The season is underway — and the Royals are already giving fans plenty to talk about.
In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco break down the Kansas City Royals’ season-opening series against the Atlanta Braves, including a detailed look at the series finale win and what it reveals about the team’s early trajectory. From lineup performance to pitching execution, the hosts provide a comprehensive analysis of how the Royals stack up coming out of their first test of the season.
A major focus is the bullpen, where emerging roles, injury updates — including Carlos Estevez’s status — and potential closer options take center stage. The discussion also examines how participation in the World Baseball Classic may have impacted player readiness, conditioning, and early-season performance.
Beyond the field, Jacob and Jeremy explore some of MLB’s newest innovations, including the ABS challenge system, its early effectiveness, and how it could reshape game strategy. They also dive into evolving broadcast technology, from wire cams to drone footage, and evaluate how these changes are enhancing — or complicating — the viewing experience for fans.
The episode wraps with insights into young contributors like Carter Jensen and Isaac Collins, updates on positional battles and roster depth, and a preview of the Royals’ upcoming matchup against the Twins. With a blend of analysis, perspective, and personality, this episode offers Royals fans a clear-eyed look at where the team stands after Opening Weekend.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 26: Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies is introduced against the Texas Rangers on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The beginning of a baseball season is one that is full of unknown. How are all of the changes made over the offseason going to take? How will those new players take to their new surroundings in Philadelphia? Then the games are played and all of that goes out the window. Who made good impressions, who didn’t?
Three up
Cristopher Sanchez – Could it have gone better for Sanchez this past week? He gets the big money extension added to the end of his current contract (which is still a bargain), then he twirls a gem on Opening Day for the Phillies.
Cristopher Sánchez of the @Phillies is the only MLB pitcher in the modern era to have an Opening Day start where he:
struck out 10+ batters allowed 0 walks allowed 0 runs allowed 3 or fewer hits earned the win pic.twitter.com/8dfxw28ZAA
We have talked about his ascension into the pantheon of pitchers in the game today, but this should have clinched it for whatever person still may have had a doubt in their mind: he’s an Ace.
Justin Crawford – Listen, there were other rookies this weekend that probably had better weekends from the stat perspective. Kevin McGonigle, Chase DeLauter and J.J. Wetherholt are just to name a few. Yet from the Phillies’ perspective, Crawford’s weekend was a pretty good success. He did pretty much what he has done his whole minor league career: he hit and got on base. Three for nine isn’t the craziest stat line, but if he can do that in a few more series this year, while also playing a good defense like he did, the Phillies will be more than pleased with that effort.
ABS system – It’s just so much better knowing that when it’s needed, the ABS system can make sure the umpires are getting it right. There wasn’t anything as game changing or entertaining as what happened in Cincinnati, but knowing that there is a system in place to make sure calls are right when they are called upon helps the game.
Three down
Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper – It’s always the stars of the lineup that receive the brunt of frustration when a series doesn’t go well and this one was no different. The trio, outside of Schwarber’s home run on Opening Day, just kind of stunk this weekend.
Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber & Bryce Harper went a combined 5-for-37 (.135) with 1 Home Run during the Rangers series. pic.twitter.com/Owekzu3KZK
Again, it’s nothing really to worry about no matter what sports radio wants you to believe. It’s the first series of the season and there will be plenty more times this year when this trio flips that script and has fifteen hits in 37 at bats instead of five.
It just made for a rough weekend.
Zach Pop – Middle relief is not a glorious position. The more competent relievers have been rewarded better in the past decade or so, but it’s fungible guys that are still an issue. Pop is a fungible reliever that is already being looked at as the first to go when the injured pitchers return soon, this weekend a perfect example. He wasn’t able to keep a game scoreless on Thursday, he allowed the Rangers to scrape back the two runs the Phillies were able to get on Sunday, killing any momentum the team had.
He’s just not that good.
John Middleton – It’s arguable that the only multimillionaire in the sports world that had a worse week was Tiger Woods. First came the news that “Harry the K’s” had its name changed to something about ghosts and energy. Then came Middleton’s response to questions about the removal of the analog clock this season in favor of the huge sign for the upcoming All-Star Game.
TORONTO, CANADA - MARCH 28: Shea Langeliers #23 of the Athletics hits a grand slam home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on March 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s March 30 and the Braves are 2-1. That may not seem like the most impressive thing until you consider that it took the Braves until April 8 of last season to pick up their second win of the season and April 10 was when they finally picked up their first series win. Folks, we will gladly take this start to the season.
Hopefully the Braves will keep going in the right direction as they wrap up their first homestand of the season before going out West for seven games. The first four games of that seven-game West Coast swing will take place out in the desert, as Ketel Marte and the Diamondbacks will be looking to continue their first homestand of the season in winning fashion against our Braves.
Here’s a quick look at the week ahead as the Braves endeavor to get off to a much better start in 2026 than they did in 2025.
March 30-April 1: Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas Athletics
Current Record: 0-3 Projected Record: 78-84
The A’s certainly drew the short end of the stick when they ended up having to start their season North of the border against the reigning American League champions. It’s extremely early days but the Blue Jays have shown an indication that they’re serious about defending that crown and the A’s ended up suffering a three-game sweep during their time at the ol’ Skydome.
With that being said, it wasn’t as if the Blue Jays just completely rolled over the A’s in this one. Indeed, the green-and-gold gang led through the first four innings of the series opener and they pushed Toronto to 12 innings in the second game. A lot of that competitiveness was provided by old friend Shea Langeliers, who has gotten off to a scalding-hot start to begin this season. He’s currently got six hits (three of which are homers), three RBI and three runs scored so far. He did most of his damage during the first game of the series when he clubbed two solo dingers but he added a grand slam during the second game and also picked up another hit in the series finale on Sunday. Hopefully Atlanta’s pitching staff will be able to help cool him off once he comes down South to play his former organization.
The Braves could be in for some tough competition in terms of the starting pitching. Jacob Lopez will be starting Monday’s game and any time you see a guy getting compared to Chris Sale, it’s enough to make you pay attention to what he’s got going on. Aaron Civale ended spring training by exploding for 11 strikeouts against Seattle and while Reynaldo López may have just given everybody a reminder of how seriously you should take spring training results, that type of performance is also something to pay attention to heading into this season. Finally, the Wednesday pitching matchup figures to be Chris Sale vs. Luis Severino and that’s a matchup that could turn into a pitchers’ duel as well.
The Braves still figure to be the better team here but with guys Nick Kurtz, Lawrence Butler and old nemesis Jeff McNeil lurking, this is a team that figures to be a lot trickier to deal with than their current or projected record would indicate. I like the Braves to win this series but it’ll certainly be tough.
Game 1: Monday, March 30 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision) Game 2: Tuesday, March 31 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV) Game 3: Wednesday, April 1 at 12:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
April 2-5: Arizona Diamondbacks
Current Record: 0-3 Projected Record: 82-80
The Braves once again have an early-season West Coast swing but I suppose that a trip through Phoenix and Anaheim surely beats having to visit Petco Park and Dodger Stadium to kick off the season like they did last year, right? Anyways, once the Braves hopefully leave town with two series wins under their belt, they’ll be flying for to the desert to square off with the Diamondbacks for four games.
This won’t be the home opener for the Diamondbacks, so the Braves won’t have to worry about an intense Postseason-like atmosphere in the regular season like they did when they started last season on the road in San Diego. With that being said, the Braves haven’t had too many issues out in the desert lately. They won the series last year and then split a four-game series back in 2024. Arizona will be happy not to see Chris Sale this time, though, as they had to deal with him in each of the past two seasons at Chase Field.
Arizona will be hosting the Tigers before the Braves come into town and they’ll also be looking to bounce back after getting swept by the Dodgers to start the season. As usual with any four-game series on the road, the Braves will be probably happy to get out of town with a split while focusing on trying to pick up a series win in Anaheim. For now, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll will be looking to trip up the Braves.
Game 1: Thursday, April 2 at 9:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision) Game 2: Friday, April 3 at 9:45 p.m. ET (Apple TV) Game 3: Saturday, April 4 at 7:15 p.m. ET (FOX) Game 4: Sunday, April 5 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 29: Texas Rangers designated hitter Andrew McCutchen celebrates his three run home run during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers on March 29th, 2025 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Season Record: 2-1
Week Record: 2-1
Series Record: 1-0
GAME One: 3-5 Loss @ Philadelphia Phillies
GAME Two: 5-4 Win @ Philadelphia Phillies
GAME Three: 8-3 Win (10) @ Philadelphia Phillies
It’s once again baseball time in Texas!
With a new manager, pitching coach, and a few important lineup pieces, this could be an interesting season.
Especially getting their first series win in a relatively hostile stadium to start the season. Everyone wants to win game one but even with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, but with a really strong Phillies team and a very vocal crowd, a loss wasn’t all that surprising.
My biggest take away from game one is the Rangers being able to score late in the game. We saw over the last few seasons, the Rangers get into a tendency of looking more complacent at the end of games. Not necessarily intentional, but if they weren’t score early, they weren’t going to score.
Game two? Game two felt like the bullpen we were used to and once again the nostalgia of a Joe Nathan closer spiked once again.
I must admit, I was over the Robert Garcia Closer Experience last season and thought maybe we would see something different with Skip Schumaker calling the shots, alas, we did not. However, color me impressed when he got Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper out pretty quickly. But he did not have the same luck with the next two batters.
And so the way of baseball.
But thanks to another new Ranger in Andrew McCutchen, the Rangers did not fully Ranger and they continued to battle through to win the game.
Sunday’s rubber game included another new Ranger, MacKenzie Gore. Gore looked great in his Ranger debut, going 5.1 innings giving up two runs on two hits, three walks, and seven strikeouts. In fact, it wasn’t until the first batter of the sixth inning that. he gave up a hit to the Phillies.
The Rangers held the lead the entire game and while it did get a little shaky in the 7th inning for rookie Carter Baumler who walked the first two batters he face, he managed to get out unscathed.
Next the Rangers will go to Baltimore where hopefully Jacob deGrom will make his season debut after being scratched for a stiff neck in Philly.
And while we may just be three games into the season, we never miss an opportunity to celebrate a first place Texas Rangers team.
In watching Sean Manaea’s 2026 debut from the stands at Citi Field, it looked like the likable lefty was getting away with something against the Pirates. Velocity isn’t everything when it comes to pitching, but it definitely matters. Manaea averaged 89 miles per hour with his fastball yesterday afternoon, and his sweeper averaged just 75 miles per hour. His changeup averaged 84.
For context, all three of those pitches are down two miles per hour from their 2025 averages. And Manaea was in the 14th percentile of pitchers with an average fastball of 91.7 miles per hour last year. If his current averages were to continue, he’d certainly rank even lower.
In one-and-one-third innings against the Pirates’ best available hitters, Manaea gets credit for making it work. He struck out two, walked two, and gave up a hit, but he didn’t allow any runs. But you got the feeling that everyone in the stands and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza knew that the team couldn’t stick with him for too much longer in a tight game.
It’s still very early, and for what it’s worth, both Manaea and Mendoza downplayed concerns about the lefty’s velocity when the topic arose in spring training. But if things don’t improve, it’s hard not to be alarmed by the current reality. Even with the two extra miles per hour that he had last year, Manaea gave up a staggering 1.93 home runs per nine innings, the primary reason he finished the injury-shortened year with a 5.64 ERA.
Right now, it’s not easy to figure out which game the Mets can get him into next. It’s for the best that the team doesn’t face a division rival until late April, as Manaea’s current stuff doesn’t look like it’ll play well against more formidable teams like the Phillies and Braves. But the Mets are set to play four games in San Francisco immediately after their three-game series with the Cardinals that begins tonight.
St. Louis might be an afterthought in the projected standings, but the Giants very much are not. And coming off a season that saw the Mets miss the postseason by one game, it’s tough to go into a series like that with one of the pitchers in your bullpen looking like he needs to get work in extremely low-leverage situations to see if he can regain his past stuff.
Manaea dealt with a loose body in his elbow last year and opted to avoid surgery over the offseason. If things don’t improve with his velocity, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that an elbow issue like that could be used to justify an injured list stint. A rehab assignment that allowed him to get more work would certainly be appealing from our perspective as fans.
We’ll certainly be rooting or Manaea to get some velocity back or figure out a way to be effective in spite of the decline he’s seeing right now. If that doesn’t happen or it goes poorly, though, the Mets will be in a bit of a predicament with this season and next remaining on his three-year, $75 million deal.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Bryan Abreu #52 of the Houston Astros pitches during a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 10, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Astros fans, consider this your reminder to take a deep breath, step back, and relax. Opening Day and Opening Weekend in Major League Baseball have a way of magnifying everything. Every win feels monumental and every loss feels catastrophic. The reality is far less dramatic in the grand scheme of things.
The pomp and circumstance surrounding the start of a new season tends to distort perspective. Emotions run high, expectations are sky-high, and reactions often swing wildly based on just a couple of games. What gets lost in all of it is the simple truth: teams are fresh out of spring training. Pitchers are still building rhythm. Hitters are still finding timing. Fielders are still settling into form.
If this same series against the Angels had taken place in mid-June, the reaction would be entirely different. There would be frustration, sure, maybe even some concern, but not the widespread panic that seems to grip everyone during opening weekend. That’s the difference a calendar can make.
This Astros team is too talented to play consistently at the level they showed in the first two games. Over the course of a 162-game season, things have a way of evening out. That’s not just optimism, it’s baseball reality.
Saturday night provided the perfect example. A 6–0 deficit quickly turned into an 11–5 lead, likely after many fans had already turned off their TVs and written the game off as a loss. That single game serves as a microcosm of how quickly fortunes can change and how quickly reactions can look premature.
History backs this up. In years past, the Astros have been swept by some of the worst teams in baseball. At the time, it felt alarming. In the big picture, it proved meaningless. The team still found its footing, still played to expectations, and still reached its goals.
Think back just a couple of seasons ago when the Astros dug themselves into what many called an insurmountable hole. The noise was loud, the anxiety was real, but the outcome? They climbed out of it, regained their form, and kept pushing forward until they were exactly where they needed to be.
That’s why now isn’t the time for overreaction, it’s the time for perspective.
Keep a watchful eye, absolutely. Monitor progress. Evaluate trends. But save the bigger judgments for meaningful checkpoints like the quarter mark of the season or the halfway point. That’s when patterns start to solidify and when real assessments can be made.
There’s still plenty of time for growth. Plenty of time for adjustments. And plenty of opportunities for personnel moves that can strengthen the roster.
Looking ahead, the Red Sox series may appear daunting on paper, especially with pitching matchups that seem to favor the opponent. But baseball isn’t played on paper. Just as easily as the Astros stumbled out of the gate, they can flip the script and rise to the occasion. Winning a series that looks stacked against them wouldn’t be surprising, it would be baseball.
So yes, you can be concerned about how they’ve started. That’s fair. But don’t lose sight of what matters most.
Because as the old saying goes, this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.
And in baseball, it’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish.
The Detroit Tigers won their first series of the season against the San Diego Padres and now move on to the next leg of the 2026 campaign-opening road trip at the Arizona Diamondbacks this week, starting on Monday night.
So far, in an obviously limited sample size, AJ Hinch’s team is in the lower half of the MLB offensive standings, ranking 23rd in batting average (.202), 16th in on-base percentage (.319), 29th in slugging (.263) and 23rd in OPS (.582).
On the flip side, the Motor City Kitties are among the best when it comes to pitching, ranking second in ERA (1.38), eighth in WHIP (1.12) and ninth in batting average against (.204). The team’s performance on the mound is not too surprising, given that it was clearly a strength coming in.
The fourth man in the rotation this year for the Tigers is none other than future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who takes the mound on Monday wearing the Olde English D for the first time since 2017. Opposite him is Michael Soroka, who left the Chicago Cubs for the desert as a free agent this past offseason.
Here is a look at how they match up in Game 1 of the series.
Detroit Tigers (2-1) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (0-3)
The New York Mets (2-1), tied for second in the NL East, face the St. Louis Cardinals (2-1), also tied for second in the NL Central. The Mets are favored with a moneyline of -155, giving them a 57.8% implied win probability. Clay Holmes starts for the Mets, while Kyle Leahy takes the mound for the Cardinals.
The New York Yankees, ranked first in the AL East with a 3-0 record, visit the Seattle Mariners, who are 2-2 and ranked fourth in the AL West. Seattle is favored with a moneyline of -115, while the Yankees are at -105. The starting pitchers are Ryan Weathers for the Yankees and Luis Castillo for the Mariners.
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (2-1) won 8-1 (BOX SCORE)
Arrighetti made his first start of the season and pitched well tossing 4 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts, allowing just 1 hit. The offense got going in the first inning scoring a run on an Alexander bases loaded walk and a Winkler 3 run double. In the 2nd inning, the offense scored 3 more runs on RBI doubles from Whitcomb and Perez and a Winkler RBI single. In the 7th, Perez added another run on a solo HR. De Los Santos made another rehab appearance and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings.
Note: Cole left the game after being hit by a pitch on the right foot.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 29: Didier Fuentes #72 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Truist Park on March 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well, that didn’t take long — after Didier Fuentes saved the bullpen with his efforts in a loss to the Royals, he’s going down for a fresh arm in Martin Perez:
The #Braves today selected LHP Martín Pérez to the major league roster after optioning RHP Didier Fuentes to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game.
Fuentes looked quite good against the Royals, striking out four and walking one in four frames of lower-leverage work. The Braves may have him work his way back into the Gwinnett rotation for purposes of being a starter sooner rather than later this season — or maybe his fate is to be an effective but yo-yoed arm as the pitching staff falls into place (or further falls apart).
Perez did not make the Opening Day roster, but will be around to either take Tuesday’s start against the Athletics, or serve in a similar “save the bullpen, Josh Tomlin memorial role” as Fuentes managed on Sunday afternoon. Perez has a career 100/103/107 line over 1,600-plus career innings and has served as a generic fifth starter for the last three years.
The San Diego Padres, ranked second in the NL West, will host the San Francisco Giants, ranked fifth in their division, on Monday. The Padres have a 1-2 record this season and are favored with a moneyline of -115. Walker Buehler will start for San Diego, facing San Francisco's Landen Roupp.
How to Watch San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres
The Los Angeles Dodgers, currently ranked first in the NL West with a 3-0 record, host the Cleveland Guardians, who are 2-2 and ranked second in the AL Central. The Dodgers are favored with a -200 moneyline and a -1.5 spread. Starting pitchers are Cleveland's Parker Messick and Los Angeles' Roki Sasaki.
How to Watch Cleveland Guardians vs Los Angeles Dodgers
We kick off the first full week of MLB action with all 30 teams in action today, and prediction markets like Kalshi allow baseball bettors in every state (excluding Nevada) a chance to lock in their favorite MLB best bets.
To help you find some winners among today's late, we've asked our baseball experts for their favorite MLB picks today — as well as offering extra MLB expert picks from the rest of the Covers staff for Monday, March 30.
Sign up now using our exclusive Kalshi promo code 'COVERS' and get a $10 trading bonus after you trade $10 on any other event contracts — including MLB expert picks!
Sign Up Now at img src="https://img.covers.com/betting/sportsbooks/336/kalshi.svg" alt="Kalshi" width="100" height="28" style="vertical-align: middle;"
*Eligible to ALL states + DC, (excluding Nevada)
Josh Inglis' expert pick: Yankees moneyline
Price: 51¢ (-104) at Kalshi
The New York Yankees come in well-rested after a sweep of the Giants, allowing just one total run in that series. They stay on the West Coast to face the Seattle Mariners, and there won’t be many spots this season where they’re priced this cheaply. THE BAT projects a fair price closer to -120, creating value at the current number. New York also holds edges offensively and in the later innings, with a bullpen that has thrown 11 scoreless innings and enters fully rested.
Jon Metler's expert pick: Red Sox moneyline
Price: 53¢ (-113) at Kalshi
Kalshi has the Red Sox priced at 53%, but I make them closer to a 56% favorite, so there’s value on this number. The matchup sets up well for Boston: Lance McCullers Jr. is on the mound for the Astros, and command has always been an issue for him. Against a lineup with Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran at the top — both capable of working deep counts and drawing walks — that lack of control could quickly turn into traffic on the bases. There’s some natural concern with Daikin Park’s short porch in left field, especially with a left-handed pitcher facing a righty-heavy Astros lineup, but Ranger Suárez profiles well here as a ground-ball pitcher, which helps neutralize that ballpark factor and limit the damage.
Joe Osborne's expert pick: Rays/Brewers Over 7.5
Price: 54¢ (-117) at Kalshi
Both offenses have come out flying to start the season, combining to score 52 runs while ranking first and fourth in wRC+. That has resulted in a combined 5-1 record to the Over, and I like the high-scoring pattern to continue with an unimpressive starting pitching matchup highlighted by Nick Martinez, who got destroyed in three appearances vs. the Brewers last season. Throw in a Rays bullpen that's been obliterated so far, and we've got a great recipe for a high-scoring game.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
A few times each year, a series happens and I wonder why I do all of this. On some level, I mean recapping these games. But on other levels, it is even just being a fan. Baseball lends itself to so many disappointments. In 42 years of watching this team, I’ve followed so many stupid 6-3 losses and two out of three series to teams that the Cubs probably should have won at least two of three from. I can’t even imagine how many of these a similarly situated Braves or Yankees or Dodgers fan has experienced. At least in a good number of years, the Cubs were bad enough that there weren’t so many individual games or series that just got away from them.
I have a general philosophy of preferring to play more of the good teams on the schedule early. The Cubs had a frontloaded schedule in 2025 that most of us feared they would struggle with. They didn’t. Even most of those good teams work out some kinks in the first quarter or so of the season. Even when you think your roster is set, there is still enough ebb and flow from season to season that the vast majority of teams will look very different in June than they do today. Those differences aren’t often in the core of the team. But usually your rotation will shuffle. Almost always your bullpen and bench will shuffle. One or two regulars will usually emerge. You might catch a team well and steal a win or two early in the year that you might not later in the year.
The difference between even the best and worst teams isn’t so wide that the percentages become irrelevant. If a major league team played a minor league team, they probably wouldn’t have to sweat all of the percentages. Particularly over a longer series, your talent would just carry through. But as the caliber of teams increase, being able to squeeze a percent or two here or there can be the difference between a win or a loss.
Additionally, the vast majority of teams show up at the start of the year thinking that if they catch a few breaks and keep guys healthy, that they can knock on the door to the playoffs. Stay in contention long enough and you might realistically believe that your front office will add some players and maybe you find yourself in the postseason. There’s extra money to be made. Extra exposure to be gained. The fun of celebrating a big win or clinching something.
It takes a while for a team to realize that the music has stopped and there aren’t enough chairs that are reachable in short order. At the end of the day, I imagine the Nationals are who we all thought they are. But today isn’t that day. They’ve got a young group running the team. Why not them? Surely, the Braves or the Mets or the Phillies or some other team will obliterate them in a series here in the near future and maybe they start licking their wounds. But the Cubs weren’t up to the task of dulling their early season sparkle this weekend.
A lost opportunity. There will surely be a handful of those before things are all said and done. But there will also probably be some larceny where the Cubs overcome a better team or a rough matchup. There will be games won because of fortunate bounces or a call that could go either way. It’s all part of the journey.
If you’ve followed me a long time, you’ve heard me say a couple of things. The road to the top isn’t a straight line upwards. There are no guarantees. This Cubs team is likely to emerge as one of the elite teams in the league. They didn’t do so this weekend. They’re going to have to do better. That’s going to include pitching better and hitting better. I believe they are up to the task in both regards. Let’s recap this and then turn the page.
Three Stars:
Alex Bregman: 2-4, 2 HR
Ian Happ: 1-3, BB, HR
Nico Hoerner: 1-4
Game 3, March 29: Nationals 6, Cubs 3 (1-2)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Ian Happ (.138). 1-3, BB, HR, RBI, R
Hero: Alex Bregman (.113). 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Sidekick: Hunter Harvey (.033). IP, 4 BF, H
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Shōta Imanaga (-.143). 5 IP, 22 BF, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 ER, 7 K, WP (L 0-1)
Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.112). 0-4
Kid: Moisés Ballesteros (-.101). 0-4
WPA Play of the Game: It was a scoreless game with two outs and two on in the first inning. Joey Wiemer slugged a three-run homer. (.254)
*Cubs Play of the Game: It was 3-1 Nationals when Ian Happ led off the fourth against Jake Irvin. He homered and cut the deficit to one. (.120)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Up Next: The Angels (2-2) lost a 9-7 game on Sunday in Houston, then headed for Chicago. The Cubs will host the Angels for their first night game of the season on Monday. They’ll send Edward Cabrera to the mound. He was 8-7 with a 3.53 last year for the Marlins before being traded to the Cubs. He’ll make his season debut. The Cubs will face Ryan Johnson who was 1-1 with a 7.36 in 14 appearances and 14.2 innings last year in his rookie season. This will be his first major league start. The 23-year-old was a compensatory second round choice of the Angels in 2024 (74th overall).
