Category: MLB

This season couldn’t have started much better for the Braves, at least to date. They are the only team that hasn’t yet lost a series (they did split one, though), they have baseball’s second-best record (behind the Dodgers, tied with the Padres), they’re top ten in both position player and pitching fWAR, and they’re top five in a bunch of other things like batting inputs and defensive value. Even though it’s early and a small sample could be responsible for pretty much anything, the only guy they’ll ultimately rely on that are struggling are Mike Yastrzemski. It’s baseball, and things can change on a dime at any time. But, right now, anyway, the Braves look pretty good. This recent series with the Guardians reminded me a lot of 2022-2023: broadly and wildly successful, but on the basis of smashing the ball rather than any kind of holistic, fundamental baseball excellence. In other words, booting balls and getting thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double doesn’t matter if you’re pummeling the opposing team at the plate.

All of this leaves the Braves’ lack of success in the ABS challenge system as incongruously jutting out from what’s going on with the team otherwise. This is self-evident both from watching the games, and from the data here: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/abs and here: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/abs-challenges.

I’ll be quick, but essentially, a few things jump out at me:

1. Yes, the Braves have been really bad so far.
2. However, the Braves have not been really bad at actually swinging strikeouts or walks as a result of challenges.
3. On top of that, where leverage is meaningful, the Braves are okay if not actually good at challenges, at least on a rate basis. They just don’t get these opportunities a lot… because they waste their challenges early on, where it doesn’t matter.

So, I’m not going to write out a long heuristic here (that’s your job), but I do think that whatever heuristic they implement, should they choose to do so, it should definitely include:

A) Only challenges that are relevant to a walk or strikeout, not other stuff futzing with the count; and

B) Only challenges in some semblance of leverage, i.e., tying or go-ahead run at the plate or on deck, and if a low-scoring game early, then not at all until the fourth inning or whatever.

There are of course more complicated and probably better heuristics, but these are also things the players need to remember in real-time. I’d love to say, “Only challenge in the first three innings if you’re 90 percent confident you’ll win” but the players are probably 90 percent confident every time they challenge, so that’s not helpful to anyone.

Anyway, have at it…

The team has seen Taijuan Walker struggle in first innings this season and is trying to find a solution to the issue. It could be simulating that first inning in the bullpen, it could be having him throw longer bullpens to begin the day. One solution seems to be the best one if they are indeed going to be trying something different.

Should the Phillies consider using an opener for Walker’s starts so long as he’s in the rotation? We know that the return of Zack Wheeler feels imminent, meaning Walker’s time in the rotation is probably short as it is. However, injuries happen and the team will want to keep him close by in case they need someone to jump into a rotation spot quickly. But they cannot continue to just let those starts get away so early, relying on an offense that thus far has been inconsistent at best. Maybe this more modern approach to beginning games is something the team should be considering.

Columbus Clippers 2, Worcester Red Sox 8

Clippers fall to 8-7

Travis Bazzana had one of his best games at Triple-A, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk while Juan Benjamin went 2-for-4.

Kody Huff homered and Petey Halpin doubled.

On the pitching side of the equation, Trenton Denholm got tagged for seven runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 4.0 innings.

Daniel Espino again had a scoreless appearance, as did Will Dion and Tanner Burns.

Akron RubberDucks 2, Harrisburg Senators 9

RubberDucks fall to 5-4

It was a rough game for Akron both offensively and with pitching.

Alfonso Rosario was a bright spot, going 2-for-3 with a home run. Joe Lampe had the lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base and Ralphy Velazquez reached base safely twice, going 1-for=3 with a walk, something Jose Devers also did.

Starting pitcher Dylan DeLucia again had a horrific outing, allowing four runs on three hits with two walks and one strikeouts without getting out of the first inning.

Zane Morehouse was the only pitcher who didn’t give up a run or allow an inherited runner to score.

Lake County Captains 7, Dayton Dragons 4

Captains improve to 4-5

Top Guardians 2025 MLB Draft Pick Jace LaViolette finally had his first big moment as a pro, blasting off for a three-run home run in the first inning, the first of hopefully many in his young career.

LaViolette still is a work in progress, as the bomb was his only hit of the day, going 1-for-4 with a walk and two more strikeouts. He’s batting .160 to begin his pro career with a grotesque 53.6% strikeout rate. He is going to have to get that under control before he makes any other progress.

Eight different Lake County players had hits in this game. Bennett Thompson also homered and walked as his extremely strong start to the 2026 season continues. Jaison Chourio went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

Starting pitcher Franklin Gomez had another strong outing, allowing one run on two hits in 4.0 innings while striking out four and walking one. Michael Kennedy followed with 4.0 innings of piggyback relief, allowing three runs on three hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Two of his three hits allowed were home runs.

Izaak Martinez finished off the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.

Hill City Howlers 5, Fredericksburg Nationals 2

Howlers improve to 6-3

The story of this game was the tremendous bounceback performance from Chase Mobley. After failing to get more than one out in his 2026 debut, he pitched 2.1 scoreless, hitless innings, striking out three and walking three on 49 pitches. Hopefully this is a sign of brighter things to come from him.

Miguel Flores followed with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief and Luke Fernandez closed out the win with 2.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with four strikeouts to earn the save.

Offensively, Anthony Martinez hit his first home run of the season, going 1-for-3 with a walk. Luis De La Cruz stayed hot, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases while Dauri Fernandez singled and walked, although he got caught stealing twice. Yelferth Castillo also went 2-for-3 with a walk.

Juneiker Caceres and Robert Arias both reached base twice with a pair of walks apiece.

Good morning.

Shawn McFarland writes that Skip Schumaker was satisfied to see the Texas Rangers reach base early and often in their win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Jacob Gurvis writes that Jacob deGrom continued his career-long mastery of the Dodgers while earning his first win of the season in Sunday’s finale.

McFarland writes that in a tussle between living legends, Shohei Ohtani won a battle with a leadoff home run but deGrom won the war with a superlative outing in the victory.

Gurvis notes that deGrom and the rest of the Texas arms got an assist from catcher Danny Jansen with four successful ABS challenges in five challenges overall on Sunday.

McFarland writes that the struggles for reliever Chris Martin has thrown a wrench into the bullpen plans during the season’s first few weeks.

Will Leitch is the only person willing to say they like the Rangers’ new City Connect look as he bumps Texas up to No. 8 in the MLB dot com power rankings.

McFarland offers the latest on Wyatt Langford’s status after Langford sat out a second consecutive game with a mild quad strain.

And, the MLB Trade Rumors folks note that former long-time Ranger Martin Perez has been designated for assignment by Atlanta.

Try to remember the good times, ’teen.

Have a nice day!

The Orioles entered the year with plenty of public pessimism around their bullpen. Their newly-signed closer was coming off of the worst stretch in his career, they were already dealing with injuries to key members of the group, and much of the unit was unproven at the major league level. While the 2026 season is only two weeks old, and questions remain, there is also a lot to like about the relief corps that Mike Elias has assembled.

Across the board, the O’s bullpen ranks in the top half of the league in most statistics. They are 11th in fWAR (0.5), 11th in ERA (3.45), seventh in xERA (3.55), sixth in K/9 (10.05), and 14th in BB/9 (4.08). These aren’t elite numbers, but they represent perfectly fine performance. That wasn’t a guarantee given the construction of the unit.

Ryan Helsley has done well in the closer’s role, though there is room for improvement. He is 4-for-4 on save opportunities and has an ERA of 3.38. That famous fastball of his has looked good, averaging 98.5 mph, while the splitter he was working on throughout the spring hasn’t shown up too much yet. He does need to cut down on walks (6.75 BB/9), and his hard-hit rate is real bad (68.8%), but he has managed to survive those numbers so far. We should expect them to normalize at some point. He (hopefully) won’t have a .438 BABIP all season.

If the O’s do need to take the pressure off of Helsley at any point, it seems like they have three or four alternative ninth-inning candidates ready to go.

Rico Garcia snagged his first major league save during the White Sox series last week. The diminutive righty is yet to allow an earned run across 6.2 innings while striking out 10.80 per nine. His numbers aren’t fluky either. Take a gander at his Baseball Savant page. He is getting a ridiculous number of whiffs while also avoiding hard contact at an elite rate. At this moment, you could make an argument that he is the best reliever on the team.

Someone else in that conversation is Grant Wolfram. The lefty leads the bullpen in fWAR (0.3), K/9 (15.00), BB/9 (0.00), and FIP (0.81). All of this while having a bit of bad luck on balls in play (.462 BABIP). You can more easily poke holes in Wolfram’s performance. He isn’t getting as much weak contact or inducing whiffs as often as Garcia, but it has still been quite impressive.

Yennier Cano seems to be back at his all-star level from a couple of seasons ago. His slider has been largely sidelined in favor of a split-finger fastball, particularly against left-handed hitters, and it is working. He is yet to issue a walk and is striking out 10.38 per nine. Opposing hitters are almost exclusively pounding the ball into the ground against Cano. His 72.7% ground ball rate is among the league leaders early on. That is a recipe for success for the 32-year-old.

And let us not forget about Anthony Nunez. It looks like the Orioles have struck gold here, folks. The 24-year-old may have been the 26th man on the roster coming into Opening Day, only making the team due to a late spring injury to Keegan Akin. Well, he’s not going anywhere for a while. He is in the top 10 percent (or better) of pitchers in xERA (1.23), xBA (.137), average exit velocity (80.1 mph), and whiff rate (37.3%). His four-pitch mix is a real weapon out of the Orioles bullpen this year, but he feels like a rotation candidate at some point in his career.

Now, bullpens are volatile. These immaculate ERAs will not remain. Tough stretches are going to come. Each of these guys will have ups and downs throughout the season. But if they can get through the trials and tribulations, that would mean the Orioles have five stellar relievers that they can count on in close games. Not many teams can say that, and it would bode well for the team’s postseason ambitions.

This is before we even consider the sort of improvement that could come from other parts of the bullpen.

The Orioles IL is full of relievers. Akin, Andrew Kittredge, Dietrich Enns, and Yaramil Hiraldo will all be healthy again at some point. The expected impact of each varies, but they are all at least big league quality. Kittredge, in particular, is someone the team will be excited to get back. He has nearly a decade of experience, including a solid 31-game stint with the O’s a year ago and three trips to the postseason. That sort of guidance could be a crucial for this group.

On top of that, the club clearly believes in Tyler Wells’ ability to be a high-leverage reliever. They entered the year with him in a set-up role, but after giving up three runs across his first 2.1 innings of work, they backed off. More recently, manager Craig Albernaz has turned to him as a multi-inning option in the middle frames. So far, so good. Wells has given up just one run over his last seven innings. That has lowered his season ERA from 10.13 at the end of March to just 3.72 now.

Between Wells and Albert Suárez, the Orioles are also in the enviable position of having multiple pitchers in their bullpen that can reliably go beyond one inning of work. Both of them have starter backgrounds and were stretched out as such during the spring. That potentially allows them to step in as spot starters on occasion, or simply absorb innings if one of the normal starters has a shorter outing. Those sorts of efforts help to keep a bullpen fresh throughout a 162-game season.

There are nits to pick with the Orioles bullpen. And they are an area of team that will likely get an upgrade if the team is in the postseason conversation come July. But through two weeks, they are exceeding expectations and have the potential to be an unforeseen weapon for this squad.

It would be difficult to assert that any road trip has gone worse for the Astros. It started with taking one of six games from two of the worst teams in baseball. It ended with a four game set against the division rival Mariners. It is not officially over even as you are reading this, but the damage has been done. The team has stumbled down the standings, three players have moved to the injured list, and one more was sent to Houston for tests on his arm and shoulder.

Three of those four injuries were pitching injuries. In that universe, the study belong takes on an entirely new context. All that being said, Joe Espada took on a ton of criticism last season with his willingness to send his relievers out there for multiple innings. In particular, some wondered if pitching Josh Hader in multiple innings multiple times played a direct impact in ending his season early. It may have been no coincidence that his very last outing was a two inning relief appearance.

If we were giving this a proper study then we would want to study all 30 teams or at least American League teams to determine how often this is happening. That kind of study might come later if this trend continues, but we are comparing the 2025 Astros with the 2026 Astros. In particular, we are looking at the number of multiple inning relief appearances and the numbers of those outings that wound up being scoreless outings. In other words, was it an effective strategy for Espada last season and has it been an effective strategy this season? For our purposes, we are looking at the top seven pitchers in games pitched from last season.

2025 Bullpen Usage

Obviously, any strategy has to be evaluated on two prongs. How effective is the strategy and does the strategy have any long-term lingering negative effects? The first question is an easier question to answer. If a team made it through more than 80 percent of their relief appearances (overall) with a no runs given up then that bullpen has probably done fairly well. People often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the bullpen. If a pitcher pitches three games in a week and surrenders a run once then he has a 3.00 ERA if all of those are one inning outings. I think most people would take that from all of their relief pitchers and walk away happy.

So, if we are looking at relief pitching in that prism, then we would say that two out of every three outings should be a scoreless outing. That is in effect the break even point. So, as a team they were breaking even more than that on multiple inning outings. Of course, that can be defined as little as 1.1 innings pitched all the way through three or four innings.

This is why many Espada critics focus in on his handling of Hader. Beyond any physical problem, it wasn’t an effective strategy. For someone that was one of the most effective relievers through his injury, he was decidedly ineffective when asked to take the ball for a second inning. When we look at bullpen performance again (when we have more outings to level things out) we will primarily look at the number of scoreless outings a reliever has in comparison to the number out outings. Now, let’s take a look at the 2026 numbers.

2026 Bullpen Usage

I know what everyone is going to say. “But the lack of good starting pitching has put the Astros in a position to use more multiple inning relievers.” There is no denying that. In back to back games the starters made it through one inning and then one third of an inning. That is brutal and both of those pitchers might have come away with lengthy injuries. There is very little getting around that. The Astros may have the fewest quality starts in the league at this point of the season.

Still, the lab has always been a place where we can take our feelings and throw them into an empirical test. It feels like Espada frequently tries to get one more inning than he should from his relief pitchers. We’ve seen multiple outings where a reliever throws a clean inning or two clean innings, but that next inning is where things go awry. Of course, feelings don’t cash checks around these parts.

What does cash those checks are the actual numbers. Those multiple inning relief outings have been far less successful than they were last season. That is also probably because there have been too many of them and they are going on too long. Some of that can be helped and some of it can’t be. In our commentary on Friday, we talked about the staff stabilizing itself. Simply being able to go out there and throw five or six innings in a start would go a long way to do that.

General managers are made based on what percentage of their decisions that turn out favorably, Managers are made based on how they handle their pitching staff. Yes, decisions of who to sit and when are important. Yet, it is when to pitch certain guys and how long to pitch them that make most of the difference from day to day. The early going has been rough for both guys as both see their contracts run out. The season is long. Hope springs eternal. Throw in your euphemism here. As always, this will be something we track again as the season goes on.

Meet the Mets

This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it! Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture. This place is not a place of honor… no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here… nothing valued is here. What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger. Mets lost to the A’s, 1-0.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

Before Sunday’s loss, the Mets designated reliever Luis Garcia for assignment and called up another reliver, Joey Gerber, in his place.

Following the loss, the Mets called up Old Friend Tommy Pham, who joined the organization in the final days of March. For now, the corresponding move is unknown.

The Mets have a lot of concerns, but perhaps the most surprising and confounding are Francisco Lindor’s mental lapses.

Around the National League East

As the Sunday nightcap on NBC, the Braves and Chris Sale bludgeoned the Cleveland Guardians 13-1 to go along with 19 hits.

Jose Alvarado gave up a pair of runs to the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning and took the short side of the decision in the Phillies 4-3 loss to Arizona.

In a battle of former Cy Young Award winners, Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins lost to Tarik Skubal’s Tigers in an 8-2 contest.

After nine innings of back and forth battling, the Nationals finished their series with the Brewers by coming out ahead in an 8-6 slobberknocker.

Around Major League Baseball

Over the weekend, World Series winning second baseman and pennant-winning manager Phil Garner died at 76.

The Toronto Blue Jays placed George Springer on the injured list with a broken big toe and called up 2020 icon Eloy Jimenez in his place.

Jacob deGrom had an essentially flawless start on Sunday…except for Shohei Ohtani sending the first pitch he threw hundreds of feet away.

Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle hit the first home run of his major league career and it came against a former Cy Young in Sandy Alcantara.

The Brewers don’t know what the news on Christian Yelich’s injury status will be, but they do know for sure that it’s going to be bad.

Old Friend Max Kranick will be throwing for teams in Philadelphia this week in hopes of latching on with a team early enough in the season to make an impact.

This Date in Mets History

On this date 59 years ago, Tom Seaver made his big league debut in front of 5,005 fans.

All is not well in Yankee-land. After taking their first three series on the strength of a stifling rotation, they’ve scuttled, dropping two of three to the Athletics before getting swept by the Rays. They’ll get the chance to rebound this week against an Angels squad that finished worst in the AL West last year but has gotten off to a respectable 8-8 start. Let’s take a look at the likely pitching matchups for this mid-week set in the Bronx.

Monday: Will Warren vs. Yusei Kikuchi(7:05 pm ET)

After an encouraging rookie season last year, Will Warren has gotten off to a strong start. He’s yet to allow more than two runs through three outings, doing a better job of limiting free passes and hard contact. The right-hander has not surpassed 85 pitches in any of his starts, though, limiting him to more of a “five-and-dive” role than a workhorse. Last season, Warren posted a 3.31 ERA outside of his four worst starts, meaning it will be key to see if he’s able to sustain his early success over a longer sample size.

He’s lined up to face Yusei Kikuchi. The veteran was an All-Star in his first season with LA last year, making 33 starts while performing slightly above league-average. He’s gotten off to a rough start this year, allowing 11 runs through 14.2 innings. The southpaw’s metrics suggest he’s been unlucky, though, with an expected ERA of 3.77 which would be an improvement over last year. That’s because he’s inducing weaker contact while issuing fewer walks, a time-honored formula for success. Kikuchi threw 97 pitches his last time out, so expect him to shoulder a full starter’s workload as long as he’s effective.

Tuesday: Ryan Weathers vs. Reid Detmers(7:05 pm ET)

After two brief and uneven outings to begin his Yankees career, Ryan Weathers made a statement his last time out. Against a potent Athletics lineup, the former Marlin allowed just one run in eight innings, pitching around seven hits in a performance that showed the potential the Yankees saw when they acquired him this offseason. The biggest tweak the team made to Weathers’ profile was transforming his sinker, which he threw just 20 times last year, into his top secondary pitch. The results have not followed, as opponents have hit .421 against the pitch.

Weathers will oppose Reid Detmers. A former top prospect, Detmers struggled as a starter before finding success last year as a reliever. In a controversial move, the Angels transitioned him back to the rotation this season and the results have been mixed. A 6.2-inning scoreless outing against the Mariners was followed by a six-run drubbing at the hand of the A’s in which he only got one out in the fifth. Detmers has largely been a two-pitch pitcher so far this year, featuring a four-seamer which has gotten torched and a slider which has held opponents to a .167 batting average.

Wednesday: Luis Gil vs. Jack Kochanowicz(7:05 pm ET)

Luis Gil is the elephant in the Yankees’ room. After he took home Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, the team looked to have a rotation mainstay for years to come. But, after missing most of last year to injury, he wasn’t the same pitcher upon his return, with a fastball down more than a tick leading to plummeting strikeout and whiff rates. After failing to show enough to overtake Warren or Weathers in the spring, he was optioned to Triple-A out of camp, with the plan to utilize a four-man rotation until a fifth starter was needed. That need arose last Friday, and Gil did little to change the narrative around his decline, allowing three runs, three hits, and three walks in four innings while taking the loss against Tampa Bay.

While LA is yet to announce their starter for Wednesday, Jack Kochanowicz would be up next in their rotation. After serving as a black hole in the Angels’ rotation last year, posting a 6.81 ERA, he’s been much improved through three starts this season. The right-hander allowed a single run in 12.2 innings over his last two starts against the Mariners and Reds, both playoff teams from last year. Still, his 5.96 expected ERA indicates this may be a blip, as the 25-year-old is still allowing far more walks and recording far fewer punchouts than league average.

Thursday: Max Fried vs. TBD (1:35 pm ET)

After finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting last year, Max Fried has been every bit as dominant through his first four starts in 2026. He allowed three runs his last time out against Tampa Bay but went eight innings while throwing just 94 pitches. The sinkerballer is yet to allow a home run and, as the only healthy one out of the team’s three aces, has been an anchor in the Yankees’ rotation once again.

After sending down George Klassen, the team’s number-four prospect who allowed seven runs in 4.2 innings through his first two MLB starts, it’s unclear who the Angels will send to the bump for Thursday’s series closer. Sam Aldegheri has big-league experience and is already on the 40-man, but his 10.80 ERA through three starts at Triple-A does not inspire confidence. LA may end up going with an opener approach this time through as they consider their long-term options.

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Major League Baseball Monday has 10 games on tap, and plenty of options to set your betting card.

That includes Ronald Acuna Jr., who is heating up after a slow start to the year, and that should continue as the Atlanta Braves host the Miami Marlins.

Read below for my favorite MLB player props for Monday, April 13.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Ronald Acuna Jr.	2+ total bases	+100
Shea Langeliers	2+ total bases	+100
Kyle Schwarber	1+ home runs	+210

Ronald Acuna Jr. 2+ total bases (+100)

Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. has picked up hits in four straight games, and he’s showing serious pop.

Acuna has gone 6-for-18 (.333) in the last four, picking up his first homer of the season, along with a pair of doubles and a triple.

He’ll be facing Miami Marlins righty Eury Perez, who has an inflated 5.06 ERA out of the gate. Acuna has only faced him three times, but he’s gotten his money’s worth, reaching base all three times, with a home run, a double, and two runs batted in.

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marlins.TV, BravesVsn

Shea Langeliers 2+ total bases (+100)

Shea Langeliers is swinging a hot bat for the Athletics, with hits in four of his last five games, including three multi-hit games.

He hasn’t homered in seven games, but he’s hitting the ball well (sitting in the Top 20% in expected slugging, average exit velocity, and barrel rate), with a couple of doubles during this hot stretch.

Langeliers will step in against Nahan Eovaldi, who has struggled to start the year for the Texas Rangers, sporting a robust 7.98 ERA. He’s allowed a long ball in each of his three starts.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: RSN, NBC Sports California

Kyle Schwarber to hit a home run (+210)

Kyle Schwarber had a pair of hits in the Philadelphia Phillies' series finale against Arizona, giving him hits in seven of 10 April games.

It’s a nice matchup for him on Monday when the Chicago Cubs come to town. Chicago right-hander Javier Assad has faced Schwarber five times and has yet to retire him, surrendering two hits and three walks.

Against righties, Schwarber is tied for seventh in the majors with a .688 slugging percentage and sixth with a 1.130 OPS, and he leads the majors in barrel rate while ranking among the elite in nearly every batted-ball metric. It’s a good spot for him to launch off Assad for the first time in his career.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FS1

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

The Guardians dropped their first series of 2026 in impressive fashion, losing by 12 runs.

Deborah has your recap here.

I guess we will see if Tanner Bibee can figure things out. All the regression his metrics pointed to this season hit last night. I also wonder if Kolby Allard will be replaced by Hunter Gaddis today. Not ideal to be on Sunday Night Baseball and fall flat, but today is another day as the Guardians head to St. Louis.

AROUND MLB:

The Twins and Tigers won, and the White Sox beat the Royals

Jesus Lafalaise started for Frisco, throwing four shutout innings, walking three and striking out three.

Marcos Torres was 3 for 5 with a pair of triples and a homer. Yolfran Castillo was 2 for 5 with a double and a stolen base. Dewar Torres was 2 for 4 with a double and a stolen base. Daniel Flames was 2 for 4 with a double.

Hickory box score

Hub City starter D.J. McCarty walked three and struck out two while allowing two runs in 3.1 IP. Joey Danielson struck out one in a scoreless inning.

Paxton Kling was 1 for 3 with a double and two walks. Yeison Morrobel was 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. Rafe Perich was 2 for 4 with a triple. Gleider Figuereo had a hit.

Hub City box score

David Davalillo started for Frisco and went five innings, striking out seven, giving up a homer, and allowing three runs. Bryan Magdaleno walked one in 1.1 scoreless innings.

Frainyer Chavez homered.

Frisco box score

Austin Gomber allowed eight runs and recorded four outs in his start for Round Rock. Pat Murphy struck out two and walked one in 2.2 IP, allowing one run. Emiliano Teodo walked one, struck out one and allowed a run in two innings. Marc Church went 1.2 IP, striking out two and allowing a pair of homers.

Justin Foscue was 2 for 5 with a walk. Michael Helman was 2 for 3 with two walks, a double and a homer. Aaron Zavala had a pair of hits.

Round Rock box score

Old friend Justin Turner signed with the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League, the team announced on Friday. The longtime Dodgers third baseman took to Instagram to talk about his new team as well, in both English and Spanish.

Turner, 41, played last season with the Chicago Cubs, for whom he hit .219/.288/.314 with a 71 wRC+ and three home runs in 80 games and 191 plate appearances. That ended a string of 11 consecutive seasons with at least a 116 wRC+, the first nine of which were with the Dodgers.

In 17 major league seasons thus far, the two-time All-Star Turner has 354 doubles, 201 home runs in 1,758 games, hitting .283/.360/.454 with a 125 wRC+ for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and Cubs.

The Toros begin their Mexican League schedule Friday on the road against Saltillo.

Links

Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic broke down all four at-bats by Andy Pages on Friday night, showing how well the Dodgers center fielder has progressed at the plate this season.

“I’m just trying to find the pitch that I can do the most damage on,” Pages told Ardaya. “It’s continuing my plan, and not changing it in the middle of the at-bat, and trying to wait for my pitch.”

Longtime major league infielder and manager Phil Garner died on Saturday night at age 76. The Associated Press has more.

Garner played 16 major league seasons, including the final three and a half months of the 1987 season with the Dodgers, then later managed another 15 years, including leading the Houston Astros to their first pennant in 2005.

Well here we are, folks — our Atlanta Braves are 16 games deep into this season and they are in a pretty solid groove. They’ve dropped at least one game to every team that they’ve played this season but they’ve also taken two games off of every team that they’ve played so far. That was also the case for their opponents this past weekend in the form of the Cleveland Guardians. Something had to give, as these were the last two teams in baseball who had yet to drop a series.

Let me tell you, it would’ve been a crying shame if the Braves were the ones who ended up dropping this series. I’m not saying that based on any type of underlying data or anything like that but I’m saying that because the vibes have been impeccable at Truist Park and The Battery since the new City Connect uniforms were officially unveiled on Thursday morning. Friday was 80s Night, Dale Murphy got some shine, T.I. was in the building on Saturday and the team was on prime time network television on Sunday. There were a lot of eyes on this series and this was a chance for the Braves to really show off for their home crowd. It’s time to get into just how the Braves fared during what ended up being a very fun weekend series.

Friday, April 10

Braves 11, Guardians 5

Atlanta debuted their clean new City Connect uniforms in stylish fashion, as a huge sixth inning in in this game and two more run-scoring innings following that allowed the Braves to pull away in this contest. It took a while for the Atlanta lineup to figure Slade Cecconi but once they did, it led to some real fireworks before the post-game Friday Night Fireworks in Cobb County.

It all started with Ronald Acuña Jr. hitting an absolute bomb for his first dinger of the season. As it turned out, that was the first of three homers in this inning alone and the shortest one of them all. Matt Olson put Acuña’s shot to shame as he hit a two-run dinger that landed on top of the Chop House. Michael Harris II’s moonshot with two outs made sure that the Braves left the inning leading by five after they entered it trailing by one.

Ozzie Albies and Dominic Smith both delivered RBI singles in the eighth inning to extend the lead and then Drake Baldwin and Austin Riley (with help from an error) made sure that any hope that the Guardians had after a three-run eighth inning of their own was snuffed out immediately. The bats had a major impact in this game and it made for some fun viewing on a special night at the ballpark.

Saturday, April 11

Guardians 6, Braves 0

If Friday night was a peak for the Braves then Saturday night was certainly a valley in terms of performance. Credit is due to the now-DFA’d Martín Pérez, who recovered from a first-inning homer from José Ramírez to go five innings while only giving up one run in the process.

That was about it for highlights as far as this game is concerned. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a triple but outside of that, the Braves had nothing to deal with Guardians starter Parker Messick and the rest of the Guardians pitching staff on this particular night. A disastrous ninth inning which saw the Guardians add on three runs was the icing on a poison-laced cake for the Braves in this one.

Sunday, April 12

Braves 13, Guardians 1

This was more like it from the Braves, as Atlanta’s first appearance on Sunday Night Baseball in 2026 felt like a bit of a statement game from the guys in powder blue. The pitching matchup was a strong one as Chris Sale was tasked with keeping Cleveland quiet while the Braves had to figure out a way to take down Tanner Bibee.

As you can tell by the gaudy scoreline above, the Braves ended up taking Bibee and the rest of the Guardians’ pitching staff out behind the woodshed. This was Atlanta’s night nearly from the words “Play Ball,” as the Braves plated three runs in the second inning thanks to RBI doubles from Mauricio Dubón and Ronald Acuña Jr. and a Jorge Mateo RBI single sandwiched in there as well. Mateo drove in Dubón to make it 2-0 — just like we all predicted back in February, right?

The fun was nowhere near over after that second inning outburst. There were still a few more outbursts to come — Dominic Smith cracked a dinger to make it 5-0 in the fourth inning and then Atlanta pushed four more runs across the plate in the fifth inning with two runs on the board.

Bibee ended up with eight runs conceded off 11 hits and one walk allowed and things didn’t get much better for our old friend Kolby Allard, either. The Braves tagged him for five runs, with four of those coming in the eighth inning. Things really got out of hand at that point, as Atlanta loaded up the bases with nobody out to start the inning and took full advantage of it in order to bring them to their final tally of 13 runs on the night.

While the Braves were busy battering Bibee, Chris Sale went cruising as he eventually finished with six innings (including his 2,600th career strikeout) and just one run allowed. The Guardians put some traffic on the baepaths with eight hits against Sale but any time that they came close to getting something going, Sale would put the clamps down on Cleveland in order to keep the door shut. Cleveland went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and also left five runnings in scoring position throughout. The only breakthrough for the Guardians was a solo homer for Rhys Hoskins but all that did was make it a 9-1 game for the Braves at that point. outside of that, this was a dominant display from the Braves in front of a national audience on network television. Boom.

That’s about as comprehensive of a series win as you can get without it being a sweep. The Braves were clearly the better team across the course of three games and that’s even including the loss where the offense got completely blanked. Parker Messick’s brilliant start was essentially the exception rather than the rule for Cleveland in this series, as the Braves were otherwise locked in at the plate. Ronald Acuña Jr. racked up six hits across the three games with three of them being of the extra-base variety, no less. Austin Riley collected four hits in this series as well — those are two players who the Braves need to get rolling and if they both end up going on a tear in the near future, this could be the point in time that you could look at as being the genesis of it all.

The offense coming alive was huge since this wasn’t a completely pristine performance from the pitching staff. Chris Sale did a great job of limiting the damage that the Guardians threatened to do on Sunday night and Martín Pérez did well to cover five innings on Saturday evening. Outside of that, it was a bit of a shaky weekend for the pitching. Bryce Elder was lifted up by his lineup as he only made it through 4.2 innings on Friday night and the bullpen had a lot of work to do during the first two games of this series. It was mostly good work though and for what it’s worth, this staff as a whole has earned the benefit of the doubt to be less-than-perfect for a series after getting off to a fantastic start to begin the season. I’m not complaining too much since it’s not like the Braves had a disasterclass during this series on the mound but it’s also something to keep a close eye on going forward in terms of quality.

Outside of what feels like nitpicking, this was a fantastic series for the Braves. They’re now one of only three teams with 10 wins so far this season with the other two being the Dodgers (because, duh) and the Padres (who got off to flying start last season as well). Atlanta’s rough start to the 2025 season is a thing of the distant past as this Braves team. appears determined to make sure that whatever momentum they have lasts for as long as possible. They still have yet to drop a series but this upcoming week could be another tricky one. Atlanta will be hosting the Marlins up next and while they’ve slowed down and gone 3-7 over their last 10, this squad would love nothing more than to trip up the Braves early on. Once the Braves get done with Miami, they’ll be traveling to Philadelphia for the weekend and that’s always a tough trip in any given season.

The Braves will certainly have their work cut out for them when it comes to maintain this series winning streak but with the way this team has looked to start the season, would you wager against them keeping it going through this next week? We’ll have to see what happens but right now, this is a team that looks like it means business going forward. The uniforms look clean as well. Everything’s looking really spiffy right now, folks.

Michael Wacha was in control all night in a win on Saturday, writes Anne Rogers.

Since joining the Royals in 2024, Wacha has recorded a quality start in all seven outings against the White Sox. He’s pitched to a 1.31 ERA in that stretch, and has tossed seven scoreless frames in four of those seven starts.

“The efficiency was what was most impressive,” Quatraro said. “He was in control the whole game. Curve, changeup, putting the fastball where he wanted. That was a masterclass right there.”

Jaylon Thompson also writes about Wacha.

“I knew kind of going into it the stuff was moving good,” Wacha said. “I had some good command. Had a good game plan going into hit, me and Sal (catcher Salvador Perez). He was pressing the right buttons.”

He also writes about how Maikel Garcia is brimming with confidence these days.

“Maikel has been aggressive early in the count starting games …” Quatraro said. “If you are going to be ready to go and you get a good pitch to hit, let it rip.”

Garcia could be on his way to another All-Star nomination. And the big moments don’t faze him. He takes it all in stride — in large part due to his routine.

It works for him. Just as the Royals hoped it would. “I’m doing my routine and having confidence,” Garcia said. “I think that’s the key.”

He also talked to White Sox pitching coach Zach Bove about coming back to Kansas City, where he once coached.

Preston Farr takes a closer look at the offense.

The Royals are essentially in the same place as they were a year ago in runs scored, but there is some promise here in the underlying offensive metrics. The walk rate is the clear standout here. Only once (1973) have the Royals finished a season with a walk rate north of ten percent. 2002 was the last time the team even finished with a walk rate over 8%. Will it last all season? Only time will tell, but the Royals’ 15-game mark last season only finished 0.2% better than the team’s full-season mark (7.2%).

The barrel rate was highlighted as a concern early last season, but Kansas City has done well there thus far. The Royals rank fourth in that regard, behind only the Dodgers, Yankees, and Braves. 

Vahe Gregorian writes that the focus of the stadium search is on downtown, as it should be.

Plenty more pieces still need to be put in place to frame this one properly, of course.

Most of all, a clearer picture of the funding and just how the Royals would create more tangible benefits to the community.

Those would be essentials for both the city and Royals to prioritize and communicate, especially because a significant construction project there will mean years of inconvenience to nearby institutions before it comes to fruition. And just because the city and the Royals have sought to avoid a public vote doesn’t mean they don’t have a duty to be transparent and accountable. In fact, that seems all the more critical in this context if they want buy-in.

But at least the downtown-site part of the original premise is back in focus, and that’s where it should stay.

Thomas Friestad at the KC Business Journal writes that Mayor Quinton Lucas wants an aggressive timeline.

Mayor Quinton Lucas set a “very” aggressive goal to get a Kansas City Royals ballpark open at Washington Square Park by Opening Day 2030….

“There is time pressure,” he said. “This is the right way to get a deal done, looking at basically incentive tools, economic activity redirections, that sort of work to do it. And I think that’s why we’re saying now is the right time to make sure we can get this done. Fortunately, this gets us started on this before the World Cup kicks off.”

Charlie Keegan at KSHB has a bit more on potential transportation upgrades for a new ballpark.

Lexy French at Fox 4 has fan reactions to the idea.

Former Royals pitcher Hunter Harvey is back on the Injured List.

The Tigers sign former Royals outfielder Tyler Gentry.

Christian Yelich exits with a hamstring injury.

George Springer lands on the Injured List and the Blue Jays add Eloy Jimenez to the roster.

41-year-old Justin Turner signs with a team in the Mexican League.

What young stars are next to get a long-term contract extension.

Shohei Ohtani breaks Ichiro’s record for Japanese players with a 44-game on-base streak.

Zach Eflin looks to 2027 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai has arm fatigue.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. admits he didn’t understand baseball rules why trying to turn a double play.

Former MLB infielder and manager Phil Garner dies at the age of 76.

The Kansas Jayhawks baseball team wins their tenth in a row to take over first place in the Big 12.

The Indiana Fever re-sign Sophie Cunningham and Kelsey Plum is returning to the Sparks in a flurry of WNBA moves.

Why do we always remember how to ride a bike?

How Kodak is trying to turn things around after teetering on bankruptcy.

The New York Times looks at whether memes have already nuked our culture. [$]

Your song of the day is Mr. Big with Wild World.

Antonio Senzatela and Chase Dollander are two very different pitchers, but both have found themselves transitioning from starting to long relief over the last year.

For Senzatela, the move came after struggles over the last few seasons that saw him returning from a variety of health challenges, including Tommy John surgery. Finally in August, the Rockies re-envisioned his role as a pitcher and moved him to the bullpen. He had a chance to regain his spot in the rotation this spring, but was ultimately returned to the bullpen because he was not stretched out after his participation for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.

Although Dollander did not experience Senzatela’s physical challenges, he struggled in 2025 to be an effective MLB pitcher. In the spring, he battled against Ryan Feltner for the fifth opening in the starting rotation. Feltner ultimately won the job, and Dollander was kept on the roster as another long reliever. The Rockies see him as a starter long-term, but felt like this was the best way to allow him to progress. 

“We want Chase to develop at the big-league level, too, and feel like facing big-league hitters on a consistent basis is going to lead to his development better than it would in Triple-A at this point,” manager Warren Schaeffer said of the move at the time.

So far, through 15 games, both players have been thriving in different ways and are adjusting to their 2026 roles. Senzatela has made four appearances and has thrown nine innings while allowing just two hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts. Dollander has also made four appearances, allowing seven runs (all earned) on 14 hits with three home runs, four walks and 14 strikeouts over 13.2 innings.

“It’s different, for sure,” Dollander said. “When that phone rings, your heart gets pumping pretty quick. I mean, you have an idea of when you’re going to pitch, but you don’t have a definite clue of, ‘Hey, I’m pitching today’ It’s so funny when the phone rings because everybody’s just looking over at [Matt Buschmann] to see if it’s them being called.”

Senzatela has experience in the bullpen both from last season and from the WBC, but is feeling more comfortable.

“(The WBC helped) for sure,” Senzatela said. “Even last year, I threw a couple innings as a bullpen guy. I’m out there with the high-leverage situations, it gives my heart a little bump. So right now, it feels really good being in the bullpen and having that experience.”

And he has made some adjustments to his routine, knowing what his role is on this team.

“(I’ve made) different changes, because right now I have to be ready for any game everyday,” he said. “So I do like working and doing some stuff before heading out. It’s different, but it’s good. I’m feeling great right now.”

Additionally, Senzatela has made some sweeping changes to his arsenal – something that’s been limited for most of his career. Historically, Senzatela has used his four-seam fastball more than half the time. Now, he has six pitches and uses his four-seamer about one-third of the time instead.

“I was working in the (Push Performance) facility in Arizona,” he said. “We added two pitches, and we’re still working on it, but so far so good.”

Dollander hasn’t made a lot of changes, but he’s been getting good advice from Buschmann throughout the game.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “He and I have had some really good conversations, just whether it’s just about life or if it’s about, ‘Hey, this is what your routine needs to look like’ or if he has suggestions as to what I should do to get warmed up for the game, or if he thinks that I’m going to be in the game today or not. He’s really smart with that kind of stuff.”

And Dollander and Senzatela have turned to each other since they’re both in the same boat of being starters-turned-long-relievers.

“We’ve talked a little bit,” Dollander said. “We’ve both said it’s very different from starting, but at the same time, it’s a lot more fun. Well, not more fun – starting is really fun and being in the bullpen with all the guys is really fun, too. There’s definitely different aspects of it, but I think we’re both just trying to have fun with it, to be honest.”

“I just started (saying) we need to be ready for any time,” Senzatela said. “We’ve enjoyed time together out there and we’re just trying to be the best we can on the mound so we can have another opportunity.”

Schaeffer has noticed a change in Dollander so far in his new role, and he likes what he sees.

“I think any big spot that you’re going to see Chase in and you see results like that, and he continues to attack the zone, I think is maturation for sure,” Schaeffer said last Saturday. “The other part that I liked with him tonight is the consistent one line to the plate. I mean, that’s a different Chase to enter this year.”

And specifically, he doesn’t see these long relievers as ‘eating innings’ – he sees them as an important part of the entire pitching staff.

“I think it’s huge, specifically in April in Coors Field,” Schaeffer said. “It takes a load off of our bullpen to be able to do that and to have guys go out there and attack the strike zone. Hopefully we see a more rested bullpen in August and September because of this. But it’s not just eating innings with these guys. Those were high-leverage innings for Chase. That’s not eating, he’s out there to get a win.”

In addition, Dollander is learning important lessons in the bullpen that he can take back with him to the rotation.

“I think for me, it’s going to be just the mindset of staying on the attack and being aggressive,” he said, “because when you come out of the pen, it’s like, ‘all right, you have this many innings to work with and you need to get through those innings.’ So I have to come out with my best stuff and I’m going to be aggressive with it.”

But most importantly, “last year, obviously, is what it is and you can’t change it. But this year, I’m very, very much more confident in my abilities and myself just because of all the work that I’ve put in this offseason.”

There hasn’t been any indication of when Dollander will return to the rotation, but both he and Senzatela have made the most out of their opportunities and will hopefully continue to do well in their current roles.

On the Farm

Triple-A:Albuquerque Isotopes 19, El Paso Chihuahuas 12 (F/10)

While the Rockies had an anemic offense in San Diego, the Isotopes had the opposite. They racked up 19 runs on 17 hits against the Chihuahuas’ 12 runs on 13 hits. Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP) went 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and four RBI. Ryan Ritter went 1-for-6 with a home run, two runs scored, two RBI and two strikeouts. Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) went 2-for-6 with two runs scored, one RBI and one strikeout. Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) continued his torrid Triple-A affair, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, three RBI, one walk and one strikeout. He also hit a three-run homer, his fourth in 10 games. On the pitching side, Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP) went six innings and allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts and two home runs. Welinton Herrera (No. 17 PuRP) ended up with the win, though, after he pitched two innings with nothing but three strikeouts.

Double-A:Reading Fightin’ Phils 6, Hartford Yard Goats 3

The Yard Goats came up short against the Fightin’ Phils. Aidan Longwell, Conner Capel and Andy Perez all recorded two hits, and Capel also had an RBI (as did Skyler Messinger). The third run was scored on a throwing error in the first inning. On the pitching side, only Cade Denton pitched unscathed. Granted, he only pitched 0.1 innings, but the other three pitchers all gave up at least one run (Eiberson Castellano and Alberto Pacheco each gave up multiple).

High-A:Hillsboro Hops 5, Spokane Indians 2

The Indians also came up short against the Hops, going 1-for-9 with RISP and leaving 12 men on base. Jacob Humphreys and Alan Espinal each recorded two hits, while Robert Calaz (No. 6 PuRP), Kevin Fitzer and Kelvin Hidalgo each recorded one. The worst thing, though, is that the Indians struck out 17 times. The Indians used two pitchers — LHP Everett Catlett and RHP Hunter Mann — and neither escaped unscathed.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 11, Stockton Ports 1

The Fresno Grizzlies were outstanding last night. The pitching staff combined for just five hits and 13 strikeouts without walking a single batter and only allowing one run. Angel Jimenez gave up the run — a single in the third to Bobby Blandford — but Ethan Cole and Austin Emener shut things down. Emener in particular pitched two innings without allowing a single hit while striking out four. On the offensive side, Jack O’Dowd and Matt Klein each home runs. Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) hit a triple and Luis Mendez hit a double. Brito, Klein and O’Dowd also each had two RBIs. Offensively, they struck out seven times.

Rockies’ Kyle Freeland wears 10 years of pitching at Coors Field with pride | Denver Post ($)

Patrick Saunders profiles Kyle Freeland in his 10th season with the Rockies not only through his own eyes, but also through the eyes of some Rockies alumni — Aaron Cook and Jason Jennings.

Monfort brothers confronted a break-up before selling 40% stake to Broncos owners | Denver Gazette ($)

Dick and Charlie Monfort surprised a lot of folks when they sold 40% of the Rockies to the Penner Sports Group on Friday. Mark Kiszla details some of the behind-the-scenes things that led to this moment.

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