Category: MLB

Introduction

On February 5th, 2026 Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen sent fan favorite infielder Blaze Alexander to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for relief pitcher Kade Strowd, along with two minor league prospects, RHP Wellington Aracena and infielder Jose Mejia. It definitely hasn’t been long enough to evaluate this trade fairly, and won’t be for a few years, but I am going to try to do that today anyway.

How’s Blaze doing for the Orioles anyway?

Blaze Alexander has appeared in 36 games for the Baltimore Orioles, He’s seen time at every fielding position other than catcher, first base and pitcher, and as a result, his defensive stats have really taken hit. This is pretty clearly demonstrated by his Def stat on Fangraphs (which includes the positional adjustment) going from a positive 2.7 for the Diamondbacks in 2025 to -2.7 in 2026. Looking over his advanced fielding stats at each position, Blaze is still an above average fielder at third base, and possibly at the two corner outfield positions, but he’s a well below average fielder anywhere else in the field. Blaze’s defense would be fine if he was taking steps forward and growing as a hitter, but that’s not what we’ve been seeing through his first 100 plate appearances. He’s hitting .244/.299/.289 with a 70 wRC+, 69 OPS+, and a .271 wOBA; combined with his defensive decline, that puts his seasons value at -0.1 fWAR.

It’s actually not all doom and gloom for Blaze, as he’s actually been hitting the ball harder with a max EV a full 2.2 MPH faster than his highs in previous seasons. His expected wOBA (.306), expected Batting Average (.281), and expected Slugging Percentage (.350) do give some indication that he’s been somewhat unlucky as well. I think Blaze has the potential to turn it around if the Orioles leave him at a defensive position he’s actually comfortable at.

Okay, that’s cool, but what about the players the D’Backs acquired?

First up, there’s Kade Strowd, who was assigned to the AAA affiliate Reno Aces after not making the MLB Roster out of spring. Strowd has been an effective reliever for the Aces so far in the 14 games he’s appeared in. He’s put up a 2.40 ERA, though that does come with a significantly higher 4.17 FIP and xFIP, so I would expect that ERA to go up. Strowd seems like a solid candidate to be called up eventually this season, especially if there are any injuries in the bullpen.

RHP Wellington Aracena was assigned to the A+ Level Hillsboro Hops. There he’s started 5 games, but appeared in 6, pitching 18 ⅓ IP with a 2.95 ERA, a 3.58 FIP, 3.61 xFIP, and a 64 ERA-. In other words, he’s been an above average pitcher so far. Aracena has stood out to me thanks to an insane 32.4 strikeout percentage, in addition to his other stats above.

Finally, there’s 2nd baseman Jose Mejia, who has stood out the most to me, thanks to his performance at the plate in 2026. In 32 games and 132 plate appearances for the D’Backs A ball level affiliate Visalia Rawhide, Mejia is hitting .308/.455/.500 with a .442 wOBA and 152 wRC+. Mejia is sporting an excellent 19.5 walk percentage, along with a more than acceptable 15.9 strikeout percentage. Mejia has been an above average hitter throughout his minor league career, ans hiis .363 BABIP is well in line with his career norms, so this isn’t a case of a fluke hot streak. Mejia appears to legitimately be one of the better hitters in the Diamondbacks farm system.

Conclusion

While none of the players acquired are currently on the MLB roster for the Dbacks, the results so far in 2026 from each player make this trade look more and more promising as time goes by. Kade Strowd should be a useful bullpen piece in the very near future, with Aracena hopefully doing the same a few seasons down the line. Mejia looks like a guy who should climb the Dbacks top prospect list, though he plays a position that the Dbacks are absolutely stacked at currently. Meanwhile Blaze Alexander is currently struggling for the Orioles and may be sent down to the Minors sooner rather than later if his struggles continue.

It’s still way too early, but right now this looks like one of the better long term moves that GM Mike Hazen made over the offseason.

You better run. Those three words were the only thought racing through pinch-hitter Alex Call’s head when he laced a pitch from San Francisco Giants reliever Matt Gage into right field.

The two-run single, which gave the Dodgers the lead, sparked a three-run rally in the sixth inning that concluded when Miguel Rojas drove in Call on a single to center field.

“It felt like I hit it,” said Call, who initially hesitated to run after making contact. “But I guess I just didn't quite see it off the bat, and I'm like looking for it, keep looking up, and then all of a sudden I hear the crowd get really loud.”

Call's single helped the Dodgers beat the Giants 5-2 on Thursday night, reclaiming first in the National League West after San Diego lost to Milwaukee. The Dodgers also escaped a third straight series loss at home ahead of their weekend road series against the Angels.

Read more:Kiké Hernández 'little bit shocked' by reception in Albuquerque while on rehab assignment

Call wasn’t the only Dodger who thrived under pressure. Designated hitter Will Smith, whom Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described earlier in the day as “unflappable,” hit from the leadoff spot for the first time in his career and homered to right-center field in the first inning to set the tone for the series-splitting win.

“That was nice, huh?” Roberts said. “Like I said before the game, just to be able to plug him in, you feel confident that no matter what, he’s going to give you his best. And I didn’t expect a homer, but it was a good way to start.”

The decision to put Smith in the leadoff spot allowed Roberts to maximize the 31-year-old’s plate appearances without moving other players after Shohei Ohtani was held out of the lineup.

The Dodgers (26-18) are trying to lighten Ohtani's workload after his recent struggles at the plate. It’s the first time a healthy Ohtani has been out of back-to-back batting orders, except for the paternity list, since the universal designated hitter rule was implemented in 2022.

Though the Dodgers outlasted the Giants (18-26) without Ohtani's help, the team’s compounded mistakes almost cost it a win.

In the second inning, the bottom of the lineup strung together two hits to score Max Muncy, who reached on a walk. However, after Miguel Rojas softly hit a ground ball to Giants starter Landen Roupp, Teoscar Hernández found himself stranded in no-man’s land after running toward home from third — there was no force play at the plate.

Rojas, who stood on the basepath, slammed his helmet down in frustration after Smith struck out to end the inning.

Rojas wasn't the only one upset. Dalton Rushing was shown on the game broadcast breaking his bat in the dugout and slamming his leg guard on the back bench after striking out in the fourth inning. Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan shared some words of encouragement with the catcher and patted him on the back.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani holds Giants scoreless, Dodgers' bats heat up to snap losing streak

“He was frustrated obviously with that at-bat,” Sheehan said. “We just wanted to let him know that he’s good and we still got work to do.”

Despite striking out three times in three at-bats, Rushing continued to work well with Sheehan.

Sheehan gave up just two earned runs and two hits with six strikeouts and two walks over six innings. He produced a 50% whiff rate with his slider, and his four-seam dotted the zone 73% of the time.

“Every time he’s been going out there, he’s getting better,” Roberts said. “And today was his best outing in totality. The fastball was good, the life to it, the command of it. I thought Dalton did a great job with him, in the sense of when to use a curveball, when to use a change-up, when to use a fastball, and we needed it.”

With a four pitch arsenal, Sheehan put together three hitless innings before San Francisco’s Rafael Devers hit a one-out single to left field.

From there, things got worse. In the fifth, Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run when Hernández misread the ball off the left-field wall in foul territory, allowing the ball to roll past him. Rojas' relay throw was too high for Rushing to catch, and Lee slid into home to become the first Giants player to hit an inside-the-park homer at Dodger Stadium.

But the Dodgers responded in the sixth. After Max Muncy reached base on a force out at second and was moved over to third on a single from Hernández, Alex Call delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single to right field. Rojas then blooped a ball over the infield to drive in Call.

“This game at the end of the day is about results,” Call said. “Sometimes you just have to let it play out and just play baseball. Sometimes you just have to get through the tough stuff. We're doing a great job in here and no one's losing faith in anybody.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers scored three runs in the sixth inning to back a strong start by Emmet Sheehan to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium and salvage a series split after dropping the first two games.

Teoscar Hernández figured prominently on both sides of the ball in and around left field on Thursday, and it was his third hit of the night that finally chased San Francisco starter Landen Roupp with one out in the sixth inning with a tie score and runners on second and third base.

Left-hander Matt Gage was called in for his third appearance of the series and struck out lefty-hitting Dalton Rushing for the second out of the frame. Alex Call, a right-handed batter, pinch-hit for Hyeseong Kim, and dunked a single into short right field to give the Dodgers their second lead of the night, and he took second base on the throw home. Call scored on the second single of the game by Miguel Rojas, who started at shortstop for Mookie Betts.

It took until the sixth inning of the seventh and final game, but the three runs in the sixth marked the Dodgers’ largest-scoring frame of the homestand.

Hernández had no extra-base hits in his previous 15 games before this series, but doubled twice on Thursday, including a third-inning ball to the right field wall that set up another run. Hernández was caught between third base and home later in the frame, when Rojas attempted a safety squeeze but bunted it right back to pitcher Landen Roupp. Rojas was so displeased with the bunt that he slammed his helmet to the dirt when the inning ended one out later without another run scoring.

Sheehan was effective all night against the Giants, inducing 19 swinging strikes — his second-most in a start this season — including 10 whiffs on the fastball and seven on the slider. That fueled Sheehan’s six strikeouts in six innings in which he nearly escaped unscathed.

San Francisco didn’t get a hit off Sheehan until Rafael Devers dropped a bloop single into shallow left field in the fourth inning. Sheehan walked a pair, both after 0-2 counts, including one in the fifth to Drew Gilbert. The second hit against Sheehan was another properly placed looper into left field, this one by Jung Hoo Lee that somehow managed to scoot past Hernández for an inside-the-park two-run home run.

Instead of a 2-0 lead in which Sheehan was relatively cruising, suddenly the game was tied. But he rebounded to retire his next four batters to complete six innings for the third time this season.

Sheehan famously pitched six scoreless no-hit innings against the Giants in his major league debut at Dodger Stadium in 2023, and has allowed only four runs and five hits with 31 strikeouts in 28 innings against them for a 1.29 ERA in five career games, including four career starts.

Notes

• Call has four hits in six at-bats as a pinch-hitter this season, including a double. Rest of the Dodgers have two hits in 25 pinch-hit at-bats.
• Hernández in the series had three multi-hit games and three total doubles in the four games.
• With Shohei Ohtani sitting, Will Smith got the start at designated hitter on Thursday after catching the first three games. Smith batted leadoff for the first time in his career and homered in the first inning.

Thursday particulars

Home runs: Will Smith (4); Jung Hoo Lee (3)

WP — Emmet Sheehan (3-1): 6 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP — Landen Roupp (5-4): 5 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

Sv — Tanner Scott (4): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts

Up next

Technically the Dodgers are on the road next, though close enough for many to still sleep at home, starting a three-game series against the Angels on Friday night (6:38 p.m.; SportsNet LA, KTTV channel 11) in Anaheim. Blake Snell goes in the opener, with Jack Kochanowicz on the mound for the Halos.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were silenced by the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), 6-5.

Starter Doug Nikhazy struggled with control tonight, walking seven batters in just 3.1 innings. But he kept the Sounds to only two hits and two runs. He struck out four.

Luis Peralta pitched the seventh inning, gave up an unearned run on no hits and took the loss. He walked one and struck out one.

The I-Cubs rally in the top of the ninth fell short. I don’t normally, or ever, show the highlights of the opposing team, but I will make an exception in this case. This is the deep fly that Justin Dean hit that Jordyn Adams turned into a game-ending double play.

Dean was 1 for 4 with the sacrifice fly. He also scored one run.

Pedro Ramírez started this game in left field, the first time he’s played the position since four games with South Bend 2024. He did move to third base in the eighth inning after BJ Murray was pinch-run for. Anyway, Ramírez went 4 for 5 with a stolen base. He scored one run and drove in one.

Murray went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He also had one RBI and one run scored.

First baseman Jonathon Long was 2 for 5 with one run scored.

Catcher Christian Bethancourt was 2 for 4 with a walk.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies poached the Columbus Clingstones (Braves), 5-1.

Jake Knapp was activated off the injured list and got the Smokies off to a good start. Knapp did not allow a run or a hit over 2.2 innings. He struck out five and walked just one.

Knapp was relieved after 45 pitches by Jace Beck, who pitched the next three innings and got the win. Beck allowed one unearned run on two hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. pitched the next 2.1 innings without allowing a run and Evan Taylor threw a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation.

Left fielder Carter Trice hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning. It was Trice’s second-straight game with a home run, his third in four games and his fifth overall. Trice went 1 for 5.

In the second inning, catcher Ethan Hearn connected for a solo home run, his second on the year. Hearn was 2 for 4.

In the third inning, the Smokies smashed their third home run of the game. This one came with a man on and off the bat of right fielder Alex Ramírez. It was his third home run of the season. Ramírez was 2 for 5 with three overall runs batted in.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs called the exterminator on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 25-6. No, that’s not a typo.

South Bend actually fell behind in this game early as starter Ethan Flanagan allowed three runs in the bottom of the first. But Flanagan settled down and finished with three runs on five hits over four innings. He walked two, hit one batter and struck out five.

South Bend came back to take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but Kevin Valdez coughed up the lead with two runs in that frame. However, Valdez got the win because South Bend scored 19 runs from the seventh through the ninth inning. Valdez’s final line was two runs on two hits over three innings. He struck out an excellent seven batters while walking two.

The Cubs scored 25 runs on 20 hits and 15 walks. South Bend scored one run in the fourth, two in the fifth, three in the sixth, four in the seventh, nine in the eighth and six more in the ninth. Only in the ninth inning did the Rattlers throw a position player on the mound.

Matt Halbach gave the Cubs a charge in the seventh inning with a three-run home run, his third of the year. Wisconsin literally couldn’t get Halbach out as he went 5 for 5 with two walks tonight. Halbach drove in six runs and scored five times.

Catcher Justin Stransky hit a grand slam in the ninth off of the position player. It was his second on the season. Stransky went 1 for 3 with two walks. He scored twice and had five total runs batted in.

Left fielder Kane Kepley was 4 for 5 with two walks and four stolen bases. He now has 23 steals in 29 games. Kepley scored five runs and drove in two.

Right fielder Leonel Espinoza went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. He also stole one base. Espinoza score twice and drove in two.

Center fielder Kade Snell was 2 for 5 with two walks. Snell scored four runs and drove in two.

Second baseman Alex Madera went 2 for 3 with three walks. Madera drove home three and scored two times.

Shortstop Christian Olivo was 2 for 6 with a triple and a steal. He scored two runs and had two RBI.

Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

Here are some early highlights.

Halbach’s home run.

And here’s the nine-run eighth.

The six-run ninth.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans shot five-under par against the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 6-1.

Starter Dominick Reid tossed six scoreless innings and got the win. Reid surrendered just one hit and faced just one batter over the minimum. The one hit was an infield single in the fourth and that runner was thrown out trying to steal. The other baserunner was an error in the sixth. Reid struck out four.

Left fielder Geuri Lubo clubbed a two-run home run in the second inning, his first with the Pelicans and second overall. Lubo was 1 for 4.

Right fielder Josiah Hartshorn hit his fifth home run of the year. It came with a man on in the seventh. Hartshorn was 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the third, giving him four overall RBI.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Hernandez scored twice.

Highlights.

ACL Cubs

Beat the Padres, 10-9.

The Yankees made it almost a month into the season without any real injury concerns. They have spent the three weeks since making up for that.

Max Fried became the latest and most important piece to enter an MRI tube Thursday, with the Yankees’ hopes and dreams potentially riding on the result of it.

Fried left Wednesday’s start in Baltimore after just three innings due to left elbow posterior soreness.

While the left-hander insisted he was “not too worried about a super long-term thing,” Thursday’s imaging and examination by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad would have the final say on that.

Even if the tests rule out the worst, it would be somewhat surprising if Fried was able to make his next start Tuesday in The Bronx against the Blue Jays, meaning the Yankees would likely need a spot starter for at least a turn or two until Gerrit Cole is ready to come off the injured list, likely by the end of this month.

With some strong rotation depth, the Yankees are in a position to withstand a short-term Fried absence.

The top candidates to replace him, should he need a stint on the injured list, would be Elmer Rodríguez and Brendan Beck.

Rodríguez, who made two spot starts after Luis Gil (now on the IL at Triple-A with shoulder inflammation) was optioned and before Carlos Rodón returned, is scheduled to start Saturday for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Beck started there Wednesday, meaning Tuesday would be his regular day to pitch if needed.

Both Rodríguez and Beck would only be eligible to be recalled if they are replacing an injured player, since they were both optioned within the last 15 days.

Fried, meanwhile, became the latest Yankees injury worry after Giancarlo Stanton, Jasson Domínguez and José Caballero all landed on the IL within the last three weeks.

Caballero’s injury was the most recent, suffering a fracture in his right middle finger Sunday, although he also is expected to be the first to return from the IL — as soon as his 10 days are up, if it is up to him.

The Atlanta Braves were unable to come away with the series sweep after Thursday’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Chris Sale got the start, where he threw six innings. He allowed an unearned run, walked two, and recorded eight strikeouts.

On the other side of the ball, the Braves’ bats were quiet, with the offense tallying just five hits on the night. The Chicago bullpen was not messing around and sat down the Braves as soon as they walked to the plate. 

Atlanta fell to 30-14 on the season but despite the loss, still managed to win the series over the NL Central-leading Cubs. 

More Braves News:

The Braves wrap up the homestand with a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox. Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, and Grant Holmes are expected to start. 

Walt Weiss discussed several lessons learned from Bobby Cox.

Eric Hartman continues to shine for the Rome Emperors, this time robbing a home run. More in the minor league recap.

MLB News:

The Washington Nationals signed left-hander Alex Young to a minor league deal. For now, he has been assigned to the Florida Coast League but will make the transition to Triple-A.

The Athletics have acquired lefty Jose Suarez from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash. Prior to the Mariners, Suarez was a Brave, but he was designated for assignment earlier this month. 

For the first time in his career, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has been placed on the 10-day injured list. He is dealing with an oblique strain, and there is not yet a timetable for his return.

From the Feed:

After Thursday’s low-scoring series finale, cast your vote for Braves player of the game. 

LOS ANGELES — Two nights after Eric Haase etched his name in the lore of the Giants’ rivalry with the Dodgers as the first San Francisco catcher to homer twice in one game at Dodger Stadium, his teammate made more history in the same venue.

Only, Jung Hoo Lee took the long way.

What looked like a bloop hit that landed on the warning track down the left-field line morphed into the first inside-the-park home run by a Giant inside their arch rivals’ ballpark, rounding the bases while Teoscar Hernandez gave chase as the ball careened away from him in the left-field corner.

The Giants outfielder dove across home plate as the throw from cutoff man Miguel Rojas sailed over catcher Dalton Rushing’s head, completing his 360-foot sprint around the base paths that tied the score at 2 in the fifth inning of the finale of the four-game series Thursday night.

That, however, proved to be the only highlight — and one of just two Giants hits — in a 5-2 loss, splitting the series two games apiece.

“It was fun. I mean, it was a meaningful moment because it tied the game,” manager Tony Vitello said. “[We] were doing anything to fight and get on base.”

JUNG HOO LEE INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN!

TIE GAME! pic.twitter.com/Bu2CkdQvVv

— MLB (@MLB) May 15, 2026

Despite Hernandez’s misplay, there was no error assigned on the play, resulting in a rulebook inside-the-park home run — the first-ever by a Giant inside Dodger Stadium and the first by a San Francisco player since Patrick Bailey walked off the Phillies at Oracle Park last July.

“I got lucky, for sure,” Lee said through a team interpreter.

The Giants caught a break in more ways than one on the play.

Lee fought off a tough 0-2 fastball at the top of the zone from Emmet Sheehan with an inside-out swing that resulted in an exit velocity of only 73.2 mph. It would have been a difficult play to make on the fly, and when the ball bounced on the warning track dirt, it came up inches short of going into the stands, which would have put an end to the play and resulted in a ground-rule double.

Instead, the ball bounced off the wall in foul territory and away from Hernandez toward the Dodgers’ bullpen. Hernandez recovered and made a strong throw to Rojas, but the relay was late and off-line.

Giants third base coach Hector Borg windmilled Lee home. Catcher Eric Haase, who started the play on first base, scored easily. Luis Arráez, who was standing on deck, laid prone on the ground, signaling to Lee to get down. The headfirst dive ended up only as an unnecessary flourish.

Lee showed more emotion than usual upon returning to the dugout, emphatically slapping hands with his teammates, a few of whom had poured out to greet him.

“I’m not one of those players that show a lot of emotion on the field,” Lee said. “But that two-run home run tied the game. It just came out from inside of me.”

The third-year outfielder from Korea displayed more fire earlier in the series, uppercutting the air with his right fist and letting out a yell after a two-RBI double in the Giants’ win Tuesday night.

“Jungy’s really come out of his shell I think the last couple months,” Vitello said. “Anytime you see him emotional, it’s pretty fun.”

The inside-the-parker was Lee’s third homer of any variety this season and the first time in his career — dating all the way back to youth ball, he said — that he recorded one in that fashion.

There hadn’t been an inside-the-parker from anyone at Dodger Stadium, let alone their chief rivals, since Nick Ahmed did it on May 9, 2018. The last Giants player to do it against the Dodgers came at Candlestick Park, all the way back in 1981, by Larry Herndon off Fernando Valenzuela.

The Little League-style home run resulted in the Giants’ only runs off Sheehan, who otherwise mostly breezed through six innings. Their only other hit came on an equally weak piece of contact — another bloop hit, a single that dropped into shallow left field off the bat of Rafael Devers.

“When [Sheehan] is mid-90s and it’s up in the zone, it’s a challenge to lay off,” Vitello said. “He combines it with a pretty good slider and a couple other pitches tonight. But it’s really about that combo. He was pretty good. We chased up and made him better.”

Sheehan also hit a batter and walked two, including the other run that came home to score on the play.

Hernandez, for his part, quickly made up for the defensive blunder with his bat.

The Dodgers’ slugger had already doubled twice when he came up for a third time and proceeded to reach second again — although it was later ruled a single — putting runners on second and third and knocking San Francisco starter Landen Roupp out of the game with one out in the sixth.

Two batters later, Hernandez came around to score on two-run single to right from pinch-hitter Alex Call, effectively negating Lee’s two-run homer and giving the Dodgers the lead again, 4-2.

“It definitely got us back into the game, for sure,” Roupp said. “I kind of feel bad about giving it up.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bring on the Cubs.

Since Aiden Ruiz was 2 years old, his mom has had to battle with her little slugger to take off his baseball uniform, which he wore with pride after every Little League game.

“He would fight with me to take his cleats off,” Christina Ruiz told The Post. 

“I had to let him take a nap so I could get his cleats off, so he could go to bed.”

It was a clear foreshadowing that the Stony Brook School’s standout shortstop had a bright future on the diamond after senior year, as Ruiz has lots of noise around his name ahead of the 2026 MLB draft in July.

“That was always a dream,” said Ruiz, the 38th-ranked draft prospect by Major League Baseball.

“I’ve always had that self-confidence when I step on the field that I can turn the game around,” added the soon-to-be high school grad, who is 19 because of a double eighth-grade year due to COVID.

With ease for Ruiz 

Ruiz is no stranger to big moments and bigger personalities; the Vanderbilt commit won gold with Team USA in the World Championship and was named All-World shortstop in 2025, has played with the Yankees Area Code team, and trained with his “mentor,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor. 

“We always talk about fielding,” Ruiz said of getting to know Lindor. “It’s always cool to meet your heroes.” 

He’s also close pals with former teammate and University of Virginia ace Jayden Stroman, son of former Yankees and Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman, who had a stint at Stony Brook before transferring to play public school ball at Patchogue-Medford in 2025.

“That bond over the years, pushing each other to be better and learning the game together,” Ruiz said. “It definitely strengthened our friendship.”

He and Stroman have been on the same teams and in the opposite dugouts since they were both 12, and they’re eager to mix it up again in the NCAA one day — should Ruiz have to wait a bit to hear his name called for the bigs, that is.

“It would be sick. That’s definitely something we’ve talked about before.”

Heading for home 

Ruiz is next in a family lineage that treated baseball as second only to God in their Woodhaven, Queens, home. It’s there where he would field hard-hit balls meant for his older brother, Daniel, as a toddler.

“I had a bat and glove in my hand for as long as I could remember,” Ruiz said, adding that his whole family rooted for both the Yankees and Mets in the interest of watching good baseball.

His dad, Sam, played in the minors for the White Sox in the 1980s; Daniel played in college at Ohio Northern a decade ago; his sister, Alyssa, was a competitive high school softball player; and his mom was a longtime softball coach in the World’s Borough. 

Ruiz proudly wears No. 45, as Daniel and Alyssa did.

Most of all, Ruiz’s late grandfather, Sandalio, truly put the love for the game into Sam and Aiden since he left Puerto Rico for a new life in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, decades ago.  

“My dad was there for every single game since the sandlot,” said Sam, who also played second base and outfield in the Mets and Marlins systems but never reached the majors. 

Sandalio, who was also at each of Aiden’s games, predicted a brighter future for his grandson.

“My father would look at me and playfully say, ‘You know he’s better than you, right?’ ” Sam laughed.

Ruiz said losing his beloved grandfather and “the glue to our family” in middle school was the most difficult stretch he ever fought through. Sam added that he deeply regrets that Sandalio isn’t here to see his grandson’s promising days ahead.

Fortunately, dealing with the loss isn’t something Aiden had to do alone, as Sam was always there and gladly carried on the family tradition even years later. 

“He would drive up here every day this whole year to work out with me before practice,” Aiden said.

“Just being on the diamond with my dad, it was special. … We spent hours a day, every single day, on the field together,” he added of their years together.

The family is bursting with anticipation for the full-circle moment, hoping to receive good news in July rather than waiting for Ruiz’s next opportunity, which would come after his sophomore year with the Commodores. 

Hardly anybody is more excited than Ruiz’s grandma, Hilda, Sandalio’s longtime wife.

“She always said she’s holding on to watch me get drafted,” said Ruiz. “She’s my motivation to keep working hard and play the game.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4-1, White Sox.

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

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

Final score: 6-2 White Sox.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let us know below!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

One more game to finish off the homestand.

Thursday game info

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, not Red Sox fans. But everyone else.

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