Category: MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Texas Rangers

Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

RHP Carmen Mlodzinski vs. RHP Kumar Rocker

Go Rangers!

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Texas Rangers, April 21, 8:05 p.m. ET

Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet

Pitching Matchup: Carmen Mlodzinski (1-0, 1.77 ERA) vs. Kumar Rocker (0-1, 4.30 ERA)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today in the Lone Star State against the Texas Rangers looking to grab a win.

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BD community, this is your thread for today’s game against the Rangers. Enjoy!

The Kansas City Royals loss last night to Baltimore Orioles was as insane and heart wrenching as we have witnessed in awhile. I chose to laugh instead of weep when Lane Thomas got thrown out at third base in the top of the tenth inning, and there was still more insanity to go after that. That game felt like it was the 2006 Royals, not the 2026 team that I had such high hopes for.

Still, there is a lot of baseball left this season and I want to believe that the team has another 16-2 run in them like they did last year after starting slowly. Kris Bubic, who takes the mound for the Royals today, did not have his best outing last time against the Detroit Tigers. He looked like an ace the start before against the Chicago White Sox, and hopefully has the ace’s mentality to end the losing streak. Of course, the Royals will need to score some run to end the losing streak as well.

I’m sure all the Royals officials and Missouri politicians who will be attending the stadium announcement tomorrow would really appreciate it if the Boys in Blue could find it within themselves to win the game tonight.

Royals Lineup:

Orioles Lineup:

The Atlanta Braves got what is hopefully good news related to closer Raisel Iglesias as it was conveyed to reporters prior to tonight’s game that an MRI showed only inflammation with no structural damage to his shoulder.

As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman relayed, the team hopes Iglesias will only stay on the IL for a limited amount of time. He last pitched on April 19 in Philadelphia. For the season, he’s pitched in eight games, tossing 8.2 shut-out innnings while striking out 11 batters and collecting five saves.

Free agent singee Robert Suarez, who led the National League in saves with the San Diego Padres last season, will likely serve as closer while Iglesias is out of action.

Detroit Tigers (12-11) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (12-9)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Brew Crew Ball
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (1-1, 3.31 ERA) vs. LHP Kyle Harrison (1-1, 3.07 ERA)

Dodgers starter Blake Snell will see his first game action of 2026 on Wednesday, officially starting a minor league rehab assignment with the Class-A Ontario Tower Buzzers in the second game of their road series against the San Jose Giants.

Snell has been on the injured list since the start of the season with shoulder fatigue. To date, he’s faced hitters twice at Dodger Stadium in simulated innings, on April 11 and April 15.

“I’m very excited about how I feel, where I’m at. Getting back to some normalcy again feels really good,” Snell said after the first of those simulated sessions in Los Angeles. “Throwing bullpens, not facing hitters, it’s tough to stay locked in.”

The Dodgers have mentioned multiple times this season that Snell’s timetable for return is some time in late May, which fits roughly with his opening his rehab assignment on Wednesday.,That leaves time for three or four rehab starts to build back up. If Snell takes the full 30 days on his rehab assignment, he’d still be ready to return by the final week of May.

Tower Buzzers play-by-play broadcaster Jeff Woolson noted Tuesday that Snell will attempt to pitch two or three innings on Wednesday, depending on pitch count.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters in San Francisco on Tuesday that Snell would make at least three rehab starts, but most likely four.

“I would say the floor is get to five innings for sure. How we get there, we’re going to talk about it — as far as the three, four, or repeat the three [innings], I’m not sure about the progression,” Roberts said, as shown on SportsNet LA. “But the floor is getting to five innings, for sure.”

Ontario’s game in San Jose on Wednesday starts at 6 p.m. PT.

Also of note, reliever Brock Stewart on Tuesday shifted his rehab assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City after pitching twice last week for Class-A Ontario.

The St. Louis Cardinals play game 2 of their road series versus the Miami Marlins Tuesday night. Dustin May (2-2 with a 6.98 ERA) will start for the Cardinals while Chris Paddack (0-3 with a 5.59 ERA) will get the ball for the Marlins. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40pm central time.

Can the Braves win seven in a row? Can Reynaldo Lopez have another good outing? Is Jake Irvin actually just Jose Urena in some kind of weird Face/Off thing? Stay tuned and find out. Maybe.

The Braves stormed into DC and knocked off the Nats in game one of the series. Now, the Nats will look to even things up in their four game set with the division leaders. To do so, they need to tighten up defensively. The errors have been piling up for the Nats lately.

This is a bit of an unusual lineup from Blake Butera. The thing that immediately stands out is Jacob Young in the 3 hole. Butera said he wanted to avoid stacking too many left handed hitters. Brady House will be out of the lineup. In his place, Jorbit Vivas will play third. Usually the Nats rotate catchers, but Drew Millas will get his second straight start. Foster Griffin has been the Nats best starter this year, but today will be a challenge for the lefty.

The Braves are making a couple alterations themselves. Drake Baldwin will be in the DH spot, meaning Jonah Heim will catch. Mauricio Dubon will be at shortstop in place of Jorge Mateo. Despite leaving the game yesterday, Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back in his customary lead off spot. Reynaldo Lopez started his career in DC, so tonight will be a bit of a homecoming for the 32 year old right hander.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Braves took over in the middle innings last night to take game one. Now, it is time for the Nats to strike back. With Griffin on the mound, there should be some confidence, but the Braves are on a roll. Follow along down below and let’s go Nats!

The American League East has been a bit of a mess so far this year. The Yankees squandered a strong opening week, but the rest of the division has similarly alternated between dominance and disaster. Entering Tuesday night, everybody is within four games of .500. It’s a perfect time to sprinkle a little rivalry into this stew! The Bombers ship up to Boston following an offday for their first meeting of the year against the Red Sox.

While the Yankees did send the Red Sox packing in last year’s Wild Card Series, the fact is they had trouble handling their AL East rivals last year—Boston was no exception. They took the season series over New York 9-4, including a three-game sweep at Fenway Park in June. The Yankees cannot afford to overlook their struggling but still dangerous opponent in this series. Luis Gil will be tasked with getting the Bombers off to a good start in enemy territory.

Gil’s second start of the year came on Jackie Robinson Day and was not overly impressive. He survived five innings but allowed three home runs to the Angels—three of the ten overall hard-hit baseballs he surrendered in that outing. His fastball velocity is still down from his rookie year, and it’s getting clobbered; all three Angel homers came against it. For what it’s worth, the Red Sox have struggled against heaters to begin the year, with a .318 wOBA against them which ranks 26th in the league. By comparison, the Halos are fifth in the league with a .375. His changeup and slider are excellent pitches, but they’re only truly deadly if hitters have to fear a healthy four-seamer, too. We’ll see how Boston handles high velocity tonight.

The precocious Connelly Early was impressive to start Wild Card Game 3, but fellow rookie Cam Schlittler outshone the Virginian southpaw en route to a dominant win that sent Boston home. Early pitched great early (sorry, expect a similar joke in the recap if he does so again) but a rocky fourth inning featuring some bad defense sent him into a tailspin. Early impressed during the spring and earned a spot into the rotation to begin the season; he hasn’t blinked since. He boasts an advanced repertoire for a rookie, with six different pitches which he uses in a largely east-west attack on opponents. That said, Statcast puts him down for a 5.25 ERA, far above his actual ERA of 2.29. Could some regression be coming for Early tonight?

The Yankees offense which crushed Kansas City’s pitching over the weekend largely did so against other lefties. Noah Cameron and Cole Ragans both got hit hard. Hopefully the Monday rest day didn’t cool off their lumber. With that in mind, who better than Amed Rosario to bat leadoff ahead of Aaron Judge? Ben Rice has looked undaunted by lefty pitching—he’s in there over Paul Goldschmidt tonight. Giancarlo Stanton will DH, then Cody Bellinger will play center field with Randal Grichuk manning left. Jazz Chisholm Jr., José Caballero, and Austin Wells round out the starting nine, and Trent Grisham will be available off the bench.

How to watch

Location: Fenway Park — Boston, MA

First pitch: 6:45 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES (NYY) | NESN+ (BOS) | TBS (national)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | WEEI 93.7, WESX 1230 AM, WCCM 1490 AM (BOS)

Streaming: MLB.tv, Gotham Sports App

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Mets lineup

1. Marcus Semien – 2B
2. Francisco Lindor – SS
3. Luis Robert – CF
4. Bo Bichette – 3B
5. MJ Melendez – DH
6. Francisco Alvarez – C
7. Brett Baty – RF
8. Mark Vientos – 1B
9. Carson Benge – LF

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Twins lineup

1. Byron Buxton – CF
2. Trevor Larnach – LF
3. Josh Bell – DH
4. Ryan Jeffers – C
5. Kody Clemens – 1B
6. Luke Keaschall – 2B
7. Matt Wallner – RF
8. Royce Lewis – 3B
9. Brooks Lee – SS

SP: S. Woods Richardson – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

First Pitch: 6:10 PM CDT

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy App, LosTwins.com

Know thine enemy:Amazin’ Avenue

Since my last game thread, a 6-0 win against the Red Sox, the Twins have proceeded to lose 4 in a row. Its funny how quickly the vibes of a baseball season can change. They will try to get back on track against a tough customer, the Mets starter Nolan McLean. In his young career, McLean has made 12 starts, and only one of them could be classified as bad, and even in that bad start he struck out 11 over 5 innings. He is quickly looking like one of baseball’s best starting pitchers.

The Twins will counter with Simeon Woods Richardson, who has struggled in his last two starts, allowing 5 and 6 earned runs in them, respectively.

The good news for the Twins is that the Mets are in the middle of an 11 game losing streak. So, somebody’s losing streak ends tonight, let’s hope it’s ours.

Lineups:

The San Francisco Giants made a roster move on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before starting a series against their rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. And unfortunately, it’s a move that sees one of the best stories of the young season come to a halt … for a while, at least.

San Francisco announced that backup catcher Daniel Susac had been placed on the 10-Day Injured List, retroactive to April 20, with right elbow ulnar neuritis. Taking Susac’s place on the active roster is veteran Eric Haase, whose contract has been purchased from AAA Sacramento. Haase was not on the 40-man roster, so the Giants cleared a space by moving injured reliever José Buttó to the 60-Day IL, as his season is presumably over.

It’s a bummer of a setback for Susac, who was enjoying a stellar rookie season after being a Rule 5 selection from the A’s back in December. Susac started his career with back-to-back three-hit days, and on the year is 11-23 with two doubles, one triple, one walk, and just three strikeouts, with five runs batted in and some decent defense behind the dish. That, combined with Patrick Bailey’s miserable start to the year in the batter’s box — the two-time Gold Glove winner is slashing just .151/.211/.151 — had resulted in the catcher situation inching a little closer to an even split rather than a pure starter/backup situation. But that will be on hold for a while, and hopefully Susac’s injury doesn’t take long to heal.

As for Haase, he was brought in over the offseason on a Minor League contract, and given a chance to compete with Susac for the backup role in Spring Training. He had a pretty decent spring, hitting well (8-28 with two home runs, one double, and four walks), but striking out 14 times. He was granted his release at the start of the season when he didn’t make the roster, but after not receiving any offers around the league, re-signed with the Giants on a Minor League contract, and has been playing in AAA ever since. In nine games with the River Cats, Haase is hitting 9-36 with two home runs, two doubles, two walks, and 13 strikeouts. He has also helped the roster by playing a little bit of left field after the Giants found themselves shy on bodies following the promotions of Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan to the Majors.

It’s interesting that the Giants opted to bring up Haase, rather than Jesús Rodríguez, an exciting prospect who was already on the 40-man roster, and who is having a blistering season so far in AAA (.344/.408/.492, with just six strikeouts in 71 plate appearances). Perhaps they’re waiting to bring up Rodríguez for when they have a larger role for him, rather than icing him on the bench where he’ll only play once or twice a week. Or maybe they just prefer the defense, leadership, and dependability of the veteran Haase, a 33-year old who has been in the squat for nearly 300 Major League games.

The Giants are nearly a month into the season now, and still all of their transactions have been due to injuries.

Freddie Freeman was activated off the paternity list ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, after the Dodgers first baseman missed two games for the birth of his daughter.

Freeman and wife Chelsea welcomed their fourth child on Sunday, London Rosemary Joy Freeman, they announced on Instagram.

In the series opener against the Giants, Freeman is back at first base and batting third.

Ryan Ward was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City after playing in both games in his first stint in the major leagues. The 28-year-old started at first base on Sunday at Coors Field, and had two hits, including a run batted in, in his major league debut against the Colorado Rockies. Ward also struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of Monday night’s blowout win in Denver.

Ward in his two games with the Dodgers had two hits in six at-bats.

The Dodgers got very good production out of first base in Freeman’s brief absence. In addition to Ward’s two hits and RBI on Sunday, Dalton Rushing started at first on Monday and hit two home runs with three RBI, continuing his sublime start to 2026.

Anytime the Yankees show up on the schedule, regardless of the standings, it presents an opportunity for either a dramatic shift in mood, or a dramatic amplification of whatever mood is already in place. Tonight is no different as the Red Sox and Yankees meet for the first time in 2026 with the Red Sox off to a horrible start, but still somehow only four games behind New York.

The good news for the Red Sox is they have the pitching advantage on paper tonight. The bad news is each game of the series presents a more unfavorable matchup on the mound. In other words, it would greatly behoove the Sox to grab this game tonight as a loss tonight could quickly start mounting the deficit by Thursday.

For Early, this matchup also presents an opportunity to turn the page on last year’s loss in New York during Game 3 of the Wild Card series when he was thrown into the fire just four starts into his major league career and outpitched by the extremely unlikeable Cam Schlittler.

Lineup wise, the odd man out in the latest chapter of the “five guys don’t fit into four spots” saga is once again Jarren Duran. Masataka Yoshida will bat third as the DH, and Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu once again make up what’s establishing itself as the best version of the Red Sox outfield.

It’s Red Sox vs. Yankees, and even on a cold Tuesday night in April, there’s still nothing else quite like it!

⚾️ First Pitch: 6:45 pm – Fenway Park

📺 TV: NESN+

📻 Radio: WEEI