Category: MLB

Hey, look! The Cubs don’t have to face Paul Skenes in this series — and he’s made more career starts against the Cubs than any other team, seven of his total of 58. Skenes, incidentally, currently has the highest ERA of any Pirates starter. Don’t expect that to be the case much longer, though.

Austin Bechtold is a writer at our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout. Here’s what he has to say about them.

Make no mistake about it, the Chicago Cubs dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2025. 

The division rivals played 13 times last season. Chicago won 10. The Cubs outscored the Pirates 54-26 and hit .256 against Pittsburgh’s pitching. 

Chicago smacked an impressive 16 home runs, compared to the Pirates’ five, and earned a .740 OPS. The Pirates batted .182 as a team with a .523 OPS.

In all its charm, Wrigley Field has been a house of horrors for the Pirates in recent years. 

The Pirates (7-5) look to set a new precedent in 2026, beginning this three-game series at Wrigley on Friday.

In his first full season as manager, Don Kelly has watched a dreadful offense come to life through the first 12 games. 

After hitting a league-worst 117 home runs, the Pirates have already smashed 12, tied for eighth in MLB, and at one point held the National League lead.

A big reason why is offseason additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, who have hit three apiece. 

The offense ranks tied for 9th in hits per game (8.3), 9th in average (.247), 6th in on-base (.338), 8th in slugging (.383), and 7th in OPS (.721). The Bucs consistently ranked in the bottom third, if not last, in every category last year.

One early carryover is strong starting pitching. Pittsburgh owns the 6th best starters ERA at 2.87, third in the NL behind the Cubs (2.72) and Atlanta Braves (2.79).

Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller pitched in the Padres series at PNC Park, meaning the club will be without their top two arms against a vaunted Cubs (6-6) lineup.

Carmen Mlodzinski gets the ball on Friday, opposite Shota Imanaga, who has dominated the Pirates for what feels like more than a decade (despite it only being three years).

Mlodzinski has allowed two runs in each of his first two starts, but hasn’t been able to pitch out of the fifth inning. The third time through the order is where Mlodzinski, primarily a reliever in his career, has struggled to get through innings.

Saturday plates Braxton Ashcraft against Edward Cabrera, who hasn’t allowed a run in 11.2 innings for Chicago since being traded from the Marlins.

Ashcraft has been Pittsburgh’s surprise starter after an impressive rookie year. Ashcraft earned a 2.71 ERA over 69.2 innings spanning 26 appearances, eight starts.

He has pitched six frames in each of his first two outings and allowed two runs or fewer both times. 

All three games have solid pitching probables, but Sunday’s might be the most fascinating.

Former Pirate Jameson Taillon takes the ball against Bubba Chandler. The No. 11 overall prospect and second-highest ranked pitcher at the start of the season, Chandler touches 101 MPH with his fastball.

The problem is, you don’t always know where it’s going. Chandler’s control remains a main concern, as he has walked 10 batters in 8.2 innings. He didn’t allow a hit over 4.1 innings in his season debut at Cincinnati, but walked six and struck out six.

Chandler walked four against the Padres on Monday and allowed five hits and three runs. He has elite stuff, but has work to do to become a consistent pitcher that the rotation can depend on. 

Chicago was the preseason favorite to win the NL Central, providing three important games in April for who might take the grand prize in late September.

If the Pirates are going to begin to prove that their start and chances to compete in the Central aren’t a fluke, it begins on the road against a very good team.

Fun facts

The Cubs have played 2,621 previous games against the Pirates, their most against any opponent. They have played 2,525 vs. the Cardinals and 2,429 vs. the Reds.

Their 1,286 wins and 1,317 losses both are the most vs. an opponent. Their 605 losses at home are their most and their 690 wins at home are their third most, behind 715 vs. the Cardinals and 700 vs. the Reds.

Since 2015, the Cubs have won the season series against the Pirates every year while going 113-68-1 overall and 57-31 at Wrigley Field. They were 10-3 last year, including 5-2 at home.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Shōta Imanaga, LHP (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 3.15 FIP) vs. Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP (0-0, 4.00 ERA, 1.556 WHIP, 1.27 FIP)

Saturday: Edward Cabrera, RHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.686 WHIP, 3.15 FIP) vs. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP (1-1, 2.25 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 2.32 FIP)

Sunday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (0-1, 2.53 ERA, 1.219 WHIP, 5.40 FIP) vs. Bubba Chandler, RHP (0-1, 3.12 ERA, 1.731 WHIP, 4.31 FIP)

Times & TV channels

Friday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Saturday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Sunday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

I keep picking two of three. Last series I was even right! So I’m doing it again here, two of three.

Up next

The Cubs travel to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the Phillies beginning Monday evening.

Good morning everyone and happy Friday!

The Mariners kick off the first of 13 games in a row today with a four-game homestand against the rival Astros. With several Mariners struggling through the first two weeks, this will serve as an opportunity to bounce back. Which player are you picking to right the ship during this stretch? I’m going with Josh Naylor.

In Mariners news…

• Angela Lim at The Seattle Times outlined what you should eat at T-Mobile Park this year.
• Jim Bowden argued that even when Bryce Miller comes back from injury, the Mariners should not consider trading a starting pitcher.
• Brendan Donovan has been hot with the bat to start the season, but he’s still getting used to his new defensive home at third base. Shannon Drayer has the story.
• Are you familiar with the secret door at T-Mobile Park that provides Gonzo cocktails? Zach Geballe shared the details of this new delight.
• Friend of the site Sarah Enni is back with her regular M’s newsletter — and a podcast!

Around the league…

• Former Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes passed away on Wednesday at the age of 80.
• Old friend Jorge Polanco is off to a slow start to the season with the Mets, and is now dealing with an Achilles issue that has kept him out of the lineup for a few days.
• The Astros are calling up former Mariner Taylor Trammell in advance of their series against Seattle.
• Dan Szymborski broke down the Pirates’ extension with teenage phenom Konnor Griffin.
• Jorge Castillo at ESPN told the story of the unlikely rise of Yankees first baseman Ben Rice.

Morning A’s fans and welcome to another Friday!

The club has wrapped up the first New York series this week with a series win over the Yankees. The last couple of games were especially close but they managed to pull through and get their record to 5-7. Now they depart from the Bronx to head to Queens to take on the Mets for three games this weekend.

We have a new member of the rotation making his first start of the year for the club tonight. Right-hander JT Ginn will be called upon for the first start by someone other than someone in the Opening Day rotation, taking the place of Luis Morales, who was optioned to Triple-A earlier this week. As a fun little tidbit, Ginn will be pitching against the team that drafted him (the A’s acquired Ginn in exchange for Chris Bassitt way back in 2022), so he might have some extra motivation in him tonight. The 7-5 Mets await the Athletics for some weekend baseball.

Ginn began the year among the starting candidates for the Opening Day rotation, though he was never a favorite for a spot in the starting five to begin the season. The 26-year-old righty would have needed to seriously impress the coaching staff if he was going to leapfrog Morales or Jacob Lopez or otherwise hope for an injury. The club gave him a serious opportunity this spring with four starts (6 total appearances) but he struggled mightily, giving up 17 earned runs in just 15 innings of work. That made it obvious that he would not be among the starting five and the expectation at the time was that after a tough camp he’d be the odd-man out and head to Triple-A to start the year.

We had a surprise for the Opening Day roster however as Ginn made the cut over Jack Perkins, who went down to Las Vegas instead. It was a long man role but Ginn still was in Toronto to open the year against the Blue Jays. As the team’s designated long reliever to start the year Ginn has only made three appearances. His first one went fantastic as he pitched nearly four full innings in relief of Morales, who had a short start against the Jays. His most recent two outings have not been as smooth, allowing two runs in each appearance. The right-hander seems stretched out enough to handle the first few frames and that’s likely the plan tonight. If he can make it through the Mets’ batting order one time without getting hit around then the A’s would gladly take that.

The A’s have made a roster move to bolster their staff for tonight’s series opener when they recalled Perkins from Las Vegas. It looks like he’ll be piggybacking after Ginn as the two of them will form a 1-2 punch against the Mets tonight. Perkins was in the same boat as Ginn this spring: theoretically a candidate to break camp with the club in the rotation, but realistically on the outside looking in. Since being in Triple-A he’s actually only made three appearances in relief. He’s been so-so, with one blowup appearance, a quality outing, and then another decent performance last time out when he only allowed a solo home run. What can we expect from the righty in his first big league game of the year?

The rest of the series lines up to be Jacob Lopez versus Kodai Senga on Saturday morning, and Aaron Civale gets the ball for the finale against Freddy Peralta. Thanks to the A’s winning the series against the Yankees they have a chance to finish the road trip with better than .500 record. That’d require a sweep but the A’s are starting to play some good baseball. And with the Mariners faltering hard in the early going the A’s can put some distance between themselves and last place in the AL West.

The Mets are doing solidly enough in the early going as well but they’ll be down their best player in Juan Soto during this upcoming series. The A’s are catching them at the right time in that regard, but the A’s may be down one of their big boppers themselves after Brent Rooker exited yesterday’s finale early. No word yet on the severity of it but his consecutive games played streak is now in jeopardy of being broken. Fingers crossed our DH can make it into the lineup tomorrow, or at the very least be available off the bench.

Have a great weekend guys. And go A’s!

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Take Down The Yankees 1-0 in New York
• DH Brent Rooker exits in 1st inning in finale vs. Yankees
• A’s roster moves: Jack Perkins recalled, Michael Kelly optioned
• A’s Bullpen Blows Yet Another Game
• Luis Morales Optioned to Triple-A
• A’s Add Former Yankees Reliever as Bullpen Depth Option
• Armchair 101: The Challenge Of Judging Decisions In Real Time
• Las Vegas Single Game Ticket On Sale
• A’s Biggest Camp Question is Already Becoming a Strength in 2026
• A’s feed off electric crowd in breakout opener
• Extensions To Colt Emerson And Konnor Griffin A New Trend?
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Observes The Wild Denzelope In Its Natural Habitat
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Toes The Rubber With Pitching Coach Scott Emerson
• AN Exclusive: Blogfather Catches Up With Starting Pitcher Jacob Lopez

MLB News and Interest:

• Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson undergoes season-ending elbow surgery
• Orioles starter Zach Eflin undergoes Tommy John surgery
• Dodgers legend Davey Lopes passes away at 80
• Nationals have not made extension offer to outfielder Daylen Lile
• Lopez, Soler receive suspensions for brawl
• MLB average salary hits $5.34M
• Royals starter Cole Ragans expected to make next scheduled start
• Manager Craig Albernaz calls out Orioles’ longstanding culture amidst slow start
• Here is a potential impact call up for each team
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Encouraging update on Rook, but we’ll have to wait for tonight to see how good he’s really feeling:

Brent Rooker will undergo further imaging tomorrow morning. Said he's feeling "alright" right now with some tightness and soreness in his right side.

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) April 9, 2026

Perhaps we’ll soon be getting a Gelof sighting? He’s been demolishing the ball in Triple-A:

Zack Gelof has been placed on the Las Vegas taxi squad, which is what happened with Jack Perkins just before he was called up. So there's a good chance we'll be seeing Zack Gelof in NYC this weekend. He's been slashing .366/.519/.732 through 11 games at Vegas this season.

— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) April 10, 2026

A quick look back at Springs’ dominance yesterday:

6.1 innings of no-hit baseball in hostile territory for Jeffery Springs today

The lefty dominated with a heavier than usual dose of SL and CH. Today’s mix helped generate a 35% Whiff%, 9% higher then his 2025 average

Final line:

7.0 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 6 K pic.twitter.com/8znXuHHonv

— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) April 10, 2026

We all think so!

Can the A’s really contend for a Wild Card spot this season? @DALLASBRADEN209 thinks so 🫡 #Athleticspic.twitter.com/qJvXhpinWT

— SleeperAthletics (@SleeperAth) April 9, 2026

Diamondbacks News

(New York Post) Mets waste Nolan McLean’s strong start as pen falters late in loss to Diamondbacks

For six-plus innings Thursday night, Nolan McLean dazzled at Citi Field. He allowed just a pair of hits and his stuff was especially filthy, as Arizona hitters were largely overmatched.

But lefty Eduardo Rodríguez was nearly as good for the Diamondbacks, and when McLean faltered in the seventh inning, Luke Weaver came in and got knocked around, as the Mets lost their second straight, 7-1.

(SI.com) Explosive D-backs Offense Finally Rewards Rodriguez’s Gem vs Mets

The D-backs, missing Corbin Carroll from their starting lineup due to a minor hip issue, struggled to come away with enough base traffic to cause problems for Mets starter Nolan McLean. With a rested New York bullpen, the path to victory looked bleak.

Until it didn’t.

(Arizona Sports) Diamondbacks finally get Eduardo Rodriguez run support in series-clinching win over Mets

The D-backs had no answers for Mets starter Nolan McLean at that point in the ballgame. Corbin Carroll was out with a tight left hip flexor, which is not expected to be serious, and Gabriel Moreno was on the bench after catching the previous two games, leaving the lineup shorthanded.

But then, Geraldo Perdomo led off the seventh inning with a walk, and Jose Fernandez flared a one-out single to center.

MLB News

(SI.com) Next Shohei Ohtani? MLB Fans Buzzing About New 2-Way Prospect

Again, there hasn’t been another player like Ohtani in baseball and it’s going to be very hard for Major League Baseball to find someone else who can do what he can. But fans around the league should start learning about another two-way prospect: Austin Smith of the Toronto Blue Jays.

(CBS Sports) Does Shohei Ohtani have an unfair advantage during his warm-up pitches? Blue Jays seem to think so — again

During Wednesday’s series finale, the Blue Jays again raised the issue of Shohei Ohtani’s warm-up time between innings when he’s getting ready to pitch. Ohtani ended the top of the first inning on second base, then returned to the dugout to ready himself to throw. He got to the mound with less than one minute remaining on the two-minute between-innings clock and was granted additional time for his eight warm-up pitches.

George Springer, Toronto’s leadoff hitter, checked with home plate umpire Dan Bellino about the two-minute timer. The Blue Jays raised the same issue during the World Series last year, specifically during Ohtani’s Game 7 start.

[Ed. Note] This is just such a dumb argument to me. As the article notes, they’re just playing by the same rule that has always been on the books regarding a pitcher getting extra time after running the bases. It just only applies to Ohtani now since there is the universal DH.

And what are they trying to accomplish with this? None of the other 28 teams have brought this issue up. Do the Blue Jays think that they are the sole defenders of the sanctity of the pitch clock? Honestly, it just comes across as being sore losers after the World Series. Not a good look, imo.

(Yahoo! Sports) MLB City Connect jerseys 2026: Ranking all 8 uniforms unveiled Thursday

A new MLB season means a new batch of City Connect uniforms, and the league opted to unveil all eight in a coordinated rollout on Thursday.

Each City Connect is meant to be distinct from its team’s regular uniforms while incorporating various elements from its setting. There are some true highlights out there — and also some of the ugliest uniforms you’ll see on a professional baseball player.

The 2026 group of eight uniforms has a variety along those lines. Here’s how we ranked them:

[Ed. Note] I like the Pirates one, but most importantly, Rest In Hell to the horrible sherbet Padres uniforms

With former Red Sox great Dustin May taking the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals against his former team this evening (how many cheesy dad jokes will there be about the “Early May” pitching matchup this evening?), it got me thinking about the levels of the Rafael Devers fallout. Even if you were in favor of dumping Devers’ “underwater” contract, or felt that his decision not to “just pick up a glove” warranted a trade, it might be the subsequent moves that are more bothersome.

The Red Sox received pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III, and pitching prospect Jose Bello in the deal. The only player who remains with the franchise is Bello, a 35 FV prospect who is in A-ball.

Harrison was sent to Milwaukee as part of the Caleb Durbin deal. He has opened the season with two strong starts (1-0, 2,61) with 14 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. According to Brewers reporter Curt Hogg, “The Red Sox tried teaching him a new kick changeup last year, but Kyle Harrison couldn’t ever figure out. Fast forward to one grip suggestion from an old Giants teammate and trade to the Brewers later, and he’s suddenly discovered a new, nasty pitch.” Wonderful.

Tibbs only played 30 games at Portland before being flipped to the Dodgers for five subpar starts from the aforementioned Dustin May. Tibbs had a .900 OPS at Double-A for them last year, and now, albeit in the launching pad Pacific Coast League, he has seven bombs in twelve games, good for a 1.376 OPS and a 252 wRC+ at Triple-A.

Jordan Hicks had an 8.20 ERA for Boston in 21 games. There’s a strong argument to be made that he was the worst relief pitcher the team has employed for that many outings in this century. He was moved to the White Sox this winter, and the team had to attach prospect David Sandlin just to get rid of the contract. But not all of the contract. The Red Sox are still paying Hicks $4M this year and next. Hicks has a 7.94 ERA with Chicago and a negative-11.1 K-BB% in six outings.

Which of these things bothers you most: Devers, Harrison, Tibbs, or Hicks? Sound off in the comments, and be good to each other.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Athletics play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Friday night...

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5 things to watch

Will the power output heat up with the weather?

With the exception of the relatively balmy weather on Opening Day (when the Mets smacked two homers and erupted for 11 runs), all of their home games so far (there have been six total) have been played in suboptimal conditions.

It was so cold on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Diamondbacks that the game times were shifted from 7:10 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.

This has created an environment where the ball is not carrying much, and resulted in a near total power outage during the recently completed three-game series against Arizona. Luis Robert Jr. hit a long solo homer on Thursday, but that was the only dinger hit by either the Mets or D-backs during the series.

Overall, the Mets -- who have also played four games at cavernous Oracle Park in San Francisco -- have hit just 10 home runs this season, which is more than just six teams.

Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette, and Jorge Polanco have yet to go yard, but perhaps the overall deep freeze lifts during the series against the A's, with the temperature expected to be around 60 degrees for all three games. 

The Jorge Polanco situation

Polanco has been in and out of the lineup and limited to DH duty lately due to an Achilles issue that could require an IL stint.

With Polanco hobbled, it has been Mark Vientos and Brett Baty getting most of the starts at first base.

Beyond the defensive adjustments being made in light of Polanco's Achilles (and more important) is the fact that the lineup is shortened when he's not in it.

And Polanco's absence has been felt even more since the Mets are already without Juan Soto, which means two of the regular top four hitters in their lineup are missing on days when Polanco sits.

Can Kodai Senga keep it going?

Senga has been stellar to start the season, carrying over his spring training success.

In 11.2 innings over two starts (both on the road), Senga has allowed just four runs on nine hits while walking five and striking out 16.

Senga's FIP (1.69) is more representative of how he's looked so far than his ERA (3.09).

But the most important thing is that he again looks healthy. And if it stays that way, it's fair to believe the results will follow.

During his four-year MLB career, Senga has a 3.00 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with a strikeout rate of 10.2. Translation? When he's healthy, he's an elite performer. 

Jeff McNeil's return

McNeil, who was traded to the A's during the offseason, will be at Citi Field as a visitor for the first time.

The infielder, who spent the first eight years of his career in Queens, has started to heat up after a slow start to the season.

Over his last six games, McNeil is slashing .389/.476/.444 in 21 plate appearances.

That includes a pair of two-hit games against the Yankees in the Bronx. 

The hot and cold A's

The A's are 5-7, but are coming off a series win over the Yanks.

Their offense has been all over the place and ordinarily all or nothing. 

For example, they scored 23 runs in two wins over the Astros earlier this week, but were shut out in their one loss to Houston.

And even while taking two out of three games in the Bronx, the A's mustered just seven runs total.

One thing to keep an eye on is the health of slugger Brent Rooker, who exited Thursday's game early due to a back injury.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Luis Robert Jr.

Without Soto, Robert has been the toughest out in the lineup and the biggest source of power, hitting .333 with an NL-leading .480 OBP.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Freddy Peralta

Peralta, who gets the ball on Sunday, has looked better than his results. Expect that to start to match up. 

Which A's player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Shea Langeliers

Langeliers is off to a strong start, with a 182 OPS+ over his first 45 at-bats.

Xander Bogaerts had to have felt a little disrespected when the Colorado Rockies elected to load the bases on back-to-back intentional walks to Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado to load the bases with Jake Cronenworth on third base. Bogaerts took the first pitch of the at-bat for a ball and then belted the second pitch deep into the left field bleachers for the walk-off grand slam that gave the San Diego Padres a 7-3 win in the bottom of the 12th inning. Randy Vasquez started the game for San Diego and the late-game heroics covered up his third stellar start of the season. The right-hander worked into the sixth inning allowing one run, which came on a solo home run by Brenton Doyle, and did not allow a walk. Vasquez recorded eight strikeouts in the game. The Padres continue their series against the Rockies at Petco Park tonight at 6:40 p.m. and they will wear their City Connect 2.0 uniforms in a game for the first time.

Padres News:

• The San Diego minor league affiliates were in action all week, but they had to compete with the weather as much as the opponent on the field. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides details about which prospects are drawing attention in the Padres organization.

• Adrian Morejon has had a rough start to the 2026 season and Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball says he needs to get right quick if the San Diego bullpen is going to be the dominant force all of baseball expects it to be.

• Jason Adam was back in the Padres locker room but remains on the IL until San Diego makes his return to the bullpen official.

Baseball News:

• Seven other teams joined the Padres in unveiling their new City Connect uniforms on Thursday. See all of the new looks here.

• A’s pitcher Jeffrey Springs took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium and said he did not know anything about it.

• Parker Meadows collided with Detroit Tigers teammate Riley Greene and he was transported to the hospital where he spent the night.

• MLB.com provided the most recent injury roundup. See who landed on the IL here.

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It’s another full slate of MLB games today, which means lots of opportunities for homers.

My MLB player props and home run analysis will include Kerry Carpenter and Josh Bell.

Read more in my MLB picks for Friday, April 10.

Best MLB home run props today

Kerry Carpenter (+440)

Kerry Carpenter is only hitting .184 so far, but he’s already clubbed two home runs. That’s after going deep a career-high 26 times last season.

The slugger has smacked a homer twice in his last five contests. The Tigers take on a Marlins team sending Chris Paddack to the hill tonight.

Paddack has had a shaky start to the campaign. He’s already allowed two home runs in just 8 1/3 innings of work while posting an 8.31 ERA.

Opponents have a .475 xSLG against him, and Carpenter has already taken him deep, going 3-for-5 with a bomb. 

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marlins.TV, DSN

Josh Bell (+490)

Josh Bell is thriving early in his first season with the Twins.

The slugger is batting .317 with three home runs and 10 RBI, and he just went deep on Thursday evening against the Tigers, finishing the game 3-for-4.

Bell is up against a familiar arm tonight in Patrick Corbin, who won’t be happy to see Bell in the batter’s box. 

The veteran is 4-for-16 lifetime versus Corbin with three bombs. He’s already smacked one homer this season off a left-handed hurler, and Corbin allowed 21 home runs last season.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Twins.TV, SN

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The Cincinnati Reds are off to a strong 8-5 start and trail only the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers in wins.

With emerging star Chase Burns taking the bump, my Angels vs. Reds predictions see the Reds winning their series opener on home soil.

Let’s break down my MLB picks for Friday, April 10.

Who will win Angels vs Reds today: Cincinnati Reds (-170)

Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns has allowed next to nothing through two games, holding opponents to a .154 average, .213 wOBA, and .77 ISO.

Burns leads all of today’s starters with a 37.2 K%, a 42% whiff rate, and a 20.6% swinging strike rate. He is giving up little to no contact and sitting hitters down at an electric rate.

Los Angeles Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz is not nearly as capable at missing bats, and he allows a lot of good contact to lefties – something top of the lineup bats Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl could exploit.

Expect the Reds’ pitching advantage to shine through.

Angels vs Reds Over/Under pick: Under 9 (-104)

Burns has been dominant to start the season. While he showed some vulnerability to lefties last year, the Angels’ lineup is right-handed heavy.

Most of their notable bats – including Zach Neto, Mike Trout, and Jorge Soler – are righties, working in Burns’ favor.

The Angels rank 22nd in wOBA and 27th in line drive rate against right-handed pitching. They’re not a team that should cause Burns problems. 

On the other side, Kochanowicz looks improved with a .211 average and .285 wOBA allowed. He draws a Reds offense sitting 28th in wOBA vs. righties.

With both sides struggling against righties and a good pitching matchup, the Under is appealing.

Angels vs Reds odds

• Moneyline: Angels +163 | Reds -170
• Run line: Angels +1.5 (-122) | Reds -1.5 (+117)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+122) | Under 9.5 (-127)

Angels vs Reds trend

The Cincinnati Reds have hit the Game Total Under in 29 of their last 50 games at home (+13.45 Units / 24% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Angels vs. Reds.

How to watch Angels vs Reds and game info

Angels vs Reds latest injuries

Angels vs Reds weather

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It’s a rockin’ Friday in Major League Baseball with 15 games on tap, starting with the Pirates and Cubbies in the afternoon and ending with the Rangers and Dodgers throwing their first pitch at 10:10 p.m. ET.

Read below for my favorite MLB player props for Friday, April 9, starting in Baltimore with a red-hot Gunnar Henderson.

Best MLB player props today

Gunnar Henderson 1+ runs (-120)

It’s been a great week for Baltimore Orioles SS Gunnar Henderson, who has hits in five of his last six games.

That includes three home runs, a pair of doubles, and five runs batted in. He’s also scored at least one run in all but one game.

He’ll be facing San Francisco Giants’ SP Landen Roupp for the first time. Roup is coming off a brutal 9-0 loss to the Mets, where he was tagged for seven hits and seven runs.

Roupp's career WHIP of 1.425 is nothing to fear. Back Henderson to cross the plate at Camden Yards tonight.

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Apple TV+

Giancarlo Stanton 1+ HR (+330)

Tampa Bay Rays starter Steven Matz is 2-0 and coming off his best start of the year, albeit against the Twins. He now gets a massive class test against the Yankees, a team that's tagged him pretty well in the past.

I’m going with Giancarlo Stanton to take him yard. The Yankees’ outfielder is hitting .326 out of the gate, but has just one home run on the year. It’s a nice spot for him to double that output.

Stanton is a career .316 hitter off Matz in 19 at-bats, with a pair of home runs and four RBI.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MLBN

Ronald Acuna Jr. 2+ total bases (-130)

It’s been a slow start to the year for Ronald Acuna Jr, hitting just .204 with no homers in his first 49 at-bats, but there are signs of him heating up.

He rapped a pair of doubles against the Angels last time out, doubling his two-base total on the year.

He’s 1-for-3 in his career against Slade Cecconi, but this matchup is more about how the righty got rocked in his lone road start of the year. Cecconi was pelted for six hits and six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in an 8-0 loss to the Mariners.

This feels like a good spot for Acuna to keep hitting the ball hard.

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CleGuardians.TV, BravesVision

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Major League Baseball, after sinking in 2024 to its lowest Black population in the sport since 1955, has now shown an increase in back-to-back years for the first time in about two decades, according to MLB’s research.

The African American population is 6.5% on this year’s opening-day rosters and injured lists, a rise from 5.7% in 2024 and 6% last year.

MLB officials are encouraged that developmental programs are starting to produce results, with 20 of the 62 African American players participating in their youth academies, Breakthrough or Dream Series or an invitational. It also includes nine former first-round picks.

There’s also optimism there will be gains in the future with just eight Black players older than 32, and 34 of the players 27 years or younger. There were 17 Black minor-league players on 40-man rosters on opening day, which was reduced to 16 when the Milwaukee Brewers called up outfielder Blake Perkins.

Still, it’s alarming that there are six teams who opened the season without a single Black player on their roster, double the total of last year.

The Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates are all without a single African American player. The Padres also don’t have a Black player in the minors on their 40-man roster.

There are 11 teams with no more than one Black player on the roster, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will celebrate Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in 1947 on Wednesday against the New York Mets.

Two of the smallest-market teams have the most Black players in baseball, the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds. The Twins have six Black players on their roster, including two Black starting pitchers_Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods-Richardson. The Reds have five Black players on the roster.

Together, the Twins and Reds comprise of 17.7% of the African American population in baseball.

While MLB continues to try to develop more Black pitchers and catchers, with an annual Dream Series each year in Tempe, Arizona, Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin remains the only everyday Black catcher. Baldwin, the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year winner, is the first everyday African American catcher since All-Star Charles Johnson, who last played in 2005.

“It’s definitely a position you don’t see many Black players," Baldwin told USA TODAY Sports, “so it’s kind of nice to break that stereotype and gives you the motivation to keep going.’’

And although there are 13 pitchers on every MLB team, there currently are only 13 Black pitchers in the league. Reliever Joe Ross, who made the Diamondbacks’ opening-day roster, was designated for assignment last week.

“My why is being able to grow the numbers of African American players within our sport," Reds starter Hunter Greene told USA TODAY Sports in December, “or at least give the opportunity to the Black community. It's up to the kids to want to continue to pursue baseball. But it's clear as day, I'm 10 toes down in my why. …I've seen my impact in real time."

While the Black population in baseball is slightly growing, MLB continues to see gains internationally, with 26.1% of its players born outside the United States, spanning 16 countries and territories. Japan has 14 players in MLB, its most since 2010. Canada has 17 players, the country’s most since 2013, including Black Canadians Josh and Bo Naylor. The Dominican Republic has 93 players in the big leagues, leading all foreign nations.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Black MLB players see growth again in 2026 population

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” — Robert Burns

Often the best judge of a general manager’s character is not what happens when things go according to plan, but what happens when those plans go sideways. In some sense, fans will want to hold Dana Brown accountable for not having contingency plans for some of these injuries and poor play, but some of that is not reasonable. The question is what happens from here.

I often wish I could be a fly on the wall when general managers and other executives talk. Dana Brown could be forgiven for feeling some desperation. It is hard to imagine so many plans going awry so quickly and so completely. On the one hand, the team sits at 6-7 and they have been in more dire straits before. Seemingly, they have been in worse position in each of the past three seasons at different points of the season. So, panic is not on the level of believing you are tumbling out of contention in mid-April.

The panic probably results from a number of calculated gambles that have all come up snake eyes. Jake Meyers pulled up lame in his first at bat of the game and could be disabled. When the Astros broke camp the assumption was that Zach Cole would be ready to step in and take over in that instance. He fell on his face this spring and then broke his foot in AAA. He is out a couple of months at least himself. The team can deploy Brice Mathews this year, but his K rate is close to 50 percent. That’s problem number one.

Problems two through infinity are all on the mound. The club hoped that Mike Burrows would step up and become a number two starter. That hasn’t happened yet. Tatsuya Imai looked good in his second start, but he is hardly a sure thing either. The only sure thing in the rotation is no longer a sure thing. Hunter Brown is on the shelf for at least a month.

The news went from bad to worse when Cristian Javier suddenly left the game before throwing a pitch in the second inning. He wasn’t off to a good start to begin with. Couple that with the sudden ineffectiveness of Bryan Abreu and you could be forgiven for looking past the 6-7 record and expressing more pessimism in the moment. For a general manager in the last year of a contract, this is the nightmare scenario. A normal general manager on a longer leash would exercise patience. A guy that wants to win now to keep his job must be sweating bullets.

I make no bones about the fact that I am a data driven guy. However, this commentary is not offered in the form of a lab because the labs have to remain pure to the search for truth and knowledge. This is more a gut feel. My gut is based on data and analytical thinking in part, but there is also an emotional bent to it. This feels like an avalanche. The temptation is to make some kind of trade to bring a jolt into a team reeling from sudden injury woes. That instinct would be a mistake.

Part of this is based on science. Vince Gennero used to be the president of SABR and he wrote a landmark book called “Diamond Dollars.” In that book he posited a lot of revolutionary ideas and one of those was the sweet spot of when to spend. Most good players are worth three to five wins. Six plus win players are rarely available and players worth less than three wins are probably not worth a major investment. That is true for free agency, but it is also true for trades.

The hot name right now is Sandy Alcantara. He is an impending free agent, so it is fairly certain that the Marlins will deal him before the deadline to recoup some value there. He is 2-0 with an ERA under 1.00 in the early part of the season, so it appears he is back to top form. The temptation is to think that a healthy Brown and Alcantara could team with Burrows and Imai to form a pretty good top four of a playoff rotation. That is assuming that it would be enough to get into the playoffs.

Gennaro posited that the sweet spot for making moves was when a team was somewhere around 85 wins. Those three to five wins would throw you into the playoffs. This is probably where commenters would point out that I picked them to win 85 games. This was based on a healthy Brown and a reasonably effective Cristian Javier and Bryan Abreu. This has the look of an 80 win team now. I’m not sure that warrants expending prospect capital to turn the tide.

This is the other half of the equation. The Astros don’t have a ton of hot prospects. Kevin Alvarez, Ethan Frey, Xavier Neyens, and Walker Janek qualify on that front. An Alcantara (or other similar player) would cost at least two of them. With Yainer Diaz looking overmatched, trading Janek has to be seen as a no go. That leaves you two of the three others (and probably one more prospect). In a system with few impact position player prospects, that would be extremely painful and Alcantara would be a pure rental.

Not making a trade does not mean surrendering. You have depth in Sugar Land that might help you stem the tide. Obviously, situations can change. Just a week ago we were feeling good about a 5-2 baseball team. It isn’t the losses that hurt. It is losing three players in the span of a week. This feels like 2025 all over again. It feels like fixing holes in a boat with chewing gum. That’s not the right time for desperation moves. The best move is to hope everything stabilizes. If it does then you can reevaluate a decision to add down the line. If it doesn’t then all the additions in the world won’t matter.

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers were off yesterday.

They spent the off day releasing their new city connect uniforms.

Evan Grant has details on the jersey paying homage to North Texas’ Mexican heritage.

Jeff Wilson says the Rangers are bringing back red.

Elsewhere Wilson also has notes on the Rangers’ big sweep before they take on the mighty Dodgers.

Grant takes a look at where the team stands before its long road trip.

Grant also had a long YouTube Q&A where he answered fan questions.

And finally Evan will be waiting tables at Rodeo Goat today to raise money for Mercy Street Dallas.

That’s all for this morning. The Rangers take on the Dodgers tonight 9 with Kumar Rocker getting the late start for Texas.

Happy Friday!

When the Phillies acquired Jonathan Bowlan in a trade over the winter with the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Matt Strahm, you would have been forgiven if it was the first time you were ever hearing about someone named Jonathan Bowlan. The 29-year-old had only appeared in 37 career MLB games to that point, spending the majority of his professional career in the minor leagues.

But the Phillies apparently saw something more in Bowlan, and despite an unglamorous spring, he has found himself primarily used as the third right-hander out of the Phillies bullpen after Jhoan Duran and Brad Keller thanks in part to the previous absence of Orion Kerkering. So far in 2026, Bowlan has allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings pitched. But he also has five strikeouts and has yet to walk a batter.

He’s flashed some impressive stuff, as Bowlan is averaging 97.5 MPH on his fastball, a full 2 MPH increase from 2025. He’s thrown his new sweeper ten times and has generated a swing and miss on nine of those pitches. In addition to adding that sweeper, the Phillies also have had Bowlan change his pix mitch so far, throwing his changeup more and his slider less than he has in the past. Again, this is in a miniscule sample size of just 84 total pitches, but it will be interesting if this mix is the plan going forward.

Meanwhile the man traded for Bowlan, Matt Strahm, has allowed three runs in 4.2 IP for the Royals with two walks and five strikeouts. But whereas Bowlan’s velocity is up two miles per hour, Strahm’s is down two miles per hour to 90.1 MPH from his already diminishing 92.3 MPH from last season. The direction of both relievers will be something interesting to track as the 2026 season goes on.

So, what are your first impressions of Jonathan Bowlan? Is there something here and he’s only scratching the surface of what the Phillies pitching program can pull out? Or is he just an unimpressive depth reliever? Has anything Bowlan’s done stood out in any way to you, good or bad?