Category: MLB

Some losses are harder than others and some splits feel more like a loss than a tie. For the Yankees on Thursday afternoon, a series filled with emotional swings finally tipped the wrong way, as a game that felt within reach for much of the afternoon slipped into a lopsided loss by the end.

After spending the first three games of the series surviving chaos, late rallies, and narrow escapes, the Yankees could not find one more answer in the finale. Instead, a tight contest turned in the sixth inning and unraveled completely late, allowing the Los Angeles Angels to leave the Bronx with an 11-4 win and a series split.

The finale against the Los Angeles Angels opened with the same uneasy feeling that had defined much of the previous three games. Max Fried quickly retired Zach Neto and the red-hot Mike Trout to open the afternoon, making it feel as though the Yankees might finally be headed toward the clean, stress-free game this series had stubbornly refused to provide.

That calm disappeared almost instantly. A two-out walk came back to haunt Fried when former Yankees prospect Oswald Peraza turned on a fastball and sent it into the left-field seats, giving the Angels a 2-0 lead. After spending much of the series making life miserable for his former organization, Peraza’s first at-bat was a reminder that the series was not over yet.

The Yankees answered quickly. Aaron Judge continued doing Aaron Judge things in the bottom of the first, hammering a Brent Suter fastball into the Angels bullpen. The blast cut the deficit to 2-1 and immediately restored some life to a Yankees team that once again found itself chasing early.

The Yankees nearly found the equalizer an inning later and briefly looked ready to flip the game’s momentum. Jazz Chisholm Jr. worked a walk, José Caballero lined a single to left, and the pair immediately manufactured pressure by stealing third and second on the double steal, putting the tying run 90 feet away with two outs. J.C. Escarra went down on strikes to end the threat, leaving the game stuck at 2-1 and turning what felt like a prime early opening into another frustrating missed opportunity.

The Yankees finally turned all of that early pressure into a lead in the third, and it came in the kind of thunderous fashion only Giancarlo Stanton can provide. Trent Grisham worked a leadoff walk, but the inning initially seemed headed toward another frustrating dead end. Angels manager Kurt Suzuki quickly went to Nick Sandlin, who got Aaron Judge to fly out to left before Grisham was erased on the bases attempting to steal second. Instead, Cody Bellinger extended the inning with a walk, and then Stanton delivered.

With both elbows fully extended through the zone, Stanton launched a missile toward Monument Park that left the bat at 111.1 mph and traveled 446 feet. The two-run blast turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Yankees lead.

The Yankees threatened to add on again in the fourth and briefly had the Stadium buzzing for what looked like it might be another short-porch special. With two outs, Sam Aldegheri lost the zone just enough to extend the inning, issuing a walk to Chisholm before Escarra followed with his first hit of the afternoon on a single to center. Once again, the Yankees had traffic and a chance to build on Stanton’s lead-changing blast, but Grisham’s fly ball toward the short porch died into a routine out, keeping the lead at one.

Fried looked fully back in control after the rocky first and cruised into the sixth before the top of the Angels order finally broke through again. Trout started the inning’s trouble with a one-out walk, and the pressure immediately mounted when Amed Rosario made a strong diving stop down the left-field line but could not complete the play from his knees in time to catch Trout at second. That set the stage for Peraza yet again, and the former Yankees prospect doubled to left to score Trout and tie the game at 3-3 while moving the go-ahead run into scoring position.

That was the end of Fried’s afternoon, his final line reading 5.1 innings with three strikeouts, three walks, and five earned runs. Aaron Boone turned to Fernando Cruz, his top right-handed stopper, hoping to suppress the flames before they spread, but the inning continued to spiral.

Vaughn Grissom shot a ball sharply toward third that Rosario could not knock down, allowing it to trickle into left and push the Angels back in front 4-3. Cruz recovered to strike out Nolan Schanuel, but a walk to Travis d’Arnaud loaded the bases and kept the pressure squarely on the Yankees. Josh Lowe then blooped a two-run single into center to plate Grissom and Peraza, stretching the Angels’ lead to 6-3.

The Yankees, though, answered immediately to cut into the lead. Ben Rice jumped on the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth and got just enough of Aldegheri’s offering to send it over the wall for his fifth home run of the season. The solo blast trimmed the deficit to 6-4 and chased Aldegheri from the game, keeping the afternoon on the teeter-totter that had defined the series.

That momentum did not last. The Yankees turned to Angel Chivilli to make his season and pinstripes debut in the seventh inning, and after striking out Neto, he ran into the same problem everyone else had all series. Trout matched Stanton’s earlier blast with a 446-foot home run of his own into the left-field bleachers, pushing the Angels’ lead to 7-4 and continuing a historic stretch in the Bronx. Chivilli’s debut proved rough, as he finished with 0.2 innings, two strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run.

The game slipped fully out of reach in the eighth. Ryan Yarbrough recorded two quick outs before the inning unraveled following a hit-by-pitch, a single, a balk, and an intentional walk that loaded the bases. Jo Adell then broke the game open with a grand slam to right, extending the Angels’ lead to 11-4 and prompting Aaron Boone’s ejection as he argued the balk call after the inning ended.

For a Yankees team that had spent the series surviving chaos, this time the chaos finally overwhelmed them. The larger takeaway from the four-game set is even more concerning. The Angels launched 13 home runs in the series, the most the Yankees have ever allowed in a home series ever, turning what should have been a manageable series into a constant uphill battle. The most home runs ever given up to a team was not on my series bingo card. The loss drops the Yankees to 10-9 and continues the early-season rhythm of inconsistency, where strong individual moments continue to surface but have yet to fully align into complete team games.

Next up for the Yankees are the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are struggling to start the season, but arrive in the Bronx tomorrow night, with right-hander Michael Wacha and his 2-0 record and 0.43 ERA ready to face Judge and the boys. Cam Schlittler gets to toe the rubber in the series opener scheduled for 7:05 pm ET.

Box Score

Box Score

Brandon Sproat had his best start of the season, and the Brewers’ offense did just enough to escape with a win. After losing six straight, Milwaukee has now won their last two games against last year’s American League champions.

The two teams combined for just one hit (a single off the bat of Gary Sánchez) through two innings, but Toronto broke through in the third off of Sproat. Andrés Giménez doubled into right field, and Ernie Clement singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. The next batter, Tyler Heineman, laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Giménez and advance Clement to second base, but Sproat was able to retire the next two batters to keep the damage to one run.

Milwaukee got that run back in the bottom of the fourth. Brice Turang led off with a double, and William Contreras singled to move him over to third. Sánchez then hit a fly ball to right field that wasn’t quite deep enough to score Turang, who tagged up but stayed at third. The next batter, Luis Rengifo, hit a slightly deeper fly ball. Turang broke for the plate, and the throw was just a little bit down the third base line, allowing Turang to slide in ahead of the tag to tie the game.

The Brewers scored what would ultimately be the game-winning run in the seventh courtesy of three straight bunts, which you don’t often see in 2026. Garrett Mitchell pinch-hit for Luis Matos and worked a walk. Greg Jones, making his debut with the Brewers, laid down a great bunt down the third base line, but Heineman came out from behind the plate, spun, and fired a rocket to first base that beat Jones by half a step. Mitchell advanced to second on the sacrifice bunt.

Up next was David Hamilton, who beat out an even better bunt — also down the third base line — to put runners on the corners for Joey Ortiz. Ortiz, no stranger to hitting with runners in scoring position, came through in the clutch with a squeeze bunt that scored Mitchell to give the Brewers the lead. Ty Cobb would have been proud:

The Brewers have now scored three runs or fewer in six of their last eight games dating back to the Boston series. While not ideal, it’s also not particularly surprising given that they’re missing three of their best hitters in Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Andrew Vaughn. Still, Milwaukee has shown grit over these last couple of games, finding a way to win by any means necessary. That’s a quality that will take this team far.

The bullpen, normally a strength for the Brewers, had struggled during the losing streak. Today, Trevor Megill retired the side in the eighth inning, striking out two Blue Jays and shouting as he walked off the field. He didn’t look untouchable, nor was his fastball touching 100 (topping out at 98.2 today), but the knuckle curve looked good — as did the results. Angel Zerpa picked up the save in the ninth after working around a leadoff single from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The star of today’s game was Brandon Sproat, who showed exactly why the Brewers wanted him as part of the return package for Freddy Peralta. The right-hander went 6 2/3 innings while allowing only four hits and just the one run. His fastball touched 98.6 mph on the way to racking up six strikeouts. He only walked one batter after struggling with command in his previous outings as a Brewer. Oh, and his stuff looked really, really good. For Sproat, Megill, and the rest of the Brewers’ pitching staff, today had to have built some confidence.

Milwaukee is now two games over .500 as they head to Miami to take on the Marlins. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. tomorrow.

The Cincinnati Reds managed only one hit in nine innings Thursday afternoon. And that includes two bench-clearing squabbles.

Landon Roupp struck out six Reds in six one-hit innings and a trio of relievers allowed just one baserunner in the San Francisco Giants’ 3-0 win over the Reds. Jung Hoo lee went 3-for-4 and delivered an RBI single in the Giants’ three-run 7th inning, when all the game’s offensive fireworks happened.

The other fireworks were slowly simmering as Roupp didn’t just star a new win streak after the Giants’ four-game skid. He started a beanball war.

One night after Spencer Steer annoyed JT Brubaker with a late timeout, then had some profane advice about throwing the friggin’ ball, Roupp nailed Steer with the first pitch he saw. It was Roupp’s lone four-seam fastball of the game and it hit Steer directly in the back.

Roupp also hit TJ Friedl in the 6th inning, but that was with a changeup on the sixth pitch of hit at-bat, with a runner on. It doesn’t appear that Friedl shouted a single curse word at the Giants during a rules dispute, either.

But the Reds finally took revenge, as predicted by Reds broadcaster and former unreliable Giants closer Jeff Brantley, who suggested that Willy Adames armor up before his next at-bat.

Brantley was right, though Reds manager Terry Francona waited until there were two outs and no one on in the 8th to order the Code Red. Connor Phillips missed Adames with his first fastball, but his second attempt hit the target, and the umpires immediately ejected Phillips. The Giants got payback, the Reds got payback, and the excitement had peaked with the benches and bullpens *almost* clearing.

Until the 9th inning, when Erik Miller struck out Tuesday’s hero, Sal Stewart, to earn his first career save. It looked like Stewart took issue with Miller’s relatively mild celebration, then Miller did his best Spencer Steer imitation, shouting expletives and suggesting Stewart should sit down. No one was sitting, benches cleared, and because this was a baseball fight, a lot of necklaces dangled, seeds sprayed all over the place, and not a single punch was thrown.

The drama overshadowed a remarkably strong performance by the Giants pitchers. The Reds got six baserunners all game, and two were erased on double plays. Miller walked Matt McLain in the 9th with one out, but struck out De La Cruz and Stewart to end it. Thankfully, McLain had taken second on fielder’s indifference, so he was far away from the almost-violence near home plate.

Reds starter Chase Burns matched Roupp with four strikeouts in six shoutout innings of his own, facing the minimum thanks to a caught stealing and two inning-ending double plays. But Burns was starting only his 13th career game, and the 23-year-old got pulled after 87 pitches.

That was gift to the struggling Giants offense, which had managed only two hits off Burns. Lefty Brock Burke (1-1) reached on a De La Cruz error. After two strikeouts, Matt Chapman delivered an RBI double off the wall in left-center.

Lee worked his way back from an 0-2 count that included an automatic strike to flip a single to left to score Chapman. In your face, pitch clock! (Tony Vitello is going to have Logan Webb bean the pitch clock tomorrow.)

Pinch-hitting for the second straight game, Heliot Ramos worked a six-pitch walk off of Phillips before

Defensive-specialist-turned-everyday-designated-hitter Casey Schmidt wrapped up the scoring with another RBI single to score Lee, as Ramos took third in some aggressive, unwise, and ultimately successful baserunning.

It’s hard to say that the beanball woke up the Giants, since it took them another 90 minutes to get a runner past first base. But it may have thrown off the Reds hitters, who were matching the Giants relievers scowl for scowl and “You want a piece of me?” for “Let’s go, bitch!” After six homers in the first two games off the series, Cincinnati didn’t have an extra-base hit Thursday.

The biggest topic after the game was the Giants’ catcher position. After Patrick Bailey struck out twice and grounded into a double play, he’s now hitting .128 on the season. After the game, Vitello suggested the Giants would try to involve Daniel Susac “as much as possible. See if we get into an every other day situation or whatever that might be.”

However, Bailey did just catch a combined one-hit shutout, featuring three relievers. He successful challenged two calls in the 9th, stealing two extra strikes for Miller, as Bailey’s eye is even more accurate than the ABS system. At least when he’s catching.

The brawling Giants will swagger on the the nation’s capital where they’ll wrap up their 10-day road trip with the 9-10 Washington Nationals, facing old friend Zack Littell Friday night, as he shows he’s more than just an opener with an amazing beard.

Can the Giants salvage the road trip and win the series in D.C.? Let’s say they’ve got a puncher’s chance.

The Rays were hoping that this afternoon’s game would continue their five-game winning streak, and also complete the sweep against the White Sox before they headed to Pittsburgh for their weekend series against Paul Skenes and the Pirates. To get there, they’d have Steven Matz on the mound, squaring off against Jordan Leasure for the White Sox. Matz is off to an impressive start this season, and looking to continue his own winning streak.

In the top of the first, the Rays went down in order. On the White Sox end, they got a one-out baserunner in Chase Meidroth, but two outs followed to leave the man stranded.

Heading into the second, the Rays got a man on in a one-out walk to Ryan Vilade. That was it for Leasure, who was acting in the Opener role, as the White Sox dipped into their bullpen. Anthony Kay was next in. Vilade stole second, and while the Sox tried to contest the safe call, it was upheld. Unfortunately, two outs then followed, so the hustle didn’t pay off. Chandler Simpson tried to be a one-man defense in the bottom of the inning, first with an incredible catch to get Edgar Quero out, then after Tanner Murray singled, Chandler tried to get another catch off Andrew Benintendi in foul territory but just missed it. Benintendi was out not long after, anyway. Derek Hill then singled, but got tagged out trying to leg it out to second to end the inning.

Nick Fortes singled to start the third inning. Two outs followed, but then Junior Caminero singled, followed by Cedric Mullins getting hit by a pitch. With two men on, Yandy Diaz had an at-bat that would have been a walk just last year, but thanks to two challenges, two ball calls were overturned. Live by the ABS, die by the ABS. The Rays weren’t able to do anything with their two baserunners. Speaking of brutal calls, Miguel Vargas was on strike three, but challenged and it was ruled a ball, and on the next pitch Vargas hit a solo home run. Two outs followed, so the damage was minimal, but one-run games can often come back to haunt.

The Rays got a two-out walk from Jonny DeLuca, followed by back-to-back singles from Nick Fortes and Taylor Walls. The Walls single brought DeLuca home to tie the game up.

Everson Periera got a leadoff single for the White Sox in the bottom of the fourth, but three outs followed to leave him stranded.

In the top of the fifth, Jordan Hicks was the new Sox pitcher out of the bullpen. Cedric Mullins was able to reach safely thanks to a fielding error by Meidroth. We’ll take it. With two outs Jonathan Aranda came on to replace Vilade, and was intentionally walked. Richie Palacios replaced Ben Williamson, and he singled to load the bases. Jake Fraley was the next pinch-hitter, replacing DeLuca. All the lineup shuffling couldn’t quite get the job done, though, and the Rays left them loaded. It was another 1-2-3 inning for the Sox in the home half.

Grant Taylor came on for the Sox in the sixth and got the Rays out in order. Chase Meidroth doubled to start the home half. Pereira took a one-out walk, and Cash wasn’t going to wait to see more, he pulled Matz. Matz’s final line for the game was 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR on 74 pitches, another really nice outing for him. He was replaced by Griffin Jax. Quero hit a ground-rule double, scoring a run. A pinch-hitting Colson Montgomery walked, loading the bases. Luckily, the Rays managed to get themselves out of the jam with only the one run scored. This was still something they could come back from.

In the top of the seventh, Cedric Mullins got a one-out walk, followed by a single from Diaz. That sent the Sox back to their bullpen. Sean Newcomb was the new pitcher. Palacios got a two-out single, scoring Mullins to tie up the game.

Kevin Kelly came in next for the Rays and got the Sox out in order.

In the eighth, the Rays were three-up, three-down. That would have been fine if the game was going into extras, but too bad for the Rays Periera hit a solo home run with one out in the home half. Quero then walked, but thankfully a double play ended the inning.

Remember what I said about the whole tie game thing? Well Caminero did, because he hit a leadoff home run against new reliever Seranthony Domínguez in the top of the ninth to re-tie the game.

With one out, Diaz singled, followed by a walk from Jonathan Aranda. A wild pitch advanced the baserunners, then Palacios was hit by a pitch, sending him to first to load the bases, with only one out. Lucas Sims was the next White Sox pitcher in. He gave up a walk to a pinch-hitting Hunter Feduccia, to walk in the go-ahead run for the Rays. Taylor Walls then worked a walk, too, walking in another run. It was a bizarre way to take the lead, but I don’t think anyone is going to complain. Bryan Baker came in for the Rays to hopefully close out the game. Benintendi got a leadoff walk. The Rays were able to get the final three outs of the game, and came away with the win, and the sweep.

Final: Rays 5, White Sox 3

Spencer Steer was plunked by a 93 MPH fastball at the outset of the Reds’ matchup with the Giants on Thursday, and the beanball certainly appeared to be a response to the slugger’s behavior a night prior.

The Cincinnati left fielder was drilled in the ribs by Landen Roupp, less than 24 hours after Steer was seen cussing out San Francisco reliever JT Brubaker.

Spencer Steer gets plunked on the first pitch he sees https://t.co/mtjnYyN1NJpic.twitter.com/XWpGCa9OlT

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 16, 2026

During Wednesday’s Reds vs. Giants showdown, Brubaker seemed to take offense to a late timeout Steer asked for, and in retaliation, he made Steer wait an unusual amount of time to see the next pitch.

Steer was visibly peeved, as broadcast cameras caught him yelling profanities at Brubaker while the two were at a standstill.

“F—k you,” Steer screamed. “Throw the f—king ball.”

Steer then lined a base hit to left, and the Reds went on to win, 8-3.

Roupp clearly remembered the encounter, because he appeared to purposely nail Steer with the first pitch of the outfielder’s first at-bat of the afternoon.

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The scene then sparked a game full of drama between the teams, as Giants star Willy Adames was later hit by what looked like a purposeful 98 MPH fastball.

Following the game, which the Giants won, 3-0, the benches cleared when Erik Miller barked at the Reds in celebration of the victory.

BENCHES CLEAR AT THE CONCLUSION OF REDS-GIANTS pic.twitter.com/UggidWcevA

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 16, 2026

Fortunately, no punches were thrown and both sides returned to their respective dugouts.

The two teams will have a few months to cool off before they face again — their next series isn’t until August — but it sure looks like neither side will be forgetting much between now and then.

For the first time this season, the Yankees spent a series slugging like they are capable of. 

Also a first this week: watching their pitchers getting slugged, slugged and slugged again. 

On the final day of a wild, back-and-forth series, the Yankees once again failed to keep the Angels lineup in check, or in the ballpark, as they got clobbered for an 11-4 loss on a hot Thursday afternoon in The Bronx. 

The Yankees came into this series having allowed just three home runs through their first 15 games, then got taken deep a stunning 13 times in four games — five by Mike Trout, who homered in each game, two by former Yankee Oswald Peraza and two by Jo Adell, who provided the knockout punch with a grand slam off Ryan Yarbrough in the eighth inning Thursday. 

“Story of the series, we just didn’t keep the ball in the ballpark,” said manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected for the first time this season after arguing a balk call that led to Adell’s grand slam. “That’s something we’ve done really well up until this series. They just kept coming at us. … Had a hard time managing contact against them this series.” 

By the end of the day, all that was standing between the Yankees (10-9) and a nine-game losing streak were two ninth-inning blowups from Angels closer Jordan Romano, which accounted for their two wins in this series — though losing seven of nine is not much better. 

Those two comeback wins against Romano offered potential springboards for the Yankees to get out of this early-season funk, but instead, they delivered clunkers after each one. 

“Obviously haven’t been playing to our standards, but we know the kind of club we are, especially the way we started off,” said Max Fried, who had his shortest start of the season while giving up five runs across 5 ¹/₃ innings. “That standard that we had, we’re going to get back to it.” 

Through the first 15 games of this series, the Yankees had only hit 14 home runs. In this four-game set, they crushed nine — including one each from Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice on Thursday, and still it was not nearly enough on what became a miserable afternoon. 

In the side battle of three-time MVPs, Trout out-homered Judge 5-4 in this series. The Yankees could not find a way to contain Trout, who enjoyed a monster throwback series and became the first visiting player ever to homer on four straight days at Yankee Stadium, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. 

For the first time this season, Fried did not pitch into the seventh inning. He struggled with his command for much of the day, lamenting his three walks that all came with the bases empty, and got knocked out of the game by an RBI double from Peraza — who also crushed a two-run homer in the top of the first inning — that tied it 3-3 in the sixth. 

Fried left the game with two runners on base and Fernando Cruz allowed both of them to score — plus one of his own — as the Angels (10-10) rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-3 lead. 

Vaughn Grissom delivered the go-ahead hit with a ground ball off the glove of a diving Amed Rosario at first base before Josh Lowe waged a nine-pitch battle that ended in a broken-bat, two-run bloop to center field. 

Then, after Rice’s leadoff homer pulled the Yankees within 6-4 in the sixth, the game unraveled in the eighth. The Angels had runners on first and second with two outs when Yarbrough was called for a balk, at which point the Yankees opted to intentionally walk Trout to load the bases. That set up Adell’s grand slam that was a fitting exclamation point to the slugfest of a series. 

“We’re slowly, hopefully, getting the offense going a little bit,” Boone said. “Pitching kind of carried us the first 10 days, two weeks of the season. We got to get all that synced up, though. 

“I know we’ll hit our stride and feel good about where we’re going to go and we’re doing some of the right things. We got to put it together now to start winning series again and get it moving in the right way.”

Something strange has been going on in San Diego lately… the Padres can’t seem to lose.

After being behind by six runs as late as the sixth inning (and getting no-hit for most of Emerson Hancock’s start), the Friars rallied with a five-run ninth inning. Down three runs with two outs, the Friars hit back-to-back singles to bring up Jackson Merrill with two runners on. Merrill lined a sinker down the left field line for a walk-off two-run double.

That win came from a gritty style of play that San Diego has embraced as of late. One that proves they’re a team that’s not out of the game until all 27 outs are accounted for. Tonight they’ll see if they can keep the good times rolling with an MLB-leading eighth straight win, and two consecutive series sweeps.

Taking the mound

Luis Castillo (SEA) v. Walker Buehler (SD)

Both Castillo and Buehler have struggled lately.

That’s atypical for Castillo, who has turned in an ERA under 4.00 for seven consecutive seasons. His first start looked normal, pitching six scoreless innings of three-hit ball. But since then he’s allowed 10 runs (all earned), and hasn’t made it through more than four innings in either of his last two starts.

If he wants to reverse that, he’ll have to limit a Padres lineup that has been incredibly potent. It won’t be an easy task for Castillo to do.

But Seattle has hope against Buehler. He’s on the opposite trend as Castillo, having bad starts to begin the season and slowly improving. He capped off that improvement with six fantastic innings of three-hit ball against the Colorado Rockies last Friday.

The only problem? This is a fantastic Mariners offense, highlighted by stars like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez. If Buehler can’t keep the ball in the yard, the Friars may have a tough time taking control of the game— no matter how easy of a solve Castillo may seem.

Batter up!

Fernando Tatis Jr. was out of the lineup yesterday apart from a pinch-hit opportunity in that magical ninth inning comeback. He’ll presumably be back today batting second in the order.

Ty France has been getting a lot of looks lately, but he’ll probably sit to make way for Miguel Andujar, who hasn’t played in a few games.

It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Ramón Laureano out for a rest day. Bryce Johnson could take his place in left for the day. That would leave the lineup looking something like this:

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Jackson Merrill, CF
3. Xander Bogaerts, SS
4. Manny Machado, 3B
5. Nick Castellanos, 1B
6. Miguel Andujar, DH
7. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
8. Luis Campusano, C
9. Bryce Johnson, LF

Freddy Fermin started yesterday’s game behind the dish but was lifted for Campusano after being struck in the mask by a foul ball. The Friars are hopeful he’s avoided a concussion, but he’ll probably sit out just in case.

It’s also possible that, if Laureano sits, Cronenworth could move back to the leadoff spot like he did earlier this year. Anything can happen with Craig Stammen writing that lineup card.

Relief corps

Randy Vásquez finally looked mortal on the mound for the first time this season. It was going to happen eventually, but he still was pitching quite well. His problem was walks, giving up four free passes to Seattle.

If not for that he could have worked deeper than four innings. Thankfully, with the Padres down four-plus runs for most of the night, all their high-leverage relievers were kept in reserve.

Stammen went with Ron Marinaccio, Wandy Peralta and Alek Jacob to cover the final five frames. They did so splendidly (apart from a two-run homer allowed by Marinaccio). But that gives the Friars plenty to work with tonight against Seattle.

It leaves the Padres with Jason Adam, Kyle Hart, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan, Bradgley Rodriguez and closer Mason Miller. If Buehler falters early, Hart will likely be the first one out of the ‘pen. He has the ability to cover multiple innings if it’s needed.

With Miller not being used last night, don’t be too surprised to hear Korn blaring in Petco Park if the Friars have a lead in the ninth. His historic scoreless streak is now at 29 2/3 innings and counting.

One of the early trends of the 2026 MLB season has been a flurry of activity by teams locking up young talent via extensions. It’s a trend that dates back to early last season when the Red Sox signed Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell in the early going before the Padres locked up 2024’s Rookie of the Year runner up, Jackson Merrill through 2034. That trend has only accelerated in 2026 with a flurry of contract extensions for rookie players and some guys who have yet to make their big league debut according to MLB.com:

In 2025, three players — the Orioles’ Samuel Basallo and Red Sox teammates Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell — inked long-term contract extensions soon after making their MLB debuts. And now in 2026, four more players have signed early extensions, two of them before even debuting in the big leagues:

• Colt Emerson, SS, Mariners: eight years, $95 million (zero days of service time)
• Cooper Pratt, SS, Brewers: eight years, $50.75 million (zero days of service time)
• Konnor Griffin, SS, Pirates: nine years, $140 million (five days of service time)
• Kevin McGonigle, SS, Tigers: eight years, $150 million (20 days of service time)

The Cubs have joined the frenzy of extensions this season, signing long-term deals with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner. They should really go all in and join the youth movement, extending rookie hitting prodigy Moisés Ballesteros.

There’s been a lot of speculation as to the causes of early extension-palooza, but it seems pretty clear this is a knock on effect of next year’s looming Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. As Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier this month for The Athletic (emphasis mine):

Teams only award extensions to players they project will outperform the contracts, producing surplus value. Owners crave cost certainty, especially near the end of a collective-bargaining agreement. And the expiration of the current CBA on Dec. 1 provides even more incentive for MLB franchises to lock up young talent.

Among many possibilities, the owners might try to tempt the players into accepting a salary cap by offering free agency earlier than the current six-year mark. The Seattle Mariners, in the eight-year, $95 million deal they awarded infielder Colt Emerson on Tuesday, bought out a minimum of two free-agent years, and as many as three if they exercise a club option. The additional control will be even more valuable if players in the next CBA can hit the open market sooner.

Even if the CBA remains unchanged, the Mariners will come out ahead if Emerson’s extension proves a bargain, as these deals often do. For every Scott Kingery or Evan White who underperforms his contract — both those players signed six-year, $24 million extensions with three club options in the late 2010s — there are numerous others whose below-market deals save their teams countless millions.

Rosenthal goes on to conclude that MLB will see more prospects extended in the coming months, which brings us to Ballesteros.

The only question really remaining about the 22-year-old Venezuelan hitter is will he find a position someday? The bat looks real and it’s spectacular. Yes, it’s early. Yes, he’s young. And, take a look at his 15-game rolling wOBA through his young career:

I can hear the objections now: baseball is hard, he’s only 22 years old, where will he play long-term? I definitely am sympathetic to all of that. And while I’ll concede that 108 MLB plate appearances is a minuscule sample size, this looks like a special bat.

Ballesteros is slashing .316/.389/.495 with 10 home runs through his first 35 games in the league. Oh, and, those numbers are being drawn down by a slow start to his career in 2025 and that blip of a downturn at the start of the 2026 season.

To be clear, there have been a lot of hot starts to MLB careers that turned out to be flashes in the proverbial pan. Who could forget the damage Aristides Aquino did to Cubs pitching once upon a nightmare? Or the hot start Jorge Soler got off to in 2014? Ballesteros is a category difference and the Cubs should extend him for three reasons:

First, the 22-year-old has quickly mastered every level of professional ball he’s played at thus far. He’s also done so while being relatively young age for his age level. Take a look at this table I put together last year comparing Ballesteros age-to-level with Royals catcher Salvador Perez:

Perez came up before the minor leagues were reorganized so the levels don’t neatly match, but for our purposes today this provides the neatest comparison possible. If anything, Ballesteros has come up through a more difficult minor league system structurally than Perez, which makes it particularly striking that he’s a better player offensively by basically every metric. As I wrote at the time:

There’s a lot to love in those numbers, especially when you consider that Salvador Perez has has put together a 14-season career as a bat-first catcher and franchise player for the Kansas City Royals. Perez has hit .266/.302/.455 with 275 home runs over that time and established himself as one of the best hitting catchers in MLB. There are some key differences, however.

First, Ballesteros has been better at getting on base than Salvy during his minor league career to date. A lot better. It shows in both the OBP comparison and the wOBA comparison. As a reminder, wOBA is a fancy on-base percentage that gives hitters more credit for extra base hits than singles or walks.

Second, I expected Perez to have demonstrated more power during his minor league career. I was wrong. Perez had 20 home runs between his age-17 season and his callup at 21. Ballesteros has 50. Yes, you read that right, Ballesteros has more than twice the number of home runs Salvador Perez had at this point in his career. Some of that is surely the number of plate appearances, Ballesteros has more in the minors than Perez does. However, he doesn’t have double the number of plate appearances. Perez had 1,344 plate appearances prior to his call up. Ballesteros has 1,578 prior to his call up. It remains to be seen if Ballesteros’ power will translate to MLB, but it’s a favorable minor league comparison nonetheless.

The point is, this isn’t a hot start in the majors, this is a track record of elite hitting at every level that is currently being matched at the highest level of baseball that exists.

Second, it’s true that Ballesteros doesn’t have a good defensive fit right now, but the wRC+ numbers he’s posted throughout his career would make sense to lock up even if he winds up a designated hitter throughout his career. So far in his young career Ballesteros has a 147 wRC+ along with a .383 wOBA. Obviously the exercise I’m about to embark in is way too early speculation, however, allow me to throw out the names of some guys who were primarily DH’s throughout their career with similar wRC+ and wOBA numbers: Edgar Martinez (147, .405), David Ortiz (140, .392), Giancarlo Stanton (136, .369). Admittedly, those are probably 90th percentile outcomes and Ballesteros hasn’t demonstrated anywhere near the power ceiling any of those hitters had over their careers, but the ceiling is enticing all the same.

That said, what if he’s “only” Kyle Schwarber (127, .360) or J.D. Martinez (130, .365)? Both strike me as the type of hitter who is elite enough that their bat will remain in the lineup as a primary designated hitter. Both also strike me as the type of hitter a team should try to sign before the cost of the contract skyrockets.

Finally, while it’s so early to dream on what could be with Ballesteros, he’s already demonstrated a pretty remarkable ability to adapt to the league. Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation wrote this on April 6:

As I watched Moises Ballesteros swing through a fastball way above the strike zone in the 9th inning of the game two loss yesterday, I thought to myself: Has he been doing that more than he did last year? Is this one of the league’s offseason adjustments?

It was never a question of whether the league would find new and different ways to attack Ballesteros this year. It was just a question of how quickly Ballesteros could figure them out and adjust. We knew this coming into the season, given that clubs had an entire offseason to run the data, and given that Ballesteros was now wearing the mantel of expected-run-producer in the Cubs’ lineup, rather than simply being a late-season call-up/fill-in guy. This league is tough on young hitters.

There were valid reasons for concern as of April 6. However, take a look at Ballesteros’ stats through April 5 compared with April 6 through yesterday:

Those aren’t sustainable numbers and the real Ballesteros lives somewhere between these two poles, but that is a demonstrable adjustment to the league adjusting to him. It’s intriguing to say the least and impressive given his track record in the minors.

There are no guarantees in baseball. Perhaps Ballesteros is a J.D. Martinez DH in the making, perhaps he’s a flash in the pan like Aristedes Aquino. But the ceiling of a David Ortiz, the track record in the minors and the prowess he’s shown in his brief MLB career lead me to believe this is a player the Cubs should invest in now. His lack of a current home defensively should make it cheaper to buy out his early years than any of the contracts cited by MLB.com above. That’s a potential steal for the Cubs and a deal Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins should consider making now, before Ballesteros has grown into his power and while the CBA constraints give Ballesteros the incentives to say yes.

It felt like neither team wanted to win this afternoon showdown, but eventually the Nats defeated the Pirates 8-7 in extra innings. They secured a series split and head home only one game below .500. This was far from a pretty affair, and there is plenty to nitpick, but a win is a win.

For the first four innings just flew by with Braxton Ashcraft and Foster Griffin matching zeroes. However, things got whacky in the 5th inning and stayed that way for the rest of the game. 

The Nats loaded the bases with a walk, a hit batsman and a double. Then with one out the Pirates made one of the weirdest plays I have ever seen which allowed the Nats to score three runs. I have a hard time even describing the play, so just watch the video down below if you have not seen the play.

After Luis Garcia Jr. ended up at second following the chaos, the Pirates made another mistake on an errant pickoff throw allowing another run to score. However, the Nats pitching staff would not be able to make this lead stick. I thought Foster Griffin had a mostly excellent start, but had a rough inning, allowing four runs, with three of them coming on a Marcell Ozuna homer.

Griffin was sharp today, and actually had more swing and miss stuff than usual today. He was leaning more on his sinker and less on his four-seamer in this start. That is a tweak I like and think will help him out going forward.

The Nats responded in the 6th with one of their only normal runs of the game. Jorbit Vivas got on with two outs and then pinch hitter Joey Wiemer drove him in with a double. The Nats have been pinch hitting their catchers a lot midway through games and today it paid off. 

Most Nats fans knew this new found 5-4 lead would not hold up and they were right. Paxton Schultz and PJ Poulin combined to allow two runs in the bottom of the 6th, with much of the damage coming thanks to a triple by teenaged phenom Konnor Griffin.

However, as we are learning, the 2026 Nats do not have any quit in them. After knocks from James Wood and Daylen Lile, CJ Abrams was intentionally walked. With Jacob Young coming to the plate, that move was a no-brainer, but the Pirates plunked Young and the game was tied.

The Nats did not hit well with runners in scoring position today, but somehow runs still came across. This was mostly due to poor Pirates defense and erratic pitching. The Nats only went 1/14 with runners in scoring position today and hit no homers. They still found a way to score 8 runs though.

With a 7-6 lead, it seemed like the Nationals bullpen was locking in. Gus Varland and Cionel Perez both had scoreless outings and looked good. Perez has looked more like the guy we saw in Spring Training in his last couple outings. His veteran presence and ability to generate ground balls will be important for the Nats bullpen.

However, they were not out of the woods yet. Once the Nats did not score despite having the bases loaded with nobody out, you could sense this game was at least going to be tied. The erratic Clayton Beeter walked and hit the first two batters he faced. 

However, he still managed to get one strike away from closing the door. Brandon Lowe had other plans though. He snuck a ground ball right in between CJ Abrams and Nasim Nunez. Luckily, it did not have enough on it to get into the outfield. That led to only one run scoring. Beeter got the next batter to fly out and we were on to extras.

In the first two extra inning games of the season, the Nats did not look good. That trend looked to be continuing when the Nats made two quick outs. However, Don Kelly played with fire by pitching to James Wood and he got burned. Wood drilled a breaking ball through the hole and ghost runner Jorbit Vivas came around to score.

It did not feel like that would be enough, but it was. That was due to a heroic effort by Orlando Ribalta. After allowing an infield hit to start the inning, the big righty locked in. He got a strikeout of Bryan Reynolds and then he induced a game-ending double play to Jake Mangum.

The big righty got his first career save and the Nats ended their road trip going 5-2. After the game, the Nats put out a bunch of neat stats. I am sure he would have preferred the save, but Clayton Beeter also got his first win.

As they head back to DC, the boys are riding high. They have a chance to get back to .500 with a win tomorrow. This was such a fun and gutsy road trip. While this team has some major flaws, most notably the pitching staff, they are still very exciting to watch. It was not pretty, but the Nats pulled one out, and that was a huge win for the boys.

The Yankees fell to the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 11-4 on Thursday afternoon in the Bronx.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Max Fried allowed just one hit through his first five innings, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Fried looked uncomfortable on the mound for most of the afternoon, and he was pulled with a pair of runners on in the sixth inning after allowing the Angels to tie the game.

Fernando Cruz came on in relief, but Vaughn Grissom greeted him with an RBI single off Amed Rosario’s glove at third base, giving LA a 4-3 lead. Later in the inning, a Josh Lowe broken-bat looper into center field made it a 6-3 game, closing Fried’s line.

Fried went 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on just three hits with three strikeouts and three walks. 

-- Aaron Judge capped off what was a monster power series by going yard once again, this time hitting a solo shot in the first inning off Angels lefty Brent Suter. 

Judge’s fourth home run of the series tied him with St. Louis' Jordan Walker for the major league lead with eight big flies on the season.

-- The Yankees showed off some more firepower in the third inning, with Giancarlo Stanton blasting a two-run home run to center field.

Stanton’s second homer of the season gave the Yankees a two-run lead.

This marked the 61st time that Judge and Stanton have homered in the same game. The Yankees had been 53-7 in the first 60.

--Old friend Oswald Peraza was a thorn in the Yankees' side once again. After launching a two-run home run off of Fried in the top of the first inning (the lone hit allowed by Fried over his first five innings), Peraza chased Fried in the sixth with an RBI double to right field, tying the game at 3-3. 

Peraza, a former top Yankees prospect, had five hits in the series, driving in four runs with a pair of homers.

-- Just as the Angels broke things open a bit at 6-3, Ben Rice answered back with a solo shot to right-center. Not only was it Rice's fifth homer of the season, but it was also a good sign that it came off a lefty, adding more evidence to the claim that Rice should play every day. 

However, the Yankees made a critical mental mistake in the same inning, as Jose Caballero was picked off second base with the potential tying run at the plate. Caballero had just singled and stolen second, but getting picked off ended the threat.

-- What a series from Mike Trout. In the top of the seventh, with the Angels up a pair, Trout hit an absolute moonshot into the bleachers in left off of Angel Chivilli, becoming the first visiting player to homer on four straight days at the Yankees (h/t Sarah Langs). 

Later, in the eighth inning, the Yankees elected to intentionally walk Trout with first base open, and Jo Adell made them pay with a grand slam off Ryan Yarbrough that put the Angels up 11-4, sending most of the fans towards the exits.

-- For good measure, Aaron Boone was ejected between innings heading into the ninth. Boone appeared to have an issue with a Yarbrough balk call (which in turn led to the Trout walk and Adell grand slam), which was called because Rice was deemed to have not made a move to cover the bag on a throw over to first. This was Boone's first ejection of the season.

-- Judge and Trout, two of the game's biggest stars, combined for nine home runs and 14 RBI in the four-game series.

Game MVP

Peraza and Trout, who combined to hit two home runs, drive in four runs, and reach base seven times.

Highlights

ALL RISE! pic.twitter.com/URXrqDSG6u

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 16, 2026

BIG G 💪 pic.twitter.com/hZ5eXzsgEh

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 16, 2026

Ben Rice gets one back! pic.twitter.com/jrnSfkt5hv

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 16, 2026

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees stay home for a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, starting on Friday night at 7:05 p.m.

Cam Schlittler will face Michael Wacha.

A belated call for time, a pair of hit-by-pitches and a game-ending strikeout stretched across two days to produce a tepid postgame incident between the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.

Giants closer Erik Miller struck out Reds rookie Sal Stewart to finish the team's 3-0 victory Thursday, April 16 at Great American Ball Park. The 6-5 lefty exulted and walked toward his own dugout. Stewart, though, apparently took issue with Miller's verbosity, turned and headed toward Miller.

Giants catcher Patrick Bailey interceded and Miller used the international symbol for "go back to your dugout" as the benches ambled out and bullpens jogged in out of curiosity.

"I just said a sentence that most hitters don't like to hear, so I can understand why he was upset," Miller said, per the Bay Area News Group. "It was just more like I was really fired up. It wasn't anything personal."

The kerfuffle's roots sprang from a night earlier, when Giants reliever JT Brubaker got perturbed by a late timeout call from Reds slugger Spencer Steer as Brubaker prepared to deliver a pitch in the bottom of the seventh.

Benches clear at conclusion of Giants-Reds game in Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/zB5dBKgGlr

— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2026

Brubaker responded, in a sense, by waiting until the final second on the pitch clock to deliver his next pitch. That prompted Steer, captured by video cameras, to shout, "Throw the (expletive) ball." The Reds went on to win 8-3.

GIANTS MANAGER ON FIGHT: It brings needed 'competitive edge'

A day later, Giants starter Landen Roupp, who took a no-hitter into the sixth, drilled Steer in the ribs in Steer's first at-bat of the game in the second inning. It was the only four-seam fastball Roupp threw all day. He later told reporters the pitch slipped.

In the eighth, Reds reliever Connor Phillips responded by drilling the Giants' Willy Adames in the leg with a pitch. Adames looked out at the pitcher; benches stirred, but weren't shaken. Phillips was ejected, to the mild objections of Reds manager Terry Francona.

And then, the game-ending drama, which resulted in Miller confined to the visiting dugout for postgame handshakes. Sadly, the relievers had to retreat to their bullpens, as they did not secure their belongings before jogging in for the postgame extracurriculars.

The Milwaukee Brewers are headed to Florida, as they’ll make a visit to the Miami Marlins this weekend. Milwaukee, sitting at 10-8 on the season, are coming off a series win over the Blue Jays after losing six straight, as a pair of 2-1 wins in the last two days gave the squad a bit of momentum heading into the weekend. The Marlins had a similarly hot start to Milwaukee followed by some struggles. After starting 8-5 this year, they’ve lost five of their last six against the Tigers and Braves, falling below .500 for the first time this season.

Kyle Harrison is the latest Brewer dealing with an injury, as his start scheduled for Friday was pushed back (more on that below). Offensively, the Brewers are without three of their leaders in Christian Yelich (groin strain), Jackson Chourio (fractured hand), and Andrew Vaughn (fractured hamate bone). On the pitching side, Craig Yoho is the closest to returning as he’s rehabbing from a calf strain. Quinn Priester is hoping to return in May for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, while Rob Zastryzny suffered a setback and is now hoping to return in May. Reliever Jared Koenig is also out with a UCL sprain in his throwing arm, and outfielder Akil Baddoo is out until June with a quad strain.

The Marlins have mostly stayed healthy to this point, especially on the pitching front. While Adam Mazur and Ronny Henriquez are both out for the season, that’s it in terms of arm injuries. Offensively, outfielders Esteury Ruiz, Kyle Stowers, and Griffin Conine are all shelved, with Stowers the closest to returning (likely in the next week or so). Infielder Maximo Acosta could also be back soon, while Christopher Morel is targeting a late April/early May return from an oblique strain.

Jake Bauers and Gary Sánchez sit tied atop Milwaukee’s leaderboard with five homers each thus far, followed by Brice Turang, who has been the Brewers’ best hitter overall with a .300/.425/.567 line. William Contreras has also gotten off to a solid start, hitting .317/.411/.476 with a pair of homers, four doubles, and 11 RBIs through 16 games. Brandon Lockridge, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, David Hamilton, Greg Jones, Luis Matos, Joey Ortiz, Blake Perkins, and Luis Rengifo round out Milwaukee’s offense. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .238/.339/.380 (.719 OPS ranks 12th) with 18 homers (16th), 91 runs scored (ninth), and 27 steals (first).

Catcher Liam Hicks leads Miami with four homers this year, as he’s hitting .309/.355/.545 through 18 games. Owen Caissie, Otto Lopez, and Connor Norby have each added a pair of homers, while Xavier Edwards and Agustín Ramírez have a homer each. Edwards and Lopez are both out to hot starts, hitting .338/.405/.479 and .328/.387/.507, respectively. Deyvison De Los Santos, Leo Jiménez, Graham Pauley, Javier Sanoja, Heriberto Hernández, Jakob Marsee, and Austin Slater round out the squad for Miami. As a team, the Marlins are hitting .259/.332/.398 (.730 OPS ranks eighth) with 14 homers (tied for 25th), 88 runs scored (10th), and 25 steals (tied for second).

The Brewer bullpen is led by workhorse Aaron Ashby, who has allowed five runs and struck out 22 over 14 innings this season, with a perfect 5-0 record. Grant Anderson and Angel Zerpa each have nine appearances, with a blow-up appearance for both pushing their ERAs superficially high (Anderson at 3.72 over 9 2/3 innings, Zerpa at 5.40 over 10 innings). DL Hall still hasn’t allowed a run over 8 2/3 innings, while Abner Uribe may be Milwaukee’s new closer, with a 4.91 ERA over 7 1/3 innings. Trevor Megill finally recorded a clean inning in Thursday’s series finale, but his ERA still sits at 12.00 for the year (eight runs over six innings). Jake Woodford and Easton McGee round out the Brewer bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.99 team ERA (15th), including a 3.99 starter ERA (15th) and a 4.00 bullpen ERA (16th). They’ve struck out 163 batters (13th) over 160 innings.

Miami’s top three bullpen arms heading into the season — closer Pete Fairbanks, Calvin Faucher, and Anthony Bender — have all gotten off to rough starts. Fairbanks has a 10.80 ERA and a blown save in five appearances, Faucher has a 4.50 ERA over seven appearances, and Bender has a 6.43 ERA and two blown saves in eight appearances. The good news, though, is the rest of the bullpen has been solid. John King and Tyler Phillips lead the way, as King has a 1.42 ERA over 6 1/3 innings and Phillips has a 0.84 ERA over 10 2/3 innings. Andrew Nardi (6.00 ERA over six innings), Michael Petersen (3.38 ERA over eight innings), and UW-Whitewater alumnus Lake Bachar (3.00 ERA over nine innings) round out Miami’s bullpen. As a staff, the Marlins have a 4.15 team ERA (18th), including a 4.66 starter ERA (25th) and a 3.30 bullpen ERA (eighth). They’ve struck out 165 batters (12th) over 165 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, April 17 @ 6:10 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Janson Junk (0-2, 4.32 ERA, 4.00 FIP)

This would be Brewer left-hander Kyle Harrison’s turn through the rotation, but Adam McCalvy reported his next start would be pushed back due to some lingering wrist soreness from a fall while covering first base in his last outing. To fill the gap, it seems possible that right-hander Coleman Crow will make his MLB debut, after McCalvy reported Crow was removed as the probable starter for Triple-A Nashville on Thursday evening. Crow, 25, was a 28th-round pick by the Angels in 2019, back when there were more than 20 rounds of the draft. He came to Milwaukee as the return for Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor in the 2023-24 offseason, and he’s now ranked as the Brewers’ No. 27 prospect. Added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason, Crow has made three appearances (two starts) with Nashville this year, with a 4.02 ERA and 18 strikeouts across 15 2/3 innings.

Junk, 30, is in his sixth MLB season and second with the Marlins. A former Brewer (seven appearances between 2023 and 2024), Junk has become a regular in Miami’s rotation over the last season-plus. He’s made three starts this year, with a 4.32 ERA, 4.00 FIP, and 12 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings. His last outing spanned five innings against the Tigers, when he allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks, striking out four. His only appearance against the Brewers came last July, when he went five innings, allowing three runs and striking out five in a 7-4 victory for Miami.

Saturday, April 18 @ 3:10 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 4.32 ERA, 4.30 FIP) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 2.67 ERA, 3.68 FIP)

Woodruff is three starts into his ninth MLB season, with a 4.32 ERA, 4.30 FIP, and 16 strikeouts across 16 2/3 innings to this point. He bounced back from a rough outing against the Red Sox (5 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 4 K) to go six innings against the Nationals over the weekend, allowing two runs (one earned) with three hits and a walk, striking out six. Woodruff has been great against Miami in his career, with a 2.61 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 38 innings across six starts. He went 12 innings with 14 strikeouts and three runs allowed (2.25 ERA) in two starts against them last season.

Alcantara, 30, is also in his ninth MLB season. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner had a pair of rough seasons wrapped around a Tommy John surgery that kept him out for all of 2024, but he’s bounced back nicely thus far in 2026. Through four starts, Alcantara has a 2.67 ERA, 3.68 FIP, and 22 strikeouts over 30 1/3 innings. He got roughed up in his last appearance, allowing seven runs on 10 hits and two walks, striking out four over six innings. In seven career appearances (five starts) against Milwaukee, Alcantara has a 3.08 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 38 innings. He went six innings with five runs allowed and four strikeouts against the Crew on the Fourth of July last year.

Sunday, April 19 @ 12:40 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (1-1, 3.32 ERA, 4.03 FIP) vs. RHP Eury Pérez (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 5.71 FIP)

Misiorowski has had his fair share of good and bad through four starts this season. He has a 3.32 ERA and 4.03 FIP across his 21 2/3 innings, leading the NL with 33 strikeouts but also walking nine and hitting two batters. Even so, his WHIP sits at 1.015, and his 13.7 K/9 rate leads the majors. His last start came Monday against the Blue Jays, when he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (both solo homers) on five hits with five strikeouts, though he didn’t walk any batters on 76 pitches, a good sign for the 24-year-old right-hander. This marks his first career appearance against Miami.

Pérez, who just turned 23 this week, is already in his third MLB season (not including a missed 2024 due to injury). After a solid rookie campaign in 2023, he hasn’t had as much success in 2025 and 2026. Through four starts this year, he has a 5.40 ERA, 5.71 FIP, and 20 strikeouts over 20 innings. His last appearance against the Braves went four innings, when he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a pair of walks, striking out two. He’s made two starts against Milwaukee in his career, with a 3.72 ERA and 13 strikeouts across 9 2/3 innings.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, April 17: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, April 18: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, April 19: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

This is a series featuring a pair of teams who got out to hot starts but have cooled off drastically over the last couple of weeks. I’ll take the Brewers to prevail here and take two of three.

The 2025-26 season was not one to remember for the New York Rangers, but there’s a small silver lining. 

There’s no hiding the fact that the Blueshirts underperformed this season, and to make matters worse, the team’s future is still filled with uncertainty and concern. 

However, to close out the year, a glimmer of hope shone upon the Rangers nation in the form of young talent. 

Through the latter half of the season, the Rangers called up Jaroslav Chmelař, Adam Sýkora, and Dylan Garand, while signing Drew Fortescue to his entry-level contract and claiming Tye Kartye off waivers. 

Noah Laba, who has been with the Rangers for the entire season, and Gabe Perreault, who has been with the team since December, elevated their play to close out the season, with both forwards taking on increased roles. 

The emergence of some of these younger players helped contribute to the Rangers’ sudden late-season success. 

Over a long home stand starting late in March and extending into April, the Rangers won five of seven games, largely due to the immediate impact of the team’s youth. 

Mike Sullivan believes that he’s gotten a large enough sample size from these young players to where he can properly evaluate them during the offseason and have a better understanding of their individual games going into training camp in September.

“Some of these guys got to, got a chunk of games down the stretch and had an opportunity to get their feet wet, so to speak,” Sullivan said. “After you get your first couple of games under your belt, and you're here for more than a week or so, the reality of the league starts to settle in. Some guys have a hard time sustaining it, and other guys don't. 

“I thought for the most part, the guys that we called up late in the season here, they did a pretty good job of sustaining a high level of play, and so that's certainly encouraging for us moving forward.”

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Cubs play a three-game series in Chicago starting on Friday afternoon...

5 things to watch

Offensively bad

During their eight-game losing streak, the Mets have scored 12 runs, which is almost impossible to believe.

In those eight contests, all without Juan Soto, New York has been shut out three times while being held to one or two runs on four occasions.

Against the Dodgers earlier this week, it was starting pitchers Justin Wrobleski (who tossed a career-high eight innings), Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani who gave New York fits.   

And it's not like New York has been hitting into much hard luck.

Their hitters have often been in between while missing hittable fastballs, expanding the zone, failing to work the count, and hitting the ball on the ground at an alarming rate.

"We’re not dictating at-bats," Carlos Mendoza said after Wednesday's loss. "Getting beat by fastballs even though there was some good fastballs by Ohtani today -- we swung through a lot of them today. We have to be able to put pressure and be in attack mode. Right now, understanding what guys are going through is contagious. At the same time, nobody is feeling sorry for us. We got to be able to dictate at-bats."

Will Kodai Senga rebound?

Senga looked fantastic in his first two starts of the season, allowing just four runs on nine hits in 11.2 innings while striking out 17. 

His last start was different, as the right-hander was touched up by the A's to the tune of seven runs on eight hits (including two home runs) in 2.1 innings.

There was some poor fielding behind Senga against the A's, but his stuff wasn't nearly as good as it was in his first two starts.

Senga generated just six swings and misses on 72 pitches against the A's after getting 12 on 88 pitches against the Giants on April 5 and 17 on 92 pitches against the Cardinals on March 31. 

Meanwhile, Senga's average four-seam fastball velocity has been ticking down. It was 97.4 mph against the Cards, 96.0 against the Giants, and 95.6 against the A's.

Carson Benge is looking more comfortable

After going through an 0-for-22 funk that led some to muse about a potential demotion that David Stearns quickly shot down, Benge has started to look more like the hitter he was in spring training.

Benge has hit safely in five of his last six games, and reached base safely in seven of his last eight.

Against the Dodgers on Wednesday, Benge ripped a double and had a would-be single (on a liner to left field) that was turned into a fielder's choice when Francisco Alvarez got tied up between first base and second base and was forced out.

Benge finding a groove would be a big development for a Mets team that is dealing with huge slumps by Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, and underperformance from most of their other regulars. 

Chicago's starting pitching depth is being tested

The Cubs are still without Justin Steele, who underwent UCL surgery early last season.

In 2026, they have lost Cade Horton for the year due to elbow surgery and been without Matthew Boyd, who is working his way back from a biceps issue.

But Chicago has patched things together, due in part to the offseason trade that brought them Edward Cabrera.

Against the Mets, the Cubs will send out Cabrera on Friday, Jameson Taillon on Saturday, and Javier Assad on Sunday.

Cabrera was hit a bit against the Pirates in his last start, but has been tremendous overall, with a 1.62 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in  16.2 innings over his first three starts.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is going through it

It has been a struggle offensively for PCA since he blew the doors off to start 2025, in a year where he wound up smashing 31 homers. 

Over the final two months of last season, Crow-Armstrong slashed just .188/.237/.295 with four home runs in 200 plate appearances.

So far this season, he is hitting .236/.276/.306 with one home run in 72 at-bats.

Crow-Armstrong has been a bit better recently, though, with five hits in his last 14 at-bats.

Defensively, he remains one of the best center fielders in baseball, rating in the 99th percentile in OAA.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Bo Bichette

Bichette is hitting .292 with a .346 OBP since April 3.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Freddy Peralta

Since allowing four runs on Opening Day, Peralta has a 2.81 ERA in 16.0 innings over his last three starts, allowing 10 hits while striking out 18.

Which Cubs player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Alex Bregman

Bregman carries a six-game hitting streak into the series. 

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