Category: MLB

The San Diego Padres nearly let this one slip.

After a devastating 12-7 loss that included the Arizona Diamondbacks scoring 11 unanswered runs on Sunday, the Friars quickly got back in the win column with a 9-7 victory over the red-hot Chicago Cubs.

Both starters were tagged for five runs, but the Friars had the final say with a two-run rally in the fifth and three more for insurance in the seventh and eighth innings.

Vásquez earned the win after throwing five innings in (arguably) his worst start of the season. Thankfully the offense slugged their way to a Padres win.

It was a needed one after Sunday’s bullpen blowup. Though last night came with reliever drama of its own as Mason Miller’s historic scoreless streak came to an end only one game after the closer took the Padres’ franchise record. That end came on a controversial foul ball call from both home plate umpire Dan Merzel and third base umpire Shane Livensparger.

In spite of all that, the Friars still managed to lock down a win and will look to take the series tonight with Walker Buehler on the bump for San Diego.

Taking the mound

Edward Cabrera (CHC) v. Walker Buehler (SD)

Cabrera has gotten off to an incredible start with his new club. After being traded to Chicago this offseason from the Miami Marlins, Cabrera was viewed as a significant upgrade for a Cubs starting rotation that desperately needed some impact starters.

He’s been exactly that thus far, posting a 2.73 ERA across 29 2/3 innings pitched. That being said, he’s struggled in his last few starts, giving up a total of 11 runs in his last 18 innings. He’s given up three or more earned runs in each of his last three outings.

If the Padres can get to Cabrera’s elite changeup, or wait on a secondary pitch to hit, they’ll be able to at least score some runs to give Buehler a cushion.

Speaking of the righty, Buehler has been woefully inconsistent to say the least. He’s struggled to a 5.75 ERA, vacillating between giving up four-plus runs and pitching a scoreless six innings. It’s difficult to say which version the Friar Faithful will get tonight.

Buehler has been hurt by this Cubs lineup before, so he’ll have to turn it up a notch and return to form tonight if the Padres are hoping to stay in the game.

Batter up!

Jake Cronenworth was out of yesterday’s lineup on a rest day. His bat has been incredibly quiet lately. But the lefty owns a .429 career batting average versus Cabrera. Perhaps tonight’s matchup might heat up his offense.

But, beyond that, it’s probably business as usual:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Xander Bogaerts, SS
5. Gavin Sheets, 1B
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Ty France, 3B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

Machado had a hot weekend in Mexico City, slugging two home runs in Sunday’s series finale. He kept that up last night with a 3-for-4 night against the Cubs. But he exited last night with an apparent leg injury. Manager Craig Stammen said that they took him out as a precaution but they may give him an off day anyways.

France took over for him at the hot corner and handled it quite well. He also has been on a tear lately, with two homers and a .333 batting average in his last seven games. Last night, France went 2-for-3 with a triple and recorded four RBI.

He’s been fighting for a spot on the roster with the possibility of Sung-Mun Song being called up from Triple-A any day. So far, though, his bat has been loud.

Relief corps

Stammen used all three of his highest-leverage pitchers last night to get through the final four innings. Vásquez stumbled but came through for five full innings. So Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam combined for three innings before Miller was trusted with the ninth in a non-save situation.

It’s a shock Stammen didn’t get ejected for the first time in his managerial tenure with San Diego. His arguing of the foul call seemed quite close, though the skipper has been known to keep a very level head even in high-stress moments like that one.

The Padres came close to losing last night’s game, though it never felt that way. With Miller on the mound, it never feels uncertain — and that’s a tough thing to find in the game of baseball.

Regardless of how that final inning shook out, today is a new day. And the Friars have plenty of options to turn to. Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez are the first guys available out of the ‘pen.

The latter four combined to give up 10 runs (and the game) to the D-backs on Sunday’s loss. They’ll be hoping for a bounce back performance tonight against Chicago, as will the Friar Faithful.

The St. Louis Cardinals will have a hard time topping their come-from-behind thriller Monday night when they scored 4 ninth inning runs to beat Pittsburgh 4-2. However, maybe they can score some runs before the 9th inning Tuesday night when Kyle Leahy gets the start for St. Louis. Braxton Ashcraft will take the mound for the Pirates. First pitch at PNC Park in Pittsburgh is set for 5:40pm central time.

After breaking a three-game losing streak on Sunday, the Brewers are back tonight to continue their homestand. Next up are the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in for a three-game series.

For the Brewers, Chad Patrick is on the mound tonight. He’s coming off of a rough appearance in Detroit where he allowed four runs in four innings. Other than that appearance, he’s been good this season, allowing zero or one runs in his other four appearances. For the Diamondbacks, Merrill Kelly is making his third start of the season. He’s coming off of a bad start against the White Sox, allowing eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Prior to tonight’s game, we received several injury updates on the Brewers’ roster from Pat Murphy:

• Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn are both scheduled to begin rehab appearances tomorrow night with Triple-A Nashville. Their expected return is on Monday, May 4.
• Quinn Priester is throwing a side session tomorrow and will make his next rehab start on Friday. He’s expected to throw “four ups” and around 60-65 pitches. As for his command issues, they are normal in a return from the type of injury he is recovering from.
• Christian Yelich remains on schedule in his recovery. He’s in the process of ramping up his hitting and running program, and is estimated to return in late May.
• Jared Koenig is expected to begin a throwing program today. He’s not expected to return until late May to early June.

The batting orders continue to cycle for the Brewers, as they will continue with their streak of not using the same lineup in two different games this season. Garrett Mitchell gets his second chance as the leadoff hitter tonight, with William Contreras and Brice Turang batting second and third. Tyler Black is batting cleanup as the DH with Jake Bauers behind him fifth. Brandon Lockridge, Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, and Joey Ortiz round out the lineup.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

New series on deck

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ

→ https://t.co/mvGXoRMTFSpic.twitter.com/TeGhPWhcRk

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 28, 2026

📍Milwaukee pic.twitter.com/zb2M2D4o7Q

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 28, 2026

The San Francisco Giants head east today to begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Tyler Mahle, who enters today’s game with a 5.26 ERA, 5.78 FIP, with 26 strikeouts to 14 walks in 25.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers last Wednesday, in which he allowed just three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven innings.

He’ll be facing off against Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo, who enters today’s game with a 6.91 ERA, 3.24 FIP, with 33 strikeouts to nine walks in 27.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Phillies’ 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs last Tuesday, in which he allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks in four and two thirds innings.

Game #29

Who: San Francisco Giants (13-15) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (9-19)

Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

When: 3:40 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

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

Mets lineup

Bo Bichette – 3B
Juan Soto – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C
MJ Melendez – LF
Mark Vientos – 1B
Brett Baty – RF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Carson Benge – CF
Ronny Mauricio – SS

Clay Holmes – RHP

Nationals lineup

James Wood – RF
Luis Garcia – 1B
Brady House – DH
CJ Abrams – SS
Daylen Lile – LF
Jacob Young – CF
Jorbit Vivas – 3B
Drew Millas – C
Nasim Nunez – 2B

Zack Littell – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Tonight begins the third series in a row in which the O’s face a team currently sitting in last place in its division. It’s unusual to find the Astros resembling that remark, as they’ve been consistently good for the better part of a decade, making the playoffs eight times in the last ten years.

The problem for Houston this year is its pitching. They enter this series ranked last in the majors in ERA, with a 5.97 team mark. That comprises an especially bad 6.31 bullpen ERA, but their rotation is also second-to-last in ERA, as well. That is a lot of bad pitching.

On the other hand, the Astros also have a league-leading 15 players on the IL. So there are reasons for the struggles. And a few stars are carrying the team, anyway. Yordan Alvarez has been going ham (no one still says that, right?), with an MLB-leading 1.220 OPS and 11 homers (tied for second with Aaron Judge) in 29 games. Former Oriole Christian Walker is also hitting annoyingly well, with a .946 OPS and seven home runs. Carlos Correa, reunited with the team that drafted him, is hitting .281, although not for much power, and José Altuve continues to be good (.260 BA/.358 OBP/.413 SLG).

Tonight’s Astros starter is Taiwan product Kai-Wei Teng. The bad news: he’s been good. The good news: he hasn’t started a game yet this season, and he’s not a left-hander (against whom the O’s are 0-6). The 27-year-old from Taiwan was traded from San Francisco to Houston this offseason, and the results have been there in 11 appearances out of the bullpen (1-1, 2.16 ERA). Teng’s four-seam fastball sits at 94.5 mph and sets up a dominant sweeper, easily his best pitch. Opponents have just an .074 average against it.

So far this season, Teng’s high pitch count is 39. Still, this may be less an opener gambit by Houston than a desperation move given a lack of other available options. If Teng can give the Astros 60 pitches, they’ll probably be happy with that. I’m curious to see how that translates multiple times through the order.

It would be super neat if Shane Baz turned in his first great start as an Oriole. In five starts, his best so far was one run allowed over 5.2 innings against the Pirates, a game the Orioles still managed to lose. Three times he’s allowed four runs and three runs the other time. Baz rounding into form would be more for the sake of the 2026 Orioles season than about winning the trade or the extension, although obviously it would be nice for the O’s if those things happen, as well.

Baz’s offspeed stuff has been a particular problem—but then, I checked and hitters are averaging .333 or better against all of his pitches but the cutter. He’s allowing more line drives than at any point in his career, which is a risk against a power-heavy lineup like Houston’s. One thing to be said in his favor: a .360 BABIP is just crazy bad luck. Perhaps tonight’s lineup—featuring three real outfielders—may help Baz bring that number down into manageable territory.

Orioles lineup

1. Gunnar Henderson, SS
2. Taylor Ward, LF
3. Adley Rutschman, C
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. Samuel Basallo, DH
6. Leody Taveras CF
7. Dylan Beavers, RF
8. Coby Mayo, 3B
9. Jeremiah Jackson, 2B

RHP Shane Baz (0-2, 5.08 ERA)

Astros lineup

1. Carlos Correa, SS
2. Yordan Alvarez, DH
3. Isaac Paredes, 3B
4. José Altuve, 2B
5. Christian Walker, 1B
6. Yainer Díaz, C
7. Dustin Harris, LF
8. Cam Smith, RF
9. Brice Matthews, CF

RHP Kai-Wei Teng (1-1, 2.16 ERA)

Here’s the Rays’ lineup:

Rays 4/28

C. Simpson LF
J. Caminero 3B
J. Aranda 1B
Y. Díaz DH
J. Fraley RF
C. Mullins CF
N. Fortes C
R. Palacios 2B
T. Walls SS

N. Martinez SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) April 28, 2026

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

First pitch is at 8:10 AM, Aussies.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/2XdXEWYMVD

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 28, 2026

Let’s go, Guardians!

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

Here's how we lineup#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/M3EJNqg5JG

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 28, 2026

For the Giants:

On the road again

⌚️: 3:40 p.m. PT
📍: Philadelphia, PA
📺: @NBCSGiants
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaColapic.twitter.com/vJM0yKb7NQ

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 28, 2026

Let’s talk about.

The Houston Astros (11-18) begin a 6-game road trip tonight with the first game of a 3-game series against the Baltimore Orioles (13-15) at Camden Yards.

RHP Kai-Wei Teng (1-1, 2.16 ERA) will make his first start and 12th appearance of the season as he takes on Orioles starter RHP Shane Baz (0-2, 5.08 ERA).

ABOUT TENG: RHP Kai-Wei Teng makes his first start of the season tonight after beginning the season in the Astros bullpen.

In his 11 appearances out of the pen, he went 1-1 with 2.16 ERA (4ER/16.IP).

Tough To Hit:Teng has posted a .155 opponents batting avg., allowing just 9 hits in his 16.2 IP.

Last Appearance:Was on 4/25 vs. NYY (0.1 IP, 1 ER).

As A Starter:Teng has made 7 ML starts in his career, all while with SF in 2025.

Last Start: Teng’s last start was on Sept. 20, 2025 at Dodgers Stadium (ND, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO).

Fun Facts: With his first ML win on Aug. 8, 2025 vs. WAS, Teng became the 8th Taiwanese-born pitcher in MLB history to earn a victory. Teng is the 2nd Taiwanese-born player/ pitcher to play for the Astros, joining RHP Chien Jen-Lo (2013).

VS. THE O’S: Tonight is the first of 6 scheduled matchups vs. the Orioles this season.

The Astros were 4-3 vs. BAL in 2025 with a 3-1 mark at Camden Yards when the two clubs last faced, Aug. 21-24.

Following the current series, the two clubs will next meet for a 3-game set at Daikin Park, July 17-19.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Astros are on the road again for a 6-game trip following brief, 3-game homestand vs. NYY (Fri-Sun.).

After this 3-game series ends on Thursday, HOU will head to Beantown for a 3-game series vs. the Red Sox at Fenway Park this weekend.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Astros lead the AL in most key offensive categories: Runs (151), AVG (.259), OPS (.783), Doubles (63), OBP (.345), SLG (.438), Total Bases (430).

CAMDEN CRUSHER:Jose Altuve has a .377 (60×169) career avg. at Camden Yards with .444/.616/1.060 splits in 38 games. His .377 avg and 1.060 OPS at Camden Yards rank 2nd-best all-time, using a minimum of 150 ABs.

Vs. The O’s: Additionally, Altuve’s .321 career avg. vs. the Orioles overall is his 2nd-best vs. any AL club and his 6th-best vs. any MLB club overall.

Altuve has posted aa .300+ career batting avg. vs. 15 opposing teams.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Jose Altuve, who played his 2,000th career game on April 21 at CLE, is approaching more career milestones.

He needs 3 RBI to become the 5th player in franchise history to reach 900.

With 238 career HR, he needs one more to tie Lou Whitaker for 7th place all-time among 2nd basemen.

MAN ON FIRE:Yordan Alvarez has had a torrid start to this season, hitting .358 with 11 HR and 26 RBI. In addition to batting avg. and RBI, Alvarez also leads the AL in OPS (1.220), Offensive WAR (1.9), SLG (.755), OBP (.465) and Total Bases (80)….

Additionally, Alvarez also has the longest current hitting streak in the Majors at 12 games (.400, 20×50, 5 HR), his career best was a 13-game streak, May 2-16, 2023.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER:Christian Walker is hitting .417 (10×24) over the past week (since 4/20) with 3 HR and 7 RBI.

Walker was 6×12 (.500) in the series over the weekend vs. NYY with 5 RBI.

Among The Leaders: For the season, Walker enters tonight ranked T-3rd in the AL in RBI (23), 5th in SLG (.573), 6th in TB (59), 7th in OPS (.946) and 8th in doubles (8).

GUN ‘EM DOWN: In just 14 games (11 starts), C Christian Vázquez has thrown out seven baserunners attempting to steal (in 14 attempts), ranking tied for second in the AL in that category.

THE ORDER: The Astros have used 29 different batting orders in their 28 games so far this season.

Only LF Yordan Alvarez has started every game in the same spot in the lineup (second).

STALKING THE PUMA: LF Yordan Alvarez has matched the Astros franchise record with 11 home runs in the club’s first 29 games of a season, a feat he also accomplished in the 2022 season.

The only other Astro with 11 homers with the club’s first 29 games was OF Lance Berkman, who did so in both 2002 and 2006.

ON THE MEND:RHP Cody Bolton began a rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land on Sunday. In his outing, he allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk in 2.0 innings.

OF Zach Dezenzo also went 0x4 with a walk on Sunday with Sugar Land in his rehab appearance.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY:2000 – In Milwaukee, RHP Chris Holt turns in the best performance of his career with a 1-hit, 7-0 shutout of the Brewers. The only hit allowed by Holt was a Ron Belliard single in the 2nd inning.

1998 – In the Dome, a 10th-inning, walk-off single by Sean Berry lifts the Astros to a 4-3, come-from-behind win over the Mets. The Astros trailed, 3-1 entering the bottom of the 9th before rallying for 2 runs off Mets closer John Franco to tie it.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Tuesday, April 28, 5:35 p.m. CST

Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KTRH 740 AM & 99.1 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

📍: BAL

⚾️: 5:35pm CDT
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 | Spanish: 102.9 HD2#ChaseTheFight x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/ZPXEcW6wUX

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 28, 2026

How we’re lining up this Tuesday ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/0saOy0EicB

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 28, 2026

Go Rays!

The Colorado Rockies are surely feeling good about life since they are coming off a three-game sweep of the New York Mets at Citi Field. Worth noting, Colorado sits at 13-16 on the season, their best start through 29 games since 2022, when they got off to a 16-13 start.

In addition, the Rockies are 26 games into a 29-game stretch since March 30 against teams that finished the 2025 season with a winning record. They have gone 13-13 thus far, a marked improvement over 2025.

Tonight, the Rockies hope their good fortune will continue as they travel to play the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series.

Starting for the Rockies is Kyle Freeland, who is just off the IL with some shoulder issues. This will be his fourth start for the Rockies in 2026.

The lefty has a 2.30 ERA in 15.2 IP. He’s struck out 13, walked four, and given up one home run. Freeland has a 1.09 WHIP. 

Taking the mound for the Reds will be RHP Chase Burns.

Currently, he has an ERA of 2.57 in 28.0 IP. He’s struck out 30 while giving up 11 walks and four home runs with a 1.07 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 4:40 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

SB Nation Site:Red Reporter

Lineups:

For the visiting Rockies:

And the home Reds:

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St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, April 28, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet-PIT

Pitching Matchup: Kyle Leahy (2-3, 5.63 ERA) vs. TBD

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home hosting the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon at beautiful PNC Park.

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The Mets hadn’t officially listed who their starting pitcher would be for the second game of their series against the Nationals until this afternoon, but it’s official now: David Peterson is getting the start. The 30-year-old lefty had lost his rotation spot after a string of very bad outings, but he’s fared better working multiple innings in relief over his last couple of appearances.

In four starts before moving into the bullpen/bulk role, Peterson had a rather unsightly 6.41 ERA with a 3.33 FIP that suggested he deserved better results and a 5.01 xERA that suggested slightly less ugly results. In those two appearances out of the bullpen after the Mets used Tobias Myers as an opener, Peterson threw a total of 7.0 innings with a 1.29 ERA, a 4.99 FIP, and a 4.07 xERA.

With Kodai Senga having gone on the injured list this afternoon and Christian Scott having been called back up following a poor outing in his first major league start in two years, Peterson will clearly get a shot at sticking in the rotation. In the short term, at least, they don’t have a ton of options, and Peterson and Scott will presumably serve in a five-man rotation alongside Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Freddy Peralta.

Justin Steele had Tommy John surgery just about a year ago. So, most were hoping he could come back to the Cubs rotation sometime in late May or early June.

That, apparently, will not be happening:

As mentioned on ESPN 1000 a few minutes ago, Cubs pitcher Justin Steele has had a setback, per sources. He's shutdown for the time being. Steele was recovering from elbow surgery and is eligble to come off the IL around Memorial Day. That could be in jeopardy.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) April 28, 2026

We don’t really know anything beyond this, yet. A “setback” could be a few days, or a few weeks, or longer, we just don’t know. “Shut down” could last… well, again, we don’t know.

It’s fortunate that the Cubs rotation, put together mostly by patchwork at this point, has been doing pretty well. Entering tonight’s game against the Padres, the Cubs starters have a 4.18 ERA, which is middle of the pack (14th) among all teams, just behind the Rangers at 4.17.

Obviously the Cubs would like this ranking to improve.

One thing that almost certainly will NOT happen anytime soon is a trade for a starter who would improve the rotation. No team is going to be trading a quality starting pitcher before the end of April.

So the Cubs will have to hope that Shōta Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Colin Rea and Jameson Taillon can hold things together until July, when there likely will be starters on the market. Or maybe Steele can be ready to return after the All-Star break.

As always, we await developments. Today’s game preview will post at 6:30 p.m. CT.

In addition to mentioning that Juan Soto is dealing with forearm tightness in his pregame press availability, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that fellow outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is dealing with lower back tightness. The team considers him day-to-day at the moment.

The perpetually-injured Robert is in his age-28 season, his first in Queens as he came to the organization in a trade with the White Sox over the offseason. Over the course of his major league career, he’s topped out at 145 games played in a single season, and his next-best total was 110. Over the last five seasons, he’s averaged 104 games played per year.

On top of the injury concerns, Robert came into this season with back-to-back 84 wRC+ seasons to his name in 2024 and 2025 in Chicago. He’s off to a slightly better start than that with a .224/.327/.329 line and a 94 wRC+, but he’s been worth just 0.2 fWAR and hasn’t looked the part of a stellar defender in center field.

Still, with Francisco Lindor out of the Mets’ lineup for the foreseeable future, the last thing the Mets need is another injured player. Here’s hoping Robert ends up being fine and returning in a matter of days, but it won’t be shocking if he ends up missing more time than that given his track record.