-advantage still in place.

Peralta only struck out one, but limited Colorado to four hits and a pair of walks. 

“I think it was good,” he said. “I was hoping to get into the sixth inning, but it was crazy -- my pitch count was a little high, but other than that I thought it was pretty good.”

“He found a way,” Carlos Mendoza added. “On a day where they put fouled off tough pitches and put together good at-bats, he gave us five and kept us in the game -- he attacked even when he got behind, so it was a good outing.”

Peralta pitched well enough to earn his second Mets win, and his first since Opening Day against the Pirates. 

“It feels really good,” he said. “It’s funny because [Luis] Torrens was just asking me like ‘how long have you been pitching without a win?’ And I told him it was Opening Day and he was surprised -- me too.”

New York has suddenly found its footing a bit following the brutal stretch of play, going home victorious in three straight games and locking up back-to-back series to open the road trip.

“This is what I expected,” Peralta said. “This is who we are, we have to keep it that way.”

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Let’s run the table on a short slate with action throughout the day, starting in the afternoon. There are a few clear pitcher fades and favorable winds blowing out, making MLB player props ripe for the taking.

I want to take advantage of the wind blowing toward the short porch at Yankee Stadium, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a pull king. Kauffman Stadium also isn’t known as a hitter’s paradise, but 15-mph winds and Slade Cecconi could change that narrative this afternoon.

Here are my favorite MLB home run predictions for Thursday, May 7.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Jazz Chisholm Jr.	+760
Bobby Witt Jr.	+452

Home run pick: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (+760)

I want a left-handed New York Yankees bat this afternoon with 9-mph winds blowing out to right field at Yankee Stadium. MacKenzie Gore is a lefty, but left-handed hitters are actually taking him deep at a higher rate than righties. He also carries the third-highest HR/FB rate among all starters on today’s slate.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. has already taken Gore deep in a small nine-at-bat sample. He homered Tuesday, and three of his 11 hits over the last 12 games have left the yard. His bat-tracking metrics are checking every box as well, ranking among the top Yankee hitters in BlastContact% while posting strong marks in swing speed, SqUpContact%, and Ideal Attack Angle.

There’s also a useful stat that measures attack direction — the horizontal angle the ball comes off the bat, essentially tracking pull vs. late contact — and Chisholm’s +8-degree mark points to heavy pull-side barrel contact that plays perfectly with the short porch and the wind.

The fair price for this +EV homer is around +580.

• Time: 12:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, Rangers Sports Network

Home run pick: Bobby Witt Jr. (+452)

The wind is howling out to center at Kauffman Stadium at 15 mph, and Slade Cecconi is a great pitcher fade. The Cleveland Guardians starter has allowed five HRs over the last three starts and a whopping 26 hits over those 16 innings. His Ks are down, and the walks are up, leading to an increase in HR/9. 

Bobby Witt Jr's fair price to go yard this afternoon is around +390. It's tough to go wrong with any of the big Kansas City bats today with this setting and matchup.

This is also a great spot to stack some HRRBI for the Royals, and there could be runs as KC starter Seth Lugo is coming off a season-high 103 pitches, and there might be three arms unavailable in the Royals' bullpen.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Royals.TV, Guardians.TV

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

Despite their recent winning ways, the Phillies offense is still struggling to produce runs on a consistent basis. There hasn’t been much power to be found outside of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and Brandon Marsh is still the only other hitter who has been anything close to consistent. 

Perhaps the Phillies should look to alternative methods to help boost their offense. In Rob Thomson’s time as manager, the Phillies stole the ninth most bases in baseball with 503. Bryson Stott had the most on the team over that span with 103. Trea Turner is second despite joining the team in 2023 with 88 steals. The team was mostly efficient at stealing too, only being caught 102 times, good for a success rate of around 80%. 

However, the Phillies entering Wednesday were 19th in stolen bases this year with 21. Stott and Turner haven’t run often so far, combining for just nine steal attempts, but neither have been caught yet either. In addition to those two major threats from previous years, the Phillies also now employ another major stolen base threat in Justin Crawford. Crawford stole 46 bases last year while only being caught 11 times at Lehigh Valley, but so far in the majors he’s only swiped three bags and has already been caught twice. He has not quite found his footing yet as a base stealer in the majors.

Outside of those three, Brandon Marsh would be the next logical candidate. He’s swiped all three bags he’s attempted this season after swiping seven on eight attempts in 2025. J.T. Realmuto has been an underrated base stealing threat in years past and he totaled eight on ten attempts last year, but it’s likely the Phillies will not ask him to steal as often in order to preserve the 35-year-old catcher’s legs. Bryce Harper stole 12 bags last year while being thrown out twice but has already been thrown out once on three attempts this season.

So, should the Phillies attempt to steal mores bases? Is it a good way to try and find some offense? Or are they better off not running into outs with the few baserunners they actually have?

Well, they got the series loss out of the way. Not surprisingly, it came in a series where the games weren’t really managed with urgency on the pitching side. Now, the season standings are what they are, so I can get soft-pedaling things, though it’s not actually any more enjoyable to watch in the moment than if the standings were more dire. But, it’s not like the team’s first series loss was some kind of devastating blow.

Right now, getting swept also wouldn’t be a devastating blow. But, we also don’t know that the Braves will get swept any time soon. Do you think they will? If so, when? Who’s gonna achieve it?

The 2024 Braves didn’t get swept until early May… by the Dodgers… on a road trip to Seattle and Los Angeles… after losing a series to the Mariners.

The 2023 Braves actually got swept in late April by the Astros.

The 2022 Braves were never swept.

The 2021 Braves were swept in their first series of the year… as were the 2019 Braves. Both happened in Philadelphia.

The 2020 Braves were only swept in a two-game set in Games 19 and 20 of that shortened season. A funny thing there was that they were swept at Yankee Stadium, and then later that month, swept the Yankees in two games at home. The team only participated in one other sweep the rest of the way.

The 2018 team also lasted until early May, where they were swept at home by the Giants.

I keep telling you that there’s something special about this Cubs team.

Maybe if they keep pulling out wins like the one Wednesday night against the Reds, you’ll believe me. I almost have no words… oh, wait, I’ve got about 1,700 words to describe Wednesday’s amazing comeback win.

After the team had one of their worst innings of the entire season, blowing a two-run ninth-inning lead and … well, I’ll get to the rest of that… the Cubs tied the game up, got a solid scoreless inning from a pitcher who had just arrived and was only there because of yet another injury, then won the game on a walk-off walk issued to Michael Busch. The Cubs’ 7-6, 10-inning win was their eighth in a row and their 14th straight at Wrigley Field.

Caught your breath yet? Let’s rewind to the beginning of this bonkers game.

Colin Rea walked the first batter of the game, TJ Friedl. That almost never winds up being a good thing, and it wasn’t in this case, as Friedl moved to second when Rea threw a pickoff attempt away and scored on a single by JJ Bleday.

The Cubs wasted no time in taking the lead back. The first two Cubs in the first grounded out, then Alex Bregman singled.

Ian Happ’s ninth home run of the year made it 2-1 Cubs [VIDEO].

Perspective: This was the Cubs’ 37th game of the year. Last year — when Happ hit 23 home runs — he hit his ninth in the team’s 75th game. The homer was the 182nd of his career, moving Happ ahead of Alfonso Soriano into 12th place on the franchise home run list. Next up: Hack Wilson, 190.

The Reds threatened in the third. Two singles put runners on first and third with nobody out. Rea struck out Bleday, then with the infield in, Busch made this good play [VIDEO].

More good Cubs defense in the fourth, this one from Dansby Swanson [VIDEO].

Did I mention good Swanson defense? He did it again that inning [VIDEO].

The Cubs made it 4-1 in the bottom of the inning. Happ led off with a single and scored on this double by Seiya Suzuki [VIDEO].

Suzuki moved to third on a single by Busch and scored when Carson Kelly hit into a double play [VIDEO].

Rea served up a home run ball to Matt McLain in the fifth to make the score 4-2. Rea was finally lifted with one out in the sixth after putting runners on by a walk and a single. He got one out on a ground ball, then Jacob Webb was summoned. Webb’s been pretty good lately and he got out of the inning with a pair of ground outs — the second, though, required this slick grab from Bregman [VIDEO].

The Cubs had a chance to extend the lead in the seventh. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Swanson began the inning with singles, but Nico Hoerner hit into a double play. Craig Counsell sent Matt Shaw up to bat against left-hander Sam Moll, but Terry Francona countered with Pierce Johnson, so Counsell sent Michael Conforto up to bat for Shaw. That’s something you used to see a lot, but not now with three-batter minimums and four-man benches.

Anyway, Conforto could not replicate his heroics of Monday; he grounded out to end the inning.

Phil Maton threw a 1-2-3 eighth. That’s good because, well, the Cubs need good relievers they can trust right now, what with all the injuries.

In the bottom of the eighth, Happ was robbed of extra bases by Friedl [VIDEO].

Tip o’ the cap there — that could have been a double or triple, instead it was a 402-foot out.

Then, the ninth. If I can be permitted to second-guess Counsell a bit, Webb had thrown only 14 pitches to record five outs. Perhaps he could have thrown the eighth and Maton the ninth. I agree with Counsell on not using Daniel Palencia on back-to-back days, yet, coming off his injury.

So it was Corbin Martin to try to save this game. Friends, you know he did not do that. He served up a leadoff homer to Spencer Steer, then allowed singles to Will Benson and pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson. That was it for Martin, and Hoby Milner came on to protect what was now a one-run lead.

McLain attempted a bunt. Milner thought he had a play at third, and he might have, only he hesitated just for the tiniest moment and Benson was safe. Milner then struck out pinch-hitter Dane Myers, only to see Bleday hit a single, tying the game.

Okay, tie game, the Cubs got this one. Only… this happened [VIDEO].

Suzuki made a nice grab, then fell down. What you can’t see on the clip is that he flipped the ball to PCA, whose throw was too late to prevent two runs from scoring on Elly De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly.

The four-run ninth was a disaster, one of the Cubs’ worst innings of 2026, as noted above.

Did that matter? No, it did not!

Busch led off and was called out on strikes on a pitch overturned on a challenge. Then Kelly singled.

Then PCA came to bat. Listen to the audio of the clip here, Jim Deshaies was prescient [VIDEO].

In addition to tying the game, that was PCA’s first home run of the season at Wrigley Field (fourth overall). Here’s a cool field view of the homer [VIDEO].

With one out, the Cubs had a chance to walk it off in regulation, but Swanson popped up and Hoerner grounded out.

On to the 10th and Milner walked the first Reds hitter he faced. Now there are runners on first and second with nobody out. Trent Thornton was summoned. Raise your hand if you knew, when this day started, that Thornton would be pitching for the Cubs in this very high-leverage situation. (No, no you did not, he’s only there due to the injury to Matthew Boyd.)

Thornton did his job exceptionally well. He got Steer to hit into a double play. Pinch-runner Blake Dunn wound up on third, where he was stranded when Thornton got Benson to ground out. Thornton is 32 and signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in January. He’s had some decent years in the past in Toronto and Seattle, and this outing, well, the Cubs need that “next man up” theory to hold and it did in this inning.

In the bottom of the 10th, Miguel Amaya was sent up to bat in the DH spot, for Conforto. Remember that Shaw had already been used, the only other bench bat was Nicky Lopez. Amaya was being sent up to sacrifice the placed runner (Nico), and he did so successfully. So now Hoerner’s on third with one out. The Reds chose to intentionally pass Bregman. Happ, though, struck out for the second out in the inning. The Reds then decided to intentionally pass Suzuki. You don’t see this sort of thing often in walk-off situations anymore; teams think it’s too big of a risk when, as was the case here, a walk ends the game.

Busch, who was the wak-off hero Tuesday, was the hitter. He ran a 3-0 count. One more ball and the Cubs win. The fourth pitch was close, and it appeared Busch had challenged — but the umpires didn’t allow it. Counsell came out for a discussion, but the game continued. As it turned out, the pitch was a strike, so the challenge wouldn’t have done anything. A very close pitch, but a strike:

Who knows? Maybe that brief delay by Counsell rattled Brock Burke a bit, because he threw pitch 5 way inside to Busch, and the Cubs had another win [VIDEO].

Just can’t say enough about this team. Even with that awful ninth, you had the feeling that somehow, this Cubs team would come back and win, and so they did. From BCB’s JohnW53:

Last night’s win made Monday-Wednesday just the fourth time since 1901 that Cubs have had three straight walk-offs vs. the same team:

Aug. 16-18, 1932, vs Braves
Aug. 28, 30 and 31, 1932 vs Giants
Sept. 27-28, 1943 vs Giants (doubleheader on 28th).

They have had three straight walk-offs vs. different teams since then, most recently in 2009.

The injury to Boyd, noted above, will have some ripple effects, obviously. Javier Assad likely slots back into the rotation, and for now, Thornton takes his bullpen place. We’ll discuss over the next days and weeks where Jed Hoyer might go for starting pitching help. As for the pen, I’d think this game might be the end of Corbin Martin’s Cubs career — after starting out this year reasonably well (including a save against the Dodgers!), Martin’s last three outings have resulted in one total inning pitched, six hits, four walks, two home runs and six runs allowed for a 54.00 ERA. I’m not sure who the Cubs could add today to replace Martin — Ethan Roberts, currently on rehab assignment, threw an inning for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday.

There will be more on WPA in Heroes and Goats at 10 a.m. CT, but check out this game’s chart (Bluesky link):

Here are postgame remarks from PCA [VIDEO].

And here are Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

One more note on the walk-off by Busch:

One more note on the streaking Cubs:

The Cubs now lead the NL Central by 3.5 games over the second-place Cardinals and five games over the Brewers, Reds and Pirates.

The Cubs will go for nine in a row, 15 straight at Wrigley, and a four-game sweep Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and Rhett Lowder goes for the Reds. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Reds market territories).

Cole Ragans exited after just 3 innings, in last night’s 3-1 loss.

After just 58 pitches thrown across three innings, starter Cole Ragans exited the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday with left triceps and elbow soreness. He’ll undergo further testing and evaluation on Thursday to determine the severity and next steps.

Ragans said he felt tightness creep into the back of his left triceps and just above the elbow throughout the third inning. He got out of a jam that had runners on first and third with two outs with a popup to get him through his third scoreless frame, but when he got back in the dugout, he alerted the Royals’ coaching and training staff of the tightness.

“It got to a point where I didn’t feel like I needed to push it anymore,” Ragans said. “Talked to [pitching coach Brian] Sweeney and all of them, and figured that was the best decision.”

Carlos Estevez made his first rehab outing yesterday in Omaha… it didn’t go well.

Three batters into the outing with Triple-A Omaha, Estévez was exiting with shoulder discomfort, motioning to his right arm as a trainer came out for a mound visit.

Estévez was traveling back from Indianapolis, where the Storm Chasers were playing, on Wednesday. He’ll undergo further testing and evaluation on Thursday, manager Matt Quatraro said after the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday night.

He averaged 90 mph with his four-seam fastball on Wednesday – a pitch he averaged 95.9 mph with last season. His changeup registered at 81.2 mph, while his slider clocked in at an 81.4 mph on average.

Eric Cerantola, who made his MLB debut last night, was tabbed as a prospect with future closer potential.

Cerantola spent all of 2025 with Triple-A Omaha and found some success, posting a 4.04 ERA and 29.6 percent strikeout rate over 49 innings. He’s returned to the International League for this season and been even more dominant (1.42 ERA, 33.3 K%) and a big reason is that he took his slider — which was already his primary pitch, and a dominant one — and improved it by adding about five inches more drop and cutting some of the gloveside break. He’s thrown the slide piece 56.8 percent of the time, and opponents have a .069 average and 59.2 percent whiff rate against it. He also shows a mid-90s four-seamer.

Josh Hammond breaks into the Baseball America top 100 prospect list at #94, joining Kendry Chourio at #53. [$]

“In high school, Hammond was a standout, two-way talent. As a pro, he’s hitting only—but he’s really hitting. He jumped straight to Low-A and has been one of the most productive players on his team and in the Carolina League overall. If he develops the way the Royals hope, he could be a true five-tool talent.”

Kevin O’Brien of Royals Keep talked about how the Royals have won the Isaac Collins/Nick Mears trade.

O’Brien also talks about the Royals starting rotation.

Hawaiian Bros changes the terms of their promotion with the Royals to make it “buy one, get one free”.

With a new Royals stadium downtown, what is next for Washington Square Park?

The Cubs won their 14th straight home game, with another walk-off.

Framber Valdez is suspended five games for throwing at a hitter, and will miss this weekend against the Royals.

Paul Skenes is back to doing Paul Skenes things after a shaky Opening Day start.

Tarik Skubal’s injury leaves the Tigers in an uncertain place.

Bunting and small ball is back!

Walks are surging in baseball and it may be because of ABS. [$]

Today’s song of the day is Riptide by Vance Joy

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The New York Yankees will look to win a series this afternoon when they face the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers grabbed a bit of a surprising blowout win last night, giving them their first win of this series. That won’t repeat here. 

Read all about it in my Rangers vs. Yankees predictions and MLB picks for Thursday, May 7.

Who will win Rangers vs Yankees today: Yankees moneyline (-135)

There’s a pretty big matchup problem for MacKenzie Gore here. He’s posted a 90th-percentile strikeout rate in the early season, showing his ability to miss bats. That will give him success against parts of this New York Yankees lineup.

The rest, though, will be a problem. 

He pairs his strikeout prowess with a walk rate in the Bottom 25% of the sport and a 12th-percentile barrel rate. That combo will punish him sooner or later when facing a lineup that is bottom in chase rate and Top 3 in both barrel plus hard-hit rate. 

On the other side, I’m always a fan of backing Paul Blackburn — filling in for Ryan Weathers — as I view him as one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball over the last two seasons. Why? Contact suppression. He doesn’t give up many barrels, which should play well here. I’d take this to -155.

COVERS INTEL: Blackburn’s contact suppression is best highlighted by Top-20% barrel and groundball rates.

Rangers vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-105)

Despite scoring 10 runs over the last two games, this isn’t a Rangers lineup that puts up crooked numbers by design. Blackburn’s breaking ball and offspeed pitch both grade above the 80th percentile by run value, which should provide dividends against this weak offense. 

As mentioned, Gore’s strikeout ability will keep a large portion of this Yankees offense from stringing stuff together too often as well.

Texas and New York also feature two of the strongest run-suppressing bullpens in MLB, ranking 1st and 3rd, respectively, in reliever ERA.

I’d play this to -120.

Rangers vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Rangers +123 | Yankees -149
• Run line: Rangers +1.5 (-163) | Yankees -1.5 (+135)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-115) | Under 8.5 (-105)

Rangers vs Yankees trend

The New York Yankees have hit the Moneyline in 12 of their last 15 games (+7.85 Units / 33% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rangers vs. Yankees.

How to watch Rangers vs Yankees and game info

Rangers vs Yankees latest injuries

Rangers vs Yankees weather

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

The Mets close out a three-game series against the Rockies in Colorado at 3:10 p.m. on SNY.

Mets Notes

• Carson Benge is slashing .273/.320/.455 with two homers and seven RBI over his last 15 games
• Marcus Semien recorded the Mets' first four-hit game of the season on Wednesday 
• Semien is a career .385 hitter in 17 at-bats against Jose Quintana
• Christian Scott struck out eight over 5.0 innings of work his last time out
• The Mets are looking to lock-up their first series sweep since the beginning of April in San Fran

Today's Lineups

What channel is SNY?

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Meet the Mets

The offense showed up in a big way in the Mets’ 10-5 win over the Rockies. Marcus Semien led the offensive charge with a four-hit night that included a home run. Juan Soto also went deep leading off the game to set the tone early on. The pitching struggled a bit, but the Mets have now taken the first two games in the series with a snow day in between.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, Newsday, NY Post

Carson Benge had another good day at the plate, but his defense has also made an impact recently.

Snow days are rare in baseball, but the Mets were able to enjoy their day off in Denver.

A.J. Minter experienced a setback during his rehab assignment and will be reassessed in the coming days.

There is still no timetable for Jorge Polanco’s return, but he expects to play first base when he comes off the IL.

The Mets have a solid core of young pitching with Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Jonah Tong, but even more pitching help could be on the way.

Around the National League East

Ted Turner, the former owner of the Atlanta Braves, passed away at the age of 87.

Atlanta fell to the Marlins 3-1 to drop the series against Miami.

The Marlins are calling up Robby Snelling, one of their top prospects, to make his MLB debut against the Nationals this weekend.

Zack Wheeler and the Phillies defeated the Athletics 6-3.

The Nationals exploded for 15 runs in their 15-2 rout of the Twins.

Around Major League Baseball

Astros third baseman Carlos Correa will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury he sustained in batting practice.

Additional reporting about former Tigers Triple-A manager Gabe Alvarez revealed that he was dismissed after allegedly harrassing a female employee.

Framber Valdez received a 5-game suspension for throwing at Trevor Story which led to a benches-clearing incident between the Tigers and Red Sox.

Cubs starter Matthew Boyd suffered a meniscus injury while playing with his children and will be out for the foreseeable future.

Three batters were hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the contest between the White Sox and Angels which is the first time in at least 70 seasons that has happened.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Chris McShane took a look at Carson Benge’s recent improvements at the plate.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 2012, Jordany Valdespin hit a pinch-hit three-run home run for his first career major league hit.

Rangers 6, Yankees 1

• The Rangers have won a game! Huzzah!
• Not only did the Rangers win a game, they won it against one of the two teams in the American League with a record better than .500.
• That’s right, its mediocrity as far as the eye can see in the A.L. right now.
• Outstanding work by Nathan Eovaldi. Really top notch.
• Eight innings, eight Ks, which is some nice symmetry. 101 pitches, of which almost two-thirds were either splitters or curveballs.
• And even when Eovaldi did go fastball, he primarily used his cutter, which he threw 23 times. He only went with the fastball nine times, and threw four sinkers.
• 19 whiffs for Eovaldi, eight of them coming on the curveball. He threw it a lot more often than usual on Wednesday, and you can see why.
• The only damper was a home run by Aaron Judge, but I’m pretty sure Aaron Judge homers every game so we can let that go.
• Plus the Rangers actually scored some runs.
• Novel concept, that.
• Evan Carter homered and Corey Seager homered. We like that, right?
• The Rangers are two games below .500 now, but still just a game back of the A’s, and tied with the Mariners. That mediocrity I was talking about earlier, you know.
• I mentioned that the Yankees are one of two teams in the American League above .500. They are 25-12, tied with the Cubs for the second-best record in baseball, behind the 26-12 Atlanta Braves.
• The other team in the A.L. above .500? The Tampa Bay Rays. They are 24-12.
• Yeah, that surprised me, too.
• Tampa has won 6 in a row and 12 of their last 13. In fact, Tampa has three six game winning streaks so far this year. Its weird.
• So there are four teams with 12 losses currently. There are also four teams with 23 losses — the Astros, the Angels, the Giants, and the Rockies.
• And there are six — count ‘em, six — teams with exactly 20 losses. That seems like a lot.
• Nathan Eovaldi touched 96.8 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.0 mph. Jacob Latz’s fastball reached 95.5 mph.
• Jake Burger had a 109.1 mph single and a 103.0 mph ground out. Ezequiel Duran had a 107.6 mph double and a 102.3 mph sacrifice fly. Evan Carter had a 106.2 mph ground out, and his home run was 99.6 mph. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.2 mph ground out. Corey Seager’s homer was 101.7 mph.
• Wins are good. Let’s do that more.

Juan Soto had only hit in the leadoff spot two times in his big-league career prior to this week. 

But when Carlos Mendoza approached him with the idea of moving him there in an effort to create more traffic for the Mets' shorthanded offense, he was all-in.

"I told him right away, whatever he wants," Soto said. "Wherever he wants me I'll be there -- anything I can do to help the team out, I'm going to be open to it."

Soto went hitless in his return to the spot during Monday's series opener, but he was able to do some damage against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen to open the ballgame Wednesday night. 

Just three pitches into the ballgame, he jumped all over a low-and-away curveball, crushing it 435 feet to left-center for his fourth homer of the season and the first leading off in his career. 

"It's great," Soto said. "To be able to punch first in the first inning with the team is always great -- it gets the guys going and helps the starter sit and breathe a little starting the game with the lead, it's definitely great."

That ended up being Soto's only hit in the ballgame, but he did drive in another run with a sacrifice fly as the bottom of the Mets' order got things going again during the middle innings. 

New York struck three times in the fourth, four in the sixth, and two in the ninth in a much-needed 10-run outburst. 

Brett Baty, Carson Benge, Marcus Semien, and Francisco Alvarez combined to account for 10 of the team's 15 hits while scoring eight runs and driving in five out of the five-through-nine spots in the lineup.  

Semien spearheaded the effort by delivering the team's first four-hit game of the season.

"It's always great to have the bottom of the lineup producing and helping the top part of the order have some breathing room," Soto said. "It was great to see those guys come through like that."

Soto did appear to have a bit of an injury scare, but he told Carlos Mendoza that he was fine. 

The Mets will look to complete their first series sweep since the beginning of April with Christian Scott taking the ball for the third time this season on Thursday afternoon. 

"It's important to continue winning series," Mendoza said. "It's important to come back and get the third one tomorrow -- but it is good to see the guys playing loose, playing with confidence, and not trying to do too much."