The Mets got blown out by the Nationals behind duel stinkers by David Peterson and Sean Manaea. The loss drops them to 10-20, which is the worst record in all of baseball.
Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez exited the game early after getting hit by a pitch on the elbow and will undergo further testing to get it evaluated.
CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 13: Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Ike Irish (97) and Infielder Wehiwa Aloy (95) walk back to the dugout before the spring training game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 13, 2026 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s almost impressive that the Tides lineup managed to go 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, largely squandering their nine hits and five walks. Jud Fabian drove in two of the runs with his sixth home run of the year. He also walked once and scored twice. Creed Willems and Jhonkensy Noel had one RBI apiece. Jonathan Rodríguez and Christian Encarnacion-Strand each had two hits. Encarancion-Strand added a walk and now has a .905 OPS on the year.
There was some good and some bad on the mound. Nestor German started and deliver four mixed innings. He only allowed one run on three hits and two strikeouts, but also issued six walks. Dietrich Enns coughed up a run over two innings while striking out three. Alex Pham also allowed one run in his two frames. But it was Josh Walker that really struggled, recording just two outs and allowing four runs, which included a walk-off three-run shot.
Chesapeake had just four hits. One of them was a home run by Aron Estrada, his third of the year. Adam Retzbach and Ethan Anderson contributed one double and one run apiece. Thomas Sosa had the team’s only other RBI.
Five different Baysox took the mound in this one. Luis De León started and went 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits, three walks, four strikeouts, and two home runs. His ERA is up to 6.52 on the year. Micah Ashman had the most impressive outing of the day, striking out three over 1.2 shutout innings. Yaqui Rivera followed with a perfect frame, setting down all three batters he faced on strikes. Eric Torres gave up two runs (one earned) over 1.2 innings before Carlos Tavera recorded the final out of the eighth inning.
High-A: Frederick Keys 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 0
All but one Frederick hitter reached based at least once in the winning effort. Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy both hit their four home runs of the season. Irish’s was a two-run shot while Aloy’s was just a solo. Colin Tuft had two hits, a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored. Victor Figueroa doubled and drove in a run. Braylin Tavera went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Leandro Arias walked twice and stole a bag.
The Keys pitchers had a great day. JT Quinn delivered five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out five. Michael Caldon worked 2.2 shutout innings in relief. Joe Glassey wrapped up the game by recording the final four outs, which included three strikeouts.
Low-A: Hill City Howlers (Guardians) 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 0
The Shorebirds’ tough season continued here. Their lineup collected just two hits, both of which were singles. Joshua Liranzo and Andrés Nolaya had one each. DJ Layton, the team’s lead-off hitter, did walk twice, but he was also picked off and caught stealing after one of them. The team went hitless in the five at-bats they had with a runner in scoring position.
Brayan Orrantia allowed four runs in his 4.2 innings of work, but only two of the runs were earned due to the three errors that the Delmarva defense made behind him. Orrantia made one of the errors himself. Adrian Heredia allowed one of the runners he inherited to score but then worked 1.1 shutout innings of his own. Riley Cooper struck out four over two perfect frames. Kenny Leiner came on in the ninth to pitch and allowed the two batters he faced to reach base before rain ended the game right there.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies in action during an at bat in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It hasn’t all been perfect, however. Tyler Freeman, TJ Rumfield, and Kyle Karros have shown some good signs amongst their overall mixed start, but the list of outright disappointments for this team so far is astonishingly small.
Given his track record the biggest underperformance so far for the 2026 Rockies is probably Ezequiel Tovar and the .193/.228/.294 triple slash line he had heading into Wednesday.
The obvious answer as to what is holding Tovar’s offensive potential back is easy to diagnose: He chases too many pitches outside the zone. So far this season, he leads the league in terms of swinging at pitches outside the zone with a mind boggling 48.7% chase rate.
That’s right, Tovar is swinging at just under half of the would-be balls he sees.
The thing is, that’s not really too different from his career averages.
Swinging at pitches he shouldn’t be has been Tovar’s most obvious flaw for his entire career. During his 3.7 fWAR season in 2024, he had a 44.1% Chase %, which was second in MLB behind only Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox. It has been worse in 2026, but not by a significant margin that would explain the stark difference in productivity between the two seasons.
What’s interesting is that Tovar is actually making contact with pitches outside the zone more than he ever has. His chase contact rate has ballooned from being in the 46-48% range each of the past three seasons all the way up to 57.9% so far this year.
That sounds like a good thing. However, simply making contact with the ball does not necessarily mean it’s just a matter of time before his BABIP luck evens out. That may be some of it — as his overall BABIP is noticeably lower than his career average — but the quality of the contact also needs to be addressed.
In 2026, he is fouling off 25.1% of all pitches he sees while all of his previous seasons were in the 22% range. To go along with that spike in foul balls, his hard hit % has dropped nearly 3%, his average exit velocity has decreased nearly 2 mph, and his line drive percentage has dropped nearly 7%.
The biggest year-over-year change in Tovar’s stat line is his first-pitch swing percentage. In 2024, Tovar began 68.2% of his plate appearances with a strike, in 2025 he did so on 66.4%, and so far in 2026, it has been a truly wild 77.2%. That is a substantial increase, and all of it is accounted for by his 12.9% increase in first-pitch swings up to 59.6%.
Essentially, Tovar seems to be firing at the first pitch, finding himself behind in the count, and quickly adopting a two-strike mentality where he tries to fight off all the borderline pitches. This is a recipe for lots of contact without any productive results to show for it.
The solution is clearly for him to get better plate discipline, see the ball better, and make better swing decisions.
That’s much easier said than done.
We’ve now got over three seasons worth of data on Tovar, and it’s safe to say his poor plate discipline is part of his game and here to stay. He’s not suddenly going to become a patient hitter.
With all of that being said, the place to start is probably trying to get him to agree to simply not swing at the first pitch unless it’s a meatball right down the middle. This would likely give him some breathing room later in the count and reduce the strikeout pressure on every pitch. That one simple change is likely not a magic bullet to solve all of his problems but it absolutely would help.
A close game in which the Isotopes fell just short of catching up to the early runs from the Chihuahuas. Parker Mushinkski did not perform well as the opener and was pulled after only two outs and three runs. Gabriel Hughes pitched the bulk of the innings and allowed another four runs alongside eight strikeouts. The offensive side was more favorable with both Sterlin Thompson and Cole Carrigg reaching base three times and Carrigg even stole three bags.
Pitching and the long ball was the story of the night in Reading. The Yard Goats scored six runs on only six hits and five walks thanks to home runs from all of Bryant Betancourt, Aidan Longwell, and Roc Riggio. On the mound Konnor Eaton, Carlos Torres, Austin Smith, and Sam Weatherly completed the nine inning relay race only allowing two runs while striking out twelve despite none of them pitching more than four innings.
Jeff Criswell made his first official appearance on a rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery early last year. Given that it was his first appearance back, the two runs allowed were less important a measure than simply the fact that he was able to get through a full inning. He was followed by six great innings from Jackson Cox who struck out nine and only allowed one more run. At the plate, the best performance was from Tevin Tucker who had a walk, double, and stolen base.
This wasn’t quite a pitchers duel. JB Middleton walked six in 2.2 innings to start off the game for the Yard Goats but Seth Clausen did record a perfect two inning save to preserve the lineup’s hard work. At the plate there were more good performances than not: Clayton Gray was on base four times, Clayton Fossum had two doubles, Roldy Brito had a couple hits including a double. The thing you really want to see, however, is Ethan Holliday at the plate with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Seth Dowdle takes a quick look at Edouard Julien’s career leading up to his trade to Colorado this offseason and how that has led into his hot start with the Rockies. Dowdle gives credit to the Paul DePodesta-led front office for identifying Julien as exactly the type of bat this team needed.
Mark Knudson, on the other hand, gives credit where it’s due to the Bill Schmidt-led front office for having taken a chance on Mickey Moniak after a poor start to his career. Knudson makes the case that Moniak could end up being the Rockies representative at the All-Star game this year, which is only really in question because of how many other players are also off to hot starts.
Thomas Harding talked with Ryan Feltner about being placed on the Injured List and his next steps. Feltner does not make his injury sound overly serious and appears to be attempting to follow in the footsteps of José Quintana and Kyle Freeland with a minimum stay on the IL.
Apr 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) does an interview with reporter Wiley Ballard after a walk-off two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
In case you weren’t watching, the NL East leading Braves won yet another baseball game last night. They will end April without losing a series. And Matt Olson won it in the ninth. In case you haven’t seen it, where have you been?
Let’s take it all in again. There aren’t a lot of pictures in the CMS for this, but the ones in there are great. I’ll add a few screengrabs. First, watch the usher/support staff guy. He was the second one to know it was gone.
These blurry images of the guy beside him in the Clemson/Auburn themed Braves hat.
This one goes straight into the Louvre.
Here’s Olson, about as animated as you will see him.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 13: Nolan Gorman #16 of the St. Louis Cardinals fields the ball against the Cleveland Guardians at Busch Stadium on April 13, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the comments, when discussing Jordan Walker, Memphis Myke wondered if it mattered that Jordan Walker had minimal protection in the lineup, since he’s followed by Nolan Gorman. Who hasn’t really hit at all this year. Gorman does have a surprisingly high number of RBIs though considering his poor hitting thus far. He has 18 RBIs in 29 games. And not that he’d play in 162 games, but that’s 100 RBIs over a full season.
Breaking news: RBIs don’t tell you how good a hitter is. Also Gorman driving in runs has not a lot to do with protection as it pertains to Jordan Walker. Pitchers don’t see Gorman on deck and see the RBIs and think “well now I have to pitch to Jordan Walker.” They see the .214 average, the .357 slugging, and the 79 wRC+. You’d rather face him than Jordan Walker.
I instinctively said that protection is a myth. I read an article years ago on this very site that looked at the performance of the #2 hitters in front of Albert Pujols, and they didn’t really play much differently in that spot than in other parts of the lineup. I could not find that article. I did find an article by Tom Tango, however, talking about protection.
And his conclusions were indeed that pitchers pitched a little differently to hitters if there was a strong hitter behind them versus not. If you have a weak hitter behind you, they will probably pitch around you. Both BB% and K% increase with a weak hitter. Interestingly though, if you actually make contact with the ball, there’s no difference. What he terms a protected hitter is not seeing better pitches to hit. Pitchers still don’t want to give a good hitter a pitch to hit, and it doesn’t matter how good the hitter is behind him.
The entire point of protecting a batter is to improve his offensive output (wOBA) by forcing the opposing pitcher to pitch to him. And indeed, we saw above that opposing pitchers pitch to protected hitters, something that is evidenced by the fewer walks. However, when the ball is put into play, we see no significant difference between how the two sets of hitters perform. The unprotected hitters have a wOBA of .395 (counting only balls that are hit), compared with .391 for protected hitters. The difference of .004 is not statistically significant.
…..
However, what we hoped to find was that, when pitchers pitch around the corners, batters tend to make worse contact (if they make contact at all). And we don’t see this. Instead, we again find that, if walks are ignored, the two types of hitters perform equivalently in wOBA. (The slight increase in strikeouts is compensated by a slight increase in the fraction of balls hit well when contact is made.) In short, we simply cannot find any evidence to suggest that the pitcher’s approach has any significant impact on the batter’s stats, aside from the obvious changes in walks and strikeouts.
So a couple of interesting takeaways here. The good news is that it doesn’t seem like the hitter behind him matters at all when it comes to contact quality. His batted ball data should not be affected. His overall performance should be the same. But it could also explain the strikeouts and the higher walk rate this season. Again though, pitchers saw what Jordan Walker was doing, and then adjusted the way they pitched to him. This had nothing to do with a weaker hitter behind him. If prime Albert Pujols was behind him, they’d try their best to avoid Walker hitting the ball.
In an interesting twist, the early returns on Nolan Gorman’s defense are very, very good. Unsustainably good certainly. But if he’s good on defense at 3B, then he’ll have an MLB job for quite a while, even if it doesn’t end up being on the Cards. A defense-first 3B who once jacked 27 homers? Yeah that guy would get lots of chances. Of course, we don’t know if he’s actually a good defender. Way too small of a sample size.
But, just to illustrate the importance of him being a good defender, I wanted to present what a +5 defender at 3B looks like with different offensive outcomes. Last year for example, it could have been the yips, but he was -6 OAA in 410 innings. The offensive bar is quite high if your defense is that bad. It would take a lot of faith in Nolan Gorman the hitter that I just don’t think people have.
But maybe he can reach a much lower bar and maybe if he does reach that, he still has a frustrating way to be an average overall player. Hey these are the kinds of things that we need to find out. Prior to last season, he had a combined 126 innings at 3B in the majors. Then, like I said, I think something mental was going on, because he kept throwing it wildly off, and that’s not been an issue this season. He has pretty much passed the eye test, and certainly it’s obvious how much better he is than last year. It’s not like we’re seeing the same thing and getting wildly different results.
So I will present a few different outcomes just to illustrate the importance of him actually being good on defense. I’ll show you Gorman as 85 wRC+ hitter, which would be a career low, as a 95 wRC+ hitter, a 105 wRC+ hitter, and just for fun a 120 wRC+ hitter. And we’ll see how each of those hitting lines work with a -5 defender at 3B, a neutral defender at 3B, and a +5 defender at 3B. We’ll start with more or less worst case scenario:
85 wRC+, -5 defender = 0.5 WAR (per 600 PAs)
95 wRC+, -5 defender = 1.2 WAR
105 wRC+, -5 defender = 2 WAR
120 wRC+, -5 defender = 3 WAR
Not ideal, although I will point out he doesn’t need to be an especially good hitter to still be average here. My faith in Nolan Gorman the batter is not very high, but a 105 wRC+ isn’t crazy to imagine for me. He’s done it twice in his career. That said, not a super appealing profile here. Gorman won’t get 600 PAs if he’s a 105 wRC+ hitter and a bad defender, so he wouldn’t reach 2 WAR. Let’s take the conservative approach, probably what we’re “supposed” to do in this situation, assume an average defender:
85 wRC+, 0 defender = 1 WAR
95 wRC+, 0 defender = 1.8 WAR
105 wRC+, 0 defender = 2.5 WAR
120 wRC+, 0 defender = 3.6 WAR
Again, remember where Gorman was at last year. I would have for sure taken it if you could guarantee me Gorman was an average defensive 3B. With this version, predictably, his offense dictates how good he is. Below average hitter, he’s more of a bench player. Average or better and he’s a starting caliber player.
85 wRC+, +5 defender = 1.6 WAR
95 wRC+, +5 defender = 2.3 WAR
105 wRC+, +5 defender = 3 WAR
120 wRC+, +5 defender = 4.1 WAR
And the best case scenario is he’s a genuinely good defender, because even the career low wRC+ is a solid sub, if not necessarily someone you want as your starter. If he gets close to average offensively, he is solidly in above average player territory. And if we combine that with good hitting, then he’s either a great trade candidate or someone you hold onto.
My approach to Gorman turned into “trade him even if he breaks out” because I didn’t trust him to maintain his production. If he’s a good defender, this does change somewhat. He goes from fool’s gold to a high floor guy who might hit 40 homers one year. If I have to bank on him being a good hitter, I’m not a fan. If being a good hitter is just a bonus, then I can roll with that. Doesn’t even matter if it’s unlikely he becomes a good hitter.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 27: A view of the San Francisco Giants Clubhouse Store before a MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs on August 27, 2025 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
According to reporting from Gabe Fernandez of SFGate, the San Francisco Giants have removed a food item that was both popular and controversial from availability at Oracle Park.
The Giants were among a handful of teams who had released a “9-9-9 challenge” concession package earlier this season. The challenge is essentially to eat nine hot dogs and drink nine beers over nine innings. I think you’re technically supposed to do one of each per inning.
The package was, ostensibly, quite a steal at $54.99 for nine of each item. Or at least it would have been if they were full size. But the package apparently included miniature sized hot dogs and beers. Which might be a gimmicky version of the challenge, and probably better for the health of anyone adventurous enough to try it, but it didn’t exactly live up to expectations that many fans may have had.
But I guess that’s okay, because according to Fernandez’ reporting, the park quietly stopped selling the packages earlier this month. Whether that was more to do with the fan reaction, lack of inventory, or if they’ve just decided it’s probably not a good idea on the whole. Who can say. They certainly didn’t, because they did not respond to SFGate’s request for a comment.
Question of the day: Would you be willing to try the “9-9-9 challenge” if they become available again?
Personally, I don’t think I would be interested, even if they increased the sizes to match the actual spirit of the challenge. There are some things best done in moderation, especially at my age. But if any of you young whippersnappers ever get a chance to try it, you’ll have to let us know how it goes.
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants wrap up their three-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies later this morning at 10:05 a.m. PT.
Not open for business? The threat of a 2027 stoppage hangs over MLB. | (Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)
The high likelihood of a 2027 work stoppage has been floating in the background for a while now, tied to the upcoming expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement.
How will this affect our Sox?
The easy answer is that it depends a lot on where they are in their timeline. The more honest answer is that uncertainty alone is part of the problem.
If the South Siders are still in a rebuild, a work stoppage could be a real gut punch. Lost time means fewer reps for prospects, fewer opportunities to evaluate talent at the major league level, and a disrupted rhythm for Chris Getz and the front office that’s trying to figure out what it actually has. We know how important development is, especially for teams like the Sox, leaning on young players to take that next step.
On the other hand, if 2027 is supposed to be part of a competitive window, the stakes are even higher. A shortened season or delayed start compresses everything. Hot starts matter more. Slumps hurt more. Depth gets tested differently. And for a team that’s trying to prove it belongs, losing even a part of a season can feel like losing an entire opportunity.
Then there’s the financial side. We know that the White Sox aren’t a team that operates at the very top of the spending scale, and uncertainty tends to make cautious teams even more cautious. A looming or ongoing work stoppage could impact free-agent decisions, extensions (Munetaka Murakami), or even mid-tier signings — the exact types of moves that often shape how competitive this team can realistically be.
There’s also a lingering memory factor here. The 2021–22 MLB lockout didn’t just delay the season — it froze pretty much the entire offseason and created a weird, rushed sprint once things resumed. Teams that were prepared adapted. Others looked like they were playing catch-up from day one. It’s not hard to imagine a similar dynamic playing out again.
And maybe the biggest thing? Momentum.
Baseball is a sport that thrives on routine and rhythm. For an organization like the White Sox, which has spent the last few years trying to develop a new clubhouse identity, that kind of interruption could hit harder than it would for a more established contender.
At the same time, there’s an argument that a stoppage could level the playing field a bit. Every team deals with the same pause. Every roster gets thrown off schedule. In theory, it creates a reset button. But resets aren’t always neutral. Some teams need continuity more than others.
So the question isn’t just will a 2027 work stoppage affect the White Sox — it’s how it would hit them.
If it lands during another transitional year, it could slow everything down. If it lands right as they’re turning the corner, it could derail something meaningful. If it lands when they’re already struggling well, then it might just blend into the background noise.
That’s the unfortunate part of all this. The impact of something like a work stoppage isn’t just about the league; it’s about timing, and the White Sox haven’t exactly given anyone a clear sense yet of where that timing will fall.
How much do you think a potential 2027 work stoppage would impact the White Sox specifically, or is it just one of those league-wide issues that ends up affecting everyone the same?
Today’s Reflections are a bit here and there, but it all comes together in the end.
A few years ago, I was on one of my mini-MiLB baseball trip/music festival combos through southern Mississippi and the Florida panhandle (Biloxi Shuckers — 3.5 (giant casino in the outfield annoying); Pensacola Blue Wahoos — 4.25 (while Biloxi is on the water, Pensacola is almost in the water — the first base line/RF has a curved walkway that almost draws you from the game (hard for anything to make me do that)) both docked 0.5 for Biloxi having NO shade, and Pensacola minimal — glad we went in early May).
I knew I was passing through Crystal Springs, MS and that that was where Robert Johnson was from (our featured bluesman today). Saw there was a museum, so I stopped. The large room made the displays look limited, but it just gave you plenty of room to look everything over (surprise, we were the only visitors). I asked if they had any souvenirs or T-shirts. The lady said that they had a bunch left over from a festival they tried having several years before, and the vendor brought one size of T-shirts: 5X. I went ahead and bought one as a donation.
As we were leaving, the lady asked we liked music-related locations. I kind of was skeptical, but said sure and she sent us an hour down the road, luckily in the direction we were going. It was at Gillsburg, MS — the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Site. To say it was of such amazing detail and quality and just flat-out beautiful isn’t enough. SO highly recommended if you are in the middle of nowhere Mississippi.
Brett Taylor (North Side Baseball): Kyle Hendricks is Joining an MLB Front Office, But Somehow It Isn’t the Cubs. “How on earth did this happen? How is this possible? Everyone knew old friend/pitching genius Kyle Hendricks was going to join an MLB front office after his playing days were over, and frankly, I’d just assumed that it would OBVIOUSLY be the Chicago Cubs. ….. As you would guess, Hendricks will reportedly be working in pitching development with the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers. Not the Cubs. The Tigers.”
Brian Kelter (North Side Baseball): Was the Cubs’ Pitching Injury Crisis Inevitable? “The Cubs’ pitching depth has been annihilated by injuries. This isn’t luck. This is a risky plan gone awry.”
Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Where things stand with Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman as Cubs near end of trip. “Cubs manager Craig Counsell explained that Bregman was out of the lineup with a sore toe. ….. Swanson then felt something while sliding to steal third base. Swanson had exited the game with a “left glute cramp.” It’s hard to give the Cubs the benefit of the doubt with injuries,“
Randy Holt (North Side Baseball): “Does Moisés Ballesteros’s Profile Indicate Looming Regression, or Continued Brilliance? “With a 216 wRC+ in 69 plate appearances, Ballesteros trails only Yordan Alvarez for the major-league lead. ….. Perhaps most encouraging about the start from Ballesteros is that virtually everything he’s producing is coming on the strength of exactly what we thought his skill set was. ….. Given how seamlessly the profile has manifested in nearly a full-time role, is it possible that his skill set could help him stave off what seems like inevitable regression?
Darragh McDonald (MLBTradeRumors.com): Cubs Claim Doug Nikhazy, Designate Ben Cowles For Assignment. “The Cubs have claimed left-hander Doug Nikhazy off waivers from the White Sox and optioned him to AAA Iowa. The Cubs designated IF Ben Cowles for assignment to open a 40-man spot.”
Ben Heyen (Sporting News): Cubs looking smart after not paying Kyle Tucker $240 million for 4 years. “The Cubs may have known what was coming, or they may have gotten lucky. But so far, Tucker’s deal with the Dodgers hasn’t worked out. …… So far, Tucker has been a below league average hitter. His OPS+ is just 96, which means he’s been 4% worse than the league average bat.”
Justin Bonhard (Sporting News): The Chicago Cubs are amongst the league’s best, and they have not reached their full potential yet. “The Cubs have gotten it done with their bats, as they have the third-best batting average in all of baseball at. 263 as a team. To go along with the contact, they have made the most of their hits with some power, as their 37 homers as a team are the sixth-most in MLB. When (PCA catches fire), the possibilities for this team are endless, and their true potential will be revealed.”
Max Ralph (MLB.com): Suzuki offers hilarious BP impressions of Ballesteros, Swanson: “Suzuki (a righty) did an over-the-top impression of Ballesteros’ unique left-handed swing, featuring a sizable leg kick with his hands held high, for teammates during pregame batting practice. The slugger also took his shot at Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, who recognizably puts the bat on his shoulder and leans back a bit before digging into his stance. Swanson also tends to fall toward home plate after a swing and miss, which Suzuki displayed perfectly, before mocking Swanson’s wide-legged gait back toward the dugout. (VIDEO enclosed);
Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs have a huge Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting problem. “So far this season (prior to Tuesday), Crow-Armstrong is hitting .241 with one home run, which is thanks in large part to how he’s struggling to barrel up any baseballs this season. He had 59 barrels last year, but this season he’s barreled up just four baseballs. His offensive presence has been minimal at best this season, with his 82 OPS+ showing just how far below league-average he is offensively.”
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Food For Thought:
More than 100 years ago, a child was born in Mississippi – a dirt-poor, African-American who would grow up, learn to sing and play the blues, and eventually achieve worldwide renown. In the decades after his death, he has become known as the King of the Delta Blues Singers, his music expanding in influence to the point that rock stars of the greatest magnitude – the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers – all sing his praise and have recorded his songs.
That child was Robert Johnson, an itinerant blues singer and guitarist who lived from 1911 to 1938. He recorded 29 songs between 1936 and ‘37 for the American Record Corporation, which released eleven 78rpm records on their Vocalion label during Johnson¹s lifetime, and one after his death.
Like many bluesmen of his day, Johnson plied his craft on street corners and in juke joints, ever rambling and ever lonely – and writing songs that romanticized that existence. But Johnson accomplished this with such an unprecedented intensity, marrying his starkly expressive vocals with a guitar mastery, that his music has endured long after the heyday of country blues and his own short life.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 29: Cade Smith #36 and Bo Naylor #23 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrate the team's 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field on April 29, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With yesterday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cleveland Guardians are back to a .500 record and back to the top of the AL Central. Gavin Williams pitched a phenomenal game yesterday in the 3-1 victory on 4 days of rest. The recap can be read here.
The Guardians are off today as the team travels out west to face off against the Oakland Athletics in a 3 game weekend series.
Nick and Quincy are exploring the questions we’ve all been asking; What’s wrong with Steven Kwan/Chase DeLauter.
Guardians beat reporter, Tim Stebbins, put out a piece looking at where the team is at in regards to the offense after a month of baseball.
Around the League:
The Braves walked it off against the Tigers. The Tigers are now 1 game under .500 and 0.5 games back in the AL Central.
Who will win Tigers vs Braves today: Tigers moneyline (+115)
The market is overvaluing Atlanta Braves starter Bryce Elder’s 1.95 ERA while ignoring a 3.77 xFIP that signals massive regression.
Elder’s 16th-percentile velocity (91.8 mph) and 28th-percentile whiff rate are a death sentence against a Detroit Tigers "heart of the order" that is currently nuclear.
Over the last week, Spencer Torkelson (323 wRC+) and Riley Greene (219 wRC+) have punished mistakes, and their elite plate discipline (10% BB rate) will force Elder into the zone.
Getting plus-money on an overpriced pitcher primed for regression is the ultimate value play.
COVERS INTEL:The Detroit offense ranks fifth with a 133 wRC+ across their last seven games.
Tigers vs Braves Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (+100)
While the bullpens remain relatively fresh after Wednesday’s efficient relief outings, this getaway-day total is still too low.
Elder’s lucky .238 BABIP faces a Detroit offense featuring three hitters with wRC+ marks north of 190 this week.
On the other side, Framber Valdez faces an Atlanta lineup that has historically punished him, highlighted by Ozzie Albies' career 1.300 OPS in the matchup.
With 65% humidity and the wind blowing out at Truist Park and two starters who rely heavily on contact management, expect the "expected" power metrics to finally manifest in a high-scoring finale.
Phil Naessens' 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 4-9, -4.20 units
Over/Under bets: 5-7, -2.16 units
Tigers vs Braves odds
Moneyline: Tigers +108 | Braves -113
Run line: Tigers -1.5 (+144) | Braves +1.5 (-194)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-100) | Under 8.5 (-117)
Tigers vs Braves trend
The Detroit Tigers have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline in 10 of their last 18 games (+4.40 Units / 17% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Braves.
How to watch Tigers vs Braves and game info
Location
Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
Date
Thursday, April 30, 2026
First pitch
12:15 p.m. ET
TV
DSN, BravesVision
Tigers starting pitcher
Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.41 ERA)
Braves starting pitcher
Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.95 ERA)
Tigers vs Braves latest injuries
Tigers vs Braves weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 21: Caleb Durbin #5 of the Boston Red Sox throws down his helmet after striking out to end the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on April 21, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Red Sox have been no stranger to slow starts in recent years, but 2026 takes the cake. As April comes to an end, the team has an abysmal 12-19 record, the manager’s been fired, hit pieces are starting to trickle out about the infighting, Garrett Crochet just landed on the IL, and the offense couldn’t hit water if they fell out of boat. The notion of “it’s early” has gone from a comforting restoration of confidence to a threat they’re going to ruin your entire summer.
So with the Red Sox thankfully out of games to play in April with today’s off day, the question becomes: is this the worst Red Sox April of all time? By pure win percentage, that honor goes to the 1932 team, which started 3-11 (baseball season started a bit later back then) on their way to 111 losses. But that team was supposed to be terrible. It was their 14th straight losing season after winning the World Series in 1918. The 2026 team was supposed to be good.
When I think of recent underachieving Red Sox squads, my mind immediately goes to 2011 and 2019. That 2011 team started off 0-6, but by the end of April they were starting to balance things out a bit and were up to 11-15. The 2019 team meanwhile, which doesn’t get nearly enough hate, was also four games under .500 at the end of April at 13-17. In other words, the 2026 Sox are almost twice as many games under .500 as those other two were. The 2012 Bobby Valentine Sox? They were 11-11 on April 30th. So yeah, this is miserable!
Talk about this and whatever else you’d like, and as always, be good to one another (even if the Red Sox aren’t good to you)!
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Mitch Voit #55 of the New York Mets bats during the second inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Clover Park on March 19, 2026 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
You’ll notice a theme in last night’s games: poor offense and poorer pitching. Will Watson got lit up for seven runs on four hits and four walks over three innings pitched, and only Nick Lorusso collected more than one hit in the first game.
The second game was less painful offensively, with Jacob Reimer, Eli Serrano III, and Jose Ramos all having decent days at the plate. But Brian Metover (a top tier last name for a NY prospect) gave up three runs in just a third of an inning and the Rumble Ponies couldn’t recover.
Hey, Mitch Voit got two hits and two stolen bases and the bullpen didn’t allow a run in four and a third innings pitched! That’s about as much optimism as can be mustered in this shutout loss to the Keys, as Joel Díaz was rocked for five runs.
The most offense in the entire system was St. Lucie, who lost the closest game of the day by just a skinny run. Elwis Mijares took the walk-off loss in minor league doubleheader extras (aka the eighth inning). JT Benson hit a three-run homer, too.
Al Simmons anchored a White Sox lineup that exploded for 20 runs on this day, 92 years ago. | (Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
1922 White Sox pitcher Charlie Robertson fired a perfect game, beating the Tigers, 2-0, in Detroit. Robertson’s perfect game only took one hour and 55 minutes to complete. The 26-year-old rookie struck out six, in just the fourth start of his career. In the second inning, Earl Sheely drove in both Sox runs with a single.
As proof of Robertson’s mastery on this day, only eight of 14 balls in the air were popups in some form, an indication that Detroit wasn’t seeing the hurler well at all. The Tigers, for their part, accused Robertson of doctoring the ball with grease or oil; unsurprisingly, player-manager Ty Cobb was the most vocal in protest.
Robertson became the third pitcher of the 20th Century to throw a perfect game. It was the first perfect game in 14 seasons — and there wouldn’t be another regular season perfecto for more than 42 years (Jim Bunning, 1964). (Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.)
Robertson never had a winning record in eight seasons in Chicago, compiling a White Sox career of 49-80 and 4.44 ERA. However, he made quite a splash with the club, pitching 527 innings in his first two full seasons with the White Sox, compiling 7.6 WAR.
1929 In the top of the seventh of an 8-4 win at Comiskey Park, the White Sox pulled off a triple play against Cleveland. With runners on second and third, Carl Lind grounded out to shortstop, with White Sox first baseman Bud Clancy turning throwing home nab both runners at home plate.
The victory would draw the South Siders to 6-6 on the season, but the 1929 White Sox would finish at 59-93, the worst club in franchise history to that point.
Interestingly another triple play occurred on this same day, just seven years later, in 1936, under completely different circumstances. Chicago was getting blown out, 16-4, at Fenway Park, when Oscar Melillo lined out to Luke Appling, catching runners at first and second too far off of the bags. The loss dropped the White Sox to 4-8, but the season itself was much sunnier than 1929, as the White Sox finished 81-70-2 — the best record put up by the club since 1920.
1934 Buoyed with four runs in the first and fifth innings and NINE in the fourth, the White Sox walloped Cleveland, 20-10.
Every player in the Chicago lineup had at least two hits except for catcher Marv Shea and third baseman Jimmy Dykes (although Dykes’ mid-game replacement in the blowout, Joe Chamberlain, went 2-for-3!) as the South Siders assaulted Cleveland for 18 hits and 10 for extra bases. The middle of the White Sox order (Zeke Bonura, Al Simmons and Luke Appling) combined to go 7-for-15 with three doubles, two homers, nine runs scored and 10 RBIs.
None of the five Cleveland pitchers gave up fewer than two earned runs in the loss. For the White Sox, Sad Sam Jones earned the win by scattering six hits and three earned over six innings (and added two hits himself); Joe Heving mopped up for the final three innings, earning his second save of the year despite giving up seven earned runs!
The 20 runs remain tied for the fifth-most in White Sox history. Naturally, while Cleveland put another 12 up in the next day’s game on May 1, the White Sox mustered just one.
1951 Minnie Miñoso was acquired by the White Sox as part of a three-team deal involving Kansas City and Cleveland. The seven-player deal resulted in Miñosobecoming the team’s first Black ballplayer (Sam Hairston and Bob Boyd were Black players who were both signed before Miñoso, but Miñoso was the first Black player to appear in a game for the White Sox).
Miñoso used his blinding speed and power to become the American League Rookie of the Year for 1951 (from The Sporting News, but not the baseball writers) by hitting .324 with 10 home runs, 76 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He’d be named to the All-Star team six times in his career representing the Sox. His No. 9 was retired by the club in 1983.
1962 A day after his 28th birthday, White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio was shown sliding into a base on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The headline read, “The Players With Magic. Luis Aparicio of the White Sox.”
The future Hall-of-Famer would lead the American League in steals for nine consecutive years while playing remarkable defense.
1968 Bill Melton was called up to the majors for the first time, arriving from the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders on May 3. The young slugger’s first stint in the majors was a bust, as he slashed .204/.259/.265 with 19 strikeouts in 17 games/49 at-bats.
Melton was shipped back to the minors on May 22 and split time in Hawaii and Syracuse (on loan to the New York Yankees!). The future home-run champ returned to the big leagues for good with his second 17-game stint during roster expansion in September, when he crushed the ball at a .317/.373/.500 clip, including the first two of his 160 career dingers.
2022 Tim Anderson led off an eventual 4-0 win over the Angels with a home run. With the clout, the last eight leadoff home runs for the White Sox were by Anderson, dating back to Aug. 18, 2000. That became the longest such streak in team history.
The Detroit Tigers fell under the .500 mark on Wednesday night after a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. It was the team’s second-straight defeat and fourth in the past five games.
After failing to capitalize on a Tarik Skubal start, the Motor City Kitties turn to left-hander Framber Valdez to prevent a road sweep that would end the interleague swing with a disappointing 3-6 mark. To be fair, the Braves are the best team in the big leagues right now, holding a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the overall standings heading into Thursday.
As for Valdez, the Tigers have won four of his six starts this season, though he has thrown just seven innings once. With the exception of one glaring outlier, he has done a great job keeping the opposition off the scoreboard, but unfortunately, that was not the case last time he faced Atlanta.
He previously pitched in Truist Park on behalf of the Houston Astros last year on Sept. 14 and gave up five runs on six hits (one home run) and four walks while striking out two over four frames for the loss.
Opposite Valdez is right-hander Bryce Elder, who is in his fifth major league season — all coming with the Braves — after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB draft. He saw the Tigers in his penultimate appearance last season on Sept. 19, throwing seven innings of one-run ball on five hits (including a solo home run) and one walk while striking out seven in the win.
Hopefully, past performance does not predict future results. Here is how the two hurlers match up for Thursday’s early afternoon matchup starting at 12:15 p.m. ET.
Detroit Tigers (15-16) vs. Atlanta Braves (22-9)
Time (ET): 12:15 p.m. Place: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia SB Nation Site:Battery Power Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 32: LHP Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.41 ERA) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.95 ERA)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 29: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves hits a walk-off home run during the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves appear to be back in that mode that we were used to seeing from a lot of these players during their run to the World Series in 2021 and their extremely successful regular seasons in 2022 and 2023. This is a squad that’s going to be incredibly competitive for all 27 outs of any given game and indeed, the Tigers and their struggling bullpen (Kenley Jansen in particular) got another example of it after the Braves won in walk-off fashion to pick up the series win on Wednesday night.
The walk-off blow came from Matt Olson, who has been swinging the bat as well as anybody in baseball at the moment. Going into Wednesday night’s action, Olson was tied with Bobby Witt Jr., Ben Rice and Nico Hoerner for fourth place in fWAR among all qualified players and tied for first in that same department among first basemen with Rice. Olson was also sitting in the top five in wRC+ among qualified hitters with 169 so far and that number is now at 175 after he clubbed the walk-off dinger that propelled the Braves to a come-from-behind victory.
It was also Olson’s first walk-off home run as a member of the Braves — which is kind of wild to think about considering that he’s been here since 2022. This was the first time he’d done it since July 24, 2020 which means that this was actually his first time doing it in front of fans since all the way back in 2019, which is when he went deep off of then-Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader in order to send all the Oakland A’s fans home that night. This time, Olson got to do it in front of his hometown crowd for his hometown team.
Simply put, the Braves are playing with a ton of confidence right now and it’s showing based on the overwhelming positive results that they’ve been getting so far. I asked Olson in the post-game press conference where his confidence level was at at the moment and it’s clear that the level was very high at the moment.
“Obviously success is going to breed confidence — personally and as a team,” responded Olson. “It’s nicer when you’re playing winning baseball and you don’t feel like you have to be the guy every single night. That takes stuff off your plate and it actually helps everybody in the lineup. If we keep winning ballgames, hopefully we can keep snowballing this confidence until the end of the year.”
Olson was also asked by the media about how it feels to be winning all of these games in every type of fashion — but especially the dramatic fashion like this as well. Olson’s response seemed to indicate that the confidence is coming from multiple angles at this point and it really feels like they’re on a serious roll at the moment.
“Yeah it starts to feel like [we can find a way to win any game], the more wins you put together that way,” stated Olson. “I said the other day that we’ve had innings where we’ve put up five, six and seven-spots. It makes you feel like you’re in every ballgame when you feel like you can do that.”
Kenley Jansen suffered his third blown save of the season already and his second blown save in a row after the Reds walked him off back on April 24. While there may have been a bit of familiarity there for Olson since he and Jansen were teammates back in 2022, he did tell the media that it was still pretty tough to deal with the cutter.
“His cutter is his best pitch. I saw Ozzie swing over the top of a couple of them so I was wondering if it wasn’t getting that carry today,” noted Olson. “Especially when [Ozzie] was on first, I was trying to keep the double play out of order and set my sights a little higher than I typically would. He kind of just left it over the middle.”
He left it over the middle and Olson got just enough of it to send it into the bullpen and send Truist Park into a state of delirium. Manager Walt Weiss was asked about how he felt about the whole situation and whether or not this version of Olson is the best he’d ever seen him. While Weiss was hesitant to go that far, he still had a ton of praise for his star first baseman.
“I want to be careful about saying that this is as good as I’ve seen him because ‘23 was ridiculous but he’s swinging the bat really well,” stated Weiss. “He’s hitting balls into the left-center gap, he’s hitting homers, he’s just a really good hitter and man, that was a big at-bat there against Kenley Jansen. I felt like a few of the swings he had in that at-bat earlier, I felt like he was timed-up with Kenley there. He’s one of the greatest closers of our generation and he put together a heck of an at-bat.”
“He’s got long levers and it’s got some big moves in his swing. I’m sure it takes some maitenance to keep the timing element right but he doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. He’s one of the better players in the game, really, when you start looking at the whole package. What he does on defense…Matt Olson’s a superstar.”
At the moment, Matt Olson sure is playing like a superstar. On a Braves team that isn’t lacking for star power, Olson’s certainly been delivering the power as a star player for this team. While the Braves are getting contributions from all caliber of players, it’s been important for guys like Olson, Drake Baldwin and Ozzie Albies (who homered off of Tarik Skubal to initially put the Braves ahead on Wednesday night) to get the job done. It’s even better when you consider how Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley are still struggling to really find their footing at the moment.
As long as Matt Olson and the rest of the core (and the whole squad, really) can pick up the slack and pull their fair share of the weight then there’s every reason to believe that the winning can continue on for a good long while. Matt Olson’s first walk-off homer for the Braves was a special one and hopefully it won’t be the last one, either!
COVERS INTEL:
