Apr 26, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) is visited on the mound by pitching coach Jordan Tiegs (83) and catcher Danny Jansen (9) during the fifth inning against the Athletics at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Good morning.
Shawn McFarland writes about what we learned regarding the Texas Rangers as they went 3-3 at home over the last week.
Kennedi Landry writes that Kumar Rocker recorded a second consecutive quality start in a unfortunate losing effort.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 7: Reynaldo López #40 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting Jorge Soler (12) of the Los Angeles Angels with a pitch at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 7, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Reynaldo Lopez mechanics saga is, well, a saga.
First, we had his diminished velocity in Spring Training due to “mechanics” rather than injury or something else that persisted, as he was throwing in the high 90s in this 2026 debut. That debut went well without Lopez pitching all that well, but he looked and pitched much better in starts three and four, until essentially a career-worst outing in Washington upended the nascent trend of effectiveness and threw everything into question.
Since then, Lopez has been on a rotation hiatus, but really, a pitching hiatus. He was warming up in the bullpen in Sunday’s win over the Phillies, but didn’t make it into the game. The explanation? It involves “mechanics” again.
So, because I have no idea and am hoping someone else will do the work for me: what mechanical issues are we talking about, exactly? Mechanics have now been attributed to Lopez’ wide variance in fastball velocity from pitch to pitch and game to game, but also his overall effectiveness. I can’t tell whether it’s meant to be a vague catchall for everything under the sun, i.e., he’s not effective and we’re not sure why but he doesn’t want to go to on the Injured List, or whether there really is something that he’s unable to fix in a side session. Anyone have any ideas?
By all accounts, Alex Cora is a good manager as far as these things go. Dan is correct in that you really can’t predict or even properly judge a manager’s contributions except in obvious outlier situations, but the buzz around Cora has always been positive. His strongest claim to fame is winning a World Series with one of greatest teams of all time, credit for which can go whichever way one is inclined. Did the manager inspire or ride the team to greatness?
Cora landed on the positive side of that unknowable gulf, having come out of the 2018 season with an incredible reputation that persists to this day even if it doesn’t necessarily stand up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, that was followed by a yearlong suspension by MLB for his role in the Astros’ cheating fuckery, leading him to being fired by the Sox, which honestly was probably a blessing given that the “season” he ended up missing was 2020, which was a fake idea (the playoffs were good tho). But let’s assume for purposes of this column it wasn’t and say getting fired for cheating was generally bad for his career.
So when Cora returned as the Red Sox manager in November 2020, several months and a “full” MLB season later during which the Mookie Betts-led Dodgers won it all, it was understandable from both sides. The Sox had been terrible and Cora needed to rebuild his reputation. But the last time Cora had suited up for the Sox, Betts was on the team. Cora knew the environment into which he was walking. He was returning to Dysfunction Junction.
Fast-forward to second Instagram post following his shock dismissal on Saturday, a reel of Mookie Betts talking about the business of baseball in Boston. I wasn’t moved. He came back into the fold with eyes wide open with respect to John Henry and Sam Kennedy — a Massachusetts Milhouse crossed with Walnut St. Wormtongue — and has been kicked to the curb like so many before him, including Betts and Rafael Devers. He didn’t appear to be too upset or surprised about it in the first post, that’s for sure:
It was, as I wrote on Saturday, probably just time for him to move on, but the Red Sox, in their inimitable way, botched it completely. And let me tell you something: the nostalgia dopamine blast for this nonsense I had for this was amazing. It wasn’t just a throwback to the more recent FSG fuckery. I’m 48 years old, which is older than most of you, and pre-FSG this was the norm. It’s sort of unreal that the Sox won 5 titles between 1900 and 1918 and 4 between 2000 and 2018 and decided, exactly 100 years apart, to aggressively self-sabotage. Billy Shakes would be proud; Claude could never. Even in the misery, life is beautiful, in its way.
But I don’t feel bad for Cora. He came back because they gave him money and power because they were chasing their tail, which they continue to do. Live by the disinterested billionaire and his quietly power-mad protege, die by them. Henry is cooked. Kennedy’s job is obscuring that, and he’s running out of other people to blame. Breslow is a patsy, one who’s supremely aloof but better at his job than his predecessor. But on the subject of Chaim Bloom I can firmly now say that I might have been too hard on you, given how absurd your bosses were.
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 19: Jacob Melton #29 of the Tampa Bay Rays looks on in the dugout prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Mets at Clover Park on Thursday, March 19, 2026 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
This was the 3rd week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Sunday, April 26th).
According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), 22-year old backstop Caden Bodine continues to be the top hitter in the Rays system; the Rays acquired the former 1st round pick in the Shane Baz deal. Bodine is currently hitting .408/.457/.662 with 3 HR over 83 PA; notably, he has only struck out twice (2.4%).
Meanwhile, Aidan Cremarosa is still the team’s top minor league pitcher. The 22-year old was taken by the Rays in the 8th round of the 2025 draft out of Fresno State. Thus far over four starts, Cremarosa has a 3.60 ERA | 1.76 FIP with a 39.5 K% & 3.7 BB% over 20 IP.
RUMBLINGS
SO MANY INJURIES
Jacob Melton looked awkward rounding third base and had to be assisted off the field. The injury would be disclosed as a sprained ankle and he is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Daniel Pierce was placed on the 7-day Injured List
Brendan Summerhill was placed the 7-day Injured List.
Other players placed on the IL (Some of these were last week):
RHP Jacob Kisting, RHP Nate Knowles, C Brady Donay, OF James Quinn-Irons, RHP Luke Jackson, & LHP Drew Dowd.
Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.
(minimum of 30 TBF for pitchers)
Tampa Bay Rays
Top 10 Prospects
None currently on active roster
Durham Bulls
Team Offensive Leaders: AVG: .323, Victor Mesa Jr OBP: .417, Victor Mesa Jr SLG: .565, Victor Mesa Jr HR: 4,Justyn-Henry Malloy and Dom Keegan wRC+: 157, Victor Mesa Jr SB: 17, Jacob Melton
Team Pitching Leaders: ERA: 0.00, Trevor Martin FIP: 2.93, Andrew Wantz K%: 35.3%, Logan Workman BB%: 9.0%, Chase Solesky WHIP: 1.12, Kodi Whitley AVG: .171, Trevor Martin WHIFF%: 16.0%, Alex Cook
4/23: Suffered sprained ankle. Expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Montgomery Biscuits
Team Offensive Leaders: AVG: .306, Cooper Kinney OBP: .431, Xavier Isaac SLG: .571, Xavier Isaac HR: 4, Will Simpson & Xavier Isaac wRC+: 159, Xavier Isaac SB: 18, Austin Overn
Team Pitching Leaders: ERA: 1.80, Michael Forret FIP: 2.79, Derrick Edington K%: 29.7%, Santiago Suarez BB%: 2.4%, Tommy McCollum WHIP 0.73, Garrett Edwards AVG: .130, Garrett Edwards WHIFF%: 14.2%, Santiago Suarez
Team Offensive Leaders: AVG: .364, Nathan Flewelling OBP: .464, Tony Santa Maria SLG: .867, Theo Gillen HR: 6, Theo Gillen & Connor Hujsak wRC+: 213, Theo Gillen SB: 9, Tony Santa Maria
Team Pitching Leaders: ERA: 0.93, Andres Galan FIP: 2.05, Anderson Brito K%: 32.8%, Anderson Brito BB%: 6.3%, Anderson Brito WHIP: 1.2, Andres Galan AVG: .216, Trevor Harrison & Andres Galan WHIFF%: 14.7%, Anderson Brito
Apr 26, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) in the dugout during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Boston Red Sox pulled the trigger on a major coaching staff change this weekend when they fired manager Alex Cora and several assistant coaches. There is a brewing player revolt happening because of it, but the Red Sox made the decision to move in a different direction. They’re not playing particularly well and since you can’t fire the players, the “next best thing” was the option the front office chose.
Should the Phillies be considering a similar move?
If this was something they were truly going to think about, the time is probably right to do so. They have had a dreadful road trip that saw them end it with a 9-19 record, the entire operation feels stagnant at this time and there are actual reasons to do something. Maybe that involves Rob Thomson’s job being on the line, maybe it involves Kevin Long looking for his next place of employment. Maybe even Caleb Cotham should start sweating a little more than usual.
Would they actually do it? I’m not so sure about that.
BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 25: Colton Cowser #17 of the Baltimore Orioles at bat against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 25, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Elias was pretty clear that Cowser isn’t going anywhere. “He’s frustrated,” Elias said “We know the talent level is there, he’s frustrated. Right now, he’s helping us, and we need him on the team.”
It is obvious to everyone that Cowser has not played up to his expectations or, as Elias said, his talent level. One month into the season, that has forced the Orioles to upend their planned outfield rotation, and it has Cowser’s future with the club in doubt, at least externally.
For the first two weeks of the season, Cowser was the team’s everyday center fielder. Since April 10, he has been used exclusively in the corner outfield spots. And even more recently, he has been treated like a fourth outfielder rather than a starter at all. Over the Orioles’ last 11 games, Cowser has started just four of them. He didn’t start any of the games against the Red Sox this weekend, not even the one against a right-handed starter coming out of an off day.
It’s hard to make an argument for Cowser to play any more than he is. The numbers just aren’t good enough. He owns a .200/.274/.236 batting line with two doubles, zero home runs, six walks, and 20 strikeouts.
Strikeouts have always been a problem for Cowser. His 31.7% K-rate this year is actually better than his career number (32.2%), though both are awful. And, as usual, he is pairing it with a fine walk rate (9.5%). The bigger problem is that he has shown no power in 2026. As a rookie, Cowser popped 24 home runs and had a .447 slugging percentage. Last year he hit 16 homers and had a .385 slug despite a myriad of injuries. This year his slugging percentage is the dumps at .236 and he is yet to go deep.
What has saved the Orioles center field position from being an offensive black hole yet again is the presence of Leody Taveras. Signed for $2 million this past offseason, the expectation was for Taveras to be a depth option across the outfield. Instead, he has earned the everyday spot in center with his .288/.400/.441 batting line that includes two home runs, 15 RBI, 11 walks, and 14 strikeouts.
This version of Taveras is much different than the one that found success with the World Series-winning Rangers in 2023. That year saw him post a 101 wRC+ while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center. This year, he has a 141 wRC+ and is just passable in the field.
How long can Taveras keep this offensive production up? That’s where things get tricky. His 15.5% walk rate is more than double his career rate (6.9%), and he has a .349 BABIP. Negative regression is probably coming for both of those numbers. He also has below average exit velocities, barrel rates, and hard hit rates.
We may be seeing the numbers start to slip already. Taveras is hitting .143/.217/.286 over his last 23 plate appearances. That has brought his season OPS from 1.016 on April 18 to .841 today. One bad week isn’t enough to take Taveras out of the lineup, especially with Cowser still scuffling. But it could be a warning sign that the Orioles need to figure something out in center field.
Dylan Beavers and Blaze Alexander are the other two Orioles that have played in center this year. Neither looks like a natural fit at the position, and should probably only be used there in emergency situations. But it could be an avenue to go down when one of them is hot at the plate and manager Craig Albernaz is looking to juice his lineup. That seemed to be the logic for Beavers to start there on Sunday.
Down in Triple-A Norfolk, there are two center field options that are at least somewhat intriguing.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. was the team’s top draft pick in 2023. He came out of Vanderbilt as an old school lead-off type. It’s good bat control, limited power, but elite speed and a great glove. The Orioles probably hoped for better batting averages out of Bradfield—he hit .242 last year and is at .224 so far this year—but he still walks a lot and can steal a base at any time. If you need a sparkplug type, he could be the answer. It just might be more a of bottom-of-the-order type of bat than a lead-off man.
Jud Fabian is another name to watch, though probably not an everyday solution. The Orioles coveted Fabian in the 2021 draft, but the Red Sox swooped in and took him instead. He declined to sign with them, returning to Florida for a year, which allowed the Orioles to get their man the following year. The guy is lauded for his physical skills, but has always been killed for his lack of a hit tool. That hasn’t changed this year. He is striking out 29.6% of the time, but he is also walking a ton (21.4%) and has shown tremendous power (five home runs, .440 SLG). The glove and arm are good too. He feels like a fourth outfielder type, but could plug and play with the O’s pretty soon.
Elias didn’t pursue any other center field upgrades this offseason beyond Taveras. He seemingly assumed that Cowser would be fine, and when he needed a breather the club had suitable fill-ins. All the while Bradfield could further develop and prove worthy of being the heir-apparent at the position. For now, that has been a reasonable solution. But if Taveras’ production dries up, which it may already be doing, it will exploit a hole in the Orioles roster than many pointed out all winter long.
Columbus Clippers Travis Bazzana (12) throws the ball to first base during home opener at Huntington Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Pedro Avila was tagged for five runs in the second inning of game one of the doubleheader, pretty much removing any chance of Columbus getting back into the game.
Nolan Jones went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk while Kody Huff homered and walked. Petey Halpin also reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
Game two was much more fun. Starting pitcher Logan Allen allowed four runs on six hits through 5.1 innings, but the bullpen was sensational after that. Daniel Espino pitched a scoreless 0.2 innings, coming in mid-inning for the first time with a strikeout.
Franco Aleman followed with a scoreless inning and a pair of strikeout to send the game to extra innings and Tanner Burns was downright sensational, striking out all three batters he faced in the 10th inning to earn his second save of the season.
Offensively, Juan Benjamin blasted off for his second home run of the season and he timed it perfectly in extra innings to give Columbus the lead.
Ralphy Velazquez had a solid game, going 2-for-5 with a walk and three RBIs while Jacob Cozart went 2-for-3 with three walks to reach base a whopping five times.Alex Mooney went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base while Jose Devers went 2-for-4 with a walk. Conner Barstad also walked three times and was hit by a pitch.
Starting pitcher Khal Stephen didn’t have his best stuff and also was a bit unlucky with sequencing. He only allowed three hits and walked one, but he gave up four runs in 4.0 innings with six strikeouts.
Adam Tulloch, Carter Rustad and Jack Carey all had scoreless appearances in relief.
I know I talk about him every time he starts, but Justin Campbell is too good to still be at High-A. He pitched 3.0 nearly immaculate innings on Sunday with four strikeouts, no walks, no runs allowed and just one hit allowed.
Melkis Hernandez followed and was solid, allowing one run on two hits in 4.0 innings while striking out five and walking three.
Luis Flores held on to preserve the win, allowing a pair of runs in his two innings of work to get a save.
Offensively, Lake County didn’t have any major standouts, but everyone contributed. The team’s nine hits were spread between eight players and the one player who didn’t get a hit (Dean Curley) walked three times.
Jace LaViolette went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, Aaron Walton went 1-for-3 with a double and was hit by two pitches. Nolan Schubart went 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch. Ryan Cesarini went 1-for-4 with a walk. Bennett Thompson went 1-for-3 with two walks.
Esteban Gonzalez only went 1-for-5, but he blasted a two-run home run. Jeffrey Mercedes went 2-for-4 and Spencer Howe doubled and stole a base.
You can learn a lot about a team by how they perform against some of the best teams, and Hill City proved itself Sunday against the then 15-5 Hickory Crawdads. who have one of the best records in minor league baseball.
Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Howlers rallied for four runs to tie the game, then held Hickory scoreless in the 10th and 11th innings before walking off in the bottom of the 11th to earn a massive come-from-behind victory.
The walk-off wasn’t anything particularly crazy. Robert Arias was the ghost runner and advanced to third base on a balk before trotting home on a game-winning sacrifice fly from Juneiker Caceres.
How Hill City tied the game was more exciting. The Howlers loaded the bases with no one out, then Anthony Martinez walked to bring in the first run. Jose Pirela then was hit by a pitch to bring in the second run. Tyler Howard walked to bring in run No. 3 and Jhorvic Abreus hit into a 4-6-3 double play, which scored the tying run.
Incredibly, Hill City managed nine runs on just four hits thanks in part to walking a whopping 13 times and getting hit by one pitch.
Caceres went 1-for-3 with two walks and the game-winning sacrifice fly. Robert Arias was a beast, going 1-for-3 with three walks and two stolen bases. Martinez went 0-for-2, but walked three times as well. The lone extra base hit came from Abreus, who doubled and walked. Yerlin Luis also walked twice and stole a base.
Starting pitcher Chase Mobley didn’t have his best stuff, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and no strikeouts in 2.0 innings.
The first four pitchers all allowed runs, but the back half of the bullpen locked things down, not allowing a single hit or run over the game’s final 4.1 innings.
Wes Burton pitched 1.1 perfect frames with a strikeout. Miguel Flores pitched a perfect scoreless ninth inning with a strikeout and most impressively, Angel Perez didn’t allow a run in either the 10th or 11th innings despite starting both with a ghost runner on second base.
This is the lab. In the lab we do experiments. Sometimes it is the moral and ethical equivalent of shining a magnifying glass on an ant. In other times, it is a little more serious. I should note that when I put things like this in the lab, it is not proceeded by “the Astros should…” or “the Astros should not….” This is not a hot take. If it were a hot take I certainly would not put it in a lab.
What we are looking at here is ultimately the value of a superstar. Branch Rickey is obviously known as the executive that broke the color barrier. He was also an executive with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He infamously told Ralph Kiner that he could finish in last with him or without him. We have obviously seen the huge numbers that Yordan Alvarez has put up and I have spent the last two labs comparing those numbers with the rest of the team and the best hitters in baseball history.
Obviously, if the Astros were shopping Alvarez it would be big news. There have been a few superstar level moves in baseball over the last several years. Heck, Juan Soto was involved in two of those deals as the teams that held him cashed in with prospects. I shouldn’t have to tell anyone that if Yordan became available, there would be at least a half dozen teams waiting in line to make their offer. So, what would a Yordan Alvarez trade even look like?
We should start by accurately pegging his value. Last time, we saw that he is on pace to get close to 12 wins at the pace he is currently at. However, that is not horribly realistic. The best thing we can do is look at what he has done and project from there. There are two ways to do this. We can look at the WAR numbers and project those over 150 games or we can look at the traditional hitting numbers and do the same.
Yordan Alvarez: 25.8 FWAR in 703 career games through Thursday, 5.5 FWAR per 150 games Yordan Alvarez: .298/.392/.580, 39 HR, 96 Runs, 111 RBI, 2 SB, 78 BB
Those are pretty sparkling numbers. We could surmise that this is a career season for Yordan and he might be closer to a seven or eight win player. This is where things get more dicey than what we might think. It would be simplistic to suggest that you want something equivalent to seven or eight wins to break even on the exchange. However, that misunderstands the designation of a replacement level player. The players coming up to replace injured bench players are replacement level players. Most teams are not employing those players as regulars and the Astros are no different.
I hate to pick sides in a debate over metrics because that would taint the lab and its purpose. However, most sabermetricians seem to prefer Fangraph’s WAR over baseball-reference.com’s WAR. Again, I use both because I like getting a cross-section of thought on a player. In this case, we will use FWAR just to keep everything simple. Below would be the Astros regular lineup according to their 2025 FWAR numbers when Yordan Alvarez is removed from the equation.
FWAR
C Yainer Diaz
1.6
1B Christian Walker
1.1
2B Jose Altuve
2.1
3B Carlos Correa
2.6
SS Jeremy Pena
5.7
LF Joey Loperfido*
0.8
CF Jake Meyers
2.3
RF Cam Smith
1.0
DH Isaac Paredes
2.4
Asterisk: Joey Loperfido’s 2024 and 2025 FWARs were combined to simulate the number of plate appearances he would likely get in a full season.
So, as you can see, none of the regulars would be a replacement level player, so you are not starting at zero. The effective difference between Loperfido and Yordan would be an average of five wins and maybe closer to six or seven wins this season alone. I have to emphasize again that we are not simply looking for six or seven wins. We are looking for players that would be six or seven wins better than the players they are replacing.
For instance, if you wanted to upgrade at catcher then you would take the wins above 1.6 as the net improvement. So, a three win catcher is not a net three wins. It would be a net 1.4 wins. As you might imagine, it would be a group of players (likely three or four) that you would hope would combine to add six or seven wins of value to make up for the six or seven wins you are losing. One could easily look at the lineup and pitching staff and identify the spots where an upgrade would be nice. I’d surmise at least one of the players would be a pitcher if not two. The thinner outfield would also be a place where they would likely add.
Unfortunately, that would not be the end of the ledger on any such trade. A look at the wins added would also have to include the element of time. Yordan would have considerable value this season as someone under contract through the 2028 season on a pretty friendly hometown discount (6 years, 115 million). So, we are not only talking about the seven or eight wins he would produce this season, but also those same wins in 2027 and 2028. If we assume Loperfido is fixed at about a win then the Astros would need to recuperate conservatively 18 wins total.
The good news is that they wouldn’t have to do this only through 2028. The players they would likely get back with have more club control than Yordan. If those players were on the younger side then you would be talking five or six seasons of club control remaining for each player. So, three or four players with an average of five seasons of club control each would need to add 18 net wins over the span of those five seasons.
For instance, the tale of the tape on the Kyle Tucker trade is still ongoing. The Cubs got 4.5 wins out of Tucker last season which is probably three to 3.5 wins more than a marginal starter would have gotten. However, the Astros get the services of Cam Smith for six seasons, Isaac Paredes for this year and next year, and Hayden Wesneski for three additional seasons after this year. The Astros have not recouped the four wins yet, but they have through 2030 to recoup a grand total of four wins.
Obviously, the downside is bringing in prospects that produce zero wins. That is always the chance you take with these kinds of deals. However, while it seems foolish to think that you could get bang for your buck when you trade a superstar, the math actually works out more often than not. Naturally, math is not making these trades and it is a lot harder to do because you have to pick the right prospects and accept the fallout of trading a superstar player. Keep in mind, this is a lab experiment where we explain the math behind a theoretical deal. I am not advocating trading Yordan and I’m certainly not predicting it. What do you think? Could we ever recoup that value back?
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 26: Jake Burger #21 of the Texas Rangers walks back to the dugout after striking out in the fourth inning against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on April 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A’s 2, Rangers 1
And back to .500.
So far this year, the Rangers have been at .500 eight times. Well, nine, if you count Opening Day, which I don’t.
Kumar Rocker was fine on Sunday. The problem was, he apparently needed to be perfect.
A pair of two out walks in the first were followed by a Carlos Cortes triple, and that ended up being the ballgame.
It didn’t matter that Rocker didn’t walk anyone the rest of the way, went six innings with only those two runs coming across off of him, that the bullpen threw up three shutout innings.
Rocker only struck out three A’s hitters in the game, and generated just eight swinging strikes, none of which came on his fastball or sinker. Not a dominating performance, but at the end of the day, he allowed just two runs in six innings, and you’d like to think that the Rangers offense would take advantage of that.
The relievers the Rangers used — Tyler Alexander, Gavin Collyer, and Peyton Gray — are currently sporting a 0.63 ERA, a 0.00 ERA, and a 0.00 ERA. That’s good, it seems like.
Offensively, the Rangers put a lot of runners on base but didn’t do anything with them once they were on base. Texas was 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and the “1” was a Josh Smith bunt single that loaded the bases.
The Rangers totaled six hits and five walks, and also had Evan Carter reach once on an HBP and once on an error on an attempted sac bunt. That Evan Carter sac bunt/error play also brought home the lone run of the game, but with no RBI credited because of the error. So the Rangers didn’t even get an RBI in this game.
How sad.
Part of the problem was a lack of extra base hits. Josh Jung had a pair of doubles, but every other hit was a single, and its harder to score runs with singles and walks than with extra base hits.
Texas left runners on second and third with two outs in the second. Evan Carter reached on an HBP with one out in the fourth, stole second, was joined on the bases by Josh Smith with a two out walk, and both were stranded.
In the sixth, after the E1 that brought Jung — who led off the inning again with a double — home and put Carter on base, Jake Burger walked and Smith had that aforementioned bunt single, loading the bases. Danny Jansen then struck out. Sam Haggerty, who had hit for Alejandro Osuna the inning before, struck out. Brandon Nimmo then hit a line drive that, had it been in the gap, would have cleared the bases, but instead was to straightaway center field, and thus was caught for an out.
It felt then that it was over, and in fact, the Rangers only had two more baserunners the rest of the way, and didn’t get a runner past first base.
The old adage says that you are going to win a third of your games and are going to lose a third of your games, and its what you do with the other third that matters. This was a game squarely in that other third, and the Rangers let it get away.
Kumar Rocker hit 95.8 mph with his sinker, averaging 94.4 mph. Tyler Alexander reached 91.8 mph on his sinker. Gavin Collyer hit 97.8 mph with his fastball. Peyton Gray’s fastball touched 92.7 mph.
Corey Seager had a 108.4 mph line out. Jake Burger had a 107.9 mph sinlge. Josh Jung had a 107.7 mph fly out and a 100.2 mph fly out. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.6 mph fly out and a 103.0 mph line out.
Another game looms on the horizon. Maybe the Rangers will win it.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 02: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees pitches during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on September 02, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Outside that pair of series against the Athletics and Rays, this Yankees team has been pretty adept at quickly brushing off losses. That’s something they’ll look to do in the backend of this road trip after missing out on a sweep opportunity against the Houston Astros. After Luis Gil’s increasingly disappointing efforts on Sunday—ultimately leading to his demotion—the Yankees will start the series against the Rangers with the best they have to offer on the mound in a three-game set of high-profile pitching matchups.
Monday: Max Fried vs. Jack Leiter(8:05 pm ET)
Already making his fifth start on the road in 2026, Max Fried has been superb early on, but if there is one element to his game that’s lacked a bit, it is in the strikeout department—not that this is ever the primary aspect of his game. The Rangers’ offense presents quite the opportunity for Fried and other left-handers on the Yankees pitching staff—Texas has struggled the most against southpaws in the big leagues, only one of 30 clubs with a strikeout rate of at least 30 percent against them, and also boasts a pitiful 67 wRC+. Further damaging the Rangers’ prospects against left-handers is the absence of Wyatt Langford, their premier right-handed hitter and one of the more exciting young players in the American League, currently on the IL.
One of the few pleasant pieces of news for the Rangers last season was that Jack Leiter established himself as a solid starter. However, in the middle of a campaign that placed him seventh on the Rookie of the Year voting roll call, Leiter had his shortest outing against the Yankees. The young right-hander struggled with the free passes—conceding four of them—and not even finishing four innings. Yankee hitters will once again look to work deep counts against Leiter. It’s a bumpy start to 2026 for the former Vanderbilt standout, as he hasn’t finished the sixth since March and has allowed 12 runs on 17 hits and 9 walks across his last trio of outings (14.1 innings) against the Dodgers, A’s, and Pirates.
Tuesday: Cam Schlittler vs. Jacob deGrom(8:05 pm ET)
For the first time since he squared off against George Kirby in his second start of the season, Cam Schlittler will not be the center of attention of a pitching matchup, as he and the Yankees face one of the more dominant starters of this century of baseball. There is not a whiff of hyperbole in that statement when you assess what deGrom has done—the two-time near-unanimous Cy Young Award winner’s level of dominance in a post-prime period with the Rangers only enhances his legend, still just about as good as it gets out there. He has a 2.13 ERA and a 1.066 WHIP in his five starts for 2026, fanning 35 — including 10 Bucs his last time out.
It remains to be seen how Giancarlo Stanton will recover in the following days, having been out of the lineup on Sunday. Jasson Domínguez’s reported promotion seems to indicate that an IL stint is a lock (and Domínguez will be ready to face the Rangers’ righties from his superior side). If the Yankees’ designated hitter is indeed unable to suit up on Tuesday, it’ll be a particularly impactful hit; Stanton has potent numbers he has shown against deGrom over the years, hitting four home runs in 27 at-bats against him, doing so with a .333 batting average. Other than Stanton, the Yankee hitter who has faced deGrom the most is Cody Bellinger, also featuring quality numbers against the Rangers ace with a pair of bombs in 19 at-bats.
Wednesday: Will Warren vs. Nathan Eovaldi (2:35 pm ET)
On one side, an undefeated pitcher, who has been quietly solid early on in 2026 (only 11 qualified pitchers have topped Warren’s 0.9 fWAR in 31.1 innings); on the other, a starter that, as of Sunday, April 26th, is tied for the league lead in losses with four. As a former Yankee, it’s weird to think that Nathan Eovaldi has faced them more than any other club in his career as a big leaguer. Eovaldi was so magnificent last year that with this disappointing beginning to his 2026 campaign, the veteran is only four earned runs away from matching his total the previous season (25), achieved in exactly 130 innings of work.
While the results for Eovaldi have been vastly underwhelming, nothing under the hood corroborates the potential expectation of a rapid decline, so the Yankees should expect the usual customer who has a 3.22 ERA in 24 career appearances against them. While Stanton’s numbers against deGrom stand out more and the impact of his potential absence might be especially hurtful, his career stats against Eovaldi are also impressive. The currently sidelined Yankees DH has four bombs in 38 at-bats against Eovaldi, facing him one more time than Judge, who has gone deep twice with a .324 average facing him.
Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; A fan sits alone in the sixth inning of the game between the Colorado Rockies and the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets lost twice to the Rockes in the span of six hours. Do you really want to hear any more?
Chris Sale passed Chuck Finley on the strikeouts leaderboard and recorded the 150th win of his career in the Braves’ 6-2 win over the Phillies.
In a 10-inning contest, Dicky Lovelady enjoyed the greener pastures of Washington got his first victory in a Nationals uniform in a 2-1 contest against the White Sox.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 17: Catcher Bo Naylor #23 of the Cleveland Guardians watches the scoreboard during the top of the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field on April 17, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Russell Lee Verlinger/Cleveland Guardians/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good feeling’s gone.
The Guardians have now lost two straight series to the injury-depleted Astros and injury-depleted Blue Jays. Not great, Bob.
Nicole has the recap of a feckless performance by the hitters against Patrick Corbin. I had forgotten that Corbin inexplicably owns Jose Ramirez. Meanwhile, Steven Kwan has a 73 wRC+, Kyle Manzardo has a 58 wRC+, George Valera has a 55 wRC+, Juan Brito has a 44 wRC+ and Bo Naylor has a 9 wRC+. Those numbers have to change, one way or another. Also, I don’t know that they can continue to play Fry in right field or Brito at second base, defensively.
Aside from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
Guardians Weekly featured Gavin Williams and Peyton Pallette, and a focus on the Hill City Howlers.
AROUND MLB:
The Tigers beat the Reds, the Royals beat the Angels, and the Twins and White Sox lost.
The Braves once again took care of business on Sunday, beating the Phillies and winning yet another series as their great start to the season rolls along. The amount of positive data points from the past few weeks is highly encouraging to see, including the Braves going 10-3 against NL East opponents over the past two weeks. Plus, the Braves now have the best record in baseball, a needed start as they enter May and a tougher stretch of the schedule.
Braves News
The Braves also made some notable changes to their pitching setup for the week ahead. JR Ritchie will get a second start against the Tigers. Meanwhile, Reynaldo Lopez will, at least for the near future, work out of the bullpen as he continues to lock in his mechanics.
Another significant development on Sunday was a second solid start from Spencer Strider in Gwinnett, which is his third rehab start overall. While nothing is yet official, Strider’s return to the rotation could happen as early as this week.
Mets' Joe Torre slides under Dodger catcher Ellie Rodriguez as he scores on a single by Jerry Grote. Umpire Andy Olson makes the all as the Mets take an eight inning 4-1 lead. The Dodgers came back in the ninth inning to score four runs and beat the Mets 6-5. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Ellie Rodríguez, the Puerto Rican catcher who played nine major league seasons died on Thursday at age 79.
Rodríguez only played the one season for the Dodgers, but he held a notable place in local baseball lore. The Dodgers acquired Rodríguez at the end of spring training in 1976 from the Angels for backup outfielder Orlando Álvarez. That was the only trade involving multiple major league players between the Dodgers and Angels from 1976 for nearly four decades, a streak that was only snapped at the 2014 winter meetings when intermittent Dodger Andrew Heaney was sent to Anaheim for Howie Kendrick.
In his one season for the Dodgers, Rodríguez played 33 games behind the plate, with 21 starts, batted a total of 90 times and had no extra-base hits. But he walked 19 times and was hit by three pitches, giving him the wonderful .212/.400/.212 batting line. The .400 on-base percentage was rare among Dodgers catchers in franchise history.
Dodgers catchers with a .400+ OBP in 90+ PA
Babe Phelps (1935) .408
Babe Phelps (1936) .421
Ellie Rodríguez (1976) .400
Mike Scioscia (1985) .407
Mike Piazza (.400) 1995
Mike Piazza (.422) 1996
Mike Piazza (.431) 1997
Chad Kreuter (.416) 2000
Austin Barnes (.408) 2017
Will Smith (.401) 2020
Will Smith (.404) 2025
Rodríguez played nine years in the majors, and hit .245/.356/.308 with 76 doubles and 16 home runs in 775 games with the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Angels, and Dodgers. He was the first All-Star in Royals history, in 1969, and also was an All-Star with the Brewers in 1972. Rodríguez caught Nolan Ryan’s fourth no-hitter with the Angels in 1975.
For 15 years (1998-2012), Rodríguez was the Latin American coordinator and player development consultant for the Atlantic League and also managed in the league.
“Ellie was an integral part of the foundation and growth of the Atlantic League with his ties to baseball throughout the world,” Atlantic League president Rick White said in a statement. “He was a dear friend who helped create many opportunities for players throughout Latin America, both in the Atlantic League and in Major League baseball. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his outstanding work in helping the league grow both in the U.S. and internationally.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 05: A detailed view of the cap and Rawling baseball glove belonging to Willy Adames #2 of the San Francisco Giants sitting in the dugout in the bottom of the second inning of a major league baseball game at Oracle Park on April 05, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
It’s a new week of San Francisco Giants baseball, so let’s see what’s on deck.
The Giants continue their recent trend of having a day off today, before they hit the road again and head for the East Coast. First up will be a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, before they head to Florida for a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
I’m going to go ahead and pick the Phillies series as the one I’m most interested in this weekend. Nothing against the Rays, they’re actually the more competitive team at the moment (at second place in the AL East, compared to the last-place Phillies). I just have more interest in National League teams, I guess.
Which series are you most interested in this week?
