Category: MLB

In a bit of surprising news, the Yankees will be calling up one of their top pitching prospects, Elmer Rodríguez, to make a spot start this week. Aaron Boone confirmed today that Rodríguez would start tomorrow afternoon’s series finale with the Rangers. Will Warren was originally scheduled to start, but will instead see his outing pushed back beyond Thursday’s off-day, lining the Yankee rotation up as Warren, Ryan Weathers, and Max Fried for this weekend’s series against the Orioles.

It’s an exciting development, Rodríguez slated to become the youngest player to pitch for the Yankees since Deivi Garcia in 2021:

Rodríguez may not be around for long this time around, but it’ll still be fascinating to see one of the Yankees’ best prospects take his first shot at major league hitters. The right-hander broke out last year after coming to the Yankees via trade from the Red Sox, posting a 2.58 ERA across 150 innings in the high minors. In 2026, he’s picked up right where he left off, flashing impressive stuff in spring training, pitching three scoreless innings for Puerto Rico in the WBC, and maintaining a 1.27 ERA over his first 21.2 innings in Triple-A, with 20 strikeouts against seven walks.

The Rodríguez call-up comes as part of a broader roster shuffle, with the Yankees reportedly set to send Giancarlo Stanton to the IL and call up Max Schuemann today. The infielder spent parts of the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Athletics and joined the Yankees over the winter as a Triple-A depth option.

It’s unclear as of now exactly how this puzzle will sort out. Stanton hitting the injured list will clear only one active roster spot, meaning either Schuemann is ticketed to head right back to Scranton when Rodríguez comes up tomorrow, or that the Yankees will option another player—perhaps reliever Jake Bird—to make room for Rodríguez, with Schuemann sticking around until Anthony Volpe’s return.

Whichever way the Yankees piece this together, Wednesday’s matinee in Texas suddenly becomes must-see TV (coming on the heels of tonight’s Cam Schlittler vs. Jacob deGrom showdown, no less). It’s been a fun time to be a Yankee fan the last couple of weeks, and this week looks to be no different.

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Fresh off a Kyle Tucker walk-off in the series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers come in ready for Game 2 with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Shohei Ohtani is on the bump, so I’m backing the Boys in Blue with my Marlins vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks for Tuesday, April 28.

Who will win Marlins vs Dodgers today: Dodgers (-285)

Shohei Ohtani has been one of the best pitchers in the league through four starts, sporting a sterling 0.38 ERA.

While it won’t be possible to maintain a number that low, his underlying metrics (2.01 xERA, 1.92 FIP) are tremendous. He notches strikeouts (27.2% K rate) and ground balls (55%) while limiting walks (6.5% BB rate) and hard contact (87th percentile barrel rate).

He’ll give the Los Angeles Dodgers a leg up against a Miami Marlins team that has a 3-10 record on the road, including three consecutive losses.

COVERS INTEL: Miami starter Janson Junk’s 3.51 xERA looks solid, but his weak 9.1% K-BB% raises sustainability concerns. A low .265 BABIP is helping, and with a sixth-percentile hard-hit rate last year, that contact profile may not hold.

Marlins vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (+105)

Ohtani has been dominant on the mound, allowing a single earned run in 24 innings while striking out 25 and allowing 12 hits. L.A. has played to the Under in three of his four starts.

Both squads rank within the top eight in bullpen FIP, so a low-scoring game could be in store for a game with temperatures in the low 60s at Chavez Ravine.

Ohtani won’t feature in today’s lineup. The Dodgers are still potent, but will be without their best hitter, and both starting middle infielders, Mookie Betts & Tommy Edman, who are still on the IL.

Marlins vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Miami +238 | Los Angeles -265
• Run line: Miami +1.5 (+105) | Los Angeles -1.5 (-132)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-111) | Under 7.5 (-108)

Marlins vs Dodgers trend

The Dodgers are 9-0 in their last nine home games against the Marlins. Find more MLB betting trends for Marlins vs. Dodgers.

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This will be your weekly look at the hottest prospects in the system, highlighting the top performers at the plate and on the mound.

Who’s Hot At The Plate?

Anthony Huezo – Huezo has been on a tear to start the season and this week was no different. The 20-year-old played in four games this week and hit .538 with a double, a home run, 3 runs batted in and 4 stolen bases. Overall this year he has a .993 OPS in 17 games.

Kevin Alvarez – Alvarez is one of the Astros top prospects with a super high ceiling and he got it going this week. The 18-year-old played in four games and hit .412 with a double, 2 triples, a home run and 3 runs batted in. He’s hitting .284 this season.

Nehomar Ochoa – After a tough 2025 season, Ochoa has gotten off to a nice start in 2026. This week he hit well batting .385 with 2 home runs, 4 runs batted in and a surprising 5 stolen bases. He has a .855 OPS this season.

Xavier Neyens – Neyens, the Astros first round pick last year, he continued to get better each week. This week, Neyens hit .375 with a double, a home run, 6 runs batted in and 3 stolen bases. He’s hitting .302 with a .968 OPS over his last 11 games.

Who’s Hot On The Mound?

Javier Perez – Perez has been really strong this season and continues to fly up the prospect rankings. In his one start for Fayetteville, the right-hander struck out 7 over 6 innings allowing one unearned run. He has a 2.84 ERA this season.

Cole Hertzler – Hertzler was a sleeper pick for Astros minor league pitcher of the year and he has been dominant to start the season. This week he struck out 8 over 4 scoreless innings for Asheville. He’s racked up 25 K in 16.2 innings with a 1.62 ERA.

Bryce Mayer – Another good outing for Mayer this week, the Astros minor league pitcher of the year in 2025. This week the right-hander struck out 8 over 4.1 innings allowing 1 run. He has a 3.60 ERA with 17 K in 10 innings this season.

Trey Dombroski – Dombroski continues to churn out solid starts. The 2022 4th rounder had a nice start this week striking out 7 batters over 5 innings allowing just one run. His turn for a promotion to Sugar Land should come at some point.

TEAM ERA and OPS:

Sugar Land – From 3.16 ERA to 3.61 ERA – From .682 OPS to .689 OPS

Corpus Christi – From 3.77 ERA to 3.72 ERA – From .673 OPS to .631 OPS

Asheville – From 6.52 ERA to 6.95 ERA – From .739 OPS to .732 OPS

Fayetteville – From 6.16 ERA to 5.16 ERA – From .709 OPS to .757 OPS

Off to a 9-19 start, the Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday, and named bench coach Don Mattingly the club's "interim manager through the end of the 2026 season."

Mattingly previously managed the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-2015) and Miami Marlins (2016-2022) and spent the past three seasons as the Toronto Blue Jays' bench coach, nearly winning his first World Series as a player or coach in 2025.

Mattingly's son, Preston, is the Phillies' general manager, a position he began prior to the 2025 season. A first-round pick in 2006, Preston Mattingly spent six seasons in the minors with a .232 batting average.

Mattingly has a career 889-950 record and is 10-14 in the postseason, famously getting knocked out three years in a row with the Dodgers before Dave Roberts took over.

The Yankees appear to be calling up one of their top prospects. 

During his weekly appearance on theTalkin’ Yanks podcast, manager Aaron Boone strongly hinted that the team is calling up right-hander pitcher Elmer Rodriguez. 

Boone said the team will be inserting a fifth starter into the rotation on Wednesday, and it's someone who hasn't pitched in the majors for the Yankees, and it's not Carlos Lagrange.

The 6-foot-4 righty is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 3 prospect in the Yankees system, behind only George Lombard Jr. and Lagrange.

Acquired by the Yankees in a 2024 trade that sent catcher Carlos Narvaez to the Boston Red Sox, Rodriguez has been outstanding for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, pitching to a 1.27 ERA in four starts, striking out 20 in 21.1 innings. 

The Yankees previously had Will Warren slated to start on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers, but Boone said that Rodriguez will make his debut on Wednesday, which means Warren will be pushed back.

Additionally, Boone announced that utility player Max Schuemann will be called up to take Giancarlo Stanton’s spot on the roster, as the slugger is set to hit the IL with a calf strain. 

The 28-year-old was Schuemann was hitting .203 with a home run and seven RBI in 23 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season.

After a 9-19 start to the season and a softer schedule coming up, the Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson and promoted Don Mattingly to the interim position.

In addition, the Phillies made some other moves to the coaching staff. Dusty Wathan is now the bench coach and AAA manager Anthony Contreras was promoted to Phillies third base coach.

Rob Thomson’s manager tenure ends as one of the most successful in Phillies history. Among managers with at least 3 seasons, Thomson’s .568 winning percentage ranks at the top. In 5 seasons, three of them being full seasons, his 355 wins ranks tenth.

From the time Thomson took over, all the Phillies did was win. He inherited a 22-29 club in 2022 that sneaked into the playoffs and eventually made the World Series. They won 90 games the following season and reached Game 7 of the NLCS. In 2024 and 25, Thomson led the club to back-to-back division titles for the first time since 2010-11.

According to the Phillies press release, Don Mattingly was promoted to interim manager through the end of the 2026 season. Mattingly spent twelve seasons as manager with two different organizations, five with the Dodgers, and seven more with the Marlins.

With the Dodgers, Mattingly oversaw a team that increased it’s win total for four straight seasons along with three straight division titles but was let go in 2015 after they lost to the New York Mets in a five-game NLDS series.

Mattingly was immediately hired by the Miami Marlins to but could not replicate the same success. The only winning season he had was back in 2020, when the Marlins went 31-29 in a shortened 60 game season and even won their wild card series against the Chicago Cubs.

Across all twelve seasons, Mattingly finished with a record of 889-950 with two playoff series wins in four attempts.

The Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, per multiple reports, with the team having gotten off to a 9-19 start, tied with the Mets for the worst record in the majors. Don Mattingly has been named the team’s interim manager.

Thomson, 62, was named the Phillies’ interim manager 51 games into the 2022 season after Joe Girardi was fired. Thomson spent almost 30 years — 1990-2017 — as a minor league manager and then major league coach in the New York Yankees’ system before leaving the Yankees to be the bench coach for Gabe Kapler, who was hired by the Phillies after the 2017 season. When Kapler was fired and Girardi was hired after the 2019 season, Thomson, who had been a coach under Girardi with the Yankees, stayed in his role.

The 2022 Phillies team went 65-46 under Thomson and made it to the World Series, where they lost to the Houston Astros. Thomson, who had announced prior to the 2022 season that he would retire after the season, stayed on as the team’s manager, with the Phillies winning 90, 95 and 96 games the past three seasons.

The 2023 Phillies team seemed primed to make it to the World Series, but fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. I don’t remember what happened in the World Series that year. Philadelphia got knocked out in the NLDS each of the last two seasons, and Thomson was seen as being under some pressure heading into the season. With the awful start, the Phillies have opted to make a change.

This is the second manager of a big market team that has stumbled out of the gates to be fired. Alex Cora was fired by the Boston Red Sox just days ago, and there was immediate speculation that Cora could be headed to Philly to replace Thomson. Cora was originally hired as Red Sox manager by current Phillies president Dave Dombrowski, when Dombrowski was running the Red Sox.

UPDATE — Per the Athletic, the Phillies offered their managerial job to Cora, and he turned them down.

Bryce Miller built on his solid first rehab start in Tacoma with an even more impressive outing in Everett this past Friday night. Slated to go three innings or 45 pitches, Miller’s start went perfectly to plan; he needed just 47 pitches to complete three full scoreless innings. He racked up six strikeouts, issuing just one walk, and addressed the media postgame about his outing.

“Everything felt good,” he said. “Felt like I located everything well. I think I got all seven pitches in and located them well, and was able to get ahead most times.”

Miller was able to throw all seven of his pitches, focusing mostly on throwing the fastball and sinker, which together consumed about half of his pitch count. As he worked the third inning, though, he switched over to throwing his secondaries almost exclusively, spending equal time with the slider, sweeper, curveball, splitter, and cutter.

The cutter is a newer addition to Miller’s arsenal; since introducing it in 2024, he’s thrown it rarely, but utilized it about 10% of the time in his outing in Everett.

“I was sitting on the couch last night watching Cam Schlitter take down the Red Sox throwing all cutters,” grinned Miller. “So I figured I’d mix some in today.”

The cutter elicited swings and foul balls, although he was able to use it to steal a first-pitch called strike against a lefty. Miller was highly aggressive in the zone in his outing, throwing nine first-pitch strikes to the eleven batters he faced. The Spokane batters, relishing their chance to face a big-league arm, were anxious to swing, helping drive that metric up for Miller, who later joked he was just trying to help Everett break a tie with the big-league club in an organization-wide contest for which pitching staff can throw the most first-pitch strikes.

“Any hitter, any lineup – here, or in Tacoma, or in Seattle – the more that we can be ahead, the better. So even when I’m working on pitches and working different sequences, the first goal is to get ahead and then go from there.”

In addition to watching Schlitter throw his cutter, Miller has been studying different slider grips during his downtime, borrowing one from Bryan Abreu in Houston in an attempt to improve his traditional gyro slider (separate from his sweeper). The retooled grip has cost him a little velocity on the pitch, which frustrates him, but he’s encouraged by the early results on the pitch, something he’s been tinkering with for several years, trying to limit the damage on it when batters do make contact with the pitch.

“[The slider] is a little bit slower than I want – it’s been like, 85, which the sweeper and the curve have been 85 at times. So we’re still kind of messing with it, but the results have been good on it. So it’s like, I don’t want to mess with it too much….I just want it to be a little harder. If the heater is going to be [ninety] five to eight, I think the slider should be 88-89, not 84-85, but we’ll see what happens with it. If it’s 85 and gets good results, I’ll take it.”

As for the heater velocity, after coming out throwing 98 on the stadium radar gun, Miller’s fastball velocity settled into the 95-96 range for the rest of the outing, a mark he was able to hold consistently. Miller was unconcerned about the drop in velocity from the first inning, noting that the facilities at Funko Field don’t allow for him to go through his complete between-innings routine, which involves keeping his arm active with a plyo ball to keep his arm warm and help him maintain his velocity. In that way, Miller might be benefiting even more from his later start to the season, contending with the weather in the Pacific Northwest between inning breaks rather than the consistently warm air in Arizona.

Miller will throw again this Friday for Tacoma, at home facing the A’s affiliate this week, and look to get to four innings or the 60-pitch mark. He’s excited to keep checking off milestones in a rehab journey that’s been challenging at times and anxious to get back to Seattle, but is trying to keep his expectations in check and progress at the appropriate pace.

“It’s like week three of spring training,” said Miller, showing how much he’s grown since the fresh-out-of-college version of himself who was with the AquaSox in 2022.

“I think I got a few more pitches than when I was here in ‘22,” he laughed, when asked about the difference between himself then and now. “My only goal then every start was to try to hit 100 mph, so I usually burned out pretty quick in the beginning. But now I got a few more pitches, a few more ways to attack hitters, a little more mature as a pitcher on the mound. Back then, it was just, we’re gonna throw as many heaters as I can, as hard as I can, and see if they hit it.”

Miller isn’t actively trying to hit 100 anymore, but he’s still coming up with new ways to see if hitters can hit it; something that’s been a hallmark of Miller’s game throughout his young career. Soon, hopefully, he’ll return to a big-league mound and see which of his new wrinkles have paid off.

A.J. Ewing

Week: 6 G, 26 AB, .333/.500/.778, 6 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 5 K, 4/4 SB (Double-A)

2026 Season: 18 G, 81 AB, .349/.481/.571, 22 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 17 BB, 15 K, 12/13 SB, .426 BABIP (Double-A)

As I began writing this on Monday morning, A.J. Ewing was officially promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. Assuming he does not return to Double-A Binghamton, he hit .349/.481/.571 there with 6 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs in 18 games, while drawing 17 walks to 15 strikeouts and stealing 12 bases in 13 tries. If Ewing does not run into a brick wall in Syracuse, he is on the fast track to being a major league contributor sooner rather than later.

I have some doubts as to whether or not Ewing will hit the ground running. In fact, were it up to me, I would not have promoted him to Triple-A just yet. In the 46 games he played with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies between the end of 2025 and the beginning of this season, Ewing has a cumulative 342/.413/.478 batting line, with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 24 walks to 44 strikeouts, and 24 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Impressive numbers, no doubt.

But in just 46 games. Why rush things? As great as Ewing is and has been, he’s no Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Ken Griffey Jr., or Robin Yount.

That Ewing is performing as great as he is as a 21-year-old in Double-A is excellent, but there are still areas for improvement. Ewing can hit the ball hard, but he’s not elevating the ball; he totaled a 22.4% line drive rate with Binghamton, a 55.1% groundball rate, and a 22.4% fly ball rate. The 22.4% line drive rate is excellent, but the 55.1% groundball rate and 22.4% line drive rate both need work; both are about 10% off what you’d want to optimally see.

Ewing is not a slugger, more of his game is based around using his legs, so it is not imperative that he begin hitting the ball in the air with more authority, but as I have said about fellow groundball enthusiast Nick Morabito, more of those groundballs are going to be converted into outs in the majors and the likelihood that he posts a .426 BABIP to support a .349 batting average and .481 on-base percentage is slim.

There is a very good chance that Ewing begins hitting more flyballs and doing more damage with pitches hit in the air in Triple-A, but given the environment in the International League, I will wonder how much of that would be Ewing’s doing and how much of that is simply the result of playing in an environment where teams average 4.93 runs are scored per game. Games at the Triple-A level utilize the MLB baseball, rather than the MiLB baseball. MLB balls are made of higher-quality leather and feature flatter, smaller seams on the ball. MiLB balls are softer than the MLB ball and feature seams that are larger. Introducing the new ball and pitchers taking time to adapt to it has supercharged the International League/Pacific Coast League hitting environment since the changes were made in 2021. Should Ewing start blasting home runs left and right, how much of that would be him making a concerted change in his approach to maximize his offense and how much of it would be him just taking advantage of pitchers struggling to get the feel of a ball they might not necessarily be used to throwing? In the Eastern League, we might get clearer answers if that began happening.

All of this shouldn’t come off as sour grapes, and I hope it doesn’t; why would I be unhappy if A.J. Ewing is developing as a baseball player? All I watch is minor league baseball, I’m happy that he’s developing faster and even better than we could’ve imagined a year ago. All I’m saying is that, as great as Ewing is and has been, he isn’t a once-in-a-generation talent. There are things Ewing can improve on to increase the odds that he becomes an everyday regular, and as a 21-year-old, there’s no need to rush or force the process.

Austin Channing

Week: 2 G (2 GS), 9.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 11 K (High-A)

2026 Season: 4 G (4 GS), 16.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER (1.62 ERA), 13 BB, 18 K, .225 BABIP (High-A)

Channing Austin was signed by the Mets as an undrafted free agent in July 2024. A born-and-raised Brooklynite, Austin attended Poly Prep in Dyker Heights, where he was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain at the prestigious institution. Primarily an infielder, he helped lead the Blue Devils to NYSAIS in 2017 and 2018, received All-League honors in 2019, and was named to Poly Prep’s All-Decade Team. Like many who graduated high school in 2020, Austin went undrafted in the COVID-shortened 2020 MLB Draft and honored his commitment to the University of Virginia.

The 19-year-old did not play much in 2021. Head coach Brian O’Connor had Austin- now focusing exclusively on pitcher- pitch in two games in relief, and to make matters worse, the right-hander did not exactly impress in those two games, allowing three runs while recording just a single out, walking two batters, hitting a batter, and throwing two wild pitches. He supplemented his time on the field by playing for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks of the New England Collegiate Baseball League and entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, looking to switch to a program that would allow him to play more.

Austin transferred to the University of Southern California, but once again, he got very little playing time. In his first year with the Trojans, the right-hander appeared in two games, and once again struggled. Recording just two outs over his two innings of work, Austin allowed four runs- two earned- on four walks and a wild pitch. That summer, he once again supplemented his playing time with time on the mound on summer collegiate leagues, this time with the New York Phenoms of the Atlantic Collegiate League and the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

While it’s hard to pitch less than what Austin did in 2021 with Virginia and 2022 with USC, the right-hander accomplished that in 2023: an injury prevented him from playing altogether in 2023. He returned to the mound in 2024, his redshirt junior season, and made 14 appearances on the mound, posting a 6.28 ERA in 14.1 innings, allowing 16 hits, walking 15, and striking out 17. Eligible for the 2024 MLB Draft, he went unsigned; seeking to showcase himself to major league ballclubs, he played in the MLB Draft League that summer. Appearing in 8 games for the Trenton Thunder, Austin posted a 3.00 ERA in 15.0 innings, allowing 11 hits, walking 5, and striking out 16. Based on his performance there, the Mets signed him as an undrafted free agent at the end of July. He was assigned to the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and made a single appearance over the rest of the summer, allowing a hit, walking a batter, and striking out a batter in 1.1 innings of work.

He returned to the St. Lucie Mets when the 2025 season began and spent the majority of the year with them. Making 11 starts and appearing in 20 games total, the right-hander posted a 4.31 ERA in 71.0 innings, allowing 67 hits, walking 43, and striking out 66. At the end of the season, he was promoted to High-A Brooklyn, where he made a single regular season start and then threw a bit during Brooklyn’s playoff run. He remained in Brooklyn to begin the 2026 season and the hometown boy has been benefitting from off-season work coupled with the South Atlantic League run environment, currently possessing the best ERA in the league among qualified starting pitchers.

Austin throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot with a long arm circle through the back. The right-hander has a standard repertoire, throwing a four-seam fastball, changeup, gyroscopic slider, and curveball. Generally speaking, he throws his fastball roughly 50% of the time, and then evenly mixes in his secondary pitches, going a bit more heavy on his slider than his changeup or curve.

Austin’s fastball can top out at 97, 98 MPH but generally sitting in the mid-90s, sitting in the low-to-mid-90s. The pitch has shown above-average spin rates, and because of how that spin activates, his fastball shows above-average induced vertical break. His command of the pitch is not great, and while batters haven’t done much damage against the pitch, the right-hander has too often set himself up to fail by not establishing the fastball.

His curveball sits in the low-to-mid-80s and features slight 1-7 break. His slider sits in the same velocity band, averaging a higher range within that band and has sharper movement. Depending on the day and his feel for the pitches, either can be Austin’s most effective strikeout pitch. Over the 2025 offseason, he has been working on commanding both pitches better, throwing more in the zone.

His changeup has been his least effective secondary pitch, sitting in the mid-to-high-80s. The pitch does not have much velocity differential as compared to his fastball and does not have much vertical or horizontal movement to it. When he can locate the pitch on the edges of the plate, it can get some whiffs, but in the zone, when batters make contact with it, it generally has not fared well.

Players of the Week 2026

Week One/Two (March 27-April 5): Hayden Senger/Cam Tilly

Week Three (April 7-April 12): A.J. Ewing/Christian Scott

Week Four (April 14-April 18): Randy Guzman/Jose Chirinos

A light Monday slate, along with some of the Yanks’ rivals facing each other, made for a quiet night. The good news about these teams playing each other is that someone has to lose. The bad news is someone has to win. Monday, for example, Boston and Tampa took down Toronto and Cleveland, respectively.

With any luck, Tuesday night the Jays and Guardians will return the favor, especially since the Rays are lurking behind New York as April comes to a close and I personally hate it when good things happen to the Red Sox. Unfortunately, those BoSox are the story of the night as stellar pitching and timely hitting from some scuffling youngsters propelled them to victory.

Boston Red Sox (12-17) 5, Toronto Blue Jays (12-16) 0

Both clubs entered Monday gazing longingly up at .500, with the Red Sox going so far as to decimate their coaching staff over the weekend. There was reason to think this could be a good game, however, with Boston sending Ranger Suarez to face off with Dylan Cease.

In the opening innings, that is exactly how the game unfolded with the two hurlers putting matching zeroes in the run column. Once the game hit the middle innings, though, Boston’s young guys got to Cease. First, Marcelo Mayer singled in a run in the fourth. In the fifth, Roman Anthony did the same to make it 2-0 Boston. Wilyer Abreu and Caleb Durbin followed suit, the former with the double and the latter with a knock in the sixth, to extend the BoSox lead to 4-0.

Suarez was the story of the night though. The lefty has been up and down so far in 2026 but on this night he was definitely up. He walked Davis Schneider in the third but as the game progressed, the Jays remained out of the hit column. He finally gave up a single in the bottom of the sixth but quickly worked around it. By the time he was done, he’d spun eight innings of one-hit shutout ball, putting Boston in position to win its third consecutive game.

Other Games

Tampa Bay Rays (17-11) 3, Cleveland Guardians (15-15) 2: The Rays, annoying as ever, are nipping at the Yankees’ heels early this season and Monday was no different. Cleveland jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Daniel Schneemann home run off Rays’ starter Steven Matz in the bottom of the fifth. But that was basically all the damage Matz allowed, spinning seven innings and keeping Tampa in the game. In the top of the eighth, down 2-1, Tampa broke through. A solo home run from Jonathan Aranda tied the game, then Ryan Vilade singled in the game-winning run. Another night. Another Rays win. Blech.

Seattle Mariners (14-16) 4, Minnesota Twins (13-16) 11: Luis Castillo entered tonight in the throes of an awful start to the season, his fine work against the Yankees in his season debut on March 30th an outlier. He ended his night still mired in a brutal beginning to 2026. Minnesota touched him up for seven runs in five innings, highlighted by a three-run bomb by Kody Clemens and a two-run jack off the bat of Byron Buxton. For a Seattle lineup whose stars are not hitting to the back of their baseball cards, that was a daunting deficit, one much too steep to overcome.

And with that, we are well into the grind of the 2026 season. To this point, the Cubs hadn’t yet lost three straight. But the combo of a battered pitching staff, their 11th game in 11 days, and their fourth straight game against elite opposition turned out to be just too much for the Cubs. As it turns out, two weeks ago, the Cubs hadn’t won three straight either. As it is, right now, the second longest winning streak of the year for the Cubs is two. And the third longest is one. So it’s been a weird distribution of wins and losses through the first 29 games of the season. Weird distribution or no, the team is 17-12. As we sit here today, 17-12 feels a little unsatisfying. This is true largely because the team had won 10 straight before this three-game losing streak.

To be fair, this game was quite a bit different than the two losses in Los Angeles. In those two games, the Dodgers offense pummeled them in one and the Dodgers pitching shut them out in the other. Those were lopsided losses. But this one was largely competitive throughout. The Cubs were down three early and four late. But, they scored seven runs between the second and ninth innings. So at minimum, it felt like they at least had a puncher’s chance.

Ironically, this one started to feel hopeless as the bullpen withered yet again. It felt hopeless because Mason Miller had only pitched once over the last three days and was almost certainly available to throw. He hadn’t allowed a run since last August and had recently set a record for most consecutive scoreless innings as a Padre. A hit tip to Mason, reliever or no, that’s an impressive accomplishment. I also hate to see a streak like that stopped in part by what looked like a wildly blown call on a ball down the line. The Cubs managed to go on and score two runs, ending Miller’s streak and made the game go down to the last batter.

You’ll pardon me if I don’t lose sleep over the blown call in the ninth. In the fifth inning, Ben Brown pretty clearly appeared to have thrown strike three at a time when it would have ended the inning while the Cubs were still leading. They went on to allow two runs in the inning. More importantly, it had a ripple effect on how the Cub bullpen was utilized. Ben Brown had to face two extra hitters and then only threw two innings. He’d thrown more than two innings about 40 percent of the time previously. Had he been more efficient, maybe he goes back out for one more inning.

Lost in all of this was the first start of the season at catcher for young star Moisés Ballesteros. I won’t pretend to speak for him, but I’d bet that in a heartbeat he would trade his third inning grand slam for catching a shutout. To my eye, his catching was uneven. He had a passed ball and allowed two steals. I also thought that a couple of times his mechanics were “busy” and it looked like a couple of potential balls were called strikes based off of his receiving of the pitch and lack of framing. I’m reminded of Kyle Schwarber. An offense-first catcher who moved quickly through the system because of his elite bat. It can be tricky to get enough time to nurture the catching side. I suspect the same will happen here.

But that bat plays. He could be a great one.

Three Positives:

• Ballesteros. Grand slam. He also scorched one off of a lefty reliever that unfortunately was stopped by the Padre shortstop.
• Seiya Suzuki. He also homered and added a single.
• Dansby Swanson had two singles and a walk.

Game 29, April 27: Padres 9, Cubs 7 (17-12)

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Moisés Ballesteros (.295). 1-4, HR, 4 RBI, R
• Hero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.192). 1-3, BB, SB
• Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.090). 2-4, 2B, HR

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Matthew Boyd (-.266). 4 IP, 22 BF, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 ER, 4 K
• Goat: Michael Busch (-.245). 0-5
• Kid: Alex Bregman (-.150). 0-4, BB, R

WPA Play of the Game: Moisés Ballesteros hit a two-out grand slam in the third to give the Cubs a two-run lead. (.389)

*Padres Play of the Game: Nick Castellanos batted with runners on second and third with two outs, the Padres down one. He singled, driving in two. (.283)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 28 Winner: Michael Busch received 81 of 107 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Nico Hoerner +7.5
• Michael Conforto +7
• Carson Kelly/Moisés Ballesteros +6
• Matt Shaw/Seiya Suzuki -7
• Jacob Webb -9
• Pete Crow-Armstrong -10

Current Win Pace: 95

Up Next: At 8:40 p.m. CT, the Cubs battle the Padres again in San Diego. Edward Cabrera (2-0, 2.73, 29.2 IP) makes his sixth Cub start. Last time out, he allowed three earned runs over seven. 31-year-old righty Walker Buehler (1-2, 5.75, 20.1 IP) will make his sixth start as a Padre. Last time out he lost, allowing four runs in just 2.2 IP in Colorado.

Win a game. Go Cubs.

The Royals may have just turned a corner — and it started with one of their most impressive comebacks in recent memory.

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, hosts Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco break down the Kansas City Royals’ stunning comeback from a 6–0 deficit against the Angels, along with their first sweep of the season. The discussion explores what this stretch reveals about the team’s resilience, confidence, and evolving identity as the season begins to take shape.

The hosts dive into key performances, including Seth Lugo’s steady presence on the mound and the continued emergence of Jack Caglianone, whose adjustments against left-handed pitching and recent power surge are beginning to stand out. At the same time, they take an honest look at ongoing concerns — including Salvador Perez’s offensive struggles, bullpen inconsistency, and defensive lapses that could still limit the team’s ceiling.

Beyond individual performances, the episode examines broader trends in the Royals’ lineup construction, offensive approach, and pitching depth, using creative comparisons and analytics to contextualize player roles and effectiveness. The conversation also revisits the ongoing Kansas City stadium debate, highlighting location, funding considerations, and community impact as the franchise looks toward its long-term future.

From on-field execution to off-field decisions, this episode captures a pivotal moment for the Royals — balancing optimism from a signature win with the realities that still need to be addressed.

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

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– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

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– Podcast: @RoyalRundownPod