Category: MLB

A mere 156 days after hoisting a championship trophy on the field at Rogers Centre, the Dodgers will be back in Toronto on Monday to battle the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series.

Justin Wrobleski, who got four outs in relief in Game 7 and during the World Series pitched five scoreless innings, starts for the Dodgers on Monday. Max Scherzer takes the ball for Toronto.

The series opener, in addition to being televised locally by SportsNet LA, will also be on FS1 in a non-exclusive broadcast that won’t be blacked out in the home markets.

Monday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Blue Jays
• Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto
• Time: 4:07 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, FS1
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Texas Rangers have placed righthanded pitcher Carter Baumler on the injured list with a right intercostal strain, the team announced today. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have recalled righthanded pitcher Luis Curvelo.

Baumler, a Rule 5 pick from the Baltimore Orioles, seemed destined to have an injured list trip at some point this season, both because he has a history of being injured and because he’s a Rule 5 selection, and Rule 5 guys are going to be more likely to be placed on the injured list due to minor ailments since they can’t be sent down to the minors, and thus the i.l. move is the only way to get the player off the active roster without risking losing the player. Baumler has made four appearances this season, and had his first 1-2-3 inning yesterday against Cincinnati.

Curvelo was one of the last cuts in spring training. He threw 19 innings over 17 appearances in 2025 for the Rangers, putting up a 5.68 ERA, striking out 20 and walking 10. In three games so far this year for Round Rock, he has thrown three innings, allowed two runs, struck out three and walked two.

Curvelo gives the Rangers what one would assume would be a more reliable righthanded late inning arm than Baumler, as the team sorts through its reliever options and tries to figure out roles.

The Dodgers have their first rain delay of the season, with the start of their series finale against the Washington Nationals delayed by rain at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

The originally planned start time for Sunday was 1:35 p.m. ET, with rain expected to last well into the 2 p.m. hour locally. The game was scheduled to start at roughly 3:45 p.m. ET, or 12:45 p.m. PT, and ended up getting underway one minute earlier, putting the total delay at two hours, nine minutes.

Up next for the Dodgers after Sunday’s game in Washington D.C. is a trip north across the border to Canada to face the Toronto Blue Jays in a World Series rematch beginning Monday at Rogers Centre.

Last season, six Dodgers games were delayed by rain, but none were postponed. Their last weather postponement came in 2023.

Texas Rangers lineup for April 5, 2026 against the Cincinnati Reds: starting pitchers are Jack Leiter for the Rangers and Chase Burns for the Reds.

Texas will try to avoid being swept against Cincinnati today as they finish out their first home series of 2026. Josh Jung gets a day off.

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Pederson — DH

Carter — CF

Higashioka — C

Smith — 2B

Duran — 3B

1:35 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -125 favorites.

The Nats pitching staff has been up and down to start the season, with more downs lately. However, one guy who has been impressing me lately is Gus Varland. He is not a well known name, and he has bounced around, but I have liked what I have seen from the 29 year old. I had the chance to chat with him a bit earlier today.

He is clearly a sharp and introspective guy. One thing he talked about was his search to find confidence. After a couple rough outings in Spring Training, he said he talked to the Nats pitching coaches about the mental side of his game. He wanted to solve the “age old question of how you get confidence”.

For him, there are two ways to get confidence, either through results or through a strong mentality. Varland wanted to gain a more confident mentality. I loved how he described his new approach. He said, “If I am going to pitch today in the big leagues, am I going to be scared or am I going to be confident. I am choosing to be confident no matter what happens”. 

This is something that applies to life as well as sports. Varland’s winding path has given him plenty of reasons to be scared or discouraged, but right now, he is choosing to be confident. 

With his stuff, there is reason to be confident as well. Varland has a dynamic fastball/slider mix. The heater has a ton of life at the top of the zone and the slider looks like the fastball until it drops off the table. So far, Varland has been executing those pitches at a high level as well.

Varland was one of a few guys who the Nats have picked up off of waivers. The waivers process is unique, and players can be unaware of their fate for many days. Varland said he was in limbo for five days this time, before landing with the Nats. It was not the first time Varland has been in DFA limbo, but it still must be a very odd experience.

Back in 2024, Varland actually spent some time with the Dodgers, before getting DFA’d and going to the White Sox. That means he knows some of the players, and was Shohei Ohtani’s teammate at one point. Varland has gotten the better of Ohtani so far this series, striking him out twice. He called that experience, “the best because he is the best. The fact I can get him out gives me even more confidence”.

Ohtani and Varland actually have a history beyond just being teammates. When his mother was courageously battling cancer, Ohtani actually made a donation and covered a large part of the medical expenses. Varland’s mom is now cancer free! 

While that was obviously an awesome story, Varland is now carving his own path in DC. If he keeps pitching like he has so far this season, he will be in high leverage spots before too long. The one thing Varland thinks he needs to do to get there is improve his execution.

Execution is something Varland touched on a couple times, and it is something that is important for him. He will mix in a changeup on rare occasions, but Varland is basically a two pitch pitcher. That makes command very important. Hitters know what is coming, but if Varland is commanding it well, hitters will still struggle.

After talking to him, Varland is a guy I will definitely be rooting for. He missed almost all of last season, and he told me that he has had four different surgeries in his career. However, despite all the adversity he has faced on and off the field, Gus Varland is confident and ready to prove himself with the Washington Nationals.

The Rangers turned back the clock to accommodate Daylight Saving Time. What they also wanted to do was turn back the CALENDAR!

"'All of a sudden, they're skating like a playoff team," says The Old Scout. "It's too bad they didn't play this way when it counted."

True enough but the 4-1 win over the playoff-seeking Red Wings yesterday at The Garden  delivered playoff hope – in the future.

"If Gabe Perreault can play next season like he did against Detroit," adds The Old Scout, "he'll automatically become the cornerstone of the offense. Ditto for some of the other kids."

Adam Sýkora and Jaroslav Chmelař could easily be Rangers next season but it was Perreault's hat trick that had the matinee crowd thinking that GM Chris Drury's no-fooling around "Retool" is for real.

Four Reasons Why You Should Buy A Ticket To The Rangers' Final GamesThe revived – well, sort of – Detroit Red Wings are at The Garden today which means that tomorrow night (Washington) and Wednesday (Buffalo) are IT for the home season. Here are four reasons why you should be there.

Truth is Reality starts in October but – for tonight we'll see how Gabe and his chums fare against Alex Ovechkin who very likely will be making his last appearance before the Manhattan crowd.

If so, it's high time we salute one of the most exceptional players in the history of the game: YAY! OVIE.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

This week’s question asked you about Oneil Cruz, who’s poor performance in the field has stuck out like a sore thumb. He has had a good start at thr plate, currently hitting .290 with 3 home runs for the 5-3 Buccs. But the 27-year-old is getting to the point in his career when it’s less about pontential and more — he is what he is at this point. So we asked our readers if it was time to move on from Cruz. Here is what you said:

So there you have it. A full two-thirds of Pirates fans voted that it’s time to move on. I thought it would be a little lower than that but understand the frustration with the highly talented but also highly mercurial Cruz.

As usual, don’t forget to drop by FanDuel’s MLB page. You can bet on all kinds of player props as well as the Bucs winning the Worlds Series (+5000) and also for them just making the MLB Playoffs (+164).

We’ll be back soon with more Reacts!

The Cincinnati Reds powered their way to victory on Friday in the series opener against the Texas Rangers, with 2-run blasts by Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson fueling the 5-3 victory. On Saturday, it was starting pitcher Rhett Lowder’s excellence paired with some timely bucket brigade of singles that led to Cincinnati’s 2-0 win.

On Sunday, it will be Chase Burns with the chance to put his stamp on the first road series of the season for the Reds as they look to sweep aside the Rangers and move three games over the .500 mark. Burns was his electric self again in his first start of the season, fanning 7 in 5.0 IP while allowing nary a run and a lone hit in a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, showing zero ill-effects from his bullpen role down the stretch in 2025 and his somewhat odd ‘de-load’ late in spring camp.

Standing in Cincinnati’s way will be another former #2 overall pick in Texas Rangers starter Jack Leiter. Leiter, whose path to big league success hasn’t been quite as rocket-like as Burns, settled in as a solid mid-rotation contributor for the 2025 Rangers, but the stuff has always been there for him to lead a rotation. Still just 25 years old (for a few more days), he looked the part of an ace in his first start of the season, and the Reds will have their work cut out for them today against the righty.

It’s something of an interesting matchup today given yesterday’s between Rhett Lowder and Kumar Rocker. Lowder and Burns, of course, were both aces that came out of Wake Forest’s elite pitching development program, while both Rocker and Leiter came out of a Vanderbilt system that current Reds pitching coordinator Derek Johnson set in motion himself. All four are former Top 10 overall picks, too, showing just how much elite arm talent has been on display in this series so far.

First pitch for Sunday’s matinee is set for 2:35 PM ET, as the Reds will head to Miami next to continue their first road trip of the 2026 season.

For whatever reason, Nate Lowe is back on the bench and Ke’Bryan Hayes is starting at 3B again. Here’s how the Reds will line up for this one:

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is showing signs of life with the bat, and I think he breaks through this afternoon in a plus-pitching matchup.

Find out why in my Blue Jays vs. White Sox predictions and MLB picks below. 

Blue Jays vs White Sox predictions

Blue Jays vs White Sox best bet: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases (+120)

Davis Martin was hit hard in his first outing, allowing three extra-base hits, culminating in a .937 opponent OPS, while ranking in the second percentile in hard-hit rate.

Enter Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Toronto Blue Jays slugger hits the ball as hard as anyone in the league. He ranked in the 90th percentile in hard-hit rate last season and is starting to show that same level of pop in his bat. 

Guerrero finally hit his first home run of the season yesterday, and nearly had another with a long moon shot that was caught at the wall.

This tells me that he’s starting to see and hit the ball better, and I’ll bank on that bat continuing its breakout today with Martin on the mound. 

COVERS INTEL: Davis Martin was hit hard in his first outing of the season, giving up a homer and two doubles, while ranking in the third percentile in average-exit velocity to go along with a .530 xSLG rate. 

Blue Jays vs White Sox same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll continue the trend of betting on Vladdy breaking out offensively and take him to go Over 0.5 RBI this afternoon. 

Davis Martin had a 5.11 xERA last season and a 7.27 xERA in his last outing. Thus, the base paths could be busy tonight, and if Vladdy gets his hits with men on base, he’s in the right spot in the lineup to cash in a run or two. 

For the final leg, I’ll take Eric Lauer to go Over his strikeout total. He had nine Ks in his first outing, and Chicago ranks 29th in Ks this season, already having struck out 18 times through the first two games of the series. 

Blue Jays vs White Sox SGP

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 RBI
• Eric Lauer Over 4.5 strikeouts

Blue Jays vs White Sox home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+400)

I’ll continue to back Vladdy and take him as my home run pick for tonight. Homers come in bunches for Guerrero Jr., and with the first one out of the way, he could erupt anytime now. 

Additionally, the matchup favors Vladdy, who has terrific bat-to-ball skills, squaring the ball up, and hitting it with authority. This combination is dangerous for a pitcher like Martin, who gets hit hard and often. 

Blue Jays vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Toronto -165 | Chicago +140
• Run line: Toronto -1.5 (+100) | Chicago +1.5 (-120)
• Over/Under: Over 8 | Under 8

Blue Jays vs White Sox trend

The Blue Jays have covered the first-five run line in 16 of their last 21 games for +11.05 units and a 46% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. White Sox.

How to watch Blue Jays vs White Sox and game info

Blue Jays vs White Sox latest injuries

Blue Jays vs White Sox weather

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Today’s roster moves: Here

I had not remembered a traditional, non-split doubleheader on the road for the Cubs in recent years. The last such doubleheader at Wrigley Field was Thursday, Aug. 3, 2006 vs. the Diamondbacks.

So, naturally, I asked BCB’s JohnW53 if he knew. Of course he did! Here’s the answer.

The Cubs have played 15 doubleheaders on the road since the one at home vs. the Diamondbacks.

Fourteen of those were day/night split doubleheaders.

The exception was on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2019, at Washington, when they played a twi-night, single-admission doubleheader. The first game started at 5:15 and ended at 8:00. Then there was an hour before the second game because the Nationals were honoring Ryan Zimmerman. The second game ran 3:15 and did not end until 12:15 a.m.

The Cubs lost both games, 10-3 and 6-5. Then the Sunday game was rained out, forcing the Cubs to return for an afternoon game the following Thursday. Anthony Rizzo flew to the game in uniform, in protest. The Cubs won that game, 4-3, but Pedro Strop was injured trying to beat out an infield grounder and was lost for the season. 

Here’s how our various threads are going to work for posts on both games this afternoon. There will be the “Live!” thread as usual, five minutes before the first pitch of Game 1. I will post a recap as soon as possible after Game 1, then another “Live!” thread will follow five minutes before Game 2. A recap of Game 2 will post in the early evening, after that one’s complete.

Get ready for six (or so) hours of Cubs baseball this afternoon!

Sunday doubleheader notes…

• THE SUNDAY DOUBLEHEADER: The Cubs have played 52 doubleheaders — 31 at home and 21 on the road — since they last played a single-admission doubleheader on a Sunday: April 28, 2002, when they lost at home to the Dodgers, 5-4 and 4-1. The breakdown of those 52 by day and site: Monday: 4 (3 home/1 road). Tuesday 14 (10/4). Wednesday: 9 (6/3). Thursday: 3 (1/2). Friday: 6 (2/4). Saturday: 16 (9/7). The Cubs played a day/night doubleheader at home against the Cardinals on Sunday, July 12, 2009, in which they won, 7-3, then lost, 4-2. They have played 38 doubleheaders on other days of the week since then, 24 at home and 14 on the road. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DOUBLEHEADER DOINGS: Over the last five seasons, the Cubs have played 13 doubleheaders, as follows… 2021: four (swept one, split one, were swept twice). All the games in the 2021 doubleheaders were scheduled as seven-inning games. One of those (a win in Game 2, May 4 vs. the Dodgers) went nine innings, as it was tied after seven. 2022: six (split two, were swept four times). 2023: none. 2024: two (split one, were swept once). 2025: one (swept the Brewers!).
• THEY’D NEVER DO THIS NOW: In a four-day stretch in 1967, the Cubs played four doubleheaders. Then the next year they played four doubleheaders in an eight-day span. Randy Hundley started and caught every inning of seven of the eight 1967 games and played the last three innings of the other one, and in 1968 started and caught every inning of seven of the eight games. No wonder his knees gave out.
• OR THIS, EITHER: The most doubleheaders the Cubs ever played in a season was 39, in 1944. The last time they played 30 doubleheaders in a season was 1957. They last played at least 20 in 1967 (21) and last played at least 10 in 1979 (11). (Thanks to John for the last two of those.) This article by Chris Jaffe on doubleheaders in the 20th Century is from 2010, but still contains some fascinating doubleheader history.

Cubs lineup for Game 1:

Guardians lineup for Game 1:

Edward Cabrera, RHP vs. Slade Cecconi, RHP

Edward Cabrera was the originally scheduled starter for Sunday’s single game. Instead, he’ll throw the first game of the doubleheader today.

Cabrera was nails in his first 2026 start last Monday against the Angels, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out five.

Last year while with the Marlins he made one start vs. the Guardians, Aug. 14 in Cleveland, and got hit pretty hard — seven hits, five runs in 5.1 innings. Let’s hope this one goes better.

Slade Cecconi was supposed to start the Saturday game that was rained out. Instead, he’ll go in the first game of the doubleheader this afternoon.

Cecconi got torched by the Mariners in his first 2026 start last Sunday in Seattle — 4.1 innings, six runs allowed. He threw 93 pitches and, as noted, did not finish the fifth inning.

He has never faced the Cubs. Only two Cubs — Alex Bregman (0-for-4) and Michael Conforto (0-for-3) have ever faced him.

Here are the pitchers scheduled to start Game 2 of this doubleheader.

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Parker Messick, LHP

Shōta Imanaga’s first 2026 start wasn’t terrible… but it wasn’t all that good, either. He allowed one home run, unfortunately that came with two men on base. Hopefully he can keep the ball in the ballpark this evening. He did strike out seven Nationals in that first outing.

His outing last year against the Guardians, July 2, 2025 at Wrigley Field, was a similar game to his first start this year, except with more home runs (three solo homers). So, again, keeping the ball in the yard would be the key to his success, I’d think.

You’ll note in the graphic below that he averaged 92.1 miles per hour on his fastball in his first start this year. That’s up significantly from last year’s 90.8 miles per hour. If he can maintain that, this should be a good year for Shōta.

Parker Messick was the Guardians’ second-round pick out of Florida State in 2022. He made his MLB debut last year with seven pretty good starts, and threw six shutout innings against the Dodgers last Monday in Los Angeles, so that’s also pretty good.

He’s obviously never faced the Cubs. He did face Alex Bregman last year; Bregman went 1-for-3 (a double).

Also, “Parker Messick” sounds like a comic-book superhero’s alter ego name.

Here is the weather forecast for the Cleveland area.

Today’s games are both on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday for Game 1

MLB.com Gameday for Game 2

Baseball-reference.com game preview for Game 1

Baseball-reference.com game preview for Game 2

Please visit our SB Nation Guardians site Covering The Corner. If you do go there to interact with Guardians fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note. See the top of this post for some posting differences from those below for this doubleheader day.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Though the Atlanta Braves came up a few runs short for the third win against the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday, at least we’ve seen consistent quality starts from Bryce Elder to propel us to today’s series ending before the Braves head to Anaheim to face the Angels.

Let’s look at today’s pitchers.

Martín Pérez has gotten the start, making this his second appearance and first official start with the team this season. His last game with the Athletics resulted in three strikeouts, only two hits, and no earned runs across 4.1 innings out of the bullpen.

The nod was going to either Jose Suarez or Pérez, and with the struggles Suarez displayed in his last appearance, having Pérez enter in for the start will be a nice way to get a feel for his command and approach, as we’ve seen bits and pieces during spring training.

He had mentioned how healthy he felt for the first time since 2024 in the post-game presser for that game, remarking in his words how he had confidence in feeling well the following day without any worries. This was especially great to hear, noting how he was held to 11 games last year with the Chicago White Sox due to injury, but still maintained a 3.54 ERA and 1.11 WHIP (4.24 FIP) across his appearances.

Relying on four main pitches (change-up, sinker, cutter, and curveball) in his arsenal, we can expect to see the change-up and sinker taking the front seat as his targeted weapons against the Diamondbacks’ offense.

Looking over to the Diamondbacks, they’re going for the split with Brandon Pfaadt (7.50 ERA) taking the hill. So far, with the start of the season rolling with their five-man rotation, he’s only had one starting appearance with the team. Though allowing five runs across his six innings pitched just five days ago against the Detroit Tigers, don’t let the numbers fool you.

His consistency and overall command haven’t been the strongest and have hurt his chances for effectiveness on the mound, especially last season, where he was placed fifth in the worst ERA with a 5.25. However, during the second half of the season, he added a cutter to his arsenal that produced him with better results and kept his pitches better located in the zone, which led to weaker contact for batters he’s faced. This change dropped his FIP from 4.64 to 3.68 almost instantly.

If he can work on control during this outing and stay ahead of his counts, he could have a pretty solid showing, but if the Braves can take advantage of his weakest areas of location and command, they just might be able to pull off the win, making this a third straight series win to start the season.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 5th, 4:10 p.m. EDT

Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

TV: BravesVision

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (6-2) lost 4-1 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land jumped out to an early lead on a lead-off home run from Trammell. Lambert started for Sugar Land and was solid allowing 1 run over 5 innings. Knorr allowed 3 runs as the Jumbo Shrimp took the lead. The Sugar Land offense was quiet the rest of the way as they fell 4-1.

Note: France has a 0.00 ERA over 5.1 innings this season.

• Taylor Trammell, CF: 1-for-2, R, HR, RBI, 2 BB
• Kellen Strahm, RF: 1-for-3, BB

• Peter Lambert, RHP: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Michael Knorr, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• J.P. France, LHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Amos Willingham, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (0-3) lost 1-0 (BOX SCORE)

The Hooks got on the board first getting a run on a Sullivan RBI single in the 3rd. McPherson got the start and was pitching well but allowed 3 runs in the 5th before being pulled. He was relieved by David who really struggled allowing 6 runs while retiring just two batters. The offense got one run back in the 6th scoring on an error. The rest of the pen was solid with scoreless outings but the offense struggled as the Hooks fell 10-2.

Note: Bush is hitting .500 this season.

• Lucas Spence, DH: 1-for-4
• Will Bush, C: 3-for-3, BB

• Brett Gillis, RHP: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
• Trey Dombroski, LHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Nic Swanson, RHP: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Trey McLoughlin, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• Railin Perez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (1-2) lost 3-2 (BOX SCORE) 

Howard got the start for Asheville and went 3 innings allowing 2 runs. The offense got on the board in the 3rd inning with Nunez connecting on a 2 run HR. The bullpen was solid with Guedez and Ogando tossing scoreless innings. DeVos went 3 innings in relief allowing 1 run but the offense was quiet the rest of the way as Asheville fell 3-2.

Note: Nunez is hitting .375 this season.

• Caden Powell, CF: 1-for-4, R
• Alejandro Nunez, 2B: 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
• Drew Brutcher, 1B: 2-for-4

• Dylan Howard, RHP: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Jose Guedez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Joan Ogando, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Nolan DeVos, RHP: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-1) won 6-5 (BOX SCORE)

Pecko made a rehab start for the Woodpeckers and looked good striking out 4 over 2 scoreless innings. The offense got on the board scoring a run in the 4th on an error and getting another run in the 5th on a Monistere RBI single. Carrera relieved Pecko and pitched well tossing 4 no-hit innings with 4 strikeouts. Wilson took the lead scoring 3 runs off Weber but in the bottom of the 7th, Neyens connected on a 2 run double to take the lead. After Wilson tied it again in the 8th, another big time prospect came through with Alvarez connecting on a 2 run double to go up 6-4. Wells allowed a run in the 9th but held on as the Woodpeckers won 6-5.

Note: Carrera has 33 K in 26 innings in Single-A.

• Kevin Alvarez, RF: 4-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• Xavier Neyens, 3B: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• Nick Monistere, 2B: 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
• Anthony Huezo, LF: 1-for-4, BB, SB
• Arturo Flores, C: 0-for-3, R, BB
• Kenni Gomez, DH: 3-for-4, R, SB
• Hector Salas, SS: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB

• Ethan Pecko, RHP: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• Jesus Carrera, RHP: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Charlie Weber, RHP: 0.2, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• Jackson Wells, RHP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Miguel Ullola – 1:05 CT

CC: OFF

AV: OFF

FV: TBD – 4:05 CT

The Yankees’ road to the postseason is clear. They either get a full, healthy, good season from Aaron Judge, in which case they should skate in, or they don’t, in which case things get a lot darker. It isn’t just local radio hosts saying that the Yankees are relying heavily on Judge; in his writeup of the Yankees’ 2026 ZiPS projections, FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski also claimed, “The offense, of course, starts, ends, and runs through Aaron Judge.” This isn’t to say that the Yankees aren’t a good team as currently constructed—they are—but it is concerning that so much of their hopes are tied to just a single player.

Well, leave it to baseball to make prognosticators look like fools. The Yankees received very little contributions from Judge in the first six games of the season, with the gargantuan slugger only able to muster a .125/.160/.375 slash line across 25 plate appearances. And yet, they ended the first road trip of the year with a 5-1 record. So much for “As Judge goes, so do the Yanks.”

Granted, it’s only six games, so we shouldn’t be drawing any sweeping conclusions from this sample about this team. If Judge’s OPS still begins with a 5 six weeks later from now, the Yankees’ record probably will look a whole lot worse. But the Yankees winning two series despite their captain largely being a non-factor is a good reminder of the quality of this team. Sure, Judge is far and away the best player on this squad. But don’t mistake these Yankees for the prime Mike Trout-era Angels. This is a good team from top to bottom, and they have the tools to withstand cold spells from their franchise player.

First, let’s talk about the offense. Over the first six games of the season, the Yankees collectively hit .227/.287/.359, good for a team wRC+ of 89. That sounds awful, but when you account for the fact that Judge’s 50 wRC+ is dragging that down, it looks somewhat better. Leading the charge were regulars Giancarlo Stanton (266 wRC+), Ben Rice (264 wRC+), and Cody Bellinger (135 wRC+), with Paul Goldschmidt also making the most of his two starts (148 wRC+). Now, none of them are going to maintain that level of production for the whole year, but these are all good hitters, and in the case of Stanton and Rice, both have enough slug in their bat to carry an offense for a series or two at a time.

And the Yankees don’t need to ride on their backs for the entire season. Even outside of Judge, several bats went cold during the Yanks’ first two series. Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr., two lineup mainstays, both recorded wRC+ marks below 30. It hardly needs saying that this isn’t reflective of their true talent. Chisholm has been an above-average bat for the past four seasons, and he has enough pop to go berserk in any given series. Wells has yet to live up to the offensive potential that evaluators saw in him as a prospect, but he still owns a career wRC+ of 99, far from a black hole. If these two can provide something closer to their career norms going forward, which isn’t an unreasonable thing to bank on, the Yankees’ lineup will be plenty deep even when Judge is slumping.

If you still have reservations about this offense, then may I offer my second point: The Yankees don’t need to score five runs every game, because the pitching is more than capable of holding up its end of the bargain. Andrés already provided an excellent summary of the Bombers’ superlative pitching in his reaction to the first road trip of the year, but the numbers are so gaudy they bear repeating: the starting corps owned a 0.53 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 35 punchouts in 33.2 innings. The bullpen was quietly elite too, with the exception of one bad inning from Paul Blackburn in the Yanks’ only road trip loss: a 1.83 ERA and 2.07 FIP over 19.2 innings. Yes, they’re pitching out of their minds at the moment, but it’s not like this is a ragtag group that’s randomly overperforming. FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projections had the Yankees’ starters at 10th-best in MLB, and ranked the bullpen even higher at No. 7. This is a strong collection of arms that’s having a fantastic start to the year, and the returns of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt should offset any regression coming for the current staff.

So, the conclusion is clear: the 2026 Yankees are far from being a one-man show. Aaron Judge remains the centerpiece of the squad, but that’s more a testament to his otherworldly talent rather than an indictment of his teammates. Yes, I’d like to see Judge post a third consecutive 10 WAR, 200 wRC+ season and have a postseason for the ages. But even if Judge doesn’t quite live up to those standards, his surrounding cast is well-equipped to pick up the slack. Judge doesn’t need to carry this team. It can stand on its own.

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We had a great day Saturday with our MLB player props, as we climbed a strikeout ladder with Jesus Luzardo for a hefty profit.

The Easter Sunday slate brings even more opportunities, and we turn back to Yordan Alvarez after he also came through for us yesterday.

Here are my favorite MLB picks for Sunday, April 5.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Yordan Alvarez	Over 0.5 RBI	+125
Kyle Schwarber	Over 0.5 RBI	-120
Cody Bellinger	Over 0.5 runs	-105

Yordan Alvarez Over 0.5 RBI

Yes, it’s a repeat from yesterday. Except it’s at even better odds, and I’m not turning that down.

Not against a pitcher in Jacob Lopez, who ranked in the Bottom 5th percentile last season in chase rate, whiff rate, strikeout rate, and walk rate. In his first start this season, he walked five batters in four innings, which set up Atlanta’s hitters with run-scoring opportunities.

He’s now facing a Houston Astros team that has already drawn 50 walks this season. Alvarez drew four of them himself yesterday — and still managed to drive in a run in his only registered at-bat.

Alvarez is fourth in the bigs with a .462 ISO in the early season. Split against LHP, that number jumps to .571 in 18 plate appearances. 

Plus-odds for an RBI from the guy sitting second in wRC+ and leading the league with a .604 xwOBA is a gift, and one I’ll happily accept.

• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Space City Home Network, NBCS-California

Kyle Schwarber Over 0.5 RBI

In just 20 plate appearances vs. RHP this season, Kyle Schwarber’s already crushed three bombs, driven in five runs, and drawn five walks. 

He’s expected to have a strong day — so much so that three H/R/R carries -145 juice. That’s why I love getting his RBI prop at -120, especially in the thin air at Coors Field.

Against RHP so far this season, Schwarber is rocking a whopping .714 ISO  and a 288 wRC+. His counterpart on Sunday, Tomoyuki Sugano, often pitches to contact and allowed 1.93 HR/9 last season.

While he looked decent in his opening start, he couldn’t get through five innings and still coughed up a dinger. He also posted an ERA that was half of his xERA and xFIP metrics.

This matchup sets up very well for Schwarber to drive in a run for the fifth straight game.

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCS-Philadelphia, Rockies.TV

Cody Bellinger Over 0.5 runs

Cody Bellinger has crossed the plate in six of his eight games this season, in large part because he’s drawing walks at a rate of over 17% and posting a .361 xwOBA. Getting on base in front of Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton just raises the odds of coming around the bases.

The New York Yankees are facing RHP Chris Paddack, who primarily throws only a fastball and changeup to LHB. He got rocked in his first start this season, allowing eight earned and two HR in just 4 IP.

That won’t get the job done against the likes of Rice, whose ISO of .476 vs. RHP this season sits fifth in the majors. He and Stanton both rank in the Top 15 this season in wRC+ vs. RHP as well.

If Bellinger gets on base, one of them will bring him home—if he doesn’t go deep himself.

• Time: 1:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marlins. TV, YES

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