HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park on March 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Houston Astros (4-2) look to sweep the Boston Red Sox (1-4) in an afternoon series finale at Daikin Park.
RHP Mike Burrows, who grew up a Red Sox fan from Waterford, CT, will get the start for the Astros today opposite LHP Garrett Crochet and the Red Sox.
APRIL FOOLS!: The Astros and Red Sox will play an April Fools Day matchup today with the Astros going for a sweep in what is the finale of their seven-game homestand.
ABOUT BURROWS: RHP Mike Burrows was acquired from the Pirates this offseason as part of a three-team, six-player trade in which the Astros sent OF Jacob Melton and minor leaguer RHP Anderson Brito to the Rays, while the Rays sent IF Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery to the Pirates.
Burrows impressed this Spring, making five starts and posting a 1.50 ERA (3ER/18IP) while allowing a .200 opponent batting average with 17 strikeouts.
ASTROS VS. CROCHET: The Astros are seeing LHP Garrett Crochet today for the first time since they worked him for five runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings on 86 pitches in an Astros 7-6 win on Aug. 11, 2025 at Daikin Park. That start was Crochet’s shortest start, in terms of innings, of the 2025 season.
GOIN’ STREAKING: The Astros have won four straight games and are going for a five-game winning streak today, which would match their season high from 2025 (reached twice last June). Only the Astros and Rangers have four-game winning streaks this season, with both streaks active going into play today.
OUT OF THE BLOCKS: The Astros are off to a 4-2 start, their best start since also going 4-2 in their first six games of 2022. Should the Astros win today, it would be their best seven-game start since they went 6-1 to open the 2021 season.
CRAZY EIGHTS: The Astros have scored eight-plus runs in four straight games for the first time since July 26-30, 2021. The offense has scored 37 runs in their last four games, while hitting .319 (44×138) with 14 doubles and six homers in that span. The Astros franchise record is five straight games with eight-plus runs, accomplished just once, from Aug. 29-Sept. 3, 2004.
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Astros lead the Majors in runs (39), doubles (17) and total bases (93), while ranking tied for first in hits (55) and second in walks (20), OBP (.371), SLG (.458) and OPS (.829).
Individually, 2B Jose Altuve leads the Majors in runs scored (7), LF Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in total bases (19) and 1B Christian Walker leads the Majors in doubles (5).
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, April 1, 1:10 p.m. CST
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels close out their series after splitting the first two games. Yusei Kikuchi takes the mound for the Angels against Matthew Boyd. The Cubs are favored with a moneyline of -165.
How to Watch Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago Cubs
Date: Wednesday, April 1
Time: 2:20 p.m. ET / 11:20 a.m. PT
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago
TV Channels: Marquee Sports Network, FanDuel Sports Network West
MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 26: Jacob Misiorowski #32 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates as he walks back to the dugout during the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Pitching for the Rays is former Brewer and 2025 All-Star Drew Rasmussen, who has been consistently effective for Tampa Bay since they acquired him as part of the return for Willy Adames. The hard-throwing righty has had an ERA under 3 in each of the last five seasons, although he missed large chunks of the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury. Misiorowski and Rasmussen both went five innings and allowed a single earned run in their respective first starts of the season.
As usual, Brice Turang will lead off today, followed by William Contreras and Christian Yelich. Hitting cleanup and playing first base is Jake Bauers, who went 2-for-4 with a homer last night. Center fielder Garrett Mitchell, right fielder Sal Frelick, and left fielder Blake Perkins will hit fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively. David Hamilton, back in the lineup at third base, and Joey Ortiz round out the bottom of the order.
First pitch for today’s game is slated for 12:40 p.m. You can watch the game on Brewers.TV or catch the radio broadcast on WTMJ 620 and the Brewers Radio Network.
CINCINNATI, OH - MARCH 26: Garrett Crochet #35 of the Boston Red Sox walks back to the dugout after pitching during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeffrey Dean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Red Sox play their sixth game of the season this afternoon. They have just one win and 11 total runs to show for it. By the way, the Red Sox are now just 4-11 in March over the last four years and 2-8 over the last two years.
But March is over! Now, Garrett Crochet, who struck out eight in his Opening Day victory, takes the mound to save Boston from a sweep in Houston. The Astros made him human last August when they chased the Cy Young runner-up after four innings and five earned runs.
It’s not exactly a juggernaut to support him in Alex Cora’s lineup, especially with Roman Anthony out of the lineup. Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate in the series finale. Connor Wong also gets the start after a late mystery scratch for Carlos Narvaez.
UPDATED: Duran LF Story SS Yoshida DH Contreras 1B Abreu RF Durbin 3B Rafaela CF Kiner-Falefa 2B Wong C Crochet P
On the other side, the Astros hung up 17 runs in the first two games. Here’s Houston’s lineup for the finale with Mike Burrows on the mound at Daikin Park.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 26: Buddy Kennedy #41 of the San Francisco Giants bats during the eighth inning of the spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium on February 26, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants still have just one Minor League Baseball team in action, but that’s changing oh-so soon. Low-A San Jose begins their season on Thursday, while High-A Eugene and AA Richmond kick off the 2026 campaign on Friday. Until then, it’s just AAA Sacramento, so not a ton to talk about. But let’s get to it nonetheless!
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
The Giants made some transactions on Monday that impacted the Minor Leagues. They sent cash to old friend Scott Harris in exchange for right-handed reliever Dylan Smith, whom the Detroit Tigers had designated for assignment a few days prior. Smith, who was a 3rd-round pick in the 2021 draft and has a pair of option years remaining, was immediately optioned to AAA Sacramento. He had a 3.65 ERA and a 2.69 FIP with Detroit’s AAA affiliate last year, with 22 strikeouts in just 12.1 innings, but also 7 walks.
San Francisco had to clear space on the 40-man roster to make room for Smith, and so they designated for assignment utility player Tyler Fitzgerald. It’s sad to see Fitzgerald go, but there was really no path to him getting Major League playing time anytime soon — the Giants have everyday players at every position, and Fitzgerald was well behind Christian Koss and Casey Schmitt on the infield depth chart, and behind Grant McCray, Will Brennan, and Drew Gilbert on the outfield depth chart. He still has an option year remaining, so he’ll almost certainly get claimed off waivers.
AAA Sacramento (2-2)
Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 13-5 Box score
Despite the lopsided score, the River Cats were in this game for most of it. In fact, they held a 5-3 lead at stretch time, but then gave up 10 runs between the 7th and 8th innings.
It was a trio of rough performances that doomed the bullpen, starting with RHP Trent Harris (No. 29 CPL). Harris was tasked with opening the 7th inning, and it started off well. He retired the first batter and third batters that he faced, with a single sandwiched between them. But then the wheels fell off, against an Angels’ affiliate that admittedly has a fair amount of ex-MLB talent on it.
The results were bad, but the talent doing it was good. That first single came off the bat of Christian Moore, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 draft (after a very nice career with Tony Vitello at Tennessee). A 2-out single by Trey Mancini, a 7-year MLB veteran, scored a run. But the big hit came from Denzer Guzman, one of LA’s top prospects, who made his MLB debut last year. In a 2-2 count, Harris tried a slider, but Guzman fouled it off. Harris tried it again, and Guzman fouled it off again. Unrelenting, Harris tried it a 3rd time, and this time Guzman put it over the fence for a 2-run home run.
Then Matthew Lugo, who also debuted in the Majors last year, singled. And Niko Kavadas, who spent time in the Majors in each of the last 2 years, walked. And Jose Siri, who has more than 1,000 MLB plate appearances to his name, singled home a 4th run, ending Harris’ night.
Harris remains one of the top relief prospects in the organization, but the question of “can you get advanced hitters out” stymies a lot of pitchers, and he is very much one of them. The undrafted curveball artist, who recently turned 27, dominated the lower and mid-Minors, which was emphasized by a showing with AA Richmond last year in which he posted a 1.69 ERA, a 1.73 FIP, and 14.1 strikeouts per 9 innings. But advanced hitters have gotten the best of him: Harris made 30 appearances for Sacramento last year, but the ERA rose to 5.44, the FIP leaped to 4.69, and the strikeouts per 9 plummeted to 8.7. Still, he very deservedly was given an invite to Major League camp this year, and while he showed some impressive things, the same concerns persisted: in 4 Cactus League games, he had a 9.64 ERA and an 8.80 FIP, with 7.7 strikeouts per 9 innings.
So far, that’s carrying into the 2026 season. Harris only gave up 1 baserunner in his season debut, though it was a home run, and now this outing has left him with an ERA (16.88) that will require many outings to get back into respectable territory.
Siri’s RBI single ended Harris’ night, and brought in a slightly less-heralded, but still very intriguing arm: LHP Nick Zwack. The southpaw was part of the J.D. Davis/Darin Ruf swap of … /gestures vaguely at some year in the past … as was Carson Seymour. Injuries have slowed him down — he lost the entirety of the 2024 season — but he’s back, healthy, and certainly has some serious life in his arm. He also appears to be a reliever at long last, after working as a starter to this point in his career.
Zwack had a strong return from injury a year ago, posting a 2.53 ERA and a 2.92 FIP in 7 AA starts, while having 9.0 strikeouts against just 2.5 walks per 9 innings. Like Harris, though, he struggled in his (admittedly brief) introduction to AAA late last year. And unfortunately, those struggles have carried over into the 2026 season. Zwack got off to a very rough start to the year on Sunday, in which he gave up 4 baserunners and 2 runs, while recording just 1 out. Sadly, Tuesday’s outing was fairly similar.
He did get out of the pickle that Harris created, ending the inning as soon as he entered the game. But things went very poorly in the 8th, as Zwack just couldn’t find the zone. He walked 3 batters in the frame, while also allowing 2 hits. That, combined with a catcher’s interference, 1 of 2 errors on the day by Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL), tagged Zwack for 6 runs in the inning, 5 of which were earned. If Harris thinks he has work to salvage his ERA, it’s nothing compared to Zwack’s unsightly 47.25 mark.
Like Harris, Zwack left the game with just 2 outs in the inning, and his ERA would have looked a lot better were it not for a 3rd miserable bullpen outing, this time from LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL). Sánchez is still trying to find his command after losing the 2025 season to Tommy John surgery and, well … he didn’t find it in this game, that’s for sure.
The southpaw, who should figure into the MLB bullpen plans this year if he can find his command, entered with 2 outs and the bases loaded. He walked a run home, then walked a 2nd run home, and then walked a 3rd run home. Finally, after 3 straight walks (the 1st of which was on 5 pitches, and the 2nd on 4), and after falling behind a 4th batter 3-0, Sánchez found the strike zone and recovered to strike out Nelson Rada. Technically it was a performance that held Sánchez’s ERA at 0.00, since the 3 runs scored while he was on the mound were charged to Zwack. But needless to say, the ERA very much does not tell the story here.
All of that ruined a really nice start from LHP Seth Lonsway, who, it turns out, is in Sacramento’s rotation. Lonsway only pitched 3 innings as he gets stretched out to start the year, but he gave up just a single and a walk in those 3 frames, with no runs (though he also didn’t have any strikeouts). For now, at least, it appears that Lonsway — who made 19 starts for Richmond last year, and another 9 for Sacramento — will join a rotation headlined by Seymour, Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL), Blade Tidwell (No. 9 CPL), and Trevor McDonald (No. 12 CPL). Quite a nice opportunity for him.
Unfortunately, the bullpen foibles didn’t begin with Harris, as RHP Spencer Bivens — perhaps the most surprising omission from San Francisco’s Opening Day roster — had a rough go of it in the 4th inning, ceding back-to-back 2-out solo home runs to Kavadas and Siri. He’ll surely be back on the big league roster at some point this year, but he’ll have to show some stuff in Sacramento first.
On offense, it was a quiet day for most of the players, as the River Cats are still looking for their 1st home run of the season. Third baseman Buddy Kennedy continued his torrid start to the year, hitting a perfect 4-4 with a double and a walk. The bats have yet to wake up for Sacramento, but Kennedy hasn’t gotten that message.
It seems that Kennedy, who was an offseason Minor League signing with an invite to camp, is more emergency depth than anything else. The Giants have everyday players across the infield in San Francisco, with a pair of backups that they feel strongly about. But Kennedy is certainly a quality emergency depth piece to have: he has MLB experience, and is hitting 6-12 with 3 doubles, 2 walks, and just 1 strikeout to start the AAA season.
The other nice hitting day belonged to second baseman Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL), who singled in his only official at-bat, while also drawing 2 walks and hitting a sacrifice fly. The on-base percentage and the contact skills to succeed in a situational appearance are why the Giants are so high on Furman, who was an NRI this spring, and who came over in the Alex Cobb trade. But there are questions remaining, including on defense, where Furman committed his 1st error of the season on Tuesday.
First baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) hasn’t been forcing the issue since getting optioned, and that was again the case on Tuesday, as he went 0-4 with a strikeout, though he reached base by getting hit by a pitch. His contact wasn’t especially hard in this game, either.
Center fielder Grant McCray came back to earth a little bit after a nice start to the year, as he went 1-5 with 3 strikeouts. The other 40-man hitters didn’t do too well, either, as Rodríguez and left fielder Will Brennan also went 1-5, with the latter striking out twice.
With Fitzgerald DFA’d, the River Cats have a hole at shortstop. For now, AAA repairman Thomas Gavello is tasked with that duty. Gavello, a 2022 13th-round pick who filled in in Sacramento last year and impressed the coaching staff enough that he stuck around, was drafted as a catcher, but didn’t play the position in 2025, instead primarily focusing on second base, third base, and left field, with a few starts at shortstop. It will be interesting to see if the Giants let Gavello, who hit 0-4 with 3 strikeouts, stay at shortstop until Osleivis Basabe is healthy, or if they bring up someone like Aeverson Arteaga to fill in for a while.
Upcoming schedule
The River Cats continue their series against the Bees tonight at 5:35 p.m. PT, while the Low-A San Jose Giants join them tomorrow. High-A Eugene and AA Richmond kick off the season on Friday.
The Houston Astros (4-2) will play host to the Boston Red Sox (1-4) in the final game of their series. Garrett Crochet starts for Boston, while Mike Burrows takes the mound for Houston.
Happy April Fools' Day, though our MLB best bets are certainly no joke with today's loaded slate.
Prediction markets like Polymarket allow baseball bettors from coast-to-coast a chance to lock in their favorite plays, and our baseball experts are chiming in with their favorite MLB picks today — plus we're offering some extra MLB expert picks from the rest of the Covers staff for Wednesday, April 1.
Sign up now using our exclusive Polymarket promo code 'COVERS' (on your mobile app only) and get a $20 trading bonus after you deposit $20 to trade on any other event contracts — including MLB expert picks!
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Josh Inglis' expert pick: Reds moneyline
Price: 40¢ (+140) at Polymarket
This isn’t about fading Paul Skenes — it’s about backing the value on Andrew Abbott, who has the ability to trade zeroes in this matchup. THE BAT projects a fair price closer to 48%, compared to the current market around 40%, creating a solid edge. It’s also worth noting that over Skenes’ last 33 starts, the Pittsburgh Pirates are just 17–16 straight up — a reminder that elite pitching doesn’t always translate to wins. With this being a getaway day for Pittsburgh, the lineup could be in a tougher spot generating runs.
Neil Parker's expert pick: Twins moneyline
Price: 52¢ (-108) at Polymarket
Twins starter Joe Ryan is 8-1 with a 2.02 ERA and 0.87 WHIP across 11 career starts against Kansas City, and the Royals have only scored nine times through their first four games. Additionally, Kansas City starter Noah Cameron outpitched his underlying numbers last season, with his 2.99 ERA well below his 4.10 xFIP and alongside an unsustainably good .241 BABIP and 84% strand rate.
Joe Osborne's expert pick: Twins/Royals Under 8.5
Price: 53¢ (-113) at Polymarket
This is too high a number for two light-hitting teams, which rank 23rd and 28th in OPS and are a combined 7-1 to the Under so far. Ryan has owned Royals’ hitters, holding them to a .582 OPS across 110 at-bats, while Cameron draws a Twins lineup that's posted a pathetic .458 OPS vs. lefties so far (and he had a 0.73 ERA in 12 1/3 innings of work vs. Minnesota last year).
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 31: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres is congratulated in the dugout after scoring a run during the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park on March 31, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last night was hard to watch.
Not only because the San Francisco Giants slugged their way to a, 9-3, win against the San Diego Padres.
Not only because Nick Castellanos was tough to watch in left field.
The Friars lost this game in a way they haven’t lost since Opening Day: their pitching.
In what felt like a must-win game for the Padres, starter Germán Márquez allowed four runs and reliever Kyle Hart allowed another four (despite looking sharp for a while). San Diego didn’t stand much of a chance.
It felt like they kept getting extremely unlucky. Whether by some incredible defensive play or a strangely batted ball, it was a tough night in Petco Park.
The Friars have still yet to score more than three runs in a game, and are now on the verge (yet again) of being swept.
Taking the mound
Adrian Houser (SF) v. Nick Pivetta (SD)
The Padres’ Opening Day starter had a rough go of it last week, allowing six runs in only three innings pitched against the Detroit Tigers.
Pivetta struggled to get out of the first inning, giving up four of those six runs after failing to locate his pitches in the strike zone.
He was a workhorse for San Diego last year (and a legitimate ace to boot), and the club needs him to be that again.
There’s a lot riding on this outing for the Friars’ ace. If Pivetta can stifle San Francisco’s lineup, it will go a long way toward forgetting the concerns of Opening Day.
Houser will be making his Giants debut after signing a two-year, $22 million deal with the club this offseason. He was signed by San Francisco to help round out the rotation behind Webb and Robbie Ray.
Houser put up a solid year in 2025 (3.31 ERA), but struggled down the stretch (4.79 ERA, 56.1 IP) after being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.
He’s a solid righty starter but should be easy enough for San Diego to rack up some hits against… hopefully.
Batter up!
San Diego rolled out a similar lineup to how they ended Monday night’s game. Freddy Fermin catching, Miguel Andujar at DH.
The only — slightly strange — difference was Castellanos in left field over the red-hot bat of Ramón Laureano, though that’s likely to not happen too often.
Against a right-hander like Houser, manager Craig Stammen will likely construct something similar to Monday’s outing against Roupp. But after Jake Cronenworth’s struggles at the plate he may be bumped down in the order:
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Jackson Merrill, CF
Manny Machado, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Ramón Laureano, LF
Nick Castellanos, 1B
Gavin Sheets, DH
Luis Campusano, C
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Cronenworth batted ninth in the order on Opening Day, so he could return to that spot. Since his debut game in the leadoff spot he has yet to record a hit.
Sheets has seen a lot of time at the cold corner lately (and has been pretty good so far), but he deserves a day off and Castellanos could offer him that today.
Relief corps
Kyle Hart pitched two innings quite well in relief before blowing the game open for San Francisco in the sixth inning. Bradgley Rodriguez came in and gave up a hit but locked it down for an inning and two-thirds.
Jeremiah Estrada pitched a great inning, redeeming himself a bit after his rough outing against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
David Morgan allowed his first run of the season, but it was unearned and inconsequential with the Padres already down five runs when he came out for the ninth inning.
That leaves two of the high leverage guys in the ‘pen for San Diego. Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller have been used sparingly thus far, and will likely emerge tomorrow if the Friars can (finally) get a lead.
Behind them are the ever-serviceable Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio. They’ll be middle-innings choices for the Padres should Pivetta stumble early.
ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 26: Matthew Liberatore #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals will try to win the series versus the New York Mets Wednesday afternoon starting at 12:15pm at Busch Stadium as they’ll close out the homestand with Matthew Liberatore on the mound. Freddy Peralta is scheduled to make the Wednesday afternoon start for the New York Mets.
Jul 27, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) reacts after striking out against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images
Recently, fellow PSA writer Jeff Middleton wrote an appealing article covering the Hope-O-Meter poll that The Athletic conducted and how it showed a particularly pessimistic outlook regarding the Yankees in 2026—check that out over here. It sort of goes without saying that each outlook is assessed while keeping the expectations for that specific team in mind, and the reality is that any Yankee fan—rightfully so—has a threshold of expectations matched by fewer than a handful of teams.
More than 11,000 fans participated in our fifth annual MLB Hope-O-Meter.
Overall, 72 percent reported they are optimistic about their favorite team this season, compared to 66 percent in 2025. pic.twitter.com/ywvrqQAsGs
Ahead of the 2024 campaign, Yankee fans came in with a Hope-O-Meter of 80.1%, a number that dropped down to 67.1% ahead of last season. For all of the issues that they’ve worked through in recent campaigns, including losing out on Juan Soto and seeing Gerrit Cole miss all of 2025, the Yankees have done a fairly decent job at retaining their place as a top contender. One could be forgiven for a decent level of skepticism in how the club replaced Soto, but even after seeing those moves pay off, the level of optimism significantly trails that of the 2024 campaign.
If we look at all 30 teams on that poll, the Yankees are not the only regular contender sitting in the bottom half. There they’re joined by the Philadelphia Phillies, ranked 18th, with an optimism percentage of slightly over 70 percent. In many ways the Yankees of the National League, the Phillies were also unceremoniously bounced out in four games in the LDS, showing vulnerabilities against a team that would represent their league in the Fall Classic.
Similarly, a regular contender over the past five years with one World Series trip that ended in heartbreak, the Phillies, much like the Yankees, retain a competitive core. They do a good job of supplementing it both from within and outside the organization and face the threat of fresher, more exciting adversaries inside their respective divisions. The trendy pick is to go with the Blue Jays as the strongest team in the AL East and the Mets in the NL East—have the Yankees and Phillies really done enough negatively to no longer truly excite their respective fans about the prospects of these two teams?
It would be more reasonable if the Yankees had been content in not bringing back the likes of Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, looking for cheaper ways to complement this lineup around Aaron Judge. They even had the in-house options to reasonably justify this approach. The same could be said had the Phillies not ponied up for Kyle Schwarber coming off an outstanding campaign. The pitching parallels are also quite clear. While one could be skeptical of what Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler might still be able to deliver, the success of these two pitching staffs is not entirely contingent upon them returning to their peak form, even if that’d provide a massive boost.
While the recent World Series winners have suggested that either a team that’s been there, done that (the Dodgers), or a fresh out-of-nowhere contender (Rangers) is better positioned to win it all, that’s not necessarily the case. It’s all a matter of perspective. Maybe the team that has been knocking on the door for a long period is actually close to breaking through and not just repeatedly showing what they’re missing. Maybe, just maybe, we could have a Yankees vs. Phillies World Series in 2026.
PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Addison Barger #47 of the Toronto Blue Jays runs the bases during the third inning of a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park on February 27, 2026 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by Mark Taylor/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We are at the end of the first home stand. After the game the Jays will be on their way to Chicago for three games with the White Sox.
This is a weekday afternoon game. And it is school day at the ballpark. I was there for a school day and they were handing out decks of playing cards with little child safety messages on them. Of course, I’m a jerk and I said, ‘Look at this, they are giving out packages of cigarettes for the children. You gotta start them young.’ Of course the young person handing them out very quickly and loudly corrected me, but I continued on (because no one can run a bad joke into the ground like me). ‘If you want to get kids hooked on smoking, you gotta start them when they are young’. I’m always surprised when they let me into places.
Of course, getting the kids into gambling is likely as bad as getting them into smoking. If they are giving out those cards this year, make sure to teach the kids how to play black jack. Tell them to ask their parents for some money first.
And I should be in Sakata, Japan today, which looks like a lovely area.
TEAM HISTORY INCOMING: The Cubs can make a small bit of team history with a victory today. This is the 43rd season since 1901 in which they have started 2-3 — about one of every three. It is just the fourth they have begun by alternating losses and wins (loss, win, loss, win, loss). They did not win the sixth game in the previous three, tying in 1914 and losing in 1968 and 1993. The Cubs are 26-15-1 in sixth games after a 2-3 start. They are 16-12-1 after having lost fifth games. They finished above .500 after 20 of their previous 2-3 starts, including the three before this year: 2018 (95-68), 2023 (82-79) and last year (92-70). They won pennants in 1918 and 1935, won the division title in 2008 and earned Wild Card berths in 2018 and last year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
SPLITSVILLE: Last season, the Cubs split the first two games of 26 three-game series. They won 13 third games and lost 13. They were 6-3 after winning and losing in the first two, including 3-3 at home.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: Nico Hoerner’s three stolen bases puts him in a four-way tie for the MLB lead with Jake McCarthy (D-backs), David Hamilton (Brewers) and Nasim Nuñez (Nats).
ALSO LEADING THE LEAGUE: Edward Cabrera’s 0.333 WHIP is tied for the NL lead with Michael McGreevy of the Cardinals.
The Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.
Angels lineup:
Series finale ⚾️🔥
Halos go for the series win Kikuchi vs Boyd 11:20am PT | Wrigley Field
New look lineup with Teodosio, Candelario, d’Arnaud in
Matthew Boyd did not have a good Opening Day start. Nope, not at all.
So let’s hope he’s flushed that one and moving on.
Boyd has not faced the Angels since 2022, and that was a couple of one-inning relief appearances. The only current Angels with more than a handful of at-bats against him are Jorge Soler (6-for-22, 10 strikeouts) and Yoan Moncada (5-for-19, a home run).
Hoping for a better day today, Matthew.
Yusei Kikuchi threw 4.1 innings and allowed two runs to the Astros last Thursday in Houston.
This is his eighth year in MLB and he’s made 200 appearances and 188 starts — but tonight will be his first-ever start against the Cubs. Alex Bregman has hit him well — 7-for-20 (.350) with three doubles, two home runs and eight walks.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 30: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals reacts in front of Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies after hitting an RBI single in the top of the first inning at Citizens Bank Park on March 30, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After the Nats dominated in game one, the Phillies pulled out a close one in game two. Now it is time for a rubber match in Philly. Both teams will have their aces on the mound, so this should be a good one. The Nats are looking for their second straight series win to open the season.
With a lefty on the mound, the Nats have altered their lineup a bit. One thing that has not changed is James Wood’s placement as the leadoff hitter. Curtis Mead will make his first start as a Nat, hitting second and playing first base. Jacob Young will be back in the lineup, which slides Joey Wiemer over to center field. Brady House and Drew Millas are also back in the lineup. Daylen Lile will be the DH today. Cade Cavalli will be making his second start of the season and hopefully the righty can go deeper in the game this time.
The Phillies are rolling with the same lineup they had in yesterday’s win. We know most of these guys well at this point. The former Nats are at the top of the order, while home grown guys like Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott follow. Cristopher Sanchez established himself as a true ace last season and pitched well on Opening Day. He will look to continue his dominant run against the Nats.
Another series win against a team that made the playoffs last year would be massive for the Nats. However, it will be tough with Sanchez on the mound. With the red hot Joey Wiemer, the Nats have handled left handed pitching this season. Sanchez will be a different animal though. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 26: Trevor Rogers #28 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches during the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It already feels like the Orioles are teetering on the edge of the abyss. That’s being dramatic, of course. They’ve only played five games out of 162, which is 3.1% of a baseball season. If the Orioles went 2-3 over any random stretch in June or July, no one would blink at that. But here at the start of the year, when there’s nothing else that’s happened yet and it all feels connected to the same malaise from last year, it’s bad.
Add to this Zach Eflin’s probably-season-ending injury from Tuesday night already taxing the starting pitching depth, and a bullpen that pretty much nobody believed in having some anticipated problems (Yaramil Hiraldo) and some less anticipated ones (Tyler Wells) and it’s a recipe for bad feelings.
Win today to avoid the sweep by Texas and the Orioles are 3-3 and that will stave off some misery. If they have more problems and fall to 2-4, then every concern will be one game closer to being solidified and the team will be starting to dig its way into a hole it will need to escape from. As we know from last year, the deeper the hole gets, the harder it is to address that later.
At least it’s Trevor Rogers day. Hopefully that turns out to be a good thing.
Orioles lineup
Taylor Ward – DH
Gunnar Henderson – SS
Pete Alonso – 1B
Samuel Basallo – C
Coby Mayo – 3B
Dylan Beavers – LF
Colton Cowser – RF
Leody Taveras – CF
Jeremiah Jackson – 2B
It’s the first start of the year for Taveras.
The young 4-5-6 hitters in today’s lineup have all not yet done much at the plate in 2026. Hopefully they can flip that around some today.
Rangers lineup
Brandon Nimmo – DH
Wyatt Langford – CF
Corey Seager – SS
Jake Burger – 1B
Andrew McCutchen – RF
Danny Jansen – C
Josh Jung – 3B
Ezequiel Duran – 2B
Sam Haggerty – LF
The Orioles batters will be facing Nathan Eovaldi initially. He had a rocky 2026 debut. Maybe they can continue that problem for him. That would be fun for us.
Feb 27, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) warms up against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mets lineup
Francisco Lindor – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Jorge Polanco – DH
Luis Robert – CF
Mark Vientos – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Francisco Alvarez – C
Tyrone Taylor – RF
Freddy Peralta – RHP
Cardinals lineup
JJ Wetherholt – 2B
Ivan Herrera – DH
Alec Burleson – 1B
Masyn Winn – SS
Nolan Gorman – 3B
Thomas Saggese – LF
Nathan Church – RF
Pedro Pages – C
Victor Scott – CF
M. Liberatore – LHP
Broadcast info
First pitch: 1:15 PM EDT TV: SNY Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
