NEW YORK, NY - MAY 07: Jasson Domínguez #24 of the New York Yankees catches a fly ball in the first inning during the game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, May 7, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Jasson Domínguez exited today’s game against the Rangers after a scary collision with the left field wall. Brandon Nimmo, Texas’ leadoff hitter, sent a line drive to left, which Domínguez caught before ramming into the wall.
Domínguez immediately went to the ground and Aaron Boone and the team’s trainers quickly ran to the outfield. The left fielder was alert and moving but was taken off the field on a medical cart. Ryan McMahon entered the game for Domínguez, with McMahon taking over at third, Amed Rosario going to right field, and Cody Bellinger shifting from right to left.
We’re all obviously hoping that Domínguez is OK, with the 23-year-old seemingly unable to catch a break early in his career. Fans will remember that his debut run in the majors was cut short by Tommy John surgery, and now, given a chance to prove himself as the team’s primary designated hitter in light of Giancarlo Stanton’s calf injury, he gets injured making one of the finest defensive plays of his career. We’ll keep you updated on his status; if Domínguez doesn’t go on the IL, the club will be a little undermanned for a time, with Ben Rice still on the bench recovering from a hand injury.
Update (2:15 pm EST): Gary Phillips of the NYDN has more news on Domínguez:
The #Yankees say Jasson Domínguez is in concussion protocol. He'll be monitored for the next several days. He is also undergoing an MRI on his left shoulder.
It appears Domínguez could be dealing with both a head injury and a shoulder injury. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him hit the IL as the Yankees monitor his symptoms for a potential concussion.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: Lawrence Butler #4 of the Athletics runs the bases against the Cleveland Guardians in the bottom of the six inning of a major league baseball game at Sutter Health Park on May 01, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last season the A’s endured a baffling 1-20 stretch that turned a team that was 2 games over .500 into one that, by early June, was buried in the AL West. In the post-mortem, A’s GM David Forst expressed regret that the A’s had waited so long to address the bullpen (a huge part of the meltdown) and other flawed areas (Denzel Clarke was summoned on May 23rd to end the JJ Bleday Experience in CF).
Fast forward to May, 2026 and the A’s find themselves with a worse record than the 22-20 they held when the über-swoon started but also in a better position in the standings: though only .500 at 18-18 they stand alone in 1st place in a division mired in mediocrity so far.
It won’t last, though. 81 wins is not going to win the AL West or even the 3rd wild card. The cream will rise and the sludge will fall and it is incumbent upon the A’s not to reprise their role of sludgemasters in May-June 2026. So far they are 1-4 in May, but they don’t have to sit around and do nothing again for too long hoping it isn’t the beginning of a contention-ending skid.
Already we have seen some minor signs of the A’s willing to be more proactive. Jonah Heim has been brought in, presumably to replace Austin “.077/.143/.077” Wynns as the back up catcher. The bullpen carousel is spinning but only so far to the tune of replacing one wild reliever, Tyler Ferguson, with another, Brooks Kriske.
The question is whether the A’s will choose now — relatively early, but last year showed it’s easy to wait too long and effectively end your season with 100 games still to play — to make some bolder moves. Here are some choices…
1. Take the plunge with Lawrence Butler
The A’s have committed to Butler long-term and clearly believe in his abilities, but the reality is that by and large Butler is falling apart and it’s not good for him or the team for him just to continue spiraling. He had a week or so where he made better contact, unfortunately with particularly terrible batted ball luck, but mostly he has just really struggled.
He is now at .176/.276/.284, 56 wRC+ for the season, and that’s on the heels of a disappointing .203/.268/.351, 70 wRC+ last season after the 2025 All-Star break. That’s a 91 game sample with about a 65 wRC+ thanks to around a .190 BA and .271 OBP. He has also made a habit of getting picked off and running the bases like he doesn’t know how many outs there are — his head is not in the game and that’s part of the spiral.
In the outfield, Butler is simply badly miscast as a CFer. When he plays RF he’s fine, actually even above average, but in CF he gets terrible reads and jumps, takes poor routes, and simply does not have the sprint speed to overcome. Last night the A’s gave away the first run as a result of having Butler in CF and it’s just the latest example. This is not his fault, it’s just a reality: he’s a RFer, period.
The problem is, the A’s have a LH batting RFer who is producing at three times the level of Butler and that’s Carlos Cortes. Even with his 0 for 3 last night, Cortes enters play today batting a robust .372/.437/.615, 191 wRC+ with impressive BB and K rates of 9.2% and 8.0% respectively.
“The plunge” here would be to option Butler to AAA, getting him out of the spotlight, giving him a reset, and asking him to work on and address weakness, opening up an opportunity for the A’s to improve their outfield both offensively and defensively. How? Here’s how:
2. Call up Henry Bolte to play CF
Recent performance suggests Bolte might be ready for a call up. Bolte’s biggest issue has been strikeouts, but in May so far he has struck out just 3 times in 25 plate appearances. His other vice has been an inability to pull fly balls with success, but last night he not only launched a HR to LF it was, apparently, the longest HR of the season, anywhere.
For the season now Bolte, 22, is batting .295/.376/.518 which, in the hitter-friendly PCL, gives him a 115 wRC+. But his hitting performance comes with benefits: he is an elite base stealer, 15 for 16 this season, 44 for 46 last season. He would add a speed element to the A’s lineup that they generally lack.
As for Bolte’s CF defense, it’s hard to pinpoint where he’s at. Grady Fuson recently opined he was better suited to the COF, whereas Bolte told me in spring training CF was where he felt most comfortable. He makes too many errors and has a plus throwing arm, and his scouting report on MLB Pipeline says, “Bolte’s elite speed translates both on the basepaths and in the outfield, where he’s viewed as a strong defender with a good arm and capable of handling all three spots well.”
My sense? If you’re ranking defensive CFers from 1-10 where JJ Bleday is a 1 and Denzel Clarke is a 10, Butler is maybe a 3 and Gelof perhaps a 7, and Bolte likely would settle in as around a 5 or 6. Offensively, one would expect him to struggle out of the gate (as Clarke did) but he has far more potential with the bat than Clarke comes with.
This would give you a regular outfield of Soderstrom-Bolte-Cortes, with Clarke (when he returns) coming in for late inning defense to replace Cortes (Bolte moving to RF). Colby Thomas can still platoon against LHPs, maybe starting half the time for Soderstrom and half the time for Cortes.
The additional benefit of this outfield arrangement is it frees up Zack Gelof to play 3B, where he could be the every day starter or eventually give way against some LHPs to Max Muncy. If Gelof can hit even at league average level — which the recent indicators suggest might be possible — then as a steady defender (with a weak arm) he becomes an upgrade over the Muncy-Hernaiz options.
Now you have a solid defensive outfield and a solid defensive infield, and this primary lineup looks pretty solid (I lead off Kurtz because I know the A’s will, not because it’s smart):
Kurtz – 1B Langeliers – C Soderstrom – LF Rooker – DH Cortes – RF Wilson – SS McNeil – 2B Gelof – 3B Bolte – CF
Bench: Thomas, Muncy (when back) or Hernaiz, Clarke (when back), Heim
Could Gelof and Bolte be black holes at the end of the lineup? Possible. Should we expect to roll our eyes at a string of strikeouts as Bolte acclimates to big league pitching? Yes, that’s liable to happen whenever he’s first called up. But this is a solid defensive unit with plenty of hitting and much more speed and athleticism. And arguably Butler needs anything from a breather to a wake-up call.
3. Fortify the bullpen with proper pieces
The A’s have two glaring problems right now in the bullpen. One is that they lack a LH reliever who excels at getting LH batters out. This is a significant deficit considering how many teams have a pair of LH batters who are among the team’s best hitters but who are not as strong against LHP. On the A’s that’s Nick Kurtz and Tyler Sodesrtrom, on the Phillies it’s Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and on most teams it’s two batters whom a LH specialist will face in a 3 batter span.
The other problem is that one of the few relievers throwing well is Luis Medina, but he is cast as the team’s long reliever, which means the A’s are hesitant to use him in high leverage situations for fear they will need a long reliever the next day. Calling up a true “long man” allows the team to play around with Medina in higher leverage, be it a 2 inning bridge role or even finding his calling as a set-up man. Right now his usage is also so sporadic it’s not helping with his already known control difficulties: he has walked 7 in 12.2 IP but he has also only thrown 12.2 IP all season.
I don’t know what the A’s see in Brooks Kriske (32 BB in 39.1 career MLB innings), but if they want someone who is too wild but also strikes out a ton of hitters and is a lefty specialist, they should swap Kriske out for Matt Krook (9.2 IP, 15 K at AAA).
A long man is not hard to identify as it can be any SP you are willing to have sit around a bit rather than getting a start every week at AAA. Candidates would be Mason Barnett, Joey Estes, or Kade Morris (not currently on the 40 man). Or if bumped from the rotation, Jacob Lopez or JT Ginn.
Note: I’m not suggesting any of these moves have to happen today. What I am suggesting is that they may need to happen before June 1st because as we know, you can’t win a post-season berth in May but you sure as hell can lose one.
Don Kolloway (left) took some hitting tips from Washington Senators manager Ted Williams in 1970 — 21 years later than necessary for the tutoring to help his mediocre MLB career. | (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
1927 The Comiskey Park upper deck officially opened to fans, as 37,000 fans streamed in to watch the New York Yankees crush the home team, 8-0. The upper deck added 23,200 seats to the ballpark’s capacity. It was a tight contest until the ninth inning, when Lou Gehrig capped a six-run frame for the Bronx Bombers by christening the upper deck with a grand slam to mark the first-ever home run in the new seats.
The crowd of 37,000 set a new White Sox and Chicago city record for attendance for a game. That record wouldn’t last long.
1941 For the sixth time in Comiskey Park history, a player homered over the roof. Again, as the first five, it was an opponent: Ted Williams. And in a rarity, the clout made a big difference in the game: Williams clubbed his homer with one out in the top of the 11th, giving the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 lead and eventual win.
1949 The White Sox sent Don Kolloway to the Tigers for Earl Rapp. Despite playing for eight seasons on the South Side (missing two years serving in the military, Kolloway was shockingly mediocre, never once reaching the 2.0 WAR mark of an MLB regular in spite of three full-time seasons at second base; he ended his Chicago career with 2.8 WAR over 683 games. Kolloway would be no better in Detroit, and by his career’s end five of his 12 seasons were sub-replacement (negative WAR) level.
Rapp was terrible in right field for the White Sox over the next month (-0.1 WAR), but arguably the trade was a Chicago win just in getting Kolloway off of the books (Nellie Fox would be taking over second base in 1950, anyway). The White Sox shipped Rapp to Oakland of the PCL in June as a player to be named later afterthought; he scraped back into the majors for the Giants, Browns and Senators in 1951-52, playing about as well as Kolloway would.
1975 After Dick Allen refused to report to Atlanta after the White Sox traded him there prior to the 1975 season, the Braves shipped the slugger and Johnny Oates to Philadelphia for Jim Essian, Barry Bonnell, and cash. Eight days later, without having played a game for the Braves, Essian was sent to the White Sox as a player to be named later in a prior deal.
What was the prior deal? Why, it was the Allen-to-Atlanta deal back on Dec. 3, 1974, which yielded the White Sox cash and a PTBNL.
While not unheard of, this trade was odd in that the player received by the White Sox from Atlanta for Allen (Essian) wasn’t even on the Braves at the time of the original deal!
1989 Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the start of construction on the new Comiskey Park, across the street from the original stadium built in 1910. Dignitaries from the state, city and White Sox franchise were on hand for the occasion.
1991 Sammy Sosa became the first Sox player with a “walk-off” home run at new Comiskey Park, when he beat Milwaukee with a blast leading off the 12th inning. The final score was 2-1. Sosa hit his game-winner off of Brewers relief pitcher Mark Lee.
1999 White Sox outfielder Carlos Lee homered in his first at-bat in the majors, becoming the first player in team history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat.
Lee connected off of Oakland’s Tom Candiotti, in the second inning of a 7-1 White Sox home win.
2023 The White Sox scored 11 runs in the second inning of a 17-4 romp in Cincinnati, triggered by a two-run homer from Hanser Alberto. The White Sox sent 14 batters to the plate and rang up three walks, five singles, a triple and two homers in the assault. In the inning the Sox went 5-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Gavin Sheets’ three-run homer bookended the scoring in the frame.
It was the most runs ever scored in a second inning in White Sox history, and tied for the second-most runs ever by the White Sox in a single inning.
Only a 13-run outburst in the fourth inning at Washington on Sept. 26, 1943 beat this day’s output.
Backed by that kind of support, Michael Kopech pitched six innings and got the easy win.
The 17-run game is tied for 32nd-most in White Sox history. Despite playing relatively few games in their history in Cincinnati (interleague play being a mostly-21st Century concept), the Pale Hose also put up 17 runs at the Reds in a 17-12 win on June 6, 2000.
The young Yankees outfielder is officially in concussion protocol, he and will be monitored and evaluated over the next several days after a hard collision with the LF fence knocked him out of Thursday's game in the top of the first.
Dominguez is also undergoing an MRI on his right shoulder at New York Presbyterian.
The 23-year-old raced back on a Brandon Nimmo liner to deep left, and he went down in significant pain after crashing his head/shoulder hard into the outfield fence.
He remained face down for several moments as the training staff rushed out.
Dominguez was eventually able to get back up to his feet, and trainers did some testing on his shoulder/neck before he walked over to the cart under his own power.
This is just the latest tough blow for the youngster, who has been hampered by the injury-bug early in his career.
Dominguez was finally able to stay healthy last season and put together a strong showing, but he ended up in the minors to begin this year with no spot for him on the depth chart out of camp.
He didn't let the demotion get to him, as he got off to a scorching hot start to the Triple-A season, and was called up at the beginning of the month with Giancarlo Stanton landing on the IL.
He's been able to carry over that success, lifting a double and two homers over his first eight games back with the Yanks, but now will be forced to the sidelined for some time.
Jasson Dominguez makes a tremendous catch but leaves the game on a cart after hitting the wall HARD
Ryan McMahon enters the game at 3B, Amed Rosario goes from 3B to RF and Cody Bellinger goes from RF to LF pic.twitter.com/OkaTwAUvtC
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 06: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals hits a grand slam in the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Nationals Park on May 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. Washington defeated Minnesota 15-2. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Nats bats responded in a big way last night after getting crushed 11-3 on Tuesday, dropping 15 of their own en route to a 15-2 victory. Miles Mikolas made his deepest start of the year, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing 2 runs, before handing it off to Mitchell Parker and newest National Zak Kent to finish it off. 4 Nationals went yard, beginning with a 2-run shot from Drew Millas in the 5th, a 2-run bomb from Brady House in the 7th, a grand slam from CJ Abrams in the 8th, and a solo shot by Jose Tena in the 8th as well.
Blake Butera isn’t messing with the lineup that scored 15 runs last night, keeping it the same aside from Keibert Ruiz swapping in for Drew Millas behind the dish. Getting the ball as the Nats look for the series win and an even homestand is Jake Irvin, who has gone at least 5 innings and allowed 3 or fewer runs in 6 of his 7 starts this season.
As for the Twins, while the names in the lineup remain roughly the same, with Austin Martin and Victor Caratini in for Josh Bell and Ryan Jeffers, the construction of the lineup is heavily shaken up, with new faces in the 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 spots of the lineup from yesterday. The pitcher for the Twins in the rubber match is Simeon Woods Richardson, who has allowed at least 4 runs in 4 of his last 5 starts and has an ERA north of 6 on the year.
After a 1-3 start to the homestand, winning the final two games and at least going even would be a big morale boost for a Nats club that has played much worse at home than on the road. It would also put them back to just 2 games under .500, with a chance to climb over the .500 mark this weekend in Miami. Follow along in the comments below and let’s go Nats!
DEFEATING THE WINNERS: In each of the Cubs’ eight consecutive wins, their opponent has had a winning record going into the game. This is the Cubs’ 60th winning streak of at least eight games since 1901. Only once before did a streak include eight straight wins over opponents that were above .500: Sept. 16-27, 1935. Those were the final nine of 21 straight wins, still the National League record. During their recent 10-game winning streak, the Cubs won only one game vs. an opponent that was above .500: the last game, at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
STREAKING, PART 1: The Cubs have won 14 straight games at home. A win this afternoon will make it their second-longest such streak since 1901. They won 18 straight, Sept. 4-22, 1935, during a surge that lifted them to the pennant. They have had six previous streaks that ended after 14 games, most recently May 18-June 22, 2008. The earlier ones were in 1906, 1910, 1928, 1932 and 1936. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
STREAKING, PART 2: The Cubs are 18-3 in their last 21 games, their best 21-game record since they also were 18-3 from July 27-Aug. 18, 2016. That is their only span of 18-3 or better since they went 18-3 on June 30-July 18, 1945. They were last 19-2 on June 4-26, 1936. They were 20-1 in 12 overlapping spans in 1906 and four in 1935. They won 21 in a row, still the National League record, Sept. 4-27, 1935. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
CUBS vs. REDS:This is the Cubs’ 83rd series vs. the Reds at Wrigley Field since 1994, first season of the Central Division. It is the 17th of the 83 that was scheduled to be more than three games. The Cubs have swept four games just once, in 2018. The current series is the only other in which they won the first three games. They went 3-1 in four earlier series, including the most recent before the current one, in 2023. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Shōta Imanaga has just been excellent this year. A couple of starts have been not-great, but overall his numbers are outstanding, especially regarding long balls, considering his issues with them last year. He has allowed just three home runs in 41.1 innings. Keep that up!
Shōta did okay vs. the Reds last year: two starts, 3.18 ERA, three home runs in 11.1 innings, 11 strikeouts. If he can keep the ball in the yard today — and thank heavens Cubs nemesis Eugenio Suárez is out right now! — good things should follow.
Rhett Lowder was the Reds’ No. 1 pick (seventh overall) out of Wake Forest in 2023. He made his MLB debut in 2024 and threw five shutout innings vs. the Cubs Sept. 28, 2024 at Wrigley Field. Then he missed all of last year (except for a handful of rehab starts) with elbow and oblique issues.
This year he has made seven starts and was doing pretty well until his last outing, last Saturday in Pittsburgh, when he didn’t make it out of the second inning and was part of the Reds tying a MLB record with seven straight walks (he had four of those).
The Cubs are a pretty patient hitting team, so perhaps they can use that to their advantage.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
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.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 22: Rainiel Rodriguez #88 of the St. Louis Cardinals at bat during a spring training game against the Houston Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 22, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Let’s think about the horizon for the St. Louis Cardinals. Is it too early in the rebuild to do this? Yes, of course. Are there more ups and downs coming than a prairie dog in the summer? No doubt. But, isn’t this what it is to be a fan? I love a numbers deep dive that reveals something about a player’s approach that has changed in some way. That’ll always be the bulk of my writing for Viva El Birdos. There will be numbers here, too. But, I’d like to think philosophically about the larger forces that will shape the franchise over the next few years.
Let’s consider the future of Rainiel Rodriguez. The readers of this site are legendarily plugged in to this team, so it’s not like you need an introduction. He’s the all-world 19 year old catching prospect in single-A that’s rocketing up national prospect lists all over the place. How’s he doing so far this season? Well, I’m glad I can set up a straw man question to answer whenever I want. In short, he’s lighting the world on fire.
It’s early (Can we just all caveat this until June? We all know it is, so let’s just all know it inherently together!), but Rodriguez (R-Rod? Rainman? Something else?) is torching the Peoria environs to the tune of a .307/.440/.557 slash line, good for a 157 wRC+. He’s walking nearly as much as he’s striking out and hammering balls all over the yard for a .249 ISO. He’s also adjusting, at least according to the inimitable coverage of Kyle Reis.
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) May 3, 2026
Did I mention he’s 19 years old and will be the entire season? He’s the youngest player in single-A as of this writing. MLB.com has him ranked 31st in their pipeline and if he continues this type of offensive pace, he’s surely going to rise on that list. He’s a precocious hitter. So much so that I compared his 18 year old season to Juan Soto’s for a site that you’re not going to like (before I joined VEB!) and found his batting line to be comparable, but Rodriguez hit for more power at age 18. Is this exciting? Um, was Ozzie Smith good at defense? (I’m not going to answer that – you’ve got this!)
To me, this is where things get interesting. There are several issues that present themselves here about the future of Rodriguez, and those questions overlap to a stunning degree with the questions about the future of the franchise. Alas, Rainiel Rodriguez is a catcher. That’s an interesting position for a top prospect to have to begin with, but especially in a franchise that has two (flawed) catching prospects older than him and an awkward middle school dance with Ivan Herrera and his future at the position. Obviously, we have no idea if Jimmy Crooks or Leo Bernal will work out at the position, but my concerns run deeper than the stockpile of catchers the franchise has.
A study published at fangraphs compared the top position players at each position in their careers and found catchers to be noticeably lagging.
Granted, these are the ten highest WAR players of all time at each position, but it’s not a massive logical leap to tell you that trend would continue down the player value spectrum. So, let’s assume for this argument that Rainiel Rodriguez’s career will be shorter and his offensive production will be lower if he stays at catcher. It’s not like his production will crater at the position, but there’s a clear indication that catching is going to cost some offensive value.
Here’s where R-Rod’s (I’m just going to start trying out nicknames casually until one feels right) ascent through the minors crashes headlong into the Cardinals trajectory. In case you weren’t aware, the Cardinals are in a rebuild (ok, don’t call it a rebuild – but it’s a rebuild!). However, ss of this writing, they are winning at a pace that no one really expected. What if that…keeps up? I have doubts about the ability of the pitching staff to continue to support wins at this rate, but let’s consider a path where the Cardinals contend quicker than anyone expects.
Do the Cardinals consider moving Rodriguez off of catcher? Decoupling the bat from the onerous position would certainly speed his movement through the minors. What if you could add a solidly above average bat as soon as late next season? What if it’s a monster bat? Where do you play him? You already have Herrera soaking up lots of DH appearances. Burly is a solidly above average major league hitter at first base. Can the Rainman even play anywhere else? He’s listed at 5’10”, not a traditional first baseman by any stretch. Is it even worth changing his position? What if you just have Samuel Basallo on your hands? That’s an incredibly valuable commodity!
It’s really only an odd situation if the Cardinals decide to hit the gas pedal. I do not believe that’s the plan from Chaim Bloom and Co, but I’ve been thinking lately about the scenario in which the team makes Bloom hit the gas a little and contend. I’m not talking about selling the farm for vets – I don’t think that will ever happen. But I do wonder if, because of the unique position the Cardinals franchise is in with the catchers they have, and due to the nuclear nature of Rodriguez’s bat, the Cardinals would consider moving him off of catcher for his long term offensive benefit and a potential accelerator pedal on the rebuild.
This is all premature. No doubt. But, I just let my mind wander down this path. I’ve also had some compelling conversations about this IRL and wanted to write this into the universe. The Cardinals will likely do a smarter version of Mo’s path of least resistance (sorry for the unexpected Mo drop). As for me, due to the unique nature of the current franchise and R-Rod’s skills, I’d be looking for a secondary position for him (he’s played some 1B already this year) at a minimum. Flexibility is always good when it comes to a roster.
It’s worth watching how they handle this 19 year old wunderkind if he continues to produce at such high levels. There are lots of legitimate positions to stake out on this issue – let me know what path you see in the comments. And, as always, thanks for reading!
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MAY 1: Simeon Woods Richardson #24 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Target Field on May 1, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First Pitch (CT):12:05 PM TV: Twins.TV Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App Know Yo’ Foe: Federal Baseball
After what we’ve seen from the Twins’ bullpen of late, we might need a stronger word than “implosion” to describe what’s happening. It’s unlikely to get better today with Simeon Woods Richardson amid arguably the worst stretch of his career.
So far in 2026, SWR’s strikeout rate is half of his career average at just 10.6%, the second worst in baseball among players with at least 30 IP. His 8.76% walk rate is around league average, but you can’t be league average in walks while not striking anyone out. The main issue seems to be Sim’s splitter, which was a big part of his resurgence in the second half of 2025. Opponents are hitting .350 with a .625 SLG off his splitter this season. His slider isn’t any better (.343 BAA, .600 SLG) so batters are just sitting on his fastball which has also made that pitch underperform. SWR’s path to success was already very limited, but this has been pretty much a worst case scenario for a rotation already missing Pablo Lopez, Mick Abel, David Festa, and had a Joe Ryan injury scare a few days ago.
What’s the solution? Beats me! With every one of his pitches getting hammered and nothing generating swing-and-miss, the solution might be moving to the bullpen where you can see if his funky delivery could get some added velocity and movement. Given the state of things down there, it’s not like he’ll be worse than Justin Topa or Luis Garcia. And the Twins have a knack for rescuing pitchers careers after flaming out in the rotation (see: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, Cole Sands, Taylor Rogers, etc).
For now, Woods Richardson will get a chance to right the ship at least until Mick Abel is ready to return. Andrew Morris and John Klein seem to be transitioning to bullpen roles, at least for this season, and Kendry Rojas is still severely limited on pitch count at the moment. Unless Zebby Matthews rediscovers how to pitch, SWR will be a mainstay.
Lineup notes:
Austin Martin gets yet another start against a righty, something that should become increasingly common with Josh Bell, Kody Clemens, and Matt Wallner all severely struggling.
Speaking of Wallner, he gets bumped up to the 5th spot in the lineup after 1 good game. Shows how desperate the Twins are for anyone to get going outside of the top 4 of Buxton, Larnach, Martin, and Jeffers.
Tristan Gray is starting at 3B over Royce Lewis for the third time in the past five games. Gray is thoroughly outperforming Lewis both offensively and defensively, and the Twins probably need to start thinking about replacing the former #1 pick. Kaelen Culpepper is playing well in St. Paul and will likely be a regular for the Twins by the All-Star break.
NEW YORK — Nathan Eovaldi certainly has the New York Yankees’ number — even if nobody else does lately.
The veteran right-hander cooled off Aaron Judge & Co. for the second time in eight days, pitching eight masterful innings for the Texas Rangers in their 6-1 victory.
“That’s the tough part, right? We don’t really do this very often, where we have to face that same team back-to-back starts,” Eovaldi said. “Fortunately for me the last time it was a good one. I know I threw a lot of splitters and cutters. Today with the curveball being as effective as it was, it just allowed me to I guess rely on that pitch a little bit more, but also keep doing what was working before.”
Eovaldi threw 31 curveballs — his most in a game since 2019 with Boston, manager Skip Schumaker noted.
“The last two outings with Evo have been fantastic. I mean, today was exactly what we needed and hoped for against a really good lineup,” Schumaker said. “I thought there was a chance he’d go the distance, but I wasn’t going to push him with a five-run lead.”
The 36-year-old Eovaldi, a two-time All-Star who pitched for the Yankees from 2015-16, struck out a season-best eight and walked none, firing 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes. He allowed just three hits — albeit against a lineup minus injured sluggers Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton — after tossing seven innings of four-hit ball in a 3-0 win over New York on April 29 at home.
“He was fooling ’em all night,” said catcher Kyle Higashioka, who spent 2017-23 with the Yankees. “He just uses all his pitches in a manner that just keeps people guessing, forcing them to commit hard or soft. I think it’s just, his stuff lends itself to really keeping guys off balance. He’s always a tough at-bat and he really knows how to pitch. He’s got a great capacity for that. So I mean, it’s no surprise to me he shut ’em down twice.”
Each splendid performance snapped a three-game slide for Texas. In between, the American League-leading Yankees (25-12) scored 46 runs while going 5-0 against the Orioles and Rangers.
“You know how good that team is over there. Their game planning is elite, so you have to mix it up. You cannot get into patterns,” Schumaker said. “I didn’t know what he was throwing, either. I mean, his game plan, he has such good feel for swings and what the hitters are trying to sit on. So, there’s a game plan but then he also goes out there and he can navigate a game on his own as good as anybody based on what he’s seeing. And that’s the part of the game that sometimes gets lost today, right?”
Eovaldi became the first Rangers pitcher to last longer than seven innings this year and improved to 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA in his last 11 starts against the Yankees since April 8, 2022.
“That’s the biggest thing for me is, I enjoy the challenge. I want to face the best teams, and I want to go out there and attack the zone as best I can,” Eovaldi said.
“I played here in Yankee Stadium enough to know like, how big the crowd plays into effect, how they can get the players going. It’s one of those things about being able to pitch on the road is just being able to try to take the crowd out of the game.”
New York had won eight in a row at home.
“They’re a good-hitting team, so they’re going to come out and learn from the last game, because he threw fantastic against them last week,” Higashioka said. “They’re going to learn from that and they’re going to make adjustments, so we have to kind of figure out a way to mitigate that without straying too far from Evo’s strengths. So, he did a great job adjusting.”
Eovaldi thought he mixed his pitches well and said it helped that the Rangers scored early, building a 4-0 lead by the third behind homers from Corey Seager and Evan Carter.
That allowed Eovaldi to “just try to stay on the attack the whole time,” he said.
The only blip came when Judge hit his major league-best 15th homer with two outs in the sixth for the Yankees, who had won 15 of 17 overall. But that merely trimmed the margin to 6-1, and Eovaldi retired his final seven batters after that.
PHOENIX — Paul Skenes struck out the side in the eighth inning, throwing a nasty splitter past Gabriel Moreno on his 97th and final pitch of the evening before smacking his glove in approval as he walked back to the dugout.
Watch out big-league hitters — the defending National League Cy Young winner is starting to heat up.
The 23-year-old right-hander threw eight innings of two-hit ball, leading the Pirates to a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a stellar performance that was among the best of his career.
“It’s not easy, but it’s simple,” Skenes said. “It you execute your pitches, it’s going to go the way you want it to.”
It was the second time in the past three outings that Skenes has been at his best. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning of a 6-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on April 24.
Skenes pounded the strike zone with his five-pitch mix, coaxing the aggressive Diamondbacks hitters into quick outs. He retired the first 14 batters of the night before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. reached base on a soft dribbler down the third-base line that was ruled a single.
Skenes tried to make the play, but couldn’t get off the mound fast enough. His throw to first base sailed well wide of the bag.
“I got a good grip — just threw it away,” Skenes said, flashing a small grin. “Didn’t throw it to the right place. Got to throw it to the right place next time.”
Nolan Arenado followed with a sharp single to left field, but that was the last baserunner Skenes allowed. He struck out seven and he rarely fell behind in the count, throwing 65 of 97 pitches for strikes.
He has a 5-2 record this season with a 2.36 ERA, striking out 46 batters over 42 innings. It’s a big reason the Pirates look like contenders this season in the NL Central with a 20-17 record.
“I don’t know what else there is to say — he was unbelievable,” manager Don Kelly said. “Getting ahead in counts, the elite stuff, putting guys away, low pitch count, very efficient. He was unreal.”
It was a mild surprise that Skenes wasn’t back on the mound in the ninth to try for his first career shutout. Left-hander Gregory Soto handled the ninth, working around a one-out walk to secure his second save of the season.
Kelly said Skenes’ command wasn’t quite as sharp in the eighth inning and his velocity was down slightly, prompting the change.
Skenes — the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 out of LSU — has never thrown a nine-inning complete game in his big league career. He threw 8 1/3 innings once as a rookie in 2024 and threw an eight-inning complete game last season in a 1-0 loss against the Phillies.
This time, Skenes was on the winning end of a 1-0 game. Brandon Lowe supplied the only offense, hitting a 435-foot solo homer to center field. After that, the veteran second baseman had a leisurely evening in the field.
On nights like this one, Skenes doesn’t need much help.
“It was really easy — didn’t have to do a whole lot,” Lowe said. “Just get out there, watch him do what he does and consistently roll out great appearances. It’s fun when you can sit back and let him go on auto-pilot.”
NEW YORK — Carlos Rodón is expected to rejoin the New York Yankees’ rotation in Milwaukee, but first baseman Ben Rice remained out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game with a bruised left hand.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it doesn’t appear Rice will need to go on the injured list. The slugger got hurt catching a low pickoff throw during a win over Baltimore and left the game.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be an IL. Again, if it continues to not get to a point where he’s playable, then obviously we’ll have that conversation. But it does seem day to day,” Boone said. “I know he felt better today. So hopefully he’s able to do some things and maybe even be available on some level, but we’ll see.”
Paul Goldschmidt started at first base again versus Texas Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. The left-handed-hitting Rice was batting .343 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs, and leading the majors in on-base percentage (.455), slugging percentage (.759) and OPS (1.214).
Rodón has been sidelined all season while recovering from surgery Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur. He also had a setback in late March when he felt tightness in his right hamstring while throwing at the Yankees’ complex in Florida.
The three-time All-Star made his third minor league rehabilitation start, allowing six runs — five earned — and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He struck out four, walked two and threw 83 pitches against Worcester, a Boston Red Sox affiliate.
“I think he’s felt ready to go now the last couple times,” Boone said. “We feel like he’s ready to go. Feel like he’s been throwing the ball well. He’s starting to command his stuff well.”
Rodón will slide into the rotation spot occupied recently by rookie Elmer Rodríguez, who went 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA over 8 2/3 innings in his first two major league starts — both against Texas.
The 22-year-old right-hander was optioned back to Triple-A following his most recent outing at Yankee Stadium.
“I think it was very valuable for him to get up here. Get a couple starts, get a feel for it, face a little bit of adversity in each outing. I thought (he) handled that adversity pretty well. I don’t think he pitched his best,” Boone said. “Proud of his resilience. I think great experience for him. And so, go down and continue to pitch and be an option if we need someone.”
New York added a bullpen arm in Rodríguez’s place, recalling Yerry de los Santos from Triple-A before the middle game against the Rangers. The right-hander struck out five over 3 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit relief in a 6-1 loss and walked off the mound to a warm ovation from the crowd of 40,269.
After the game, he was optioned back to Triple-A.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made his fourth minor league rehab start as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2025 season.
The right-hander gave up six runs and seven hits while throwing 69 pitches in 4 1/3 innings for High-A Hudson Valley against Winston-Salem. He struck out four and allowed solo homers to Caleb Bonemer and Kyle Lodise.
“He is filling up the strike zone, popping some 98 and 99s (mph). I think there was a lot of good yesterday,” Boone said. “He got whacked a couple times, which is not a bad thing. He’s working on different things I think each time out. I really like where he’s at. I watched his and Carlos’ outing again. I think they’re both where they need to be at this time, and look forward to him continuing to progress to get closer to getting back with us.”
Cole is expected to pitch two or three more times in the minors before making his first big league appearance since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees have targeted a return in late May or early June for the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner.
“It’ll be at least a couple more. And then we’ll see,” Boone said.
Yankees starters began the day with a major league-best 2.77 ERA. New York entered with the top record in the American League at 25-11 but was just one game ahead of second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 02: J.C. Escarra #25 of the New York Yankees and Paul Blackburn #58 of the New York Yankees celebrate a 9-4 win against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on May 02, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s getaway day game time at the Stadium! The Yankees are up bright and early for a 12:35 pm start as they host the Rangers, seeking to win their sixth consecutive series. The Bombers outslugged Texas and handed a second loss to Jacob deGrom in the opener, before suffering a second defeat at the hands of Nathan Eovaldi. This time around, both teams will be seeing new pitchers in the rubber match.
Forgive me in advance for the joke, but sometimes they write themselves: Ryan Weathers is under the weather. He was originally scheduled to make this start, but a bout with a nasty illness has him unable to go. Paul Blackburn, who has plenty of MLB starting experience, will take the ball in his place. Blackburn has appeared in nine games so far in relief, and has only gone more than two innings once, so I don’t think anyone’s expecting him to put up a full start. It’ll probably be closer to a bullpen game—especially since all the high-leverage arms got the night off in yesterday’s defeat. The Yankees also brought Brendan Beck up from Triple-A for a potential debut, sending Yerry De los Santos down after quite a few pitches of near-mop-up work on Wednesday.
Lefty MacKenzie Gore was the Rangers’ big offseason prize from a blockbuster trade with the Nationals, but his first season in Texas has been up-and-down. The 27-year-old has a 4.67 ERA through seven starts and has had issues with command, ballooning his pitch counts and shortening his outings. He only managed 3.2 inconsistent innings against Detroit in his last start, and hasn’t pitched into the sixth since his first two assignments of the year. Gore has always been a can’t-miss talent and remains one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball (29.8 K% this year), but the walks have been uncomfortably frequent (11.9 BB%). It’s up to the Yankee lineup to make him labor again.
Today’s lineup is kind of a weird one. Still no Ben Rice; Paul Goldschmidt moves back into the leadoff spot ahead of Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, followed by cleanup hitter Amed Rosario. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jasson Domínguez will bat next, with Trent Grisham moving from the leadoff position to the seven-hole. Max Schuemann will play shortstop in lieu of José Caballero, who got hit by a pitch last night, and J.C. Escarra will catch this day game following a night game.
How to Watch:
Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY
First Pitch: 12:35 pm EDT
TV broadcast: YES, Rangers Sports Network, MLB Network
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | 105.3 The Fan, KFLC 1270 (TEX)
DETROIT — Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres was put on the 10-day injured list because of a left oblique strain.
Torres got hurt during a 5-1 win against Texas. He was thrown out at home plate trying to score from second base on Riley Greene’s single and left after three innings.
A three-time All-Star, Torres missed 10 games early last season because of a left oblique strain. He is hitting .259 this season with two homers, 11 RBIs and a team-high 25 walks.
Infielder Jace Jung was recalled from Triple-A Toledo and started against Boston as the designated hitter, batting ninth. He hit .250 in two earlier major league games this season.
TAMPA, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer is not making progress in recovering from right forearm tendinitis and will seek additional medical opinions.
A 41-year-old right-hander, the three-time Cy Young Award winner was put on the injured list on April 27 because of the forearm injury and left ankle inflammation, a move retroactive to April 25. He had a light throwing session before Toronto’s 3-0 loss to Tampa Bay.
“It’s as confusing as anything I’ve ever had because, usually, if you go get an MRI, you would see something,” Scherzer said. “I would think that would show up, and yet there’s nothing in there on an MRI. There’s no strains. There is no inflammation, per se. So, I’m going to have to talk to more doctors to figure out a course of action here.”
Scherzer is 1-3 with a 9.24 ERA in five starts after signing a one-year, $3 million contract that includes $10 million in available performance bonuses for innings. He has given up seven runs or more in two of his past three starts and failed to get out of the third inning in three outings.
Scherzer went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 regular-season starts last year. He also was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series with Seattle and made two starts in the World Series.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the team will continue to be cautious with Scherzer, who says his ankle is improving.
“I think he’s just waiting (for his arm) to feel like his ankle does to really start going,” Schneider said. “There’s no real firm timetable as to when he’s going to really start getting after it. I think we’ll know more in a couple of days.”
SEATTLE, WA - MAY 06: Members of the Atlanta Braves stand during a tribute to Braves owner Ted Turner prior to the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Connor Jalbert/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Ah, the Atlanta Braves and the West Coast. It’s truly a match made in the underworld as far as the Braves are concerned, as the games always just feel like they go one of two ways: Miserable slogs that have you like “I stayed up all night for this?” or miserable slogs that result in the Braves snatching and clawing their way to a close victory. Either way, it’s rarely ever a fun little ol’ romp for the Braves out West and this series was another example of that.
The Mariners weren’t coming into this series playing with their hair on fire or anything like that after they had gotten swept by the Royals (at home, no less) over the course of the weekend. Still, when it comes to games in this part of the country for the Braves, you always have to take it one day at the time and each game provides its own unique (and likely dreadful) set of challenges. So how did this series end up going? Let’s get into it.
The force was with the Braves’ bats on this particular day but as it turned out, this ended up being a matter of picking spots rather than quantity of homers. Atlanta had no trouble dealing with Logan Gilbert while he was out there, as the Braves teed off on him for four home runs during the six innings that he spent on the mound. Matt Olson’s homer in particular was a big one, as that was his 300th career homer. Drake Baldwin, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley each homered as well, with Riley’s homer making it a 4-0 game in the top of the sixth — which is when Atlanta hit three homers in that inning, alone.
Then the problems started for the Braves. JR Ritchie was doing fine through five innings and that maybe should’ve been all he got because he went out there for the sixth inning and immediately got in trouble. Two of Ritchie’s six walks came in this frame and they both cost him dearly once Luke Raley hit a dinger that brought Seattle to within one run. Tyler Kinley entered the game after that and got into a situation where there was a man on with two outs and J.P. Crawford at the plate. Unfortunately for us, Seattle’s empire struck back as Crawford lifted off on Kinley and hit one deep to right field that gave the Mariners the lead. Atlanta was unable to wake up their bats again and this one ended in a series-opening loss for the Braves.
J.P. Crawford got the Mariners started on the good foot once again, as he hit a two-run dinger off of Bryce Elder to give Seattle a 2-0 lead in the third inning. The good news is that this was the extent of the damage that Elder allowed in this one, as he delivered another fine start on the mound. Elder went six innings and only gave up two hits with three walks while striking out nine batters. It’s starting to feel like 2023 up in here, y’all.
George Kirby was equally tough for the Braves to deal with but it wasn’t a perfectly clean outing for Kirby, though. Atlanta was able to get to Kirby in the fourth inning after Mauricio Dubón delivered another big hit during the early portion of his tenure with the Braves. His RBI double brought both Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson home to score and just like that, it was a tie ballgame.
It stayed tied all the way until the ninth inning, which is when a big hit could’ve turned the tide at any given moment. As it turned out, it was none other than the man who has consistently been coming up big for the Braves so far this season; Matt Olson got a pitch that he liked from Andrés Muñoz and crushed it for a go-ahead solo shot that put Atlanta ahead. Raisel Iglesias returned to action and made the save that evened up the series for the Braves.
This was another close game and another one where the home team did just enough to get across the finish line and hand the Braves their first series loss of 2026. This time, the big hero (or villain, from our perspective) of the game for the Mariners was Bryan Woo. Woo bounced back from two rough starts in a row to look more like the guy who Seattle has expected to see over the past couple of years. Woo completely held the Braves in check while he was out there as he threw six scoreless innings and only surrendered a single hit and a pair of walks while striking out nine batters.
Martín Pérez made it into the sixth inning but he gave up a two-run dinger to Julio Rodríguez with one out in that sixth inning in order to break what was a scoreless deadlock. Didier Fuentes pitched two innings in this one but he gave up an RBI double to Cole Young in the ninth inning that gave Seattle a two-run lead that felt like double that amount with the way the Mariners were pitching in this one. The only reason why the Braves avoided getting shut out is because they were able to get something going in the eighth inning that led to a sacrifice fly from Dominic Smith to put them on the board. It also didn’t help matters that right after the sacrifice fly, pinch runner Jorge Mateo got thrown out for being a bit too casual getting back to first base on a pickoff attempt. Base runners were at a premium all day and that was a very frustrating way to lose an out to play with.
Outside of that, Atlanta was completely unable to get any real momentum going in this one and the first series loss of the season finally happened for the Braves. With that being said, losing a baseball game pales in comparison to losing a life, as Wednesday was certainly a somber day in Braves Country as the franchise mourned the loss of former owner Ted Turner.
Welp! If it takes until early-May to finally drop a series, then you’re doing pretty well, right? It also seemed like if this streak was going to come to an end at any point soon, it was going to happen while the Braves were in the Pacific Time Zone since it sure feels like this region has been a house of horrors for the Braves over the course of recent history. Still, credit has to go to the Mariners who were persistently hanging with the Braves and seemingly beating them upside the head with a club every time they got a good chance to do so. Seattle had timely hitting and their pitching was mostly good throughout the three games, so they certainly earned the series win.
As far as the Braves are concerned, this is one of those rare times where I’m actually not all that perturbed with a series loss. Atlanta still has a healthy buffer between themselves at the top of the division and the rest of their foes in the NL East and they also avoided a sweep. As long as they can avoid any extended losing streaks or dips in form, they’ll be fine going forward. Plus, seeing Matt Olson continue to rake is definitely a major positive as it’s becoming clearer and clearer that he could be in line to have a really big season here in 2026.
So, who knows? Maybe with the top arms in Atlanta’s rotation going for the series at Dodger Stadium, the pressure of keeping the series winning streak will be off and the Braves can actually go out and play confident baseball against a Dodgers team that will always be tough to deal with — especially in LA’s own stadium. All good things have to come to an end eventually and maybe ending it in Seattle was the perfect time for it to happen. Now granted, I think we’d all prefer to see this streak last forever but again, what did I just say about all good things? It’s now time to hope that Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder can get the job done and that the bats can wake up in Los Angeles in order to end the road trip on a high note. Let’s see what happens!
