Category: MLB

Davey Lopes, the no-nonsense, base-swiping second baseman on a historic Dodgers infield that played together for a record 8½ seasons, died Wednesday at age 80, the Dodgers announced.

The first 10 years of Lopes' 16-year major league career were spent with the Dodgers, and he returned to the organization in 2011 to serve as first-base coach for five years. Lopes was a four-time All-Star who won two stolen base titles, one Gold Glove and helped the Dodgers to four World Series, including the championship in 1981.

Taken in the second round of a 1968 Dodgers draft haul considered the most talented in baseball history, the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Lopes rose from a rough-and-tumble Rhode Island upbringing to become the team's everyday second baseman and leadoff batter by 1973.

Lopes played outfield in the minor leagues but became part of a bold move by Dodgers manager Walter Alston before the 1973 season: Lopes would move to second base, Bill Russell from center field to shortstop and Steve Garvey from third to first base. Ron Cey would be installed at third. The Dodgers moved longtime coach and scout Monty Basgall — known as an exceptional infield instructor — from the front office to the field to help the players adjust to their new roles.

Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto dazzles in his Toronto return as Dodgers extend their win streak

The quartet took the infield together for the first time in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in a sold-out Dodger Stadium on June 23, 1973. They stuck together through their 1981 World Series championship season, after which Lopes was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Lance Hudson, a utility player who never reached the major leagues.

Lopes continued to play well, not retiring until 1987 at age 42. He stole 557 bases and was successful in 83% of his attempts, one of the best rates in major league history. He also displayed power for a leadoff batter, hitting 155 home runs, including a career high of 28 for the Dodgers in 1979.

Although Lopes' lifetime batting average was .263, he had an excellent eye, walking nearly as many times as he struck out and logging an excellent .349 on-base percentage. He scored 1,023 runs in 1,812 career games.

As games progressed, Lopes typically batted after the pitcher, who was at the bottom of the order. He became adept at stalling tactics that gave pitchers ample rest if they'd just returned to the dugout after running the bases.

Times assistant sports editor Houston Mitchell, a lifelong Dodgers follower, described what happened next: "Lopes was a magician at wasting time to give the pitcher a chance to towel off and cool down a bit. Especially if there were two out. Lopes would spend an extra moment or two in the on-deck circle. He'd take his time getting the round weight off his bat. Then he would slowly walk to the batter’s box."

Read more:1981 Dodgers say they never doubted they would beat the Yankees, win the World Series

David Earl Lopes was born May 3, 1945, and raised in East Providence, R.I., a town of Irish, Portuguese and Cape Verdean immigrants seeking jobs in factories and along the waterfront. One of 12 children, Lopes was a toddler when his father died. Lopes’ mother, Mary Rose, worked as a domestic.

Lopes often described his upbringing as difficult, referring to his neighborhood as a "ghetto" and describing it to Times columnist Jim Murray as “roaches, rats, poor living conditions, drugs as prevalent as candy."

“If it hadn’t been for sports, there’s no telling what I’d be or where I’d be,” Lopes told The Times' Ross Newhan in 1973. “All I had to do is step off the porch to a choice of all the things you associate with a ghetto."

Long before he became an accomplished base stealer, Lopes said he became an expert at shoplifting. “I never stole anything major, just clothes and baseballs and bats,” he told Murray.

Lopes needed an adult role model and one came along in the coach at an opposing high school, Mike Sarkesian, who grew up in a Providence tenement but became the basketball coach and athletic director at Iowa Wesleyan College the year Lopes graduated from high school.

“Whatever I missed by having not really had a father, Sarkesian provided,” Lopes told Newhan. “He could relate to my problems, my environment. The drive, the determination, not to give in to the ghetto, to make something of my life, stems from my relations with him.”

Sarkesian recruited Lopes to play baseball at Iowa Wesleyan. Two years later, Sarkesian became athletic director at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., Lopes went with him. Lopes was taken by the San Francisco Giants in the eighth round of the 1967 MLB draft but opted to return to Washburn, where he played baseball and basketball well enough to be inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1987.

The Dodgers drafted him in the second round a year later and Lopes signed for $10,000. He skipped spring training his first two minor league seasons to complete his classes at Washburn and graduated in 1969 with a degree in elementary education.

Lopes spent the 1968 and 1969 seasons at Class-A Daytona Beach, and married Linda Lee Vandover during his first season. The night before the wedding he broke up no-hitters in both games of a doubleheader with late-inning hits.

A promotion to triple-A Spokane came in 1970. His manager was Tommy Lasorda and the team was exceptional, posting a record of 94-52. Among his teammates were Garvey and Russell as well as other future major leaguers Bill Buckner, Bobby Valentine and Tom Paciorek.

Lasorda recalled Lopes as so shy he wouldn't speak to anyone. “It took two years, but he finally came around,” Lasorda said. “[He] finally got to the point where he felt he belonged.”

Read more:Remembering Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda

Lopes showed improvement at the plate his second year at Spokane, batting .306 with Cey as a teammate. The Dodgers moved their triple-A affiliate to Albuquerque in 1972 and in his third season at that level Lopes exhibited the blend of power and speed that would be his calling card, posting a slugging percentage of .476 while stealing 48 bases.

Five years in the minor leagues after having attended college meant Lopes was 27 when he made his major league debut that September. He was the opening day second baseman the following year and turned 28 a month into the season.

Lopes quickly made up for lost time, his stolen base totals increasing in each of his first three full seasons from 36 to 59 to 77. On Aug. 24, 1974, he stole five bases in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, becoming the first NL player to do so since 1904.

It wasn't long before the best catcher in baseball, the Reds' Johnny Bench, lauded Lopes, saying, "He’s the best there is at stealing. Lopes not only has the knowledge and speed, but also the quick acceleration. He has everything.”

The once reticent Lopes also showed leadership qualities as early as 1976, when a throw by new Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker had missed the cutoff man.

“We don’t play that way,” Lopes told Baker.

"Hey, I almost threw him out.” the Dodgers newcomer replied.

“We don’t play that way,” Lopes emphasized.

"I’d never had a player get in my face like that, and I didn’t like it too much,” Baker recalled of the incident. “I looked up and the whole team was coming over to back up Davey.”

Lopes was popular with fans as well. In 1980, he received 3,862,403 votes to lead all MLB players and start at second base in the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. That was his third of four consecutive All-Star appearances.

The Dodgers were consistent winners with Lopes, Garvey, Russell and Cey anchoring the infield, but lost the World Series in 1974 to the Athletics and in 1977 and '78 to the Yankees. In 1981, however, they broke through, winning the Fall Classic for the first time since 1966 by defeating the Yankees in six games.

“They can do anything they want with us now," said Lopes, who set a record by stealing 10 bases in 10 attempts that postseason. "I've got the ring. They can't take that away from me."

Youngster Steve Sax, however, did take his job. Lopes, 36, was traded to the A's during the offseason. He was hardly through, playing another six seasons and even stealing 47 bases in 99 games in 1985 for the Chicago Cubs to become the first 40-year-old player to steal more bases than his age.

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: Davey Lopes calls it a career

Lopes retired after the 1987 season and spent the next four years as a coach under Valentine with the Texas Rangers. Next he coached for three years under another former teammate, Baltimore Orioles manager Johnny Oates, and for four years with the San Diego Padres under Bruce Bochy.

In 2000, Lopes got his shot at managing, signing a three-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, who posted losing records in his first two seasons. When the Brewers won only three of their first 15 games in 2002, Lopes was fired.

“A lot of people discouraged me from taking [the Brewers job] because they thought I was just setting myself up for failure,” Lopes told The Times' Ross Newhan, sensing the odds were catching up to him, “but I was determined to show them I could do it.”

Lopes returned to the Padres as a first-base coach from 2003-2005. He spent one season as the Washington Nationals’ first-base coach and baserunning adviser, and he served in the same capacity for the Phillies from 2007 to 2010.

The Phillies led the major leagues in stolen base percentage three times during his tenure and won the 2008 World Series championship, but that season began with a serious health issue for Lopes. Days before spring training, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was in remission by opening day.

In 2011, Times columnist Bill Plaschke lobbied for the Dodgers to add Lopes to the coaching staff. General manager Ned Colletti did just that. Lopes displayed an empathy for young players, saying, "I’ve been there, I know what it’s like when you’re young and you need to know somebody is covering your back. Sometimes you feel lost, and you need a coach or manager to alleviate that.”

Read more:Getting Davey Lopes back with the Dodgers would be a steal

Lopes served as Dodgers first-base coach for five years — immediately improving the team's base-stealing prowess — before closing out his five-decade baseball career in 2017 as a coach for the Nationals under his old teammate Baker.

“I’m not doing much. I’m retired, taking it easy,” Lopes said about retirement on a podcast. “It was not a difficult decision to make, but one I was kind of hesitant to make. But it all works out.

"I got the opportunity to play, manage or coach for a long, long time. I’m extremely thankful. I was one of the lucky ones in the big leagues for 45 straight years. That’s a long time. I have no complaints.”

Lopes is survived by two brothers, Patrick and John, and four sisters, Jean, Judith, Mary and Nina.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers look to end their road trip undefeated as they wrap things up against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Shohei Ohtani makes his first start in Toronto Game 7 of last year’s World Series, and he’ll face right-hander Dylan Cease.

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Blue Jays,
• Stadium: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
• Time: 12:07 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

One more game against the Dodgers and then they can get lost. And it is an afternoon game. “Work from Dome”, it says.

If you are interested at all, I’ll be in Takamatsu, Japan today. I know nothing about it, but the pictures are pretty. But, as I write this I’m still getting ready to go. We’ve been told we should learn a few phrases in Japanese and I have the ‘thank you’ (doumo arigatou) and the thing you say before eating down (Itadakimasu). And a few other things.

A few years ago we hosted Japanese students who came here to learn English and we learned some stuff. I still remember how to say cold and hot (which likely won’t come in that handy). I have never been great at learning other languages. I did ok in high school french until we had to remember if nouns were masculine or feminine. Then I kind of checked out.

Go Jays Go.

Diamondbacks News

Gallen Grinds Through Five in Extra Inning Loss
It wasn’t pretty, but Zac Gallen did what he needed to in order to complete five full innings and keep his club in the game. A successful late-game ABS challenge by ADC allowed the Snakes to score three with two outs to take the lead, but then the bullpen was unable to lock things up.

Three Offseason Moves Already Looking Questionable
We’re going to be hearing about the practical Blaze Alexander trade all year aren’t we?

Eduardo Rodriguez is Looking Like X-Factor for Arizona
Eduardo Rodriguez has picked up right where he left off in the WBC, giving the Diamondbacks two stellar outings in his two turns on the bump so far. The veteran lefty is currently looking very much like the pitcher Arizona thought they were signing three winters ago.

Other Baseball News

Spicy Predictions for the Season After Two Weeks
Some of the eye-popping predictions include Shea Langoliers hitting 50 dingers this season and the Pirates winning the NL Central.

Konnor Griffin Signs Extension with Pittsburgh
The deal is for 9-years/$140 million and includes incentives that could push the total to $150 million.

A Lukewarm Take on Ice-Cold Bats
Strikeouts and walks are both up while BABIP is down. Hitters are having a harder time than ever finding batted ball success, despite MLB’s efforts to stack the deck in their favour.

After splitting the first two games of the three game series against the San Francisco Giants, on Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies will go for the rarest of feats: Winning a series in Oracle Park.

Aaron Nola gets the ball for the Phillies, coming off of a strong start against the Rockies.

He will be opposed by veteran righthander Tyler Mable, off to a shaky start in his first season with the Giants.

Game time is 3:45 PM Eastern and will be televised locally on NBCSP.

Hang the red, white and blue bunting. Cue the pregame pomp and circumstance.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are coming home for the first time in 2026.

After opening the season with nine games on the road. the RailRiders are set for their home opener at PNC Field against the Durham Bulls, top affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The six-game series was scheduled to begin Tuesday night, but cold temperatures and below-freezing wind chills in northeast Pennsylvania caused the first game to be postponed. The opener is now scheduled for tonight (Wednesday).

It has been a successful start to the season for the 6-3 RailRiders. They took the final four games of the series last week in Rochester, outscoring the Red Wings, 46-22. They had one game where they scored 17 runs and another where they scored 16. They hit 14 home runs, including 11 in the final three games. Yanquiel Fernández accounted for three of them. Paul DeJong, Jasson Domínguez, and Ernesto Martinez Jr. each had two. One of Martinez’s homers was a grand slam. No. 6 prospect Spencer Jones also had a grand slam in the series finale.

On the mound, the bullpen was solid, accounting for all four wins. Yovanny Cruz led the way with one win and one save, not allowing a hit, run or walk in 2.1 innings with four strikeouts. Perhaps the one area where the RailRiders could improve is defensively. They’ve committed 13 errors, which are the most in Triple-A.

Now, they head home to face a Durham team that is off to a 2-7 start. The Bulls dropped four of six in their series last week against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies’ Triple-A club.

Durham becomes the 10th opponent Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has faced in a home opener in franchise history. Syracuse is the most at seven times (5-2). Buffalo (4-2) and Tidewater / Norfolk (1-5) are next at six each, followed by Rochester at five (1-4); Pawtucket (2-1), Ottawa (0-3) and Lehigh Valley (3-0) three each; Richmond at two (1-1); and Columbus once (0-1).

Overall, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is 17-19 in home openers. Since becoming a New York Yankees affiliate in 2007, it is 11-7 in home openers — 4-2 as the Yankees (2007-12), 7-5 as the RailRiders (2013-25). They won four straight from 2017-21, and from 2008-10 they won three straight by shutout. They blanked Lehigh Valley in 2008, 4-0, on a combined one-hitter, including six perfect innings from Kei Igawa. In 2009, after starting 8-0 on the road, they came home and blanked Rochester, 11-0, as former AL Rookie of the Year winner Angel Berroa had four hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs. In 2010, four pitchers combined of a six-hit shutout and made David Winfree’s home run hold up for a 1-0 whitewashing of Buffalo.

Here are some other noteworthy home openers in franchise history:

April 26, 1989: Baseball returns to northeast Pennsylvania. After playing its first 16 games of the season on the road, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons christen Lackawanna County Stadium with a 9-2 loss to the Tidewater Tides.

April 7, 1994: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre faces the Columbus Clippers, who were the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate at the time. Dave Silvestri and Chito Martinez each had three hits in the Clippers’ 7-4 win, spoiling future Cubs skipper Mike Quade’s debut as SWB manager. For the Clippers, a little-known catcher named Jorge Posada went 0-for-4.

April 5, 2007: Playing its first home opener as a Yankees affiliate after nearly two decades with the Phillies, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lost to the Norfolk Tides, 7-5. Norfolk scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to erase a 4-2 deficit, as the bullpen let down Scranton starter Tyler Clippard, who went on to have a 16-year MLB career and multiple stints with the Yankees.

April 14, 2012: This “home” opener actually was played in Syracuse. This was the season where Scranton/Wilkes-Barre played home games in Rochester, Syracuse, Batavia, and Buffalo (as well as Pawtucket and Allentown) as the unofficial “Empire State Yankees” while PNC Field underwent a reconstruction project. They won, 6-2; familiar starters for the Yankees that day included catcher Francisco Cervelli, first baseman Steve Pearce, shortstop Ramiro Peña, center fielder Dewayne Wise, and pitcher Adam Warren.

April 4, 2013: Playing as the RailRiders for the first time at the renovated PNC Field, Pawtucket spoils the home opener by scoring five runs in the top of the 10th inning for an 8-4 victory. The RailRiders left 17 runners on base in the game. Current Yankees assistant pitching coach Preston Claiborne threw an inning and a third of relief in this one, fanning three, with soon-to-be Yankees backup catcher Austin Romine behind the plate.*

*Editor’s note: And Zoilo Almonte batting third, playing left field. Because I (Andrew) am contractually obligated to reference Zoilo Almonte at all possible times.

One of the highlights of this year’s home opener will be the unveiling of a massive new video scoreboard that spans nearly 3,000 square feet — 1,876 square feet larger than the previous board. The outfield LED wall and in-park ribbon boards also have been replaced and a new sound system has been installed around PNC Field.

The Houston Astros (6-6) seek to salvage the finale of this 3-game series with the Colorado Rockies (5-6) in Denver.

RHP Cristian Javier will be on the mound for the Astros opposite RHP Michael Lorenzen and the Rockies.

TODAY’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP Cristian Javier is set to make his third start of the season.

In his last start on April 3 at ATH, he allowed six runs on six hits and five walks with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He

is coming off a strong Spring Training in which he posted 1.69 ERA (2ER/10.2IP) in three official appearances.

Javier, who was limited to just eight starts in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is 35-23 in his career with a 3.81 ERA (231ER/546.1IP).

ROAD TRIP: Today is the sixth game of a 10-game road trip for the Astros. After this three-game set at COL, the Astros will travel to Seattle for a four-game series at T-Mobile Park (Fri-Mon.).

The Astros are 1-4 so far on this trip. Houston went 41-40 on the road last season.

AGAINST THE ROCKIES: The Astros and Rockies face each other today for the third of six scheduled matchups in 2026.

The Astros went 4-2 against the Rockies in the in 2025, including a 2-1 record at Coors Field.

The Astros own a 110-89 all-time record against the Rockies. The Rockies will travel to Daikin Park for a three-game series from April 14-16.

LEAGUE LEADERS: The Astros lead the Majors in runs (78), doubles (34) total bases (196), hits (114), walks (65) and OBP (.379).

Individually, LF Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in walks (13) and ranks second in OBP (.540).

2B Jose Altuve leads the Majors in runs (12) and 1B Christian Walker ranks tied for first in the Majors in doubles (6) and third in RBI (13).

WALKER AT COORS: 1B Christian Walker has batted .346 (66×191) with 12 doubles, 15 HR, 40 RBI and a 1.050 OPS in 49 career games at Coors Field. His 1.050 OPS at Coors Field is the highest among active players, directly ahead of PHI IF Bryce Harper (1.036 OPS).

MR. SMITH: RF Cam Smith has recorded a hit in eight consecutive games, which is the longest hitting streak of his career.

He’s batting .407 (11×27) with two doubles, six RBI, four walks, two stolen bases and a 1.299 OPS during the streak. It is also tied for the longest active hitting streak in the Majors.

HOT START: The Astros have scored 78 runs this season, which is the most in the Majors. The 78 runs are also the second-most in the first 12 games to begin a season in franchise history, directly behind the 2004 season, where the Astros scored 84 runs in the first 12 games of the season.

AL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Monday, LF Yordan Alvarez was named the American League Player of the Week for the week of March 30-April 5. Alvarez batted .471 (8×17) with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, seven walks and a 1.733 OPS for the week. This marked the fourth time that Alvarez has been named the AL Player of the Week.

FUTURE HALL OF FAMER: 2B Jose Altuve recorded his 2,400th career hit on Mon. night at COL on a double in the first inning. He became the second active player to record at least 2,400 hits, joining LAD IF Freddie Freeman.

Altuve also joins IF Craig Biggio as the only two players in franchise history with at least 2,400 hits.

YORDAN’S UPCOMING MILESTONES: LF Yordan Alvarez recorded his 174th career home run on Sunday at ATH.

The home run tied him with franchise icon OF George Springer for seventh on the Astros all-time list. Next up on the Astros all-time list is 3B Alex Bregman (191 HR).

THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER: RF Cam Smith went 2×4 with a home run, double and two runs scored on Mon. night vs. COL. The home run was launched 462 feet, making it the longest home run by any player in the Majors this season. The second longest home run this season was 460 feet by PHI OF Kyle Schwarber.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Wednesday, April 7, 2:10 p.m. CST

Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO.

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Get your brooms out, friends, because the Colorado Rockies are looking to sweep the Houston Astros at Coors Field! Extraordinary pitching and timely hitting have nabbed the first two games of the series for the Rockies, who are now a surprising 5-6 on the young season and aim for a .500 record for the first time since they were 1-1 on the second day of the 2025 season.

Michael Lorenzen (0-1, 14.73 ERA) is looking to make amends after a rough outing in the home opener, where he allowed nine runs on 12 hits over three innings of work. The veteran right-hander looks to adjust his plan of attack, mainly wanting to command his pitches better to attack the strike zone and get ahead of opposing batters. In his career, he has a 6.86 ERA in 21 innings against the Astros. Starting pitching has been solid through the home stand and hopefully Lorenzen can end it on a high note.

Cristian Javier (0-1, 12.96 ERA) has also had a rough start to the year for the Astros. He has allowed six runs in each of his first two starts, allowing a total of 12 runs in 8 1/3 innings. Walks have been his main issue as he has issued nine free passes against just three walks. The Rockies have needed to show more patience, and today might be a good opportunity to do so.

First Pitch: 1:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

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

SB Nation Site: The Crawfish Boxes

Lineups:

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One storyline that came out of Spring Training was that the Nats offense was a work in progress and the pitching staff could be a pleasant surprise. Just about every Nationals pitcher looked great this spring, while the offense was feeble outside of Brady House. However, when the real games started, the script totally flipped. 

We have talked about the Nats pitching staff, so I wanted to give the offense some love. Right now, they are in the top three in most major categories, including OPS, batting average, runs and home runs. Blake Butera is getting productive at bats from guys up and down the lineup, and it has been a joy to watch.

While the Nats offense is unlikely to stay this hot, there are positive trends that I think will stick. The overall approach of most Nats hitters is a lot better. That is not just from the big names at the top of the order. Players like Jorbit Vivas and Curtis Mead have consistently put together quality at bats. The biggest thing I have noticed is that the Nats are making pitchers earn the outs they get.

Being hard to kill is a great way to make a starting pitcher’s pitch count climb. A good way to have a quality offense is to make the starters pitch count climb and get into the underbelly of a bullpen. That is what the Nats have been doing so far. I have also loved all the damage they are doing with two outs. They are not just packing it in when there is nobody on and two outs. Nats hitters are always applying pressure and being the aggressor.

I am really impressed with the work that new hitting coach Matt Borgschulte has done so far. He is helping Nats hitters be aggressive yet also patient. That is a tough gap to bridge, but so far Nats hitters are doing that. 

We are seeing Nats hitters work the count more and take walks. Paul highlighted this in his story yesterday. CJ Abrams and Brady House are two players who are showing much better approaches. Abrams’ chase rate is actually not that different from last year, but he is still finding a way to walk at a 13% clip so far this season. That walk rate will come down, but if Abrams can walk closer to 10% of the time instead of 5%, that would help him a ton as a hitter.

The player who has transformed his offensive game the most though is Brady House. Last year, he did not seem to have much of a plan up there. He was just reacting and swinging at just about everything. However, we saw a different looking hitter in Spring Training and that has carried over into the regular season.

House is hitting .317 with a .915 OPS. It is not just about the numbers though. His plan at the plate looks much improved. House is learning to sit on pitches and wait for a certain pitch in a certain spot early in the count. He is also learning that it is okay to take strikes if they are not your pitch to hit. 

The perfect example of House sitting on a pitch was his homer on a breaking ball the other night. Right as he hammered a sweeper into the red seats, Ryan Zimmerman could instantly tell he was sitting on first pitch breaking ball. I am not sure if House would have had that defined plan last season. It was an example of a 22 year old hitter figuring things out in the big leagues.

We have also seen adjustments from struggling hitters like James Wood. To begin the season, Wood was getting in trouble by being too passive. However, he has been using more calculated aggression lately, and the results are coming. We did not see those kinds of adjustments in the past, and if we did, it would have come after weeks and weeks of struggling.

Nats fans were hard on Darnell Coles, and so far they have been proved right. This offense looks so much smarter and better prepared. It is still early, but this offense is truly explosive. We have not seen an offense like this since that Kyle Schwarber led bonanza in 2021. You have to give the Nats hitting coaches a lot of credit for this.

The players themselves also deserve credit for buying in and accepting their roles. It would have been easy for CJ Abrams to pout about being moved from the leadoff spot to the 5 or 6 hole. However, that move has turned out to be a blessing for him. He is evolving into a true run producer and is leading the league in RBI’s.

It is a small sample, and I would be surprised if the Nats offense finished the year with a batting average over .275 and an OPS over .800. However, the Nats talented young core of hitters seems to finally be putting it together. Whether it is due to approach changes, swing changes or just being hot, just about every Nats hitter is seeing it well right now.

This will be something we follow throughout the season. Sure, the pitching staff has been a disaster, but this offense deserves some serious props. This is the area where we are seeing the impact of the new coaching staff. However, Matt Borgschulte will face his biggest test in the second half. Wood and Abrams have histories of fading down the stretch. Now we will find out if that was a coaching problem, or part of their games. I am going to just sit back and enjoy the Nats offensive explosion while it lasts.

Before you jump all over me for even thinking this, please know that this article is tongue in cheek.

Mostly.

Cade Horton is now the latest in a long sequence of Cubs players to wear No. 22 who have had their MLB time either interrupted by injury or affected by other things where they wound up with lesser careers than they might have.

Don’t believe me?

Here are all the Cubs who have worn No. 22. (And please indulge me a plug here for the book “Cubs By The Numbers,” which I co-authored with Kasey Ignarski and Matt Silverman.)

No one of significance wore the number before the late 1960s, when popular backup infielder Paul Popovich wore it for three Cub stints, in 1964, 1966-67 and again from 1969-73. Nothing unusual happened to him in his eight Cubs seasons, though he wasn’t much of a hitter (.237/.293/.308 in 436 games and 1,259 plate appearances). Back then, backup middle infielders weren’t expected to hit, and in fact, Popovich was a capable defender.

Since then, though?

Bill Buckner wore No. 22 for eight years from 1977-84. He hit well enough, .300/.332/.439 in 974 games and 4,043 PA. In fact, Buckner is one of just seven Cubs to have a .300 BA in at least 4,000 PA with the team (also Cap Anson, Jimmy Ryan, Billy Herman, Kiki Cuyler, Stan Hack and Mark Grace). But injuries limited Buckner, who played 150+ games only twice in those eight Cubs seasons.

Mike Harkey, the Cubs’ No 1 pick (fourth overall) out of Cal State-Fullerton in 1987, was expected to be the Cubs’ next big star pitcher. He had a nice first full year in 1990 (12-6, 3.26 ERA, 4.6 bWAR, fifth in Rookie of the Year voting), but injuries then ruined his career and he was done after 1997. He served as the Yankees’ bullpen coach for many years, but was not renewed for this year.

Rondell White wore No. 22 for the Cubs in 2000 and 2001. White had also been a first-round pick (24th overall) of the Expos in 1990, but after a number of injuries he was traded to the Cubs in July 2000 for Scott Downs. After 114 injury-plagued games for the Cubs he left as a free agent. The DH in the NL might have helped him, as he had a couple of decent DH years for the Tigers after leaving the Cubs.

The next No. 22 for the Cubs was Mark Prior, and I don’t think I need to tell you about his potential and the injuries that destroyed his career. Prior has done well as the Dodgers’ pitching coach for the last seven years.

A few guys wore No. 22 after Prior for a season or two, including Addison Russell, who wore it in 2015. Let’s not belabor Russell’s troubles.

Jason Heyward, who had worn No. 22 his entire career to honor a high school friend who died in a car accident, asked Russell to switch so he could have it when he signed with the Cubs. You all know about Heyward’s offensive struggles in Chicago, though he did win two Gold Gloves and made an important speech in Cleveland. If you don’t think that speech mattered, just ask the 2016 World Series champion players — they all thought it did. Heyward is a good dude who is running a baseball academy in Chicago for underprivileged kids. But his Cubs career on the field was underwhelming.

Luis Torrens? Thirteen games as a Cub, going 5-for-20.

Matt Mervis? People were buying his No. 22 jersey before he even played in a single game for the Cubs — I took this photo in the Wrigley Field bleachers on May 5, 2023, just before that day’s game when Mervis made his MLB debut (and no, those are not his parents, who you can see here in an interview done that day):

Mervis went 1-for-4 that day, but overall he didn’t hit and the Cubs eventually traded him to the Marlins for Vidal Bruján. Miami let him go as well, and Mervis was released by the Nationals after Spring Training this year.

Here are some other Cubs who wore No. 22 since Paul Popovich… most of whom you’ve probably forgotten, or never heard of in the first place: Vic LaRose, Ron Dunn, Wayne Tyrone, Eddie Zambrano, Tarrik Brock, Kevin Hart, Tom Gorzelanny, Logan Watkins and Felix Doubront.

And now, Cade Horton. Who, after just 25 games wearing No. 22, already ranks eighth in Cubs history in bWAR (2.2) among players who wore that number (ahead of him: Prior 15,7, Heyward 9.1, Buckner 8.6, Harkey 4.5, Dizzy Dean 3.8, Matt Garza 3.1 and White 2.6).

Maybe it’s not the uniform number. Probably it’s not the uniform number.

But when Horton returns sometime in 2027, just in case… maybe he should pick a new number. No. 22 for the Cubs just doesn’t seem lucky.

Is Eli White okay? I haven’t seen anything indicating he is, but that makes this particular Braves arrangement a bit of a headscratcher:

A lot of this is what we’ve seen be the Braves’ usual fare against lefties this season. But Mike Yastrzemski is hanging out there, left-on-left, in the seventh spot in the lineup. White hit sixth against the first three southpaws the Braves faced this year, and then dropped to seventh last night. So, who knows. A bit odd, that.

The Anaheim lineup is all familiar faces at this point. It’s actually the same lineup as yesterday, except that Jorge Soler and Jo Adell swap right field/DH duties, and Logan O’Hoppe, who started on Monday, replaces Travis d’Arnaud at catcher. The Angels will be playing their 13th game, and they will have used this lineup in seven of them — they haven’t repeated any other lineup yet.

Alright, let’s get to the matchups. Everyone in the Braves’ lineup has faced Reid Detmers at least once, save for Ozzie Albies. Jonah Heim has a .319 xwOBA / .294 wOBA in 18 PAs; Mauricio Dubon has a .337 xwOBA / .596 wqOBA in 12 PAs (with a homer). Everyone else has only a pittance of experience, though Matt Olson has also taken Detmers deep. Collectively, it’s a .357 xwOBA / .375 wOBA in 47 PAs.

For the Angels, all but Oswald Peraza and Yoan Moncada have faced Holmes, but we’re talking PA ranges of 1-4 for each player. Collectively, it’s a 20-PA sample with a .223 xwOBA / .149 wOBA that does not include any extra-base hits — remember that Holmes struck out ten Angels in six innings last year in a scoreless effort that turned into a 4-0 Braves loss late.

So, is Eli White okay?

Today, the Mariners will attempt to avoid a sweep in this year’s first iteration of breakfast baseball. Yes, anything in the morning is considered “breakfast baseball”. No, I will not comment on whether I am actually eating breakfast at 11:35 in the morning.

Coming off of four straight one-run losses, they’ll ask Bryan Woo to play the role of stopper. Woo, who last year was Seattle’s best starter, has again looked brilliant this year. Were it not for his seven scoreless innings last Friday against Anaheim, the Mariners would likely be looking at 3-9, which for some reason feels much worse than 4-8.

Unfortunately, the Mariners woke up to some early bad news: Victor Robles has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to yesterday, with a right pectoral strain. Per Ryan Divish, Robles suffered the injury during pre-game warmups yesterday. In a corresponding move, the Mariners called up veteran utility man Connor Joe from Tacoma. Joe has bounced around for years, endearing himself to various fan bases with a hot streak here and there. We’ll see if he can sustain a red-hot Spring Training in which he hit .362.

This will also be the Mariners’ last game in the state of Texas for over a month, so be sure to savor Jay Buhner while you can.

Lineups

Joe immediately gets the call at first base with the Mariners facing off against southpaw Mackenzie Gore. The matinee fortuitously aligns with a matchup against the aforementioned lefty, allowing Cal to get a pseudo-day-off with Garver slotting in at catcher. In other news, the Rob Refsnyder Leadoff Experiment continues. The Mariners had better hope their platoon advantages carry them early in this one.

Not much to say here. This is one of those lineups that doesn’t feel like it should be good, but keeps scoring just enough runs, so who am I to say?

Game Info

Game time: 11:35 AM PT

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports

Without question the bullpen is the true dark underbelly of the A’s 2026 roster. The offense sputtered out of the gate but is widely regarded by pundits as having a “top 5 in MLB” ceiling with scoring runs being among the team’s lesser concerns overall.

The rotation is certainly questionable but outside of a shaky start when he was pitching sick, Luis Severino has looked great, Jeffrey Springs is throwing harder and pitching well, Aaron Civale has been solid in his 2 starts, and Jacob Lopez is still recovering from a shortened spring training — with Gage Jump and Kade Morris on the way, there is enough to like about the rotation to think it can hang in there with a good offense behind it.

And then there’s the bullpen, which has already lost the A’s 2 games out of 10. But for a Michael Kelly hanging slider to Alejandro Kirk in the 9th and a Mark Leiter Jr. hanging splitter to cap a 4-run meltdown in the 8th, the A’s could be sitting at an even .500 right now, 5-5 and just 1/2 game out of 1st place in the AL West.

It’s nothing that couldn’t be foreseen, either. The A’s opened the season with 8 relievers none of which you would really want to put into a game in the 8th or 9th inning with a small lead. The only 2 free agent signings, Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow, are at best solid “medium leverage” relievers suited to handling the 7th inning of a game you’re down 1. The same is true of Kelly and Justin Sterner. Hogan Harris and Elvis Alvarado have troubling avoiding walks, Luis Medina is wilder than them both and has trouble missing bats, and JT Ginn struggles to contain LH batters with a strong tendency to cough up the long ball.

A fair question is “How the heck did the A’s front office conclude this was going to work?” But today’s question is more practical: what could the A’s do, before they get buried in the standings, to improve the bullpen going forward. Remember that after last May’s 1-20 debacle, A’s GM David Forst admitted that the team was probably too slow to react to the bullpen’s repeated breakdowns and should have acted quicker.

Well, David, here’s your mulligan.

Solution #1: Roll with Jack Perkins

Jack Perkins is far from a sure thing, as evidenced by the fact that he suddenly walked 5 in his first appearance at AAA this season. But here’s the rebuttal: to the extent that Perkins does not reliably throw enough strikes, he is merely on par with 3 of the current relievers (Harris, Alvarado, Medina), only he has tremendous upside and he is really hard to hit.

You’re already rolling with relievers who need to throw more strikes. Perkins is, arguably, a better version who when throwing just enough strikes is legitimately a guy you want to see in a save situation. He may be a bit of a Billy Koch type of closer, but even Koch was able to notch 144 saves over a 4 year period from 1999-2002 while causing roughly the number of heart attacks.

Corresponding Move: Option Alvarado, simply because it’s redundant to carry 4 pitchers whose main vice is wildness. Alvarado can benefit from refining his mechanics, consistency, and poor results facing LH batters (.257/.382/.473) and can be called up again later.

Solution #2: “True LH specialist” in Brady Basso

The A’s didn’t sign or trade for a lefty who can neutralize tough LH batters and as a result the organization has precious few options. One of them is Brady Basso who looked shaky enough, I guess, in spring training that he was a surprisingly early cut.

Basso started the season no better coughing up 5 runs in 0.2 IP in his second appearance. However, in his two outings since then he has been great: 2.2 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. More importantly he has proven himself, albeit still in a small sample, as someone capable of dominating LH batters at the big league level.

Basso has faced 42 LH batters in the big leagues and they have hit .158/.214/.158 against him. That’s 0 extra base hits in a 6 for 38 showing (and only 3 BB). He needs to be in the A’s bullpen so that Hogan Harris, who has actually struggled against LH batters (.269/.378/.415), isn’t the only lefty available.

Corresponding Move: DFA Scott Barlow for reasons outlined next.

Solution #3: DFA Scott Barlow

It’s nothing against Barlow personally, nor a knee-jerk reaction to one terrible appearance in which he faced 4 batters, served up a HR and a double, and issued two 4-pitch walks in between.

The issue with Barlow is that whether the A’s failed to do their due diligence, or something happened between the signing and spring training, Barlow showed up to camp with velocity well below his career norms. If that’s injury related, of course, the A’s could use the IL instead of cutting ties with him entirely, but it’s also possible the decline is age related.

In 2021 Barlow was terrific for the Royals, accumulating 2.2 fWAR while averaging 95.3 MPH on his fastball. That velocity allowed his slider to really play up as he struck out 91 in just 74.1 IP and put up a 2.42 ERA.

In 2022 his fastball velocity dipped to 93.7 MPH but was still plenty good to serve as a quality reliever worth 0.9 WAR, 24 saves and a sterling 2.18 ERA.

In 2023 his velocity dipped again but only slightly, to 93.2 MPH. He managed good K rates (79 in 68 IP) but also walked 34 (one batter every other inning) and saw his ERA double to 4.37.

Then in 2024 his velocity continued to drop, this time down to 91.6 MPH. His BB rate spiked to 5.07/9 IP.

2025 was more of the same. Barlow’s velocity came in at 92.2 MPH but his BB rate jumped to 5.93/9 IP. Clearly he was not the same pitcher throwing around 91-92 MPH rather than around 94-95 MPH.

Here’s the big problem. Barlow is not even throwing 91-92 MPH in 2026. His fastball velocity is averaging all of 89.6 MPH, as it did in spring training, and this “new normal” is not conducive to getting big league hitters out. In other words there’s no reason to think it’s going to get better unless he figures out a way to add 4 MPH to his fastball. And that probably requires a time machine.

Corresponding move: Not directly related to the bullpen, but a DFA of Barlow opens up a spot on the 40 man for the A’s to call up Kade Morris, who has looked terrific both in ST and at AAA. Note that if Morris is capable of giving the A’s 6 inning starts, even if they are not all brilliant that length helps the bullpen. (Further note: Morris is listed as tonight’s SP for the Aviators so it appears he is not getting the call Friday to face the Mets.)

Solution #3: Play the “hot hand” with Wander Suero

Wander Suero is no lock down reliever. If he were, most likely he would not be a AAA journeyman at age 34. But relievers are famously volatile, unpredictable, subject to random good seasons and random bad seasons and Suero offers a glimmer of hope that he could Jeff Tam his way to a quality season or two on his way to obscurity.

First off, he actually looked quite good in spring training with his Luis Tiant-lite motion hiding the ball and his arm slot creating some deception. He got a lot of funky swings and weak contact and commanded his pitches well.

Secondly, Suero has picked up where he left off in the Cactus League opening the season strong at AAA Las Vegas. The underlying numbers don’t look terrific, but the sample is tiny. Probably more telling is that he is pitching in a hitter’s paradise and holding his own.

Suero has only made 3 appearances but so far: 3.2 IP, 2 hit, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. For a bullpen sorely lacking in deception, whose status quo is clearly a dud, it’s a worthwhile shot in the dark to see if 2026 might be Suero’s year. If not he can always be optioned or released.

Corresponding move: DFA Michael Kelly, whom the A’s have overrated and who will very likely go unclaimed and land back at AAA.

What does this leave you with? It’s not exactly a sure-fire lights out pen, that’s for sure. But it feels to me like at least potentially a meaningful upgrade:

Closer: Perkins
Set up: Harris, Ginn
Key Lefty: Basso
Medium leverage: Leiter Jr., Sterner
Lower leverage (at least initially): Suero
Long Man: Medina

Worth a shot?

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The Chicago Cubs’ rotation has already been beaten up this season, which means they’re handing the ball to journeyman pitcher Colin Rea for his first start of the year in the rubber match of this series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa counters with Joe Boyle, who is hoping to be the Rays' latest reclamation pitching project.

My Cubs vs. Rays predictions and MLB picks break down this interleague matchup with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, April 8.

Who will win Cubs vs Rays today: Rays (-110)

The Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays enter this rubber match with matching 5-6 records, but I like the home team to improve its record tonight.

The Rays' lineup, led by Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda, is off to a great start. Tampa Bay ranks sixth in OPS and fifth in wRC+ and gets a solid matchup against the Cubs’ Colin Rea.

The veteran right-hander has pitched to a 4.26 ERA in two relief appearances this season. And if Rea can’t go deep into the game, he hands the ball to a bullpen that ranks next-to-last in xERA.

COVERS INTEL: Current Rays hitters have combined for a .356 xAVG and a .609 xSLG vs. Rea.

Cubs vs Rays Over/Under pick: Under 8 (-110)

Joe Boyle spent the better part of the last three seasons toiling away with the Athletics, but the Rays saw something in the 26-year-old right-hander, and the early results have been impressive.

Boyle has allowed four earned runs on eight hits while striking out 16 over his first two starts with Tampa. 

The Cubs' bats have been a little slow to get going, ranking 22nd in batting average and 16th in wRC+.

Even though I like the Rays to do some scoring, the Cubs won't do enough to send this one Over the total.

Cubs vs Rays odds

• Moneyline: Cubs -110 | Rays -110
• Run line: Cubs -1.5 (+155) | Rays +1.5 (-185)
• Over/Under: Over 8.0 | Under 8.0

Cubs vs Rays trend

The Cubs have only covered the Run Line in 16 of their last 45 away games for -17.00 Units and a -30% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Rays.

How to watch Cubs vs Rays and game info

Cubs vs Rays latest injuries

Cubs vs Rays weather

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Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided some updates prior to Wednesday’s game with the Diamondbacks…

On the plans for the rotation

Mendoza previously indicated that the team may consider turning to a six-man rotation as they work through a long stretch of games without an off-day in the early-going, but that will not be the case. 

The skipper indicated that they could still go that route at some point down the line, but they will continue to lean on their current five starters this next turn through.

“We just want to keep guys with their routines,” he said. “If we need to go that route we will, but as I’m sitting here we’re not planning on going to a six-man, just keeping everyone on their normal routines and in a good place.

“It’s still early, but we don’t see it as a necessity right now to go that way.”

The Mets’ current group certainly has performed well early on, entering this week with the third-best ERA in the National League (3.13) through two turns in the rotation.

That means that Sean Manaea will remain in his role working out of the bullpen for now. 

"Nothing changes there," the skipper said. "Ideally use all of his pitches when we need to, but if we need to use him for 35 or 40 we will do it, too, because if he went the way he threw 70+ pitches the last time it wouldn’t affect him short-term."

Carson Benge’s at-bats

The youngster was on fire during spring training to land a spot on the team, but he’s struggled thus far to carry that success over to the regular season.

With another hitless effort on Tuesday, Benge is now stuck in an 0-for-19 stretch over his past six games.

Despite the quiet showing, Mendoza was encouraged by his at-bats in the victory.

“Even though he didn’t get the results, he had better at-bats,” he said. “A couple of balls that he hit hard -- one up the middle and one in the gap that they made a good play on. It’s just for a young player going through stretches like this when you first get to the big leagues it isn’t easy, but I thought he’s handling it very professionally. 

"It goes to show you the type of person and type of player he is. Even when he’s 0-for-whatever, in his mind it’s what can I do today to help the team win? That’s been the message -- get good pitches, hit the ball hard, don’t chase results. The way you play defense, every time you get on base you’re impacting, you’re helping us, and he's gotta keep going."