Category: Baseball

Yes indeed, get ready, because every sentence in this lede is going to sound more absurd than the last.

The Chicago White Sox have defeated the Kansas City Royals, 6-2. They swept the Royals in a three-game series. The win has put the White Sox record at 22-21. It has also strengthened the White Sox’s grip on an American League wild card spot. They are only one game back of the Guardians for the Central Division lead.

Sorry, I had to step away for a minute so I could laugh. White Sox baseball makes me happy! I’m writing that, and I don’t even have a traumatic brain injury!

The first inning defined the tenor of the entire game. We had a “Spiderman pointing at himself” pitching matchup between Kris Bubic and Anthony Kay, two lefthanders who lean on their offspeed stuff. They even land their plant foots on the same spot of the mound, as color man Steve Stone helpfully pointed out.

It didn’t come as a shock that both clubs also had the same plan of attack against their respective opposing pitcher: Make him live up in the zone, where they’re uncomfortable. The Royals had success early on. First, Maikel García hit a leadoff single. Then, that damned Bobby Witt Jr. waited on a changeup down-and-away that he smacked for a single, moving García to third.

Kay was up for the challenge (see what I did there?): He started living up in the zone, giving up a sacrifice fly to Lane Thomas before getting Salvador Pérez to chase a head-high fastball for a strikeout, then putting away Vinnie Pasquatino on three pitches to get out of the first inning with only the one earned run.

The bottom of the inning saw started well for Bubic, as he retired Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas. Next up was Munetaka Murakami. This matchup was a double-edged sword for Mune: On one hand, he had gone 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in his first game against Bubic. However, Murakami is finally getting to see some of these MLB pitchers a second time. It’s really quite impressive how well he’s done to this point in the season against a league full of strangers.

Familiarity was a good look on Mune, who drew a walk ahead of fledgling White Sox platoon bat Randal Grichuk. Grichuk spit on a two-strike pitch similar to what put out Vargas earlier in the inning — a high sweeper. His high offer rebuked, Bubic came down in the zone. Grichuk stayed back on the pitch and blasted it out of the ballpark. A one-run deficit flipped to a one-run lead, and Kay had the edge against Bubic in the battle of the high strike.

In the third inning, Kay had to contend with the middle of the Royals lineup. He collected two quick outs from Witt and No. 3 hitter Thomas, then forced second baseman Nick Loftin into an inning-ending fielder’s choice after Pérez muscled a slider off his hands for an ultimately harmless two-out single. And yeah, if I had my choice as a fielder, I’d probably take the force out on Pérez too.

The White Sox started the third off with a four-pitch walk by Meidroth before Vargas hit a single — waiting back on a changeup, of course. Murakami took his second walk to load the bases for Grichuk, who sliced a single into the outfield for his third and fourth runs batted in.

I have a confession to make: I took the garbage out between the top and bottom of the fourth inning, but I was a little late trudging up the stairs. When I got back to my TV, Luisangel Acuña had reached base. I guess I have to believe he got on base somehow, although without having seen it, I still have a hard time believing it. What isn’t in doubt is Acuña’s speed. He stole second base and then scored on Meidroth’s two-out single to expend the lead, 5-1.

As the Chicago bullpen began to stir, Anthony Kay worked a marvelous seven-pitch sixth inning to put the game to bed early. Kay gave up a triple to fellow lefty Kyle Isbel to open the seventh. He’d score on a García ground out induced by reliever Tyler Davis, putting Kay’s final line at 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB and 4 Ks. His six innings of work allowed Will Venable’s bullpen get some rest headed into the Crosstown series this weekend.

In the eighth inning, Sam Antonacci came off the bench to hit a double, as a little treat for the South Side fans in attendance. Antonacci came up limping into second, briefly giving everybody a heart attack, but he seemed fine as he completed his run on a Derek Hill single.

Antonacci’s run completed the scoring for the game, as first Davis and then Sean Newcomb closed the door. Regarding their performance, I bestow the highest compliment a bullpen arm can receive: Their innings were boring. And now the White Sox are better than .500 after Cinco de Mayo.

Bring on the Cubs.

With tonight’s 6-2 loss, the Royals were swept by the White Sox for the first time in three years.

The Royals dominated the White Sox for the past couple of seasons, but that hasn’t been the case through the first seven games of 2026. The teams split their first series of the year, in Kansas City, before this sweep.

With the loss, the Royals fall to six games under .500 at 19-25 while the White Sox become only the second American League Central team with a winning record.

The Royals jumped to a quick 1-0 lead as Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. both singled to start the game with the former moving to third on the latter’s hit. Lane Thomas then drove in Garcia with a sacrifice fly. Salvador Perez, who ended the night 2-for-4, had an ugly strikeout for the second out. Nick Loftin then took one off the foot before Vinnie Pasquantino fanned to end the threat.

Kris Bubic takes the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year. He struggled through a 30-pitch first inning in which he only allowed one hit, but it happened to be a two-run home run by ex-Royal Randal Grichuk. Grichuk, already on his second team of 2026, was just getting started.

Bubic’s final line: four innings, five hits, five earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts.

Chicago’s starting pitcher, Anthony Kay, gets the win, improving his record to 3-1 with two of those wins coming against the Royals. Both on Thursdays! Bully for me. Kay went six innings, allowed six hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking two.

The White Sox put the game out of reach in the bottom of the third when Grichuk struck again, this time with a two-run single. It was his 17th career 4-RBI game. After retiring Jarred Kelenic, Bubic walked Chase Meidroth and allowed a single to Miguel Vargas before walking Munetaka Murakami, who recorded three tonight. Grichuk then poked one up the middle, scoring Meidroth and Vargas.

4-1, White Sox.

The Royals next threatened in the fifth inning when, with one out, Witt walked and Thomas singled. Then, naturally, Salvy grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double-play. The heart of the order should not be considered rally killers, but here we are.

Meidroth drove in Luisangel Acuna in the fourth to enlarge Chicago’s lead to 5-1. The Royals scored another run in the top of the 7th. Kyle Isbel led off with a triple, forcing Kay from the game. Garcia brought him home on a groundout, but that would pretty much be it for Kansas City’s offense. Salvy singled in the eighth but was stranded at second. The Royals then went quietly in the ninth.

Final score: 6-2 White Sox.

Fumbled series. Last year, the Royals finished with a winning record in large part because they manhandled the White Sox, beating them in 10 of their 13 meetings. Sure, the White Sox improved over the offseason—hard not to when a team’s that bad—but the Royals supposedly also improved.

Ugly series, ugly outcomes, ugly four-game losing streak.

Now the Royals head back to Missouri but on the other side of the state to take on the surprising St. Louis Cardinals. After defeating the Nomadics earlier today, the Cardinals are 25-18, which would give them the third-best record in the American League, but since they play in the National League, they’re only third in their division.

The Royals look to former Cardinal Michael Wacha to stanch the bleeding.

Last week, I offered up the discussion about who the best color commentator in Colorado sports is. When it comes to the Colorado Rockies broadcasts, Ryan Spilborghs garnered plenty of support. It’s understandable since Spilly is a humorous individual, but what I’ve always enjoyed is the perspective he brings as a former player and fan of the game. Spilly has consistently adapted to the modern game and has done a good job of breaking down plays and helping viewers understand the game. There is a reason that former players can make such great color commentators.

Personally, as much as I like Cory Sullivan and Jeff Huson, they grow tiresome for me during games. There is a lot of resistance to how the current game is played (see Sully’s crusade to not acknowledge the sweeper) and a lot of “back in my day” reminiscing. I do acknowledge that some of the exhaustion is due to listening to the two of them on broadcasts for a good number of years now.

This got me thinking about what former players, particularly former Rockies, I’d pick to join the team as color commentators.

There are a few former Rockies currently working as analysts across the league. Justin Morneau has been in the Minnesota booth for eight years now. Adam Ottavino and Dexter Fowler are working with NBC Sports this season, with the former as an in-game analyst and the latter as a pre-game analyst. There are likely some others sprinkled around, but these are some notable ones.

If I had the choice of any former Rockie to join as a broadcaster, I think Michael Cuddyer would be a fun one. Yes, he would probably fit in better with Minnesota, but I recall a time during his Rockies stint that, while injured, he joined the pre- and post-game crew (remember when we had both on a daily basis?) because he wanted something to do. Cuddy was insightful, humorous, and may have done a magic trick or two. He was one of my favorite players and had a fantastic career, and I think he’d bring a great dynamic to a broadcast, especially with his experience working with the 18U Team USA squad.

So that’s tonight’s discussion topic: What former Rockie(s) do you think would be a good color commentator for the broadcasts?

Let us know below!

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One more game to finish off the homestand.

Thursday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Giants
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

You don’t really appreciate what you have until it’s gone. I used to get to recap Ranger Suárez starts all the time. Now I get to do that once a season at most. Unless I defect to Over the Monster, which is unlikely, on account of me growing up in a Yankees fan family, and still retaining some lingering fondness for the pinstriped rich kids. Anyway.

The Phillies wasted no time in trying to make their old friend sweat , with Trea Turner grounding to the hot corner, then seemingly beating out a great spinning throw from Caleb Durbin. But the call was overturned on review. Suarez, too, showed no mercy, striking Kyle Schwarber out with a low curveball, and inducing a lineout from Bryce Harper. And then he got the next six out too, half of them coming on strikeouts. He made J.T. Realmuto look foolish by inducing a swing on a low curve for strike three ; Realmuto realized it wasn’t his pitch and tried to hold off, but broke the plane. Baseball is a cruel thing, pitting former batterymates against each other.

Ranger’s counterpart in today’s proceedings, Jesús Luzardo, blinked first. He allowed a double to Carlos Narváez in the bottom third on a softly hit ball that dropped in front of a sliding Felix Reyes, then scooted behind him as he missed it. A sacrifice bunt advanced Narváez to second. But the next two Bosox bowed before the Lizard King, and the score remained tied.

The Phillies finally got a baserunner against Ranger when Harper worked a walk on seven pitches, but couldn’t advance him. The Boston nine did a little more at the plate, but remained similarly stymied in the scoring section. Wilyer Abreu singled in the bottom fourth, but was picked off— which proved costly for the Beantowners when Willson Contreras doubled in the next at-bat.

The Phillies got themselves their first hit at the hands of Alec Bohm in the fifth, who smacked a cutter into the left-side gap. Realmuto joined him with a single to the right side. Reyes imitated Realmuto, and the Phillies had the bases loaded. But Suarez, characteristically, was not particularly fazed. He made Edmundo Sosa whiff for a forwards K, then got Turner to pass on a cutter at the bottom of the zone for a backwards one. The fifth inning came to naught for the visitors.

The same was true for the Sox, who put a pair on via HPB and walk, but couldn’t bring either of them as far as third. The game thus entered the sixth at an even score, brought about by evenly-matched pitcher and evenly-frustrated batters.

But frustration can come for pitchers, too. Bryce Harper hit a seeing-eye single that slipped perfectly past a pair of diving Sox, and Suarez was sent to the showers, despite his overall strong performance. With two righties up next, right-handed reliever Justin Slaten was his replacement. Adolis García struck out, but Bohm singled to put runners on the corners. That brought up Brandon Marsh, who hit a liner to center that looked to all the world like it might drop— all the world, that is, except for Ceddanne Rafaela, who chased it down and sent the frame to bed.

The Red Sox threatened again in the bottom of the sixth when Reyes misplayed a ball from Andruw Monasterio off the Green Monster, trying to grab it with his free hand, then bobbling it. Monasterio ended up on second with none away. But the Phillies would once again mirror their Junior Circuit counterpart, with Luzardo inducing a trio of ground balls to keep the Sox scoreless.

Brad Keller took over for Luzardo in the bottom seventh, with Bryson Stott (who had pinch-hit for Reyes in the top, popping out), taking over at second base. For the second straight inning, the Sox put a man on second with a double, then failed to bring him home. This time, though, the double came with two outs, making the subsequent fizzling of the opportunity significantly less painful.

In the end, it wasn’t a former Phillie-turned-Red Sock that decided this game. It was a former Red Sock-turned-Phillie. Trea Turner singled to lead off the eighth, and Kyle Schwarber then smacked a pitch over the bullpen in Fenway’s right field to score the game’s first runs. That bullpen belongs to the visitors, and the gopher ball was visibly appreciated by the Phillies relief crew, necks craned upwards as if they were watching a meteor shower. The Red Sox got the next two Phillies out, but put the next three on via single, error, and HBP. That brought up Bryson Stott, who grounded to third. Durbin moved to throw to second, but the base was sockless. He instead threw to first, where Stott was called out; the Phillies challenged. The review proved that Stott had made it to base safely, and the Phillies had a 3-0 lead. Justin Crawford was called in to pinch hit for Edmundo Sosa, grounded out, and the frame was concluded, with the game taking a decidedly Philadelphian tilt.

José Alvarado took the eighth. The Sox hitters, awoken from their slumber by the reverberations of the Schwarber homer, plated their first of the game thanks to a double from Monasterio and a single from Abreu. Alvarado hit Rafaela, putting two on with two away, but made Trevor Story whiff to end the inning.

The Phillies went quietly in the ninth, then asked Jhoan Duran to ensure the Red Sox did the same. He struck out Mickey Gasper, walked Masataka Yoshida (pinch-hitting for Durbin), struck out Marcelo Mayer, then struck out Jarren Duran. The Phillies won, and old friend Ranger pitched well. Everyone goes home happy.

Well, not Red Sox fans. But everyone else.

The Phillies are 21-23. They return to action tomorrow night for a cross-state clash in Pittsburgh.

In the preview for tonight’s game, I mentioned that this game might come down to who could find the big hits in the latter stages of the game. The Braves have made a good living when it comes to either turning games around or finishing things off during the money innings (seventh, eighth and ninth), and it appeared that that was likely what this game was going to come down to.

Unfortunately for us Braves fans, it was the Cubs who managed to get the timely hitting — or any real hitting at all, as they ended up keeping Atlanta completely quiet with a 2-0 shutout win to avoid getting swept.

Chris Sale did end up going six innings in this one and while he did get into some trouble during the first five frames, he was able to deftly dance around those problems like he usually does and kept the Cubs quiet for the most part. Sale eventually finished the night with eight strikeouts, which is just about what you’d expect from the veteran hurler even at this stage of his career.

The only real issue came in the sixth inning, which is when Sale walked Ian Happ to lead off the inning. It sure seemed like the next batter was going to hit a ground ball that could’ve been a double play. Instead, the Braves got none as Ha-Seong Kim’s flip to second was a poor one that went into the outfield for an error. The Cubs cashed in runners at the corners with a productive ground ball out from Matt Shaw that broke the 0-0 deadlock and gave Chicago the lead.

While this was going on, the Cubs were already having to dip into their bullpen — though it wasn’t because of lack of success on Ben Brown’s part. He was on a strict pitch count limit and he was certainly effective during the 65 pitches that he did throw. The Braves were only able to muster one hit and one walk off of Brown while he was out there and they didn’t look particularly close to pushing across a run during that stint.

It also didn’t help matters that Chicago’s bullpen kept the pedal to the metal once Brown left the game. Hoby Milner pitched two clean innings and then Phil Maton got a measure of redemption with his scoreless outing as well, which meant that the Cubs were holding on to a precious one-run lead once the game got into the latter stages.

That ended up being two runs once the eighth inning rolled around, as Ian Happ sent one to the Chop House at the expense of Reynaldo López for a solo shot that made it 2-0 Cubs. Old friend Jacob Webb pitched a scoreless eighth inning in order to keep it a two-run deficit, ensuring that it would take a dramatic rally from the Braves in the ninth inning to potentially turn things around.

Credit has to be given to Aaron Bummer to making sure that the Braves only had a two-run deficit to attempt to overcome in the ninth inning. Unfortunately, this night was all about Chicago’s pitching staff, as Daniel Palencia was absolutely electric to close this one out and doom the Braves to their second shutout loss of the season so far.

Instead of picking up a series win and a sweep against two of the best teams in the National League so far, the Braves will have to “settle” for just the two series wins — still a very positive result for this run of six games. Atlanta will now try to bounce back tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. ET against their traditional Interleague rivals, the Boston Red Sox. If you’re going to the game, wear your red since it’s a red-out, and all.

The Red Sox had another installment of regularly-scheduled programming: the pitching staff gives them a chance to win and the offense offers another lifeless performance. Boston scored just one run in the eighth inning and could not match Philadelphia in the 3-1 loss.

Kyle Schwarber changed the game with one swing to move Philadelphia to 12-4 under interim manager Don Mattingly. 

Here’s three takeaways from Thursday’s series finale.

RANGER IS ROLLING

He may have missed time with hamstring issues, but Ranger Suarez is pitching like the guy the Red Sox paid for this month. He’s tallied 9 ⅓ scoreless frames to start the month of May. 

Against his former club, Suarez struck out eight Phillies through 5 ⅓ innings Thursday night. In fact, the left-hander hasn’t allowed a run since April 22 against the Yankees. Since then? He’s posted 17 ⅓ innings of shutout ball across his last three starts. 

KYLE SCHWARBER IS INEVITABLE

The Phillies slugger offered another sour reminder of the shortcomings of Boston’s lineup. Home runs change games and the Red Sox just don’t hit enough of them.

Schwarber launched his 18th home run of the year, his seventh in seven games, off of Tyler Samaniego in the eighth inning to break the scoreless tie. Boston deployed a left-on-left matchup. Just not one good enough to hold Schwarber in the yard on Thursday night.

One of the sport’s greatest home run threats is fully in powerful form by mid-May. 

FENWAY FAILS

The Red Sox have just one series win at Fenway Park to their names through the opening six weeks of the season. That came in early April when Boston took two of three games from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The San Francisco Giants wrap up this four-game road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.09 ERA, 2.51 FIP, with 51 strikeouts to 19 walks in 43.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 13-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, in which he allowed one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in four innings.

He’ll be facing off against Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who enters tonight’s game with a 4.79 ERA, 3.81 FIP, with 43 strikeouts to 10 walks in 35.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday, in which he allowed one run on six hits with seven strikeouts and a walk in four and two thirds innings.

Game #44

Who: San Francisco Giants (18-25) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (25-18)

Where: UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

When: 7:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: MLB Network

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

The Milwaukee Brewers are back on the road, and this time, they won’t have to travel too far. Beginning this weekend, the Brewers are on a two-series trip through the Twin Cities and Chicago, as they’ll take on a pair of rivals in the Twins and Cubs. First up is Minnesota, as the Brewers will face the Twins for three games beginning Friday night.

The Crew is coming off a 5-1 homestand that featured a three-game sweep of the Yankees and a 2-1 series against the Padres — the only loss of the series came on a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of a 3-1 Padre win. Milwaukee is now 24-17 on the season, tied with the Cardinals for second in the NL Central.

On the opposite side, the Twins are 20-24 on the year, right in the middle of what has been a weak AL Central thus far. They took two of three from the Marlins this week, giving them four wins in their last five games after taking the final two games in Cleveland over the weekend.

In terms of injuries, the Brewers currently have a few players shelved and a few who are considered day-to-day. The day-to-day group includes Christian Yelich and Jacob Misiorowski. Yelich has been held out of the lineup for the last two games as he deals with minor back tightness, a lingering issue that has affected him for the last few years, while Misiorowski exited his start on Wednesday night after only the seventh inning as he once again dealt with cramps. He’s reportedly set to make his next start on schedule. Outfielders Brandon Lockridge and Akil Baddoo are both out with leg injuries, with Baddoo scheduled to begin a rehab assignment this weekend and Lockridge expected to be out until at least mid-June. On the pitching side, Rob Zastryzny (late May), Brandon Woodruff (late May), Jared Koenig (late May/early June), Quinn Priester (early June), and Angel Zerpa (out for the season) are all on the IL.

The Twins IL several key players, so I’ll give the quick-ish rundown. The list includes starting pitcher Pablo López, who is out for the season with a torn UCL, as well as Garrett Acton, Cody Laweryson, David Festa, Mick Abel, Cole Sands, and Taj Bradley. Outfielder Byron Buxton is day-to-day with hip soreness, while Wisconsin-native Alan Roden is on the IL with Triple-A St. Paul. Top prospects Walker Jenkins (team No. 1, MLB No. 12), Emmanuel Rodriguez (team No. 4, MLB No. 54), and Charlee Soto (team No. 9) are all on the IL in the minors.

Offensively, the Brewers are led by Brice Turang, who seemingly gets better every game. He’s hitting .298/.422/.511 with six homers, 10 doubles, 27 RBIs, 33 runs, and eight steals this season. Jake Bauers adds six homers, and Gary Sánchez has five. Other key contributors include William Contreras, Andrew Vaughn, Jackson Chourio, and Yelich (when healthy). Rounding out the position player group, those guys are joined by Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Luis Rengifo, and Blake Perkins. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .245/.336/.359 (.695 OPS ranks 19th), with 27 homers (last), 209 runs (eighth), and 43 steals (fifth).

Buxton leads Minnesota’s offense with 15 homers this year, and he’s hitting .260/.319/.580 over 40 games. Ryan Jeffers has added six homers, while Brooks Lee ranks third with five. Austin Martin has quietly been one of the better hitters for the Twins, hitting .333/.454/.429 over 38 games, and Luke Keaschall leads the team with 10 steals this year. Victor Caratini, Kody Clemens, Royce Lewis, Tristan Gray, Josh Bell, Ryan Keidler, Trevor Larnach, and James Outman round out the Minnesota offense. As a team, the Twins are hitting .236/.325/.385 (.710 OPS ranks 13th), with 49 homers (tied for 12th), 211 runs (seventh), and 40 steals (tied for sixth).

The Brewers bullpen is anchored by the fireman duo of Aaron Ashby and DL Hall, as Ashby leads the majors with a perfect 7-0 record across 20 appearances, with a 2.00 ERA and 43 strikeouts across 27 innings. Hall has a 1.80 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 20 innings. Grant Anderson hasn’t appeared as often recently, though he still ranks second on the team with 19 appearances. Abner Uribe has now blown two saves with a 4.96 ERA, though he’s still one of the best pitchers on the team when he’s playing well. Trevor Megill has bounced back after an ice-cold start, allowing just two earned runs over his last 10 innings (1.80 ERA). Jake Woodford, Shane Drohan, and Brian Fitzpatrick round things out. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.35 team ERA (third), including a 3.27 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.44 bullpen ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 402 batters (fourth) over 365 1/3 innings.

As you’ll see with the team stats below, the Twins’ bullpen hasn’t been great this season. Former Brewer Justin Topa leads the team with 21 appearances, and Anthony Banda is right behind him with 20 appearances, though both have ERAs over 7.00. Kody Funderburk (who is now at Triple-A, thanks to some control issues) was probably the best pitcher, at least statistically, with a 2.81 ERA over 16 innings. The current group of Eric Orze (4.26 ERA), Taylor Rogers (4.41 ERA), Andrew Morris (4.67 ERA), and Luis García (10.57 ERA) has all had their share of troubles this season. The newest bullpen edition, Kendry Rojas, has been solid through three appearances, with a 2.45 ERA over 7 1/3 innings. As a staff, the Twins have a 4.49 team ERA (23rd), including a 3.88 starter ERA (ninth) and a 5.38 bullpen ERA (29th). They’ve struck out 332 batters (26th) over 387 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, May 15 @ 6:10 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Joe Ryan (2-3, 3.43 ERA, 3.04 FIP)

The Brewers have not yet announced a starter for game 1 or game 3 of this series. Friday night’s starter would be lined up as Chad Patrick, but the Brewers have used him in a bit more of a bullpen role lately, as he went three innings in relief against the Yankees on Saturday before tossing a perfect inning against the Padres on Tuesday. I’d expect that whether or not he’s the starter, we’ll see him at some point in this one, and likely for multiple innings. The 27-year-old righty has a 3.06 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and 26 strikeouts over 35 1/3 innings this season. Patrick made a start against the Twins last May, taking the loss as he allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts over six frames.

Ryan, 30 in June, is in his sixth MLB season, all with the Twins. An All-Star last season, Ryan has a similar stat line so far in 2026, with a 3.43 ERA, a 3.04 FIP, and 45 strikeouts over 44 2/3 innings. The former seventh-round pick went six innings against the Guardians in his last appearance, allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out five in a no-decision. Ryan has made four appearances against Milwaukee in his career, with a 1-1 record, 3.18 ERA, and 25 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings. He went 1-1 against Milwaukee last season, with the win coming in the same game that Patrick lost.

Saturday, May 16 @ 6:10 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (0-1, 4.15 ERA, 2.11 FIP) vs. LHP Connor Prielipp (1-1, 3.32 ERA, 4.37 FIP)

The only officially announced starter for Milwaukee, this will mark Henderson’s fourth start of 2026. He’s allowed exactly two runs in all three of his starts this year, including two runs over five innings against the Yankees on Mother’s Day, striking out five and taking the no-decision as Brice Turang ultimately played hero. One thing of note: each of Henderson’s last two starts ended before the 80-pitch mark (76 on May 3 against the Nationals, 74 on Sunday). This marks Henderson’s first career appearance against Minnesota.

Prielipp, 25, was born and raised in Tomah, Wisconsin. A second-round pick out of the University of Alabama in 2022, he made his MLB debut just a few weeks ago, as this will mark his fifth career start. Ranked as Minnesota’s No. 5 team prospect by MLB Pipeline, he has a 3.32 ERA, 4.37 FIP, and 21 strikeouts over 19 innings this year. He went five innings against the Guardians in his last appearance, allowing four runs (just one earned) on four hits and two walks, striking out six in his first loss. This marks Prielipp’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.

Sunday, May 17 @ 1:10 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Bailey Ober (4-2, 3.46 ERA, 3.84 FIP)

Rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat would be lined up to take the ball in the series finale if the last turn through the rotation holds. Sproat is coming off a decent start on Tuesday night against the Padres, earning his first MLB win in appearance No. 12 as he went 5 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on six hits and two walks, striking out six. For the season, he has a 5.75 ERA, 5.74 FIP, and 36 strikeouts over 36 innings. This would mark Sproat’s first career appearance against Minnesota.

Like Ryan, Ober, 30, is in his sixth MLB season, all with Minnesota. The former 12th-round pick has turned in a few solid seasons during his career, but he’s coming off his worst season to date, as he had a 5.10 ERA and 4.90 FIP over 146 1/3 innings in 2025. He’s looked better thus far in 2026, though, with a 3.46 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 39 strikeouts over 52 innings. He’s coming off a complete game shutout performance against the Marlins, in which he threw just 89 pitches and allowed just two hits (no walks) with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 win. This marks Ober’s third career start against the Brewers. Both of his previous starts came in 2023, when he totaled 11 innings with four runs allowed (3.27 ERA) and 10 strikeouts, picking up a win and a no-decision.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, May 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, May 9: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, May 10: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

Despite entering the season predicted to finish at the bottom of the AL Central (and possibly the entire AL or even MLB), the Twins have held their own thus far, as they’re just a few games under .500. Still, the Brewers seem to be playing some of their best baseball right now, which makes me confident they can take two of three here.

During a dreadful month of April, it felt like whenever the Mets fell into an early deficit, the game was over.

Of late though, they’ve started to show more fight. 

We saw it as they battled to take the series opener in extras last weekend in Arizona, and then in all three games of the homestand-opening set with the Detroit Tigers. 

For just the third time in franchise history, New York came back from multiple runs down in each of the matchups as they locked of their first series sweep of the season. 

“It’s great to see,” manager Carlos Mendoza said following Thursday's victory. 

New York fell behind 2-0 in the top of the second on Tuesday night before they rattled off 10 unanswered runs, sparked by a spectacular big-league debut from top prospect A.J. Ewing. 

They came from behind again on Wednesday night after Detroit was spotted a pair of runs in the first, eventually winning it in the bottom of the 10th on Carson Benge’s first career walk-off hit.   

And then on Thursday afternoon the offense homered five times and Nolan McLean put forward his gutsiest outing thus far, battling through seven innings of work despite not having his best stuff. 

Overall, it was one of the Mets’ most complete showings to this point in the season. 

"During that tough stretch it felt like every time we got down a couple of runs the game was over," Mendoza said. "Now we’re down three runs in the first inning and you still feel good out there -- you can just sense it in the dugout.

"The pitching is going to keep us in games, they’ve done it all year -- it’s good to see the guys fight back -- they’re resilient. They aren’t going to give up, they aren’t going to put their heads down, they are just going to keep going."

Even with the majority of their regulars in the starting lineup sidelined to injuries, the Mets have now won three of their last four series and eight of their first 12 games to open the month of May. 

They’ll look to keep rolling this weekend against the suddenly struggling Yankees in the Subway Series. 

“We just have to do it one day at a time,” Mendoza emphasized. “We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves -- you enjoy today, but then you have to come back tomorrow, understanding you have a really good team coming to town.

“It’s going to take a consistent, good brand baseball, executing and just playing our best at the highest level -- I’m confident with the personnel that we have in there that we’re going to be able to do that.”

After an especially tough loss — such as when you are quite literally a strike away from winning and lose — everything feels more bleak. Just as after an exhilarating win the team might feel invincible. As always the truth is somewhere in between.

As I write following a disappointing loss, I see more positives than negatives but that optimism is also measured. This A’s team, as currently constituted, is very talented and very flawed, so it feels about right that the team sits around the .500 mark, now 1 game over at 22-21.

The A’s have come by their record losing some games they should have won and winning some games should have lost. But they have ultimately achieved what had to be the overarching goal for April-May: stay with the Mariners, stay in contact with the .500 mark, hang in there while hopefully the roster gets some key fortification, e.g., perhaps Gage Jump sooner and even Leo De Vries later.

Now the way the A’s have kept pace with and even stayed ahead of, the Mariners has to do largely with Seattle playing surprisingly poorly the first 7 weeks. Projected by analysts to win more like 96 games than 80, nonetheless the Mariners have sputtered out of the gate and that has kept the A’s in good stead.

But here’s the reason for my “leaning towards optimism”. It’s not just that the A’s have gotten where they are with two key pieces, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom, greatly underperforming, though this does offer some hope that “the best is yet to come” for this team. That’s not it, because as Butler and Soderstrom progress, surely Shea Langeliers and Carlos Cortes will not continue to masquerade as a batting leader and one who would lead even Langeliers if he had enough PAs to qualify. Though they are welcome to, of course.

The reason even today’s game was not as bad as it feels is that the A’s may have solved 2 positions that were very iffy going into the season.

Zack Gelof’s play at 3B combined with his work at the plate have been true revelations, to where it feels quite reasonably like the A’s may have found their 3Bman for the long haul. In the field, despite the limitations of his arm strength Gelof has looked smooth and effective, using the Mark Ellis great footwork/positioning and quick release, with accurate throws, to offset the weak arm.

At the plate, Gelof is not swinging and missing nearly as much and his contact is back to being more lethal. For the season now Gelof is up to .270/.316/.527, which is noteworthy when you put it next to his 2023 rookie half season that generated so much excitement: .267/.337/.504.

For the A’s to have found, in the most roundabout way, a quality every day 3Bman who contributes on both sides of the ball, is huge for the last 119 games.

Meanwhile, Henry Bolte’s debut was exciting enough but in some ways today’s game was even better. Bolte consistently hit balls hard, even though he wound up with only one single to show for it: EVs of 100, 104.4, 109.4 on the 3 balls he hit. He has also opened his big league career striking out in just 1 of his 8 plate appearances.

There is/was understandable concern around whether Bolte’s tantalizing skills would translate to the big leagues, and even if they did whether they would anytime soon. Just 22, Bolte has elite raw skills — speed, power, bat speed — but has come with some important red flags, e.g., high K rates, high whiff rates.

If Bolte is, in fact, at the level of “a legit starting CFer,” that’s also huge for a team that has crossed its fingers that Denzel Clarke can hit over the Mendoza line and has settled for throwing Butler out in CF even though neither his bat nor his glove have been adequate.

If today moved the needle on anything, it only solidified the notion that the A’s may have found a quality 3Bman and a quality CFer to carry them going forward. That depth also enhances a currently weak bench, allowing for players such as Butler, Cortes, and Max Muncy to potentially offer luxuries as utility players or part-time starters.

None of this analysis has really touched on the pitching, other than a passing mention of Jump. The A’s may go only as far as their rotation can provide some stability and more length than it has offered to date. The bullpen has been volatile and still has few relievers that allow fans to maintain a healthy blood pressure.

But here the A’s are, over .500, ahead of the Mariners in the standings, and having possibly identified quality players at two of their weakest positions going into the season. As Al Pacino would say, “22-21, 1 game up on Seattle……and I’m just getting warmed up!” Hoo-ah.

Jonah Tong was knocked around as he took the ball for Syracuse on Thursday night.

The Mets' right-handed pitching prospect lasted just 1.2 innings, giving up seven runs (six of which were earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out two. 

He served up a pair of homers and threw three wild pitches. 

Tong found himself in immediate danger, as an error and single put the first two Scranton runners on. An Oswaldo Cabrera single to right brought in the first run of the game, then another darted home on a wild pitch. 

A walk then put runners on the corners, but Tong scampered out of danger. 

He didn’t fare much better opening up the top of the second, though, as Jonathan Ornelas ripped just the third pitch he saw to deep center for a leadoff triple. 

After a walk, a force out brought home the third run of the game. 

Tong almost danced out of it without further damage, but he gave up a long two-out three-run homer to Marco Luciano and then a two-run shot to Seth Brown to bring his night to an end. 

The 22-year-old starter had pitched to a strong 1.64 ERA over his first two May starts (11.0 IP), but that number has clearly been inflated after his rough night at the park. 

Tong is now up to an ugly 5.68 ERA through nine outings. 

With fellow Syracuse starter Jack Wenninger dealing to start the Triple-A season, you have to figure he’s jumped Tong on the depth chart if a need were to arise in the big-league rotation.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Yankees play a three-game Subway Series at Citi Field starting on Friday night at 7:15 p.m.

5 things to watch

A Bo Bichette breakout?

Bichette's first (and potentially only) season with the Mets has been a series of fits and starts, with him showing signs of breaking out and then regressing.

He did have a late, game-tying hit in New York's comeback win over the Tigers on Wednesday night, but Bichette enters play on Friday with a .552 OPS -- 288 points lower than it was last season with the Blue Jays and 241 points under his career mark.

When will he come out of it?

"That’s kind of the question we’re asking ourselves, too," manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Thursday about when Bichette will come out of it. "You know at some point it’s going to come. I think that that break that he’s looking for – maybe that blooper yesterday. 

"He hits balls hard, they’re making plays on him. Then he goes two, three at-bats, a couple of games where it’s soft contact. But I think it’s just a matter of time for him. He’s too good of a hitter. Hopefully, a blooper like last night gets him going here."

In addition to not being locked in yet, Bichette has also been pretty unlucky on balls in play. His average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, and squared-up percentage are all above average. Meanwhile, his expected batting average is .285, while his actual mark is .224. 

Bichette getting hot would be enormous for a Mets team that is without four of its regulars on offense, and is likely not getting any of them back in the near future. 

Mets' pitching has been carrying them

The Mets enter play Friday having allowed 178 runs this season. 

Only three teams in the National League (the Braves, Brewers, and Dodgers) have allowed fewer runs, and all three of those clubs are in playoff position.

While lots of attention has been on the success of starters Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Freddy Peralta, and the recent re-emergence of Christian Scott, New York's bullpen has been terrific lately.

Devin Williams is unscored upon in his last seven appearances, Luke Weaver has held the opposition scoreless in nine of his last 10 outings, Brooks Raley has a 1.06 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, and Huascar Brazoban has a 2.14 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.

The Juan Soto story

That Soto spurned the Yankees to head crosstown to the Mets will never stop being something that sticks in their fans' craw.

Soto was booed mercilessly at Yankee Stadium last season during the first three Subway Series games, going 1-for-10 (though he did draw four walks).

Things changed when Round 2 took place at Citi Field.

In those three games, Soto reached base 5 times in 13 plate appearances as he went 4-for-11 with a homer, double, three RBI, three runs scored, and a walk.

Holy Schlitt

The hard-throwing Cam Schlittler is becoming a legitimate ace in his second season in the majors.

In 53.1 innings over nine starts, Schlittler has allowed just 34 hits while leading the American League in ERA (1.35) and WHIP (0.80).

Schlittler is tops in the majors in FIP (1.64) and has an absurd 312 ERA+.

He gets the ball against Holmes on Friday in the series-opener. 

The Yankees' top-heavy offense

The Bombers are the highest-scoring team in the American League, so their offense is more than formidable.

But they're being carried by three specific players -- perennial MVP favorite Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger.

Beyond that, there hasn't been a ton of impact.

Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Austin Wells all have an OPS under .700, and rookie Spencer Jones has struggled to get going since being called up for his big league debut. 

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Bo Bichette

Bichette has a history of rising up in big moments.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Freddy Peralta

Peralta has been tremendous over his last four starts, lowering his ERA to 3.10. 

Which Yankees player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Aaron Judge

It's nearly impossible to keep Judge down unless you walk him every time.