Category: MLB

It’s been a tough road trip for the Colorado Rockies as they are the losers of five straight games and dropped another close affair 7-6 on Tuesday against the Houston Astros. The offense came to life a little bit better, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a bad start on the mound, and the Rockies are looking to turn things around to snap the losing streak behind one of their free-agent starting pitchers.

Jose Quintana (0-0, 4.15 ERA) is making just his second start of the season tonight after being waylaid for two weeks with a hamstring injury. His lone start came on March 29 against Miami, in which he allowed two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings with two strikeouts. While Quintana escaped without too much damage, he did struggle with his command, issuing four walks in the start. It’s unclear how much of a leash he will have coming off the injured list, but the Rockies are in desperate need of some length out of a starting pitcher, so five innings would be ideal at the very least. This will be Quintana’s 12th appearance, 10th start, against the Astros, and he sports a 3.08 ERA in 52.2 innings of work.

Also, in a corresponding move, Kyle Freeland was placed on the 15-day IL.

As for Houston, right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (0-0, 1.26 ERA in Triple-A) was recalled from Sugar Land to take the hill. Arrighetti’s been off to a hot start in Triple-A, allowing just two runs on five hits over 14.1 innings in three starts. Last season in the big leagues, he went 1-5 with a 5.35 ERA over seven starts, allowing 21 runs over 35.1 innings. Much like the Rockies, the Astros are hoping for some length out of their starter and that he can pound the zone like he’s shown capable of doing in the past. He has made one appearance against the Rockies in his career, back in 2024, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits, recording 10 strikeouts, and walking none.

First Pitch: 6:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

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

SB Nation site: The Crawfish Boxes

Lineups:

For the visiting Rockies:

Here is tonight's lineup ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/FIVUT0Ruv5

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 15, 2026

and the Astros:

Back at it!

⚾️: 7:10pm
🏟️: Closed
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 & 740 AM | Spanish: 102.9 HD2#ChaseTheFight x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/pVny0Be9W7

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 15, 2026

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A Major League Baseball umpire did not feel any brotherly love while in the city of Philadelphia last week, and it had nothing to do with baseball. 

Brock Ballou was allegedly robbed and assaulted on April 9 while in town to work the Phillies series against the Diamondbacks, according to CBS News Philadelphia. 

Ballou was one of two people who were allegedly attacked by the same assailant, who Philadelphia police believe is in his teens. 

The MLB umpire was allegedly approached by the suspect — seen in surveillance video wearing a black hat, black pants and a light blue hoodie — while walking on the 1600 block of Walnut Street in Philly, when the individual stole his phone and took off. 

Ballou attempted to give chase and ended up getting into a “physical altercation,” Capt. Jason Smit told CBS News Philadelphia, and when Ballou tried to take back his phone, he was punched in the head several times. 

“They ended up on the ground, at which time the victim struck his head, causing injury,” Smith said. “The male continued his assault, violently punching him.”

The suspect ended up not making off with the MLB umpire’s phone. Ballou was able to get it back when a passerby returned it to him. 

The injuries sustained by Ballou were not serious, and he umpired first base the next night and called balls and strikes behind the plate the day after. 

Ballou has been an umpire in MLB since 2022.

MLB has not publicly commented on the matter that occurred earlier this week. 

Another person had also been allegedly assaulted by the same person on the same day at a 7-Eleven 20 minutes earlier.

The alleged assault was not the first peculiar situation that Ballou has found himself in. 

In a story published by MiLB.com in 2016, Ballou was traveling to call a game in the Carolina League and was on I-95 with fellow umpire Cody Clark when an RV in front of them lost control.

The two men jumped out to assist the vehicle’s occupants. 

Texas Rangers lineup for April 15, 2026 against the A’s: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and J.T. Ginn for the A’s.

Its Jackie Robinson Day, and the Rangers are playing game three of the four game series in Sacramento. Jake Burger gets his first day off of the season, and Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager switch places.

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

Seager — SS

Langford — DH

Carter — CF

Pederson — 1B

Jung — 3B

Smith — 2B

Jansen — C

Duran — LF

8:40 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.

The San Diego Padres continued their recent stretch of success by winning their MLB-leading sixth straight game, taking the series opener from the Seattle Mariners.

It was an all-around success, with fantastic defense, great pitching and an offense that just wouldn’t quit against one of the game’s best pitchers in Bryan Woo. They’ll look to keep their win streak tonight against right-hander Emerson Hancock.

Their recent success has been unprecedented, with their streak being the longest one of the 2026 MLB season. The Padres are doing great, and are looking to add to it as they sit just below the Los Angeles Dodgers despite their turnaround performance.

If they can continue to prove their mettle against Seattle, it’ll go a long way to showing the league who this San Diego club really is.

Taking the mound

Emerson Hancock (SEA) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

Both Hancock and Vásquez are young guys who have been off to incredible starts to the season. Hancock has put up a 2.04 ERA and 0.74 WHIP to begin the year, allowing only four runs on 10 hits.

He’ll look to continue that run against a Padres lineup that has been downright deadly as of late. Not many in the Padres have faced him (only Fernando Tatis Jr. has seen him more than four times), so he could prove difficult. But the Friars managed to get to Woo last night, so anything’s possible.

Vásquez will look to continue his burgeoning success. He has a 1.02 ERA and 19 strikeouts across 17 2/3 innings of work this season.

Vásquez has emerged as a borderline ace for the club, dominating on the mound every time he comes out. He’ll give San Diego a great chance to win the game, but faces his first true test against a Mariners lineup that can slug. Facing stars like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, it will be a true test of Vásquez’s mettle.

Batter up!

With a righty on the mound for Seattle, the Padres will probably stick with what they had against Woo last night. That will look something along these lines:

1. Ramón Laureano, LF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Jackson Merrill, CF
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Gavin Sheets, 1B
7. Miguel Andujar, DH
8. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
9. Freddy Fermin, C

Luis Campusano got the start yesterday after a week of his bat being red-hot, but Fermin seems likely to start tonight. His bat has been cold, so hopefully he can get it going soon enough.

Bogaerts will look to build on a fantastic 3-for-4 night, driving in three of the Padres’ four runs. Merrill will do the same after a similar good night (3-4, 2B, 2 R, SB).

The Friars managed to get to the Mariners just enough to take a 4-1 win in the series opener. If they can do the same tonight, especially with Vásquez on the mound, it should be enough.

Relief corps

With the off day on Monday, the relievers got plenty of time to rest before yesterday’s game. Adding to that, King went a full six innings of work, taking the burden off of most of the bullpen.

Craig Stammen only used Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Mason Miller to cover the final three innings. Miller extended his scoreless streak to 29 2/3 (though, surprisingly, only struck out one batter), and Morejon looked much more like his dominant self than he has lately.

The only problem is that leaves only David Morgan as a high-leverage option for San Diego. The others available are Kyle Hart, newcomer Alek Jacob, Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta. If it’s a tight game, it could be difficult for the Friars to hold on if Vásquez doesn’t go deep.

The Orioles were the latest victims of yet another automated ball-strike system snafu on Wednesday. 

With two outs in the bottom of the second inning of their 8-5 loss to the Diamondbacks, Baltimore third baseman Coby Mayo took a 3-0 pitch from Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez near the outside corner that home plate umpire John Tumpane called a strike. 

As Tumpane made the call, Mayo started his walk toward first, thinking the pitch from Rodriguez was off the outside of the plate. 

Umpire made Coby Mayo use this challenge, even though a camera angle shows he never touched his helmet pic.twitter.com/G81xlEL63i

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 15, 2026

Mayo then moved his hand towards his helmet as if he was going to challenge the pitch, but stopped short of touching the top of his head, seemingly halting himself from questioning the call. 

Tumpane apparently saw otherwise, forcing Mayo to go through with the challenge despite not touching his helmet, and Mayo arguing he didn’t actually give the signal to go through with it. 

The pitch would be confirmed as a strike, taking away an Orioles challenge and moving the count to 3-1. 

Losing the challenge aside, it would work out for Mayo, who hit a double on the next pitch, but the ordeal is the latest example of MLB’s growing pains with ABS.

Last week, the Pirates’ Nick Gonzales unsuccessfully attempted to un-challenge a pitch after clearly tapping his helmet on a strike call. 

Red Sox infielder Andruw Monasterio made perhaps the worst ABS decision of the year on Tuesday, challenging an 88 mph slider right down the middle from Mick Abel for a strikeout.

As expected, some teams have had more success than others with the new system. 

After a hot start at challenging calls, the Yankees have hit a cold stretch and now rank just 12th in the league at 57.1 percent.

The Braves try to win another series, and avoid their first series loss of the season, in a rubber game with the Marlins.

Detroit Tigers (8-9) vs. Kansas City Royals (7-10)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-1, 5.14 ERA) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (1-1, 1.53 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Flaherty	3	14.0	21.2	16.7	32.4	5.07	0.1
Lugo	3	17.2	20.3	8.7	43.8	2.57	0.5

A pitching staff off to a marvelous start in 2026, the Yankees have had more than their fair share of issues against the Angels in this four-game set at home. It’ll be up to Luis Gil to right the ship. The right-hander missed out on a spot in the Opening Day rotation as the Yanks had the luxury of rolling with a four-man staff for the early portion of the season. Now, he’ll make his first home start, looking to cement his place in a group that has accustomed Yankee fans to an extremely high level of pitching, at least outside of these last two games.

It was the home run ball that hurt Gil in his season debut, as Yandy Díaz quickly welcomed him back to the bigs with a two-run shot in the first. Facing the Angels, Gil’s No. 1 mission—and a tough one at that—is to keep the ball in the yard against a team that had five different hitters going deep on Tuesday. One of those five hitters won’t take the field tonight, as Jorge Soler will begin serving a four-game suspension for the April 7th brawl in a game between the Braves and Angels.

The Yankees’ lineup will be glad to see anybody not named Reid Detmers taking the ball, even if Jack Kochanowicz has had decent success early in the season. The easiest path to success for New York lies in the patience to make Kochanowicz throw strikes consistently, as walks have been a major issue for him through his first three starts, conceding 11 of them in 16.2 innings.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: Amazon Prime Video | FanDuel Sports Network West

Radio broadcast: KLAA 830, WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Today, we all wear 42. #RepBX | #Jackie42pic.twitter.com/rP2dK4wngV

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 15, 2026

Our #Jackie42 Day lineup

📺: FanDuel Sports Network West
📻: @AngelsRadioKLAA#RepTheHalo x @FBMSupplypic.twitter.com/lfdf1XIKM4

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) April 15, 2026

Today is the 79th anniversary of the day Jack Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke MLB’s longstanding color barrier. To honor that feat and his legacy, all MLB players will don jerseys with #42 on them today.

In Cincinnati, the Reds will play host to the San Francisco Giants. Rhett Lowder and old friend Tyler Mahle will get the starting nods.

Lineups for the two clubs are listed below, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM ET.

In hindsight, Dave Roberts dropped the hint Tuesday night. 

When asked about Shohei Ohtani’s plan for Wednesday’s series finale against the Mets, the manager said then that Ohtani is “going to be our starting pitcher tomorrow.”

What he neglected to mention: That pitching would be the only thing Ohtani does in the game.

For the first time since May 2021, Ohtani was in the lineup as a pitcher only for Wednesday’s contest, dropped from the batting order –– and his typical leadoff spot as the team’s designated hitter –– because of lingering soreness in the back of his right pitching shoulder after being hit by a pitch there earlier this week.

“If he wouldn’t have gotten hit, he would’ve DH’d today,” Roberts said. “So I just think in this one game, it just makes more sense to give him the best chance to kind of manage the shoulder and the back.”

The hit-by-pitch in question happened in Ohtani’s first at-bat Monday night, when David Peterson plunked him with a 94 mph sinker that sent the four-time MVP reeling in pain.

Ohtani stayed in that night’s game, and DH’d again Tuesday. But he’s gone 0-for-7 since, only reaching base once in that span via an intentional walk.

“There’s still some soreness in there,” Roberts said.

Thus, the Dodgers decided it’d be best to have him only pitch Wednesday, in what will be his third outing on the mound this season. Dalton Rushing will serve as DH in Ohtani’s place.

Shohei Ohtani is the Dodgers' starting pitcher only tonight

He will not DH pic.twitter.com/O0NpDBi93e

— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) April 15, 2026

“[It was] just feeling what gives him the best chance to stay loose during the outing, feel good,” Roberts said. “When he’s hitting, there’s a component that he’s in the cage getting ready to hit. And if we can take that off his plate and just focus on one thing tonight, we felt — training staff, pitching coaches, myself — we just felt it was the best thing for him.”

Roberts said he expects Ohtani to resume two-way duties the next time his spot in the rotation comes up.

He added that Ohtani “completely understood” the reasoning for Wednesday’s decision.

In case you were wondering, Ohtani will not be an option to pinch-hit later in Wednesday’s game, either. While, during his normal two-way starts, he is able to remain in the game as a hitter after his pitching start ends, the same flexibility does not apply if he is not in the starting lineup as the DH.

Because of that, Ohtani’s 48-game on-base streak also won’t be threatened. On-base streaks aren’t snapped if a player does not get a plate appearance in a game (even if they pitch, pinch-run or play defense).

Folks, the vibes are bad. The Brewers, after a wonderful start, have lost six in a row. The bullpen, an expected strength, is hanging on by a thread, and there are urgent questions about the closer’s role. Three of the team’s five best hitters are on the shelf, with no returns expected for at least a couple of weeks. It’s not great! (Good vibes around Jackie Robinson, though—it’s Jackie Robinson day today, so raise your glass to one of the great heroes of 20th century America.)

There is one thing that would cure the panic that is beginning to seep into parts of the fanbase: a few wins. Milwaukee will look to end their brutal losing streak tonight (and to keep their record from going under .500), but it’s not going to be a cakewalk. In the second game of their three-game set with the reigning American League champs, the Brewers will send Chad Patrick to the mound to face off with one of the highest paid pitchers in the league, Dylan Cease.

Cease, who signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Blue Jays as a free agent this offseason, has had an enigmatic career. At his best, he’s been one of the very best pitchers alive, as evidenced by his 2022 season, when as a member of the White Sox he pitched to a 2.20 ERA, led the American League in bWAR, and finished second in Cy Young voting. But Cease has also had some clunkers; over the past four seasons, his ERA+ has been 180, 97, 118, and 94.

There is no question about Cease’s ability, though. He’s led his league in strikeouts per nine innings twice in the last five years, and at 11.0 per nine for his career, he is third among 47 active pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched in career K/9, behind only two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and future Hall of Famer Chris Sale. Cease is off to an excellent star: in three appearances spanning 14 2/3 innings, he has a 2.45 ERA and 1.66 FIP, and while his walks are up, he’s also struck out 26 batters in 14.2 innings, a Mason-Miller-esque rate of 16 per nine innings.

The Brewers will counter with Chad Patrick. He’s got a shiny 0.73 ERA of his own, but he’s definitely been fortunate—the sequencing coach is earning his pay, you might say, as it relates to Patrick. Patrick’s strikeouts are way down (he has only seven in 12 1/3 innings) and his walks are up (3.6 per nine, compared to 3.0 last season), giving him a 1950s-esque 1.40 K:BB ratio. Brewers fans will be pleased as long as the results are there, but the difference between Patrick’s ERA and FIP is higher than Freddy Peralta’s career ERA, so it would be nice to see some encouraging signs under the hood, so to speak.

Milwaukee will field a similar lineup to last night, with the exception of Brandon Lockridge (who finished last night’s game but didn’t start it), who is in for Luis Matos in left field. Gary Sánchez will also do the catching tonight, swapping roles with William Contreras, who will be the DH.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

The squad on #Jackie42 Day

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ

→ https://t.co/mvGXoRMTFSpic.twitter.com/OaMhLce5A4

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 15, 2026

Tonight, we are all Number 42 💙 #Jackie42pic.twitter.com/t9MPtqLoUP

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 15, 2026

The San Francisco Giants continue their three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Tyler Mahle, who enters today’s game with a 4.30 ERA, 4.32 FIP, with 15 strikeouts to seven walks in 14.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies last Wednesday, in which he allowed just three hits and four walks with six strikeouts in five and two thirds innings.

He’ll be facing off against Reds right-hander Rhett Lowder, who enters today’s game with a 3.31 ERA, 3.71 FIP, with 11 strikeouts to six walks in 16.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Reds’ 8-1 loss to the Miami Marlins last Thursday, in which he allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks in five and a third innings.

Game #18

Who: San Francisco Giants (6-11) vs. Cincinnati Reds (10-7)

Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio

When: 3:40 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

After getting blown out on Monday, the Nats responded nicely, grinding out a 5-4 victory yesterday. That evened the series and put the Nationals one game below .500. They will look to get to .500 tonight against the Pirates in the third game of a four game set. This also a special day around the league, as MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day.

The Nats have a bit of a unique lineup tonight, and it is designed to counter the Pirates pitching strategy. Pittsburgh has a lefty opener, so Curtis Mead will hit second and play first base. To avoid the lefty, the Nats have Luis Garcia Jr. in the 9 spot. Joey Wiemer is also in the lineup, and he will hit sixth. Brady House is back at third base, which means Jorbit Vivas will slide over to second and Nasim Nunez will get the day off. Jake Irvin will be on the bump for the Nats.

for 42 tonight 💙

→ https://t.co/iUBDqlACVspic.twitter.com/G6Dk9RjFMa

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 15, 2026

The Pirates made some changes to the bottom of their order. Teenaged sensation Konnor Griffin will get the night off. That means Nick Gonzales will play shortstop and Nick Yorke will play third. Henry Davis will be back behind the plate as the Pirates alternate catchers. The Bucs will open with flame throwing lefty Mason Montgomery. Right hander Carmen Mlodzinski will follow him and pitch in a bulk role.

18/162.

📺 @SNPittsburgh
📻 @937theFanpic.twitter.com/ljfEQK9S0I

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 15, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: PNC Park

Time: 6:40 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats have already secured a winning road trip, but they are looking for more. Splitting this four game set would satisfy me, but imagine if they can win the next two. That would really give the Nats momentum. The offense is red hot and makes this group very fun to watch. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

If you read the little text under this article, I dubbed this a must win game for the Royals. While this is just game 18 on the season, this game tonight is huge for the vibes and direction of the team.

The Royals are 7-10 on the season, mostly because of inept offense, they’ve scored 2 runs or less in 10 of their first 17 games and in 6 of their last 7 games. When they hold a lead late, like last night, it’s a lot of pressure on the bullpen to be perfect, with no cushion, and it’s a blown lead late again, similar to Sunday.

If the Royals go out there and lose another game scoring 2 runs or less, it starts to build even more frustration offensively and then the pitching can’t continue to be as excellent as they have been, because they are under constant stress to be perfect, because of the poor offense.

Outside of the team, fans, especially the casual ones will keep losing interest in the ballclub, and April isn’t even over yet. The NFL Draft is next week, and we live in Chiefs country, so you know the casual fan will be tuned out quickly if things don’t turn around soon.

Good thing is, like me, most of you are diehard fans and we are in it until game 162 concludes or further beyond that. Tonight the Royals are sending Seth Lugo to the mound, he has been phenomenal all season long. The veteran right-hander has churned out good start after good start this season. If he does that again tonight, the Royals are in business to even this series up.

Here is the starting lineup behind Lugo.

Today, we wear No. 42. pic.twitter.com/BxcSueRWTr

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 15, 2026

As for the Tigers, they got off to an abysmal start, 4-9, including being swept in a four-game series by the Twins, who are winning the division… what??? Since then, they’ve won four straight games after sweeping the Marlins at home and rallying last night to beat Kansas City. They are 6-1 at home this season.

Right hander Jack Flaherty starts for Detroit. After two rough starts, his last outing in Minnesota was a good one, allowing just one run over 5.2 innings.

Here is the starting lineup behind Flaherty.

& we have a baseball game tonight!

⚾️ 6:40 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Comerica Park pic.twitter.com/Gt90PEbnmi

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 15, 2026

Also, today is Jackie Robinson Day, so everyone will be donned with 42 as their number. It’s a very special and historic day in baseball history, hopefully the Royals can break out tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. CT, the game can be streamed on Royals.TV.

The San Diego Padres are on a roll, as they have won nine of their last 11 games. They sit comfortably in second place in the National League West. But the momentum may turn for the worse after Nick Pivetta left his last start with right elbow stiffness. The injury has forced the Padres to place the right-hander on the injured list. 

The Friars cannot afford another significant blow to their starting rotation. Joe Musgrove is still recovering from elbow surgery, and losing another key contributor like Pivetta has placed the rotation in a period of uncertainty. 

Add the poor showing from German Marquez in his first three starts with the Padres. Suddenly, the team’s starting pitching depth has been challenged. Marquez has a 5.54 ERA with a 1.69 WHIP over 13 innings pitched. With the recent rash of injuries and bad outings at the beginning of the season, the Friars need to identify reliable starters who can throw quality innings.

Waldron has embraced becoming a knuckleball pitcher

Matt Waldron has been trying to perfect the knuckleball, so it becomes the main weapon in his pitching arsenal. He aims to throw his knuckleball at least 75% of the pitches thrown in every start. It would be a significant increase from previous seasons, which were approximately 38%.

He is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2025 season. An oblique injury hampered Waldron and limited him to one start last summer. It was a late June start against the Philadelphia Phillies, as the right-hander struggled with his control. He walked six batters in a 4-0 defeat. 

Give Waldron credit for trying to reinvent himself on the mound. He needed to learn to trust the knuckleball. Waldron came to Peoria with newfound confidence, as he threw the knuckleball in the 75-80 MPH range this spring. The velocity will remind older baseball fans of former major leaguer Tom Candiotti. 

The hope is to combine the knuckler with his fastball to keep opposing hitters baffled inside the batter’s box. Waldron wants to disrupt their timing with the knuckler’s movement toward home plate. 

Hart might be too valuable to take out of ‘pen

Kyle Hart opened the 2026 campaign as the long man in the bullpen. In six appearances, Hart has pitched 11 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits. His control has been up and down with five walks and only six strikeouts this season.

Part of Hart’s struggles stems from lowering his arm slot during his delivery toward home plate. It has been a struggle to maximize movement on his sweeper and sinker. When he has been successful in games, he induces batters to hit groundballs at a 57.6% rate. His delivery forces hitters to begin their swing early and make weak contact.

The left-hander has 30 major league appearances, including nine career starts. It would be tough to transition back into being a starting pitcher, as Hart needs to stretch his arm out to go more than a couple of innings of work. 

Having an experienced pitcher filling the long man’s role in the bullpen is a luxury. Hart might be a better asset to keep a game close after a poor start than to replace Marquez in the starting rotation.

The Friars will have Waldron take over Pivetta’s spot in the starting rotation. He is ready for the challenge.

Waldron may not be the ideal foundation piece for the rotation, but he is ready to change the Friar Faithful’s opinion of him on the mound.