Category: Baseball

Series Preview

#19 Nebraska Cornhuskers (26-7, 11-1 B1G) at #21 Oregon Ducks (24-9, 8-4 B1G)

Location: PK Park, Eugene, OR

Dates: April 10-12th

Times (all CDT): Friday @ 5pm **Time Change!**, Saturday @ 4pm, Sunday @ 2pm

Coaches: Will Bolt (7th season, 196-133-1) & Mark Wasikowski (7th season, 317-197)

TV/Stream: All games on B1G+

Radio: All Nebraska games on Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

After a tough first 3 weeks of a non-conference schedule, Nebraska has rolled through the easier part of its schedule. Prior to the mid-week game against an impressive Kansas team, only a single game against a hot veteran pitcher stopping them from winning 22 in a row. In baseball, it doesn’t matter what level you are playing, that streak is still impressive (just ask the Back to Back Big Ten Champion teams that struggled in the midweek against South Dakota State and Omaha). Now the team gets to find out if the momentum will carry them against the two best teams remaining on its weekend schedule and secure a top 4 seed AND potentially a home regional.

Oregon rolled through the early part of its schedule, with only a slip up against an average UC Irvine team, and a loss in the baseball version of the Civil War to Oregon State. Since a trip to UC Santa Barbara, the offense which had been mashing the ball (it still leads the Big Ten in home runs and total bases) has stalled a bit. They’ve averaged just 3 runs per game in their last 8 games, which included two mid week losses to Portland sandwiched around the team’s first weekend series loss at Michigan.

It’s hard to imagine a whole team has gone cold for an extended period of time. Then again, Nebraska fans only have to look to last season (sorry for the PTSD) to see how a good offensive team can just go ice cold for a couple stretches. Is the past couple weeks just a blip for the Ducks and they just need some home cooking to regain their power? Or can Nebraska’s strong pitching staff capitalize on their recent woes?

Pitching Preview

Game 1: RHP Ty Horn (1-1, 4.70 ERA) vs. RHP Will Sanford (4-1, 2.54 ERA)

Game 2: RHP Carson Jasa (6-1, 3.64 ERA) vs. RHP Collin Clarke (5-2, 2.72 ERA)

Game 3: RHP Cooper Katskee (5-0, 2.79 ERA) vs. RHP Cal Scolari (4-0, 2.81 ERA)

For the first time really all season, Ty Horn struggled mightily, and to the point he couldn’t get an out in the 4th inning. His pitches, which have lived at the bottom of the strike zone, just didn’t seem to have a lot of downward bite to them against a substandard Penn State offense. 3 doubles and 2 home runs took advantage of the elevated Horn pitches. Horn always seems to dig deep and be at his best against top competition, and bounces back big time the week after a rough start.

The Carson Jasa experience continues for the Huskers. He set a career high with 11 strikeouts against Penn State. Other than the disasterous Auburn start, he’s struck out at least 8 batters in each start. He is up to 66 strikeouts in 42 innings over his 8 starts. Joba Chamberlain and Shane Komine are the only Husker pitchers with more than 65 strikeouts over their first 8 starts in a season.

As is his custom, Cooper Katskee gave up 2 runs early, then cruised through a season best 7 innings. Michael Anderson got 2 home runs off of him, but really nothing else of consequence came from the Nittany Lions offense against the senior. It was a real luxury to have him go so deep to help make up for the short outing by Horn. The staff has a good balance of different types of starting pitchers that can all potentially get deep into games. It’s been a while since a Husker team could say that.

After a freshman season in which he started and you saw glimpses of greatness, Will Sanford has taken the Friday night baton and run with it. He’s pitched almost the exact same innings (39) as last season, and has dropped his walks from 39 to 23 and increased his strikeouts from 42 to 51. Like Ty Horn, he is coming off his worst start of the season, giving up 6 runs in 2.2 innings at Michigan. He hasn’t really struggled like that at all this year. How will he bounce back?

When Saturday starter Collin Clarke is on, he really has a ton of movement on each one of his pitches. Really looks like Koty Frank (shoutout Frank Koty!) when he was stalking the mound for the Huskers. He eats up innings, having gone 6 innings in all but 2 starts so far, and doesn’t waste pitches. He will be in the zone on nearly every throw. He can get in hitters heads to, he is very demonstrative on the mound. If you can watch the video on the tweet below, he has something to say after nearly every strike thrown.

The highest ceiling may be Sunday starter Cal Scolari. As a redshirt freshman at San Diego last season (Man, I hate those guys!) he was the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year. He has 46 strikeouts in just 32 innings. He and Katskee are both undefeated on the year. The series may come down to who gets their first blemish on the year.

Scouting Report

On offense, the Ducks looked to a pair of All-Conference juniors to help replace all the production lost off of last year’s team that belted a conference leading 115 home runs. The two middle infielders who had big time seasons a year ago, have gone in different directions in 2026.

Second baseman and leadoff man Ryan Clooney is taking his game to another level, he is batting .359 and already has as many extra base hits as he did all of 2025. He has 33 runs scored and has 28 RBIs, which is outstanding for a leadoff batter. Cooney is also he biggest threat the Ducks have on the base paths, stealing 11 out 13 bases on the year. His partner, short stop Maddox Moloney is going through his worst season in Eugene. His batting average is down almost 80 points from a season ago to just .235. After hitting 8 doubles and 15 home runs last year, he is at 6 and 5 respectively this season. As D1Baseball’s Burke Granger shows, he has lost the ability to hit the off-speed pitch, batting .225 lower on sliders than last year and .144 lower on change-ups.

One Duck that has been good his whole career, but really exploded this season is third baseman Drew Smith. He really worked on his swing in the offseason and it seems his batting average speed has really taken off. He is leading the team in batting at .386, home runs, with 10, and RBIs, at 38. His OPS is third in the conference behind Penn State’s Michael Anderson (Sorry for bringing him up again.) and UCLA’s Will Gasparino (Who you will find near the top of nearly every offensive category.). Oh, and by the way he is probably the best defensive third baseman in the Big Ten.

One player who has been slumping recently but is capable of changing the outcome of a series with the power in his bat is Dominic Hellman. Listed at 6’6” and 281 lbs, the senior hit 13 home runs in his first healthy season last year, and despite his recent lack of success still has 7 doubles and 8 home runs on the season, including hitting 4 home runs in an earlier series against Northwestern.

One freshman to keep track of, that may be the next great Oregon player is right fielder Angel Laya. Their top recruit is batting .296, but is second on the team in home runs with 9. He also has 25 runs scored and 28 RBIs.

Oregon has the best bullpen Nebraska has seen in a while. The staff as a whole is 2nd in the nation in WHIP at 1.13. Closer Devin Bell transferred in from D-II Western Oregon. He was the closer there as a freshman and sophomore, before becoming an All-American starter as a junior. He has 7 saves this season, an ERA of 4.26, 11 strikeouts and 5 walks in 12.2 innings.

The guy the Ducks go get to get them out of a jam is sophomore Tanner Bradley. After not seeing the field much as a freshman, with only 4 appearances, he is leading the team with 15 this year. And it’s not hard to see why. In his 25.1 innings, he has struck out 41 batters and walked 8. His 1.42 ERA leads the regular on the team as well.

The other regular out of the pen is former top ranked pitcher out of the state of Nebraska Michael Meckna. The Elkhorn South grad is second on the team with 14 appearances, and has struck out 18 in 17.1 innings.

The Ducks are an elite defensive team, fielding at 98.1% on the season, good enough for 4th in the Big Ten currently, behind Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota.

Series History

This is the first regular season matchup between the Huskers and Ducks. You may remember their only previous meeting, a 7-3 Nebraska win over the top seeded Oregon team in that horrible pool play structure.

On Deck

• This is the Huskers’ first weekend series where both teams are ranked since 2015. When #17 Maryland swept #18 Nebraska in College Park, MD.
• Former Oregon Duck Mac Moyer is leading the Big Ten in both batting average (.406) and hits (52). He is 3rd in on base % (.500) behind Iowa’s Miles Risley, and former Husker and current Purdue Boilermaker Aaron Manias.
• The NU pitching staff is holding opponents to a .215 batting average against, currently besting the previous low this century of .227 in 2005.

New uniforms, new roster moves — but are the Royals finding answers on the field?

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, hosts Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco break down the latest developments surrounding the Kansas City Royals, from recent roster transactions to ongoing performance concerns. The discussion covers the return of Eli Morgan, bullpen adjustments, and what recent moves signal about the team’s strategy as the season unfolds.

A key focus is the Royals’ continued struggles with runners in scoring position, diving into whether the issue is mechanical, mental, or simply variance —and what it means for the team’s offensive ceiling moving forward. The duo also evaluates bullpen reliability and identifies potential bright spots emerging from recent performances.

Off the field, the conversation shifts to the highly anticipated Royals City Connect uniforms, with a detailed breakdown of the design, symbolism, and fan reception. Jacob and Jeremy also draft their favorite City Connect uniforms from this year’s release, comparing Kansas City’s look to standout designs from teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves.

To wrap things up, the episode previews the upcoming Royals vs. White Sox series, highlighting key matchups, pitching outlooks, and what Kansas City needs to do to gain momentum. Blending analysis, culture, and fan-focused discussion, this episode keeps Royals fans informed and engaged as the season progresses.

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

BlueSky
– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

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– Podcast: @RoyalRundownPod

A few days ago, I was looking up Jesús Luzardo on Baseball Savant, as one does. Due to a typo, though, I accidentally searched for “Jesús Lizardo”. I expected to be redirected to Luzardo’s page. Instead, though, I was brought to a page on the very real Jesus Lizardo, a catcher who was in the Pirates organization last year. After I got over my crushing disappointment that Lizardo isn’t a version of Luzardo from an alternate universe in which everyone is a reptile (Crocodile Sánchez and Aaron Anole-a round out the Reptillian Phillie rotation), I got to thinking: does every Phillie have a similar-name Doppelgänger out there? And so, I now present to you, the Phillies All-Doppelgänger team. They mostly didn’t play the right positions, and they may not have had star careers (or even major-league careers at all), but they sort of sound like our Phillies.

Pitcher: Jesus Lizardo

Lizardo played with Pittsburgh’s Dominican Summer League squads in 2024 and 2025. Given that he slashed a career .331/.244/.575, it seems unlikely that we will ever see the dream of a Luzardo/Lizardo battery in the bigs. Oh well.

Catcher: JT Riddle

Our BCIB is the only player in major league history with the name Realmuto. The only player to ever reach the bigs with a vaguely similar surname is Richard Realf, a pitcher who played for one season with Cleveland in 1901 (and who went by the name Dick Braggins, which you could do in 1901 without drawing laughs). Instead, we’ll go with Realmuto’s initial-buddy JT Riddle (no periods after the J and T, unlike Realmuto). Riddle played in parts of six seasons with Miami, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Cincinnati. He didn’t pose much of a riddle for opposing pitchers, posting a career OPS of .616.

First Base: Bryan Harper

In 2011, the Washington Nationals drafted B. Harper, who played at Las Vegas High School, then the College of Southern Nevada. “But wait!”, you’re saying. “Bryce was drafted in 2010!”. Yes, he was. 2008’s B. Harper was Bryan, Bryce’s brother. A southpaw reliever, Bryan played in the Nationals organization from 2011 to 2019. He also has the distinction of being drafted by the same club twice, having been a Washington pick in 2008, too. That being the case, and being the older brother, he came first— Bryce is actually his doppelgänger.

Second Base: Bob Stotts

“Stott the presses,”, the assembled Stotts cried in 2022, “one of our own has made the show!” A number of Stotts had played pro baseball, starting with John Stott in 1892, but none had made it to the bigs until Bryson. The closest name match among them was Bob Stotts, who had a single pro season with the Dodgers organization, playing for the Sooner State League’s Seminole Ironmen, and the Southwest International League’s marvelously named Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings.

Shortstop: Trey Turner

In 2017, the Washington Nationals decided one Trea Turner wasn’t enough. See, they already had Trea Turner at shortstop. But the 10th round of the 2017 draft offered them the opportunity to draft another one. Sure, he wasn’t quite the same— he was a pitcher, for one thing, and for another, he spelled his name with a y. Between the Trea/ys Turner and the Harper brothers, the 2010s Nationals seemed to be going for some sort of strategy involving confusing the other team as to who they were actually facing. Abbott and Costello would’ve been proud.

Third Base: Alec Byrd

Only one Bohm has ever made the bigs. But there have been a quartet of other Alec Bs in pro baseball. The closest name match among them is Alec Byrd, a reliever who came out of Florida State and played three seasons with the Rockies and Reds organizations.

Left Field: Brandon Moss

And, at long last, we actually have a doppelgänger at the right position. And the right team, too! Brandon Moss played over a decade in the bigs, starting with the BoSox, but eventually making his way to the Phillies for the 2011 season (though he appeared in only five games). His best year came in Oakland, where he was named to the 2014 AL All-Star team.

Center Field: Jim Crawford

A lefty pitcher, Jim Crawford played two seasons with Houston and three with Detroit from 1973-1978. He went by the nickname of Catfish. Crawfish seems like it would’ve been the more appropriate ichthyology-based nickname, plus he wouldn’t have had to share it with the more famous Hunter.

Right Field: Adonis García

Only one player in professional baseball history has had the name Adolis, and he’s a Phillie. But Adonis García, who played parts of three seasons with Atlanta from 2015-2017, is just one letter away.

Closer: Jhonny Duran

He was indeed a pitcher, and his name sounds an awful lot like our flamethrowing Durantula. But Jhonny didn’t have quite the same stuff as Jhoan, and made it only as far as the Rangers’ Dominican Summer League team.

For the second game in a row, the Tulsa Drillers got to double digits in runs scored, this time needing every bit of it to take the 12-9 win over the Springfield Cardinals with some late game drama—one of three wins on Thursday from the Dodgers’ top four minor league teams.

Player of the day

As one would imagine with the amount of runs they’ve been scoring as of late, the Tulsa Drillers are getting outstanding production from their best players, and that starts with Kendall George at the top of the batting order. Getting the day off from the field, George was the DH and managed to reach base safely in four out of six plate appearances, responsible for a quarter of the runs that the Drillers scored.

Getting good pitches to hit, considering most pitchers didn’t want to have to deal with Josue De Paula behind him, George went 3 for 5 with a double and also walked once—the highlight of his performance was a go-ahead single in the ninth, then giving the Drillers a 10-9 lead.

A massive threat on the basepaths, George would also steal a base in that 10th inning, his fifth one this season, in which he has yet to be caught.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

River Ryan did his best to keep the Express off the scoreboard in a game in which he clearly didn’t have it, allowing eight hitters to reach safely in 4.1 innings of work with just two earned runs. However, the Comets ultimately fell on the losing end of a tightly contested affair, dropping it 6-5.

Both teams finished the game with the same 13 hits, but while walks weren’t that much of a problem for Ryan, every reliever who came out of the Comets’ bullpen suffered with them—the Comets’ relievers combined to put eight men on, while the opposing team only allowed three free passes.

One of the stars of these first few games of the minor league season, James Tibbs III struggled heavily, going 0 for 4 with a Golden Sombrero—one of the responsible parties for the Comets going 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position and not capitalizing on a four-hit game from leadoff bat Ryan Fitzgerald.

Double-A Tulsa

Ten walks and five stolen bases allowed, it wasn’t a favorable performance for Tulsa pitching, with starter Adam Serwinowski failing to complete two full innings. Still, in the end, their star hitters were too much for the Springfield Cardinals to handle, outhitting the opposition 15 to 7.

Interestingly, the bulk of that damage came on singles, 12 of the Drillers’ 15 hits to be exact—the exceptions being a couple of doubles from George and De Paula, and a two-run bomb from center fielder Harry Newell in the third inning.

One important note about this game is that, evidently, facing the switch-pitching effects of Jurrangelo Cijntje didn’t really affect the Drillers, with 11 men reaching in the three innings of work from the Cardinals’ starting pitcher.

High-A Great Lakes

Southpaw Sterling Patrick was one out short of earning the win, but that shouldn’t minimize a solid performance, allowing all of one hit in 4.2 innings of work against the Whitecaps with seven strikeouts. Unfortunately for Patrick, the walks proved to be a bit of an issue, allowing four of them, thus preventing a longer outing as the Loons won the game 5-2.

The big hit of the game for the Great Lakes came right in the first inning when Logan Wagner hit a two-run bomb. In fact, the Loons really didn’t need much offense after the opening frame, one in which they secured three of their total five hits in the game.

Class-A Ontario

Relentless attack with at least one run scored in each of the first five innings. That’s how the Tower Buzzers secured an 8-3 victory away from home. Luis Carias’ work out of the bullpen was also very important, covering 3.2 innings, as starter Brady Smith once again delivered a short start, a regular occurrence since he joined the Dodger organization last season.

Offensively, designated hitter Jaron Elkins was the standout performer, securing a four-hit game with three runs batted in, including a solo shot, one of three from the Tower Buzzers in the game—joined by Landyn Vidourek and Anson Aroz.

Thursday scores

• Round Rock 6, Oklahoma City 5
• Tulsa 12, Springfield 9
• Ontario 8, Inland Empire 3
• Great Lakes 5, West Michigan 2

Friday schedule

• 3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Logan Tabeling) at West Michigan (Luvas Elissalt)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Patrick Copen) at Springfield (Braden Davis)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Christian Romero) vs. Round Rock (Cal Quantrill)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (Cam Leiter) at Inland Empire (Mason Peters)

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The Texas Rangers head to Dodger Stadium to face the Los Angeles Dodgers and strikeout artist Tyler Glasnow on Friday night.

My top Rangers vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks are calling for Glasnow to cruise through the Texas lineup in winning fashion in the April 10 nightcap.

Who will win Rangers vs Dodgers today: Dodgers -1.5 (-107)

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow has been dealing to start the year with a tidy 3.00 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 2.44 xFIP while holding opposing hitters to a miniscule 27.6% hard-hit rate.

The Dodgers are also second in both wOBA and ISO against righties, so I expect them to do damage against Texas Rangers starter Kumar Rocker given his 9.29 ERA, 1.97 WHIP and 5.01 xFIP on the highway since the beginning of 2025.

Opposing hitters have teed off to the tune of a .451 wOBA against Rocker, too.

COVERS INTEL: Glasnow's 30.9 K% since 2024 is the fourth-highest mark among pitchers with at least 200 IP.

Rangers vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 9 (-105)

I fully expect Glasnow to hold the Rangers in check, and while the Dodgers are positioned to put runs on the board, I’m not anticipating them sending this game Over the number on their own.

Texas ranks 22nd in OBP against right-handed pitchers and have only scored 3.7 runs per game. Additionally, the Rangers have hit the Under in five straight.

Finally, these are two solid bullpens, with Texas sporting the second-lowest ERA, and Los Angeles checking in 11th.

Rangers vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Rangers +200 | Dodgers -245
• Run line: Rangers +1.5 (-105) | Dodgers 11.5 (-115)
• Over/Under: Over 9 (-110) | Under 9 (-110)

Rangers vs Dodgers trend

The Dodgers have covered the run line in 29 of their last 50 games (+10.75 Units / 18% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rangers vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Rangers vs Dodgers and game info

Rangers vs Dodgers latest injuries

Rangers vs Dodgers weather

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Let's kick off the weekend with some winners from our MLB best bets!

Our baseball experts have given their favorite MLB picks for today based on prices from Polymarket, which allows MLB fans across the country to get in on the baseball action.

Our favorite plays for today go back to a profitable Under well, back a roster with a favorable pitching matchup, and start early with a pick for the 2:20 p.m. ET game.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: CWS/KC u8.5	-122
Jon Metler: BOS ML	-138
Neil Parker: CHC ML	-138

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: White Sox/Royals Under 8.5

Price: 55¢ (-122) at Polymarket

Let's keep riding these Kansas City Royals Unders. They've moved to 9-4 to the Under and have scored just three runs over their last three games — all without facing top-end pitching. This sets up similarly to yesterday’s 2-0 game, with another comparable starting pitching matchup on tap against the White Sox. Conditions also lean Under, with temperatures still below 60 degrees and winds now blowing in at 10 mph (after blowing out at 20 mph last night). This number looks a bit inflated, and it should close closer to a flat 8.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Red Sox moneyline

Price: 58¢ (-138) at Polymarket

The Red Sox are trading at 58% on Polymarket, and that’s a price worth attacking — I make them closer to a 66% favorite today against the St. Louis Cardinals. Dustin May relies heavily on his power sinker, but when it doesn’t have its usual bite — especially against left-handed hitters — it tends to run into their barrels. Early in the season, that sinker hasn’t shown much movement, which is reflected in the numbers: lefties are batting .500 with a 1.542 OPS against him... and that’s where this matchup becomes a real concern: The Red Sox lineup is built to exploit it, with left-handed bats like Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Wilyer Abreu stacked at the top of the order.

Neil Parker's expert pick: Cubs moneyline

Price: 58¢ (-138) at Polymarket

The Chicago Cubs will receive a boost with Seiya Suzuki making his season debut this afternoon, and the Cubbies have also been on the unlucky side to start the year. They rank second in hard-hit rate and sixth in barrel percentage, so positive regression to a 25th-ranked BABIP is coming — and Pirates righty Carmen Mlodzinski is the perfect get-right candidate, surrendering a 68% hard-hit rate through two starts, with three of his five offerings having negative pitch values.

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.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is poised for a breakout tonight with a plus-matchup pitcher in Simeon Woods Richardson on the bump for the Twins.

Find out why my Twins vs. Blue Jays predictions are projecting a big evening from Vladdy, and much more, with my free MLB picks for Friday, April 10.

Twins vs Blue Jays predictions

Twins vs Blue Jays best bet: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases (-105)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is due for some positive regression after a slow start to the year. 

He’s hitting just .268 with only two XBH. However, under the hood, he’s posting a more impressive .299 xBA with a .500 xSLG this season. 

The Toronto Blue Jays slugger may have started his turnaround in his last outing against the Dodgers, where he went 2-for-3 with a double. 

Additionally, Vladdy matches up well against Simeon Woods Richardson, resulting in him going 3-for-4 against the Minnesota Twins starter. 

Moreover, Woods Richardson has a career ERA of 11.35 against Toronto.

COVERS INTEL: Despite a 2.31 ERA through his first two starts, Wood Richardson's xERA is 3.99, and he ranks in the 37th percentile in xBA.

Twins vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll continue to fade Woods Richardson in this matchup by taking the Over on his earned runs. He’s allowed five runs in each game against the Jays in his career, giving up five homers and a 1.240 OPS in two outings. 

George Springer is starting to turn things around as well with hits and an RBI in back-to-back games. If the Jays pounce on SWR again tonight, he should be in position to drive in another run for a third straight game.

Twins vs Blue Jays SGP

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases
• Simeon Woods Richardson Over 2.5 earned runs
• George Springer 1+ RBI 

Twins vs Blue Jays home run pick: George Springer (+245)

This is a half unit bet. 

Davis Schneider isn’t on the board quite yet, but if he gets a last-minute start tonight, I’d bet on him to take SWR deep. He’s 4-for-5 with three home runs against the Twins starter. 

The other Jays hitter I like to go deep tonight would be Springer, who showed signs of a turnaround the other night.

His ability to hit the fastball, paired with the 50% usage on that pitch for SWR, should give Springer an edge to take it deep over the wall. 

Twins vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Twins +118 | Blue Jays -138
• Run line: Twins +1.5 | Blue Jays -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9

Twins vs Blue Jays trend

The Blue Jays have covered the F5 run line in 15 of their last 22 games at home (+7.00 Units / 27% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Twins vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Twins vs Blue Jays and game info

Twins vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Twins vs Blue Jays weather

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Not much was made of the March 28 trade between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox, when the Nats sent minor league catcher Boston Smith for first baseman Curtis Mead, who was designated for assignment three days earlier.

A 25-year-old now on his fourth franchise, he had posted just a .231 batting average, .304 on-base percentage, and .632 OPS with 6 home runs and 34 runs batted in across 460 MLB at-bats. He secured a spot on the major league roster after the conclusion of the team’s first series and has absolutely run with every opportunity he’s been given.

The season is still in its earliest stages, but of all the issues plaguing the Nationals in their early 4-8 skid to open the season, Mead has certainly not been one of them. Mead was a former top 50 prospect in the sport, so this is a player with pedigree. He was known as a pure hitter in the minors, but so far that has not translated in big leagues. However, there is a chance, even if it is slim, that he has unlocked something in DC.

He’s seen 17 total plate appearances in 6 games since being activated, and has come out to a flaming hot start. After going hitless in his first 2 games against the Philadelphia Phillies, the first team he saw time in the minor leagues with, he’s recorded a hit in 5 of his last 11 at-bats. Of those hits, 2 have been doubles and 1 was a home run, tacking on 3 RBIs, a stolen base, and 3 walks en route to a .333/.412/667 slash line on the season so far.

Obviously, it’s unreasonable to make any definitive statements on a player just a handful of games under their belt. It’s far from a rare occurrence to see players come out swinging and quickly taper off, but the rise in advanced stats has made it far easier to predict what’s real and what’s a facade.

Baseball Savant is by far the most popular database for under-the-hood metrics, and taking one look at Mead’s full profile shows some extremely favorable signs. Every single one of his listed offensive statistics grades out at an above-average percentile, albeit he hasn’t yet recorded enough batted ball data to qualify for a full breakdown. What is available, however, should spark plenty of hope among the Nats fanbase.

Throwing out a few numbers, he’s posted an expected batting average (xBA) of .321, an average exit velocity of 94.2 MPH, and is squaring up the ball at a borderline elite level, all while rarely whiffing at anything.

For the record, while these numbers can lead to a comfortable regression to the mean, they definitely aren’t an end-all be-all. Even so, it would be unwise to chalk up his electric Nationals introduction to just fluky April baseball. Mead has flat-out been a fantastic baseball player to begin his Washington tenure, and if he can continue to post at the plate, President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni might have his first big analytical win since joining the organization.

Hey, look! The Cubs don’t have to face Paul Skenes in this series — and he’s made more career starts against the Cubs than any other team, seven of his total of 58. Skenes, incidentally, currently has the highest ERA of any Pirates starter. Don’t expect that to be the case much longer, though.

Austin Bechtold is a writer at our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout. Here’s what he has to say about them.

Make no mistake about it, the Chicago Cubs dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2025. 

The division rivals played 13 times last season. Chicago won 10. The Cubs outscored the Pirates 54-26 and hit .256 against Pittsburgh’s pitching. 

Chicago smacked an impressive 16 home runs, compared to the Pirates’ five, and earned a .740 OPS. The Pirates batted .182 as a team with a .523 OPS.

In all its charm, Wrigley Field has been a house of horrors for the Pirates in recent years. 

The Pirates (7-5) look to set a new precedent in 2026, beginning this three-game series at Wrigley on Friday.

In his first full season as manager, Don Kelly has watched a dreadful offense come to life through the first 12 games. 

After hitting a league-worst 117 home runs, the Pirates have already smashed 12, tied for eighth in MLB, and at one point held the National League lead.

A big reason why is offseason additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, who have hit three apiece. 

The offense ranks tied for 9th in hits per game (8.3), 9th in average (.247), 6th in on-base (.338), 8th in slugging (.383), and 7th in OPS (.721). The Bucs consistently ranked in the bottom third, if not last, in every category last year.

One early carryover is strong starting pitching. Pittsburgh owns the 6th best starters ERA at 2.87, third in the NL behind the Cubs (2.72) and Atlanta Braves (2.79).

Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller pitched in the Padres series at PNC Park, meaning the club will be without their top two arms against a vaunted Cubs (6-6) lineup.

Carmen Mlodzinski gets the ball on Friday, opposite Shota Imanaga, who has dominated the Pirates for what feels like more than a decade (despite it only being three years).

Mlodzinski has allowed two runs in each of his first two starts, but hasn’t been able to pitch out of the fifth inning. The third time through the order is where Mlodzinski, primarily a reliever in his career, has struggled to get through innings.

Saturday plates Braxton Ashcraft against Edward Cabrera, who hasn’t allowed a run in 11.2 innings for Chicago since being traded from the Marlins.

Ashcraft has been Pittsburgh’s surprise starter after an impressive rookie year. Ashcraft earned a 2.71 ERA over 69.2 innings spanning 26 appearances, eight starts.

He has pitched six frames in each of his first two outings and allowed two runs or fewer both times. 

All three games have solid pitching probables, but Sunday’s might be the most fascinating.

Former Pirate Jameson Taillon takes the ball against Bubba Chandler. The No. 11 overall prospect and second-highest ranked pitcher at the start of the season, Chandler touches 101 MPH with his fastball.

The problem is, you don’t always know where it’s going. Chandler’s control remains a main concern, as he has walked 10 batters in 8.2 innings. He didn’t allow a hit over 4.1 innings in his season debut at Cincinnati, but walked six and struck out six.

Chandler walked four against the Padres on Monday and allowed five hits and three runs. He has elite stuff, but has work to do to become a consistent pitcher that the rotation can depend on. 

Chicago was the preseason favorite to win the NL Central, providing three important games in April for who might take the grand prize in late September.

If the Pirates are going to begin to prove that their start and chances to compete in the Central aren’t a fluke, it begins on the road against a very good team.

Fun facts

The Cubs have played 2,621 previous games against the Pirates, their most against any opponent. They have played 2,525 vs. the Cardinals and 2,429 vs. the Reds.

Their 1,286 wins and 1,317 losses both are the most vs. an opponent. Their 605 losses at home are their most and their 690 wins at home are their third most, behind 715 vs. the Cardinals and 700 vs. the Reds.

Since 2015, the Cubs have won the season series against the Pirates every year while going 113-68-1 overall and 57-31 at Wrigley Field. They were 10-3 last year, including 5-2 at home.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Shōta Imanaga, LHP (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 3.15 FIP) vs. Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP (0-0, 4.00 ERA, 1.556 WHIP, 1.27 FIP)

Saturday: Edward Cabrera, RHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.686 WHIP, 3.15 FIP) vs. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP (1-1, 2.25 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 2.32 FIP)

Sunday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (0-1, 2.53 ERA, 1.219 WHIP, 5.40 FIP) vs. Bubba Chandler, RHP (0-1, 3.12 ERA, 1.731 WHIP, 4.31 FIP)

Times & TV channels

Friday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Saturday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Sunday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

I keep picking two of three. Last series I was even right! So I’m doing it again here, two of three.

Up next

The Cubs travel to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the Phillies beginning Monday evening.

Good morning everyone and happy Friday!

The Mariners kick off the first of 13 games in a row today with a four-game homestand against the rival Astros. With several Mariners struggling through the first two weeks, this will serve as an opportunity to bounce back. Which player are you picking to right the ship during this stretch? I’m going with Josh Naylor.

In Mariners news…

• Angela Lim at The Seattle Times outlined what you should eat at T-Mobile Park this year.
• Jim Bowden argued that even when Bryce Miller comes back from injury, the Mariners should not consider trading a starting pitcher.
• Brendan Donovan has been hot with the bat to start the season, but he’s still getting used to his new defensive home at third base. Shannon Drayer has the story.
• Are you familiar with the secret door at T-Mobile Park that provides Gonzo cocktails? Zach Geballe shared the details of this new delight.
• Friend of the site Sarah Enni is back with her regular M’s newsletter — and a podcast!

Around the league…

• Former Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes passed away on Wednesday at the age of 80.
• Old friend Jorge Polanco is off to a slow start to the season with the Mets, and is now dealing with an Achilles issue that has kept him out of the lineup for a few days.
• The Astros are calling up former Mariner Taylor Trammell in advance of their series against Seattle.
• Dan Szymborski broke down the Pirates’ extension with teenage phenom Konnor Griffin.
• Jorge Castillo at ESPN told the story of the unlikely rise of Yankees first baseman Ben Rice.

Morning A’s fans and welcome to another Friday!

The club has wrapped up the first New York series this week with a series win over the Yankees. The last couple of games were especially close but they managed to pull through and get their record to 5-7. Now they depart from the Bronx to head to Queens to take on the Mets for three games this weekend.

We have a new member of the rotation making his first start of the year for the club tonight. Right-hander JT Ginn will be called upon for the first start by someone other than someone in the Opening Day rotation, taking the place of Luis Morales, who was optioned to Triple-A earlier this week. As a fun little tidbit, Ginn will be pitching against the team that drafted him (the A’s acquired Ginn in exchange for Chris Bassitt way back in 2022), so he might have some extra motivation in him tonight. The 7-5 Mets await the Athletics for some weekend baseball.

Ginn began the year among the starting candidates for the Opening Day rotation, though he was never a favorite for a spot in the starting five to begin the season. The 26-year-old righty would have needed to seriously impress the coaching staff if he was going to leapfrog Morales or Jacob Lopez or otherwise hope for an injury. The club gave him a serious opportunity this spring with four starts (6 total appearances) but he struggled mightily, giving up 17 earned runs in just 15 innings of work. That made it obvious that he would not be among the starting five and the expectation at the time was that after a tough camp he’d be the odd-man out and head to Triple-A to start the year.

We had a surprise for the Opening Day roster however as Ginn made the cut over Jack Perkins, who went down to Las Vegas instead. It was a long man role but Ginn still was in Toronto to open the year against the Blue Jays. As the team’s designated long reliever to start the year Ginn has only made three appearances. His first one went fantastic as he pitched nearly four full innings in relief of Morales, who had a short start against the Jays. His most recent two outings have not been as smooth, allowing two runs in each appearance. The right-hander seems stretched out enough to handle the first few frames and that’s likely the plan tonight. If he can make it through the Mets’ batting order one time without getting hit around then the A’s would gladly take that.

The A’s have made a roster move to bolster their staff for tonight’s series opener when they recalled Perkins from Las Vegas. It looks like he’ll be piggybacking after Ginn as the two of them will form a 1-2 punch against the Mets tonight. Perkins was in the same boat as Ginn this spring: theoretically a candidate to break camp with the club in the rotation, but realistically on the outside looking in. Since being in Triple-A he’s actually only made three appearances in relief. He’s been so-so, with one blowup appearance, a quality outing, and then another decent performance last time out when he only allowed a solo home run. What can we expect from the righty in his first big league game of the year?

The rest of the series lines up to be Jacob Lopez versus Kodai Senga on Saturday morning, and Aaron Civale gets the ball for the finale against Freddy Peralta. Thanks to the A’s winning the series against the Yankees they have a chance to finish the road trip with better than .500 record. That’d require a sweep but the A’s are starting to play some good baseball. And with the Mariners faltering hard in the early going the A’s can put some distance between themselves and last place in the AL West.

The Mets are doing solidly enough in the early going as well but they’ll be down their best player in Juan Soto during this upcoming series. The A’s are catching them at the right time in that regard, but the A’s may be down one of their big boppers themselves after Brent Rooker exited yesterday’s finale early. No word yet on the severity of it but his consecutive games played streak is now in jeopardy of being broken. Fingers crossed our DH can make it into the lineup tomorrow, or at the very least be available off the bench.

Have a great weekend guys. And go A’s!

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Take Down The Yankees 1-0 in New York
• DH Brent Rooker exits in 1st inning in finale vs. Yankees
• A’s roster moves: Jack Perkins recalled, Michael Kelly optioned
• A’s Bullpen Blows Yet Another Game
• Luis Morales Optioned to Triple-A
• A’s Add Former Yankees Reliever as Bullpen Depth Option
• Armchair 101: The Challenge Of Judging Decisions In Real Time
• Las Vegas Single Game Ticket On Sale
• A’s Biggest Camp Question is Already Becoming a Strength in 2026
• A’s feed off electric crowd in breakout opener
• Extensions To Colt Emerson And Konnor Griffin A New Trend?
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Observes The Wild Denzelope In Its Natural Habitat
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Toes The Rubber With Pitching Coach Scott Emerson
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Catches Up With Starting Pitcher Jacob Lopez

MLB News and Interest:

• Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson undergoes season-ending elbow surgery
• Orioles starter Zach Eflin undergoes Tommy John surgery
• Dodgers legend Davey Lopes passes away at 80
• Nationals have not made extension offer to outfielder Daylen Lile
• Lopez, Soler receive suspensions for brawl
• MLB average salary hits $5.34M
• Royals starter Cole Ragans expected to make next scheduled start
• Manager Craig Albernaz calls out Orioles’ longstanding culture amidst slow start
• Here is a potential impact call up for each team
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Encouraging update on Rook, but we’ll have to wait for tonight to see how good he’s really feeling:

Perhaps we’ll soon be getting a Gelof sighting? He’s been demolishing the ball in Triple-A:

A quick look back at Springs’ dominance yesterday:

We all think so!

Diamondbacks News

(New York Post) Mets waste Nolan McLean’s strong start as pen falters late in loss to Diamondbacks

For six-plus innings Thursday night, Nolan McLean dazzled at Citi Field. He allowed just a pair of hits and his stuff was especially filthy, as Arizona hitters were largely overmatched.

But lefty Eduardo Rodríguez was nearly as good for the Diamondbacks, and when McLean faltered in the seventh inning, Luke Weaver came in and got knocked around, as the Mets lost their second straight, 7-1.

(SI.com) Explosive D-backs Offense Finally Rewards Rodriguez’s Gem vs Mets

The D-backs, missing Corbin Carroll from their starting lineup due to a minor hip issue, struggled to come away with enough base traffic to cause problems for Mets starter Nolan McLean. With a rested New York bullpen, the path to victory looked bleak.

Until it didn’t.

(Arizona Sports) Diamondbacks finally get Eduardo Rodriguez run support in series-clinching win over Mets

The D-backs had no answers for Mets starter Nolan McLean at that point in the ballgame. Corbin Carroll was out with a tight left hip flexor, which is not expected to be serious, and Gabriel Moreno was on the bench after catching the previous two games, leaving the lineup shorthanded.

But then, Geraldo Perdomo led off the seventh inning with a walk, and Jose Fernandez flared a one-out single to center.

MLB News

(SI.com) Next Shohei Ohtani? MLB Fans Buzzing About New 2-Way Prospect

Again, there hasn’t been another player like Ohtani in baseball and it’s going to be very hard for Major League Baseball to find someone else who can do what he can. But fans around the league should start learning about another two-way prospect: Austin Smith of the Toronto Blue Jays.

(CBS Sports) Does Shohei Ohtani have an unfair advantage during his warm-up pitches? Blue Jays seem to think so — again

During Wednesday’s series finale, the Blue Jays again raised the issue of Shohei Ohtani’s warm-up time between innings when he’s getting ready to pitch. Ohtani ended the top of the first inning on second base, then returned to the dugout to ready himself to throw. He got to the mound with less than one minute remaining on the two-minute between-innings clock and was granted additional time for his eight warm-up pitches.

George Springer, Toronto’s leadoff hitter, checked with home plate umpire Dan Bellino about the two-minute timer. The Blue Jays raised the same issue during the World Series last year, specifically during Ohtani’s Game 7 start.

[Ed. Note] This is just such a dumb argument to me. As the article notes, they’re just playing by the same rule that has always been on the books regarding a pitcher getting extra time after running the bases. It just only applies to Ohtani now since there is the universal DH.

And what are they trying to accomplish with this? None of the other 28 teams have brought this issue up. Do the Blue Jays think that they are the sole defenders of the sanctity of the pitch clock? Honestly, it just comes across as being sore losers after the World Series. Not a good look, imo.

(Yahoo! Sports) MLB City Connect jerseys 2026: Ranking all 8 uniforms unveiled Thursday

A new MLB season means a new batch of City Connect uniforms, and the league opted to unveil all eight in a coordinated rollout on Thursday.

Each City Connect is meant to be distinct from its team’s regular uniforms while incorporating various elements from its setting. There are some true highlights out there — and also some of the ugliest uniforms you’ll see on a professional baseball player.

The 2026 group of eight uniforms has a variety along those lines. Here’s how we ranked them:

[Ed. Note] I like the Pirates one, but most importantly, Rest In Hell to the horrible sherbet Padres uniforms