Category: MLB

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Andy Pettitte, you’ve got company; Max Fried is making a case for himself as the Yankees pitcher with the best pickoff move. Fried’s skills were on display when he picked off Josh Jung in the fourth inning of Monday’s 4-2 win against the Rangers with a delayed motion (video in article). Pettitte, who was present in the Yankees’ clubhouse and coaches’ room during their series in Arlington, praised Fried’s pickoff move effusively, claiming that Fried’s is better than his was. Whether or not you agree with his appraisal, this is one to read if you’re a fan of pickoffs.

SI.com | Joseph Randazzo: Camilo Doval has struggled thus far in his second year with the Yankees. Particularly worrying is his case of acute gopheritis; his 2026 HR/9 of 2.61 is more than triple his career rate. Randazzo notes that Doval’s lackluster performance has resulted in a marked decrease in his usage, and has put added pressure on the rest of the bullpen.

The Athletic | Keith Law: ($) Keith Law took a trip to see the Yankees’ Double-A Somerset squad’s doubleheader with the Portland Sea Dogs, and he’s provided notes on Gerrit Cole’s rehab start as well as former top prospect Marco Luciano. For those anxious about Cole’s rehab progression, Law’s words should offer some reassurance. And while Luciano’s prospect shine has definitely dimmed, Law doesn’t rule out a big-league role for him entirely.

MLB.com | Jonathan Mayo: The MLB Draft is fast approaching, so MLB.com has offered their top 150 Draft prospect list as a snapshot of the current general consensus of the scouting industry. The Yankees won’t be picking particularly high due to their draft penalty incurred from surpassing the second CBT threshold; their first pick is at No.35, followed by 63, 99, and 127. Hopefully they can make the most of these, as it’s no secret that their farm could use some added depth.

MLB.com | Jared Greenspan: Finally, the latest edition of MLB’s Hitter Power Rankings are here, and while Yordan Alvarez takes the top spot, Yankee fans will be pleased to note that the dynamic duo of Aaron Judge and Ben Rice occupy the second and third spots. After a somewhat underwhelming (for his standards) start, Judge has been turning it up as of late, truly a welcome sight. Meanwhile, Rice stormed out of the gate and hasn’t looked back. I look forward to watching these beefy boys hit the snot out of the ball all summer long.

If you had told me before the series that James McCann would throw out runners in two of the three games, that would have told you all you needed to know about how it would go for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona’s starting pitching skid continued on Thursday, as the once red-hot Michael Soroka unraveled against Milwaukee’s pesky offense. Soroka allowed eight earned runs in just four innings, and the D-backs dropped the rubber game of the series, 13-1.

Soroka entered the day with a sparkling 2.60 ERA but left with it ballooned to 4.70. His velocity was down nearly a full tick, and his trademark slurve wasn’t generating the usual swing-and-miss. The clunker put the D-backs in a deep hole early — they trailed 6-0 by the third inning. If this team wants to remain competitive, the starting rotation is going to need to make an adjustment, and it has to happen quickly.

Offensively, Arizona couldn’t generate much of anything. Being down by six runs in the third inning is mentally daunting, and it showed. Hitters started pressing, trying to do too much instead of staying within themselves.

The lone bright spot was once again Ildemaro Vargas (sorry, not Bonds), who collected two hits and extended his hitting streak to 26 games dating back to last season. That ties him with Paul Goldschmidt for the second-longest streak in franchise history.

What stung the most in this series was how the D-backs got beat at their own game. When Arizona is at its best, it wins by applying constant pressure on offense, playing airtight defense, and getting solid pitching. Prior to Ryne Nelson’s blow-up start, the rotation had posted a collective 3.40 ERA, and the bullpen had looked better than expected. There were warning signs that the staff might have been slightly overperforming relative to the underlying metrics, but it’s safe to say no D-backs fan saw things unraveling this badly, this fast.

The Diamondbacks now head to Chicago to face the Cubs and their potent offense at the historic confines of Wrigley Field. Given how well Chicago’s lineup has been swinging the bats this season, this upcoming series could get ugly quickly if the starting pitching doesn’t figure things out in a hurry.

The Arizona Complex League starts on Saturday, so there’s some movement in anticipation of that. The Iowa Cubs also got some (probably) temporary reinforcements.

Right-hander Vince Velazquez has elected free agency.

Right-hander Jace Beck was promoted to Triple-A Iowa from Double-A Knoxville.

Outfielder Jeury Ramirez was promoted from the Dominican Summer League Cubs-Red to Iowa.

Outfielder Freiker Betencourt was promoted from DSL Cubs-Red to Iowa.

Right-hander Jubrayker Salaya moved from DSL Cubs-Red to Iowa.

Right-hander Ben Johnson was demoted to High-A South Bend from Knoxville.

Second baseman Darlyn De Leon was promoted to Low-A Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs.

Outfielder Derik Alcantara was sent down to Mesa from Myrtle Beach.

Please note that the Cubs did not fly those players out of the Dominican Republic and send them to Iowa. They were in Arizona to be activated for Saturday’s season opener for Mesa and the Cubs just sent them to Iowa to fill out their roster. Presumably they will soon be sent back down to Mesa. None of those DSL players played for Iowa tonight.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were excommunicated by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 3-1.

It wasn’t a bad start for Charlie Barnes, but he got the loss as Iowa couldn’t score. Barnes’ final line was three runs on just two hits over five innings. He did walk three and hit one batter while striking out four.

Luke Little, Ethan Roberts and Tyler Beede all threw one inning of relief without allowing a hit or a run. Roberts retired the side in order in the seventh, striking out one. He somehow took 23 pitches to get those three batters out. Fifteen were strikes.

The I-Cubs outhit the Saints 8 to 2, but were outscored 3 to 1. First baseman Jonathon Long singled home third baseman James Triantos in the eighth inning. Both players were 2 for 4.

Long’s RBI single was pretty much it for the highlights for Iowa.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies split a doubleheader with the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), losing game one 3-1 and winning the second game 6-1.

Grant Kipp started game one and took the loss after he allowed one run in the first inning and two more in the second. Kipp’s final line was three runs on four hits over 1.2 innings. Kipp walked three and struck out two.

Knoxville only had two hits in game one. Center fielder Jordan Nwogu was 0 for 1 with two walks and he scored the only Smokies run of the game on an Owen Ayers sac fly in the sixth.

Shortstop Jefferson Rojas was 1 for 3 with a double.

Three pitchers combined on a two-hitter in game two. Starter Dawson Netz pitched four innings and allowed no runs and one hit. Netz struck out seven and walked just one.

Luis Rujano threw the next two innings and got the win because Netz only went four innings. Rujano gave up one run on hit—a double by the first batter he faced in the fifth. Rujano struck out one and walked no one.

Vince Reilly retired the side in order in the seventh. He struck out one.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas was 2 for 5 with an RBI double.

First baseman Edgar Alvarez went 2 for 4 with one run scored.

Second baseman Ed Howard was 2 for 4 with an RBi single in the second inning. He also scored on the Rojas double.

Center fielder Jordan Nwogu was a perfect 1 for 1 with three walks. He was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for an RBI. Nwogu also scored one run.

Rojas’ RBI double in game two.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were dented by the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 6-1.

Koen Moreno started and got the loss. Moreno surrendered four runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings. Moreno struck out five and walked on.

Leonel Espinoza came into the game when Reginald Preciado left the game after getting hit by a pitch. Espinoza went 2 for 2 with a double and a solo home run in the eighth. It was his second home run this year.

Espinoza’s home run.

A nice defensive play by second baseman Drew Bowser, costing Luigi a hit. I’m sure that’s Lamar King Jr.‘s nickname now.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans called lights out on the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), 4-2.

Edwardo Melendez started and went four innings, allowing just one unearned run on one hit. Melendez struck out four and walked just one.

The win went to Victor Zarraga because Melendez didn’t go five. Zarraga relieved Melendez and pitched 3.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits. Zarraga did walk three and struck out six.

Braylon Myers pitched the final 1.2 innings and got his first career save. Myers did not allow a run or a hit, but he did walk two while striking out three.

The Pelicans scored all four runs in the second inning.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy went 2 for 4 with a two-run double.

First baseman Michael Carico was 2 for 4 and scored one run.

Left fielder Eli Lovich was 2 for 4 and scored one run.

The night after reader holycow8498 pointed out that right fielder Josiah Hartshorn had a 21-game on-base streak to start his professional career, Hartshorn was 0 for 4, snapping the streak.

Highlights.

The Twins finally found the solution to their bullpen: just score enough that they can’t ruin it. Byron Buxton did everything he could, and this time, the rest of the lineup was able to deliver the key hits they’ve been lacking these past two weeks. 

It was a pitcher’s duel early, with both teams only getting two baserunners through the first three innings. I wouldn’t say either Bailey Ober or Toronto starter Kevin Gausman had their best stuff, but the vets were mixing pitches and keeping opposing batters off balance.

I’ll focus the rest of this recap on the lineup, who deserve their flowers, but I want to again give a shoutout to Ober who keeps finding ways to get things done. What he’s doing is completely unprecedented in the modern game, which makes me skeptical he can keep it up, but he keeps delivering solid start after solid start. His average fastball velocity of 88 MPH is the slowest in the game by a healthy margin. The average four seamer from a righty averages 95.1 MPH. His strikeouts are down, his walks are up, but by golly he just keeps posting quality starts. I’ll take whatever we can get at this point.

Despite Ober’s wizardry, Daulton Varsho and the Jays finally struck in the fourth inning with a solo shot off of Ober. But for the first time in weeks, the Twins were ready to respond. 

Trevor Larnach got the Twins their first non-Buxton leadoff baserunner. And then future All-Star Ryan Jeffers took command of the game. Jeffers fought off a bunch of tough pitches and finally got a fastball down the heart of the plate on pitch number 8. He gave the Jays’ bullpen a little souvenir for their troubles. 2-1 Twins.

Since we all can see the future, we know the Twins technically didn’t need another run but given the state of literally every single reliever in the organization, no one watching was comfortable with a one run lead. Luckily, we have the aforementioned Buxton, who is quite good at bashing baseballs. Buck’s solo dong in the sixth inning was his eighth of the season, all of which have come in the past two weeks. Safe to say we’re in the midst of another patented Buxton hot streak. Austin Martin plated one more in the frame with a clutch, two-out single.

Just to really cover their bases, Buxton got one final rally going in the 8th. A Buck single and a throwing error (largely caused by Buck’s speed) put two on for Josh Bell, who was able to deliver a clutch, two-run single of his own. Walks to Austin Martin and Kody Clemens left them juiced for Luke Keaschall, who brought in one final insurance run on a sac fly. With a six run lead, the lineup decided that the bullpen could (probably) handle it from there.

Twins win!

STUDS

• Byron Buxton: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI
• Ryan Jeffers: Go-ahead 2 run dong
• Bailey Ober: 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K
• The bullpen!: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB

DUDS

• NO DUDS TWINS WIN!!!

Comment of the game goes to Zach for being the real winner tonight.

The Twins close out April at 14-18, but are just two games back of the AL Central. They are also one of just five teams in the American League with a positive run differential, alongside the Tigers, Yankees, Mariners, and Rangers. The bullpen makes it extraordinarily hard to believe, but the Twins are still very much in this race with the first full month of the season in the books.

Nine straight sinkers to Bryson Stott before his game-tying triple that led to the Phillies 3-2 walk-off win earlier in the day. 

Seven straight splitters to Kyle Schwarber before he ripped a two-out, game-tying double that eventually led to another Philly win in 10 innings — the first time an MLB team has walked-off twice in a doubleheader in 22 years.

April 30th was really really so close to being a pretty dang good day. Two ball games, two leads in the 9th. 19 innings packed with some promising Giants baseball that ultimately has to get dumped into the toilet bowl and flushed.  

This was so close to being a joyous, insightful recap about a 5-4 win, rather than an incoherent rant about a 6-5 palm-to-the-face loss. I still want to salvage something from the wreckage. Anything, really. Look, see, the offense was kind-a doing their job. 5 total runs scored. They erased a two-run deficit twice to put themselves in position to win in the 9th inning. Luis Arraez and Jung Hoo Lee each came through with clutch 2-out RBIs. The line-up out-hit the Phillies 13 to 9 and walked 5 times. A Giants batter hit with a runner in scoring position in seven of 10 innings. Two sacrifice flies!

All silver linings that as I sit here at my desk really really tired after a day of teaching and an evening of watching gut-punching baseball and a later-evening of writing with another day of teaching looming in the morning, I realize are not silver linings at all — rather instruments of torture.

There is no sunshine behind clouds. All clouds do is piss rain, postpone games and delay the inevitable. Spring has sprung a leak. Two deficits erased, more like two blown leads, aided by free bases, conviction-less offerings, and 2-out RBIs handed-out by relievers. 18 baserunners, 15 at-bats with a runner in scoring position, and all the offense could manage was two run-scoring hits with two sacrifice flies. All those opportunities lost. Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman all struck out twice each. Heliot Ramos followed his 3-hit afternoon with a 4 K evening. 

And not to harp on this — but seven splitters in a row? Did we learn nothing from Ryan Walker’s stubbornness? And why was Keaton Winn even pitching to Schwarber in the first place? Schwarber had hit two homers on the day, and San Francisco arms had yet to get him out in the game. Winn had already thrown 1.2 innings and gave up a lead-off double in the 9th. Lefty Matt Gage was up in the bullpen. Instead of going for the left-on-left match-up, manager Tony Vitello stayed put, and the Winn-Bailey battery waffled between wanting to pitch to the slugger or not. The first two pitches were nowhere near the zone, then his splitters started creeping into bashin’ range, keeping Schwarber at the plate — which was the last place the Giants wanted him to be. Would it have been better to put the winning run on base, and face Bryce Harper? Was the thinking that the splitter had the best chance of eliciting chase, or poor contact, or keeping a ball in play on the ground? But there’s a point where an off-speed isn’t off speed anymore, and by the last one Winn threw, Schwarber was well-timed to it, got down on one knee and golfed it into right. 

And why didn’t Drew Gilbert score from second on Ramos’s single in the 10th?

The ball ricocheted off Bryson Stott’s glove and rolled into no man’s land in shallow center — Gilbert would’ve scored easily, but third base coach Hector Borg decided to hold him at third. Did Borg lose track of the ball? Did he throw the stop sign up too early? Add ‘em to the list of exasperating questions!

During the postgame wrap, Ron Wotus referred to this as “a broken play” in which the action goes awry and the normal functions of a play get thrown out the window. Though it was possible Borg didn’t see the ball, Wotus — who knows a thing or two about coaching third — figured he threw up the stop sign with an abundance of caution. He had to make a split-second decision. There were no outs, the 2-3-4 hitters were due up. Wonky things happen on wonky plays, why risk getting thrown out at home? Turns out the Giants didn’t have the luxury of those precautions. Chapman struck out on a sinker out over the plate, Luis Arraez lined out…and that was basically the game. 

So maybe Borg’s stop sign made some baseball sense — it’s just this team that doesn’t make baseball sense.

With the offense being so hit-or-miss, hot-or-cold, nothing feels guaranteed. Playing it safe doesn’t work. Scrap that philosophy, load up at the buffet, grab what ya can carry off the sale rack, take the money and run. Runners at the corners and nobody out is just as much a crap shoot as two-out and runner on second. Luis Arraez can dump an 0-2 change-up into right, or he can slap a liner right into the outstretched glove of Alec Bohm. Or if it’s Willy Adames at the plate, he can strike out on three pitches or four.   

But we should’ve known it was going to end this way. Omens of disappointment announced themselves from the very beginning.

Trea Turner and Schwarber were up front about what was in store for Giants fans with back-to-back homers in the 1st inning off Adrian Houser.

While I’m glad, deep down…somewhere, that the Giants made things a little more interesting, my Thursday evening would’ve certainly been much simpler if that early 2-0 score held. Houser would’ve been the story, and what I wrote before the late-inning meltdown would’ve been much more relevant.

I already had a headline too: “Burning Down the Houser.” Great stuff. This is what I wrote.

Adrian Houser is made of straw and sticks. He’s been structurally unsound up on the hill, blown down by the slightest huff and puff from an opposing offense. The mound is nothing more than shifting sand beneath his feet, ground impossible to put one’s faith in. Houser entered Thursday’s start with a 7.36 ERA over his first five starts of the 2026 season, with a -10 Pitching Run Value. He had given up at least 4 earned runs in all but his first start and was still looking for answers to his 11-hit, 8-run thrashing by the Marlins when he took the mound in Philadelphia. Tipping pitches? Sure, man, maybe…or based on the first pitch solo shot by Trea Turner, it’s less that he’s tipping, and more that he’s just throwing. Throwing the baseball has really just not worked for Houser this past month. It’s time to tear down, to restructure and rebuild — if that fact wasn’t clear beforehand, it became obvious after Kyle Schwarber chased Turner’s solo shot with an absolute tank to deep right center. 

Two batters into the game, two runs already in. Burn it all down, and Houser did. Right in the middle of the diamond, he burst into flames, becoming engulfed in a cleansing fire, and was reduced to ashes. Like a phoenix, he reformed in front of our eyes. A new man with gritted teeth, and a hardened, Clint Eastwood visage of determination. Or something like that. Houser didn’t become Dirty Harry, but he started getting hitters out. Batters no longer felt lucky to face him. A front door sinker froze Bryce Harper at the top of the zone. Two groundouts stranded Justin Crawford in the 2nd after his one-out triple that missed another solo home run by a couple of feet. The next Phillies hit off Houser wouldn’t come until two outs in the 5th. After walks to Schwarber and Harper in the 3rd, he got Adolis Garcia to ground into an inning-ending double play, then made a nice recovery play after taking a comebacker off his hip as part of an 8-pitch 4th. He dropped a wicked 0-2 curveball on Garrett Stubbs for the second out in the 5th before Turner punched a single up the middle, chasing Houser from the hill, before coming around to score three batters later. 

The 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR isn’t quite a .44 magnum of a pitching line, but considering how poorly Houser has pitched, and how poorly his afternoon started, those particular results are a decent step forward. He held the line long enough for the Giants offense to piece themselves back into the game. The third run earned was hardly his fault considering Turner essentially walked around the bases with Ryan Borucki on the hill.  

At just 68 pitches, and it being Philadelphia’s first hit since the 2nd, it did seem like a quick trigger by Vitello. Then again, take a moment to think about it, and the decision was pretty understandable. Don’t be swayed by recency bias. Houser pitched well for three innings.  Did we truly believe he had been rebuilt, or reborn? Did we want to see him face off against Schwarber for a third time if the homer in the first still hadn’t returned to earth? And with lefty specialist Ryan Borucki, why give Houser more rope to potentially trip himself on? The button was there, rosy red and flashing, and Vitello punched it. Many of us would have. 

Having not pitched in six days, Borucki was well-rested and well-rusted. He was holding the baseball but didn’t seem to be in control against Philadelphia’s power lefties. With count leverage, Schwarber flipped a hustle double to left field. Harper then walked on four pitches to bring up the right-hander Adolis Garcia, who sawed a 3-2 slider into left for a 2-run single to regain the lead.

Soon after a passing spring shower relieved itself over south Philly postponing the game for half-an-hour. Some Giants fans may have preferred it if the grounds crew had just kept the tarp on the field and called the game then.

Blue Jays 1 Twins 7

That was awful in a lot of ways.

The offense was sad, just six hits, only one an extra base hit, Daulton Varsho’s fourth of the season. It was good to see, because he’s looked lost at the plate. George Springer had two singles. Vlad, Clement, and Valenzuela had one single each. And we had only three walks.

Kevin Gausman wasn’t the Kevin Gausman we’ve seen up until now this year. 5.2 innings, 4 earned, 2 home runs against, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. I don’t know if it was the cool weather, or that it was just his turn not to be great.

They made two errors in the eighth inning (when it was 4-1 and you could squint and say they still had a chance:

• With a runner on first (Byron Buxton) and one out, Ryan Jeffers popped one up to the third base side of the mound. Vlad called it, he shouldn’t have. Being fair, it was likely on the first base side of the mound when he called it, but Kazuma should have called him off when he saw it was much closer to him. Anyway, Vlad stumbled on the mound and the ball fell. Okamoto picked it up and threw to second, where they could have got the force on Buxton, but rushed and threw wide. It ended up with runners on second and third.
• Then Josh Bell singled and Davis Schneider threw it in, Andres Gimenez cut it off and threw it…..somewhere, well towards second but it went by Clements at second and two runs scored.

I guess the bullpen was pretty good:

• Tommy Nancy got four outs, three strikeouts.
• Mason Fluharty was the one the unlucky one to be on the mound when we forgot how to play defense. But he did give up two walks and two hits (one of them was that popup that I think I could have caught, but the one after that hit near the top of the wall in left. He only got one out.
• Joe Mantiply got the last two outs.

No Jays of the Day.

Other Award: Gausman (-.17) and Jesus Sanchez (-.09) and lets give one to Vlad, Okamoto and Gimenez for their “defense”, though their offense was bad too.

Tomorrow we have game two. Hopefully the Jays will actually play. It is an 8:00 start time. Patrick Corbin (0-0, 3.72 ERA) starts for the Jays. Simeon Woods Richardson (0-4, 6.30) starts for the Twins.

Perhaps the U.S. figure skating team should stay on the ice and away from the diamond.

Multiple members of the team — including some from the gold medal-winning squad from the 2026 Winter Olympics — appeared at Citi Field to throw out the first pitch ahead of the Mets’ 5-4 loss to the Nationals on Thursday.

Although the skaters are known for their gracefulness, their attempts at throwing out the first pitch could not have been more chaotic.

The US Olympic figure skating team threw the first pitch at the Mets game today and it did not seem to go as planned pic.twitter.com/4zl2AVjvTK

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 30, 2026

Pairs skaters Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea went first, with Kam throwing the ball well wide of Andrew Torgashev while on O’Shea’s shoulders.

Ilia Malinin — known to many as the “Quad God” — went next, throwing a ball slightly more accurately to Torgashev, who dropped the pitch.

Amber Glenn, a three-time gold medalist at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, then threw a pitch to Emilea Zingas, who was on skating partner Vadym Kolesnik’s shoulders.

Despite landing an impressive jump beforehand, Glenn’s ball soared over Zingas’ head.

Evan Gates, who was part of the silver medal-winning ice dancing duo in Milan, threw the only successful pitch of the day to skater Jason Brown.

The first pitch ceremony was perhaps a precursor to a chaotic Mets game, which marked their 17th loss over the past 20 games.

Washington jumped out to a two-run lead after a two-base throwing error by Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta.

The Mets later answered with a three-run homer by MJ Melendez, but ultimately lost a lead in the eighth inning after reliever Luke Weaver gave up a two-run blast to Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams.

“This pursuit of perfection is just an ultimate pressurized failure mindset,” Weaver told reporters following the loss. “I just think it becomes everybody wants to be the hero because we care and we want to win really, really bad.

“And I just don’t think success lives in that realm. The freedom of which we play day to day is kind of being suffocated a little bit.”

The viral mini dessert “chicken” bucket is back at Yankee Stadium. 

After the drumstick-shaped ice cream treat, which looks like a piece of fried chicken, sold out earlier this month in The Bronx, it will finally be available to hungry baseball fans once again, beginning this weekend when the Orioles come to town. 

The Yankees announced that the sweet treat was back in a post on social media Thursday afternoon. 

View this post on Instagram

“The Mini Dessert ‘Chicken’ Bucket is back in stock this homestand!” they captioned the post. 

The item will be sold at sections 125, 205 and 318 at Yankee Stadium for $10.99. 

The dessert item was a home run when it was introduced during a media event before the start of the season to show off the new food being sold at Yankee Stadium.

Photos and videos from reporters and influencers who attended quickly spread across the internet, amping up the intrigue for the snack. 

The Yankees had initially believed that they would have enough in stock to last them a while, but they quickly realized they were going to run out, and ended up selling out of them by Saturday of the ballclub’s first homestand. 

“Given how well-received the item was on media day, interest from fans was tremendous, and we sold out of the item by the first inning of Saturday’s game,” Yankees senior director of communications Michael Margolis told The Athletic in an email earlier this month. 

Yankees broadcaster and chicken tender enthusiast Michael Kay gave the ice cream treat a rave review with a 10 rating on his social media page dedicated to reviewing chicken tenders at ballparks across the league. 

“Look at it, it looks like chicken. It’s amazing!” Kay said. 

“That’s why it’s sold out,” he added later.

The time to close the opening chapter of 2026 is finally upon us.

It’s safe to say that April was much kinder to the Colorado Rockies this year than in the previous couple of seasons. Dating back to 2017, here’s how the Rockies’ record fared in April:

• 2017: 16-10
• 2018: 14-13
• 2019: 11-15
• 2021: 9-17
• 2022: 12-9 [Season started April 8 due to lockout]
• 2023: 7-20
• 2024: 6-19
• 2025: 4-22

As we can see, a 13-14 record is a staggering improvement over the previous three seasons in which the Rockies lost 100 or more games. If they can hover around this sort of result per month throughout the season, getting under 100 losses is well within reach. Either way, the Rockies are off to a much better start than in years past.

A major reason for that is that multiple players have come out of the gate strong, almost surprisingly so, while others have struggled to find their footing. As games progress into May, we’re likely to see some players start to cool off a little bit or start to heat up. Still, the performances of players like Chase Dollander and Tomoyuki Sugano on the pitching side of things, or Mickey Moniak and Troy Johnston on the offensive side, have made this a fun team to root for so far.

So, my question for you today is two-fold:

1. Who is your position player of the month?
2. Who is your pitcher of the month?

Let us know in the comments below!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

During Thursday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, the Atlanta Braves shared the news that Ed Mangan, Vice President of Field Operations, was retiring after more than 35 years with the organization.

While the news might seem innocuous to those whose fandom of the Braves began after his tenure started in Atlanta, his immediate impact to the literal on-the-field product played a significant role in Atlanta resurgence in the early 1990s.

When John Schuerholtz joined the Atlanta Braves as General Manager in 1990, replacing Bobby Cox who shifted to the managerial role after leading a re-build of the organization’s farm system, one of Schuerholtz’s first moves was bringing in Mangan as groundskeeper from the Kansas City Royals to improve the playing surface at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Prior to Mangan’s arrival, Atlanta’s home stadium was notorious for its poor playing condition – something made worse each August as it was also home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons until 1992.

To help the team’s young starting pitchers, Schuerholz brought in middle infielder Rafael Belliard, first baseman Sid Bream and third baseman Terry Pendelton to improve the team’s infield defense. But, it was Mangan’s ability to drastically improve the playing surface that helped him gain acclaim and notoriety as the Braves road their worst-to-first 1991 season all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.

Since Mangan took over duties caring for the Braves home field, the team has call three different stadiums home, including Atlanta’s current home of Truist Park. Although there were a few times when the team had a few minor challenging stadium field conditions – early 2016 being one example – the Braves benefited from having one of the better playing surfaces in baseball for most of the last four decades.

Mangan’s career also including working dozens of Super Bowls in addition to his duties with the Braves.

A bullpen game. A rain delay. A rainbow stretching over the ballpark, and two walk-offs in the same day. This was a weird one, and ultimately a happy one. All is well that ends well, and, like today’s first affair, this ended well.

Tim Mayza got the ball first for the Phillies, walking one, but putting the other three Giants away. Adrian Houser, starting for San Francisco, would have a bit of a rockier start. The first pitch he threw, a sinker to Trea Turner, ended up in the middle of the plate, and then over the fence. His next three pitches, offered to Kyle Schwarber, fared a bit better, in that they did not join their fallen brethren in the Valhalla of the cheap seats. But the one after— a slider that caught too much of the plate— ended up over the fence, too.

Nolan Hoffman took over for Mayza in the top of the third, quickly accruing two outs, then loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. He slipped past the danger by inducing a fly out.

Alec Bohm had a rough frame in the top of the fourth, though not through error or carelessness; just the bad fortune to be where a pair of Giants were, despite their team’s name, playing small ball. Eric Haase singled on a ball that pulled Bohm just far enough that a play couldn’t be made in time, and Logan Gilbert hit a chopper that a charging Bohm couldn’t pull in, putting runners at the corners. The San Franciscans plated their first run on a Heliot Ramos sacrifice fly. One inning later, now facing Jonathan Bowlan, they plated their second, also via sac fly, set up by a Casey Schmitt triple that bounced off the wall and got away from Justin Crawford. A mighty throw from Schwarber almost put Schmitt out; the sort of play that impresses, even as it exists only in the memory and not the box score.

The Phillies chased Houser in the bottom of the fifth, as Turner singled with two outs. His replacement, Ryan Borucki, then had the unenviable task of facing Schwarber and Bryce Harper with a runner on. The former doubled, the latter walked, and the bases were loaded for Adolis García. He worked a 3-1 count, then made the mistake of failing to challenge a miscalled pitch that would’ve been the fourth ball. But some mistakes work out: because he didn’t take the free pass, he remained at the plate to smack a slider to left, scoring two.

But the ABS gods, insulted by García’s refusal of their kind offering, wept, their tears taking the form of a chill rain drenching the Bank. Bowlan, struggling to control the wet ball, walked Jung Hoo Lee to open the sixth on five pitches; a rain delay ensued soon after. After the rain dried up, a rainbow appeared over Philadelphia. Those who kept their eyes on the skies were treated to a much happier sight than those who kept their eyes on the field. Trevor Richards took over after the break, getting two outs but also loading the bases via double and walk. That brought Luis Arraez to the plate. He is not precisely who you hope to see when a single base hit separates you from a lost lead. Arraez did what he does, singling to right to tie the game.

Richards did not break under the pressure, staying in the game and pitching a 1-2-3 seventh. He allowed a one-out single to Drew Gilbert in the eighth, and was replaced with Brad Keller, who ensured that Gilbert remained exactly where he was. García worked a walk to open the Phillies’ half of the eighth, and was advanced to second by a sacrifice bunt from Bryson Stott, then to third by a little chopper from Bohm. He was stranded there when Justin Crawford flew out to left.

Keller returned for the ninth, starting things off with the rare achievement of striking out Arraez. He plunked Schmitt with a pitch, and was pulled for José Alvarado. Alvarado gave up a single to Rafael Devers, putting runners on the corners. He struck out Willy Adames, but gave up a single up the middle to Jung Hoo Lee, giving the Giants the lead. A walk issued to Patrick Bailey loaded the bases, but Alvarado exited the frame without further damage.

The Phillies thus entered the bottom of the ninth hoping to get their second walk-off of the day. Brandon Marsh was called in as a pinch hitter and made Mattingly’s move pay off, smacking a fastball to center-left for a leadoff double. Garrett Stubbs joined him on the basepaths via the free pass. The good start turned sour quickly as Turner grounded into a double play, putting Marsh 90 feet from tying the game and the Phillies one out away from losing it. The Giants could’ve granted Schwarber an intentional walk; they decided to test him. He decided to double to right and tie it. The San Franciscans, thus suitably chastened, quietly granted Harper first base, then let García take his turn. He took a ball deep, and as it sailed through the Philadelphia night it seemed every bit as beautiful as the rainbow that traced the same arc just hours earlier. But the rainbow ended in a Giant glove (regulation-sized) , and we went to extras.

Chase Shugart took to the mound, allowing a leadoff single that glanced off Stott and into center. He struck out Matt Chapman, then allowed a hard liner to Luis Arraez. But a perfect dive from Bohm turned the would-be go ahead single into an out, and a flyout kept the game tied, as the Phillies once more hoped to go two for two on walk-offs.

Matt Gage was tasked with stifling those hopes. Stott bunted García to third, and Bohm stepped into the box as the would-be hero. Few children play-act a walk-off sacrifice fly in their backyards. But adults can take joy in a job well done, even when it’s a humble one. Bohm hit the ball to center, not deep, but deep enough to send García, and all the fans, home.

The Phillies are 12-19. They return to action tomorrow against the Marlins in Miami.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Angels play a three-game series in Anaheim starting on Friday night...

5 things to watch

Christian Scott's return to the rotation

Scott's first big league start since Tommy John surgery did not go well, with the 26-year-old right-hander lasting just 1.1 innings due to a lack of command.

During his outing, Scott gave up one run while issuing five walks and hitting one batter, but didn't allow a hit. 

He was sent down to Triple-A Syracuse the day after the start, but the Mets were able to call him back up without having him spend the required 10 days in the minors since he replaced an injured player (Kodai Senga). With Senga on the IL and David Peterson's future in the rotation up in the air, the expectation is that Scott will get a serious look.

Scott's stuff looked great in spring training, and he walked only two batters in 13.2 innings for Syracuse before being promoted the first time. So it is fair to believe his bout of wildness during his first start had more to do with nerves than anything.

He'll get his second shot in Friday's series-opener. 

How will Nolan McLean "bounce back?"

Bounce back is in quotations above because McLean allowed just two runs (one earned) in five innings during his start against the Rockies last week.

It wasn't the results that were different, though, but the way McLean looked in the fourth inning after cruising. 

McLean retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, including six via the strikeout. But in the fourth inning, he was jumped, giving up back-to-back hard-hit singles and a walk to load the bases with none out, and then surrendering a run-scoring single. He escaped the jam with a strikeout and double play, but it was the kind of inning McLean hadn't had all season.

In his fifth and final inning, McLean retired the side in order. 

Overall this season, McLean has been dominant, with a 2.55 ERA (2.24 FIP) and 0.849 WHIP to go along with 45 strikeouts in 35.1 innings -- a strikeout rate of 11.5 per nine.

Juan Soto has been locked in since returning

Soto has reached base 17 times in 34 plate appearances since returning from the IL.

In his first at-bat against the Nationals on Thursday afternoon, Soto was robbed of a home run by James Wood, who leapt and snatched a ball that would've otherwise cleared the wall easily. Soto ripped a single his second time up. In his third plate appearance, Soto was pitched around and walked. His fourth time up, Soto smoked a ball off the center field wall for a double. 

It will be interesting to see how the Angels pitch to Soto since Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert Jr. are all on the IL, while the rest of the Mets' lineup has struggled.

If they give him pitches to hit, he'll probably punish them. If not, he'll take his walks and it'll be left to the rest of the lineup to come through.

The rejuvenated Mike Trout

After being limited to just 111 combined games in 2023 and 2024 due to injury, Trout was able to play 130 games in 2025. And he was solid, posting a .797 OPS and popping 26 homers.

So far this season, he looks like vintage Mike Trout.

Trout carried a .999 OPS and 10 homers into play on Thursday. Meanwhile, he was leading the AL with 29 runs scored and leading all of baseball in walks (32).

The Angels' offense as a whole has been fearsome, with just six teams having scored more than their 150 runs entering play on Thursday. 

Mets will avoid Jose Soriano

Soriano has been the best pitcher in baseball this season, posting video game numbers in 42.2 innings over his first seven starts.

He is leading the league with a 0.84 ERA and has a ridiculous 509 ERA+. Soriano has allowed just 24 hits and struck out 49.

So the Mets are lucky they won't have to face him during this series.

Against New York, the Angels will send out Walbert Urena (4.76 ERA, 2.21 WHIP), Reid Detmers (4.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP), and Jack Kochanowicz (3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP).

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Juan Soto

Soto has been locked in since returning. 

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Nolan McLean

This will be the first look the Angels get at McLean.

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

Oswald Peraza

Peraza is off to a strong start, looking to cement himself as an everyday player after being acquired from the Yankees

Mets prospect A.J. Ewing continued his hot start to his Triple-A career with a pair of multi-hit games during Thursday's doubleheader.

In Syracuse's first game against the IronPigs, Ewing went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. He stole his first bag with Syracuse and made a pair of impressive defensive plays in the outfield. 

Ewing's hot hitting continued in Game 2 as he added two more hits to his ledger and finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. 

Since getting the promotion to Triple-A, Ewing's hot bat has carried over. He's now 7-for-12 (.583) in his first three games with the Syracuse Mets. If you combine his Double-A numbers, Ewing has been one of the Mets' best hitters in the minors. 

In 21 games this season between the two levels, Ewing is slashing .387/.500/.613 with an OPS of 1.113 to go along with two home runs, seven doubles, nine RBI and 13 stolen bases. 

A.J. Ewing is 2-for-2 to start game one of the doubleheader

He is 5-for-6 at the plate so far in his time with Triple-A Syracuse pic.twitter.com/wGivd4DWD2

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 30, 2026

"HE DOES IT AGAIN!"

A.J. Ewing makes diving catches on back-to-back pitches! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/X6BAi5epZ3

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 30, 2026

April results

Ah, the joy of Opening Day, hope springing eternal and all that. Except, this poll came after the first series against Los Angeles was already in the books, and that acted as a stiff reality check. For the Diamondbacks were swept in the three-game series. There were positives: two of the games were lost by a single run, and had things gone just a little differently, Arizona could have come out of there with a series win. But hypothetical and moral wins are for suckers, so 0-3 it was. They then turned around and swept the Tigers in turn, another team with credible playoff aspirations. So did all that impact fan confidence from the mark at the beginning of spring training?

It may be a case of “What have you done for me lately?” to quote the great philosopher Janet Jackson. I suspect the results would not have been quite as good had they come after the Dodgers sweep, rather than after the Tigers one. The biggest change, in both literal and relative terms, came in the ‘8’ category, which tripled from five percent in March, to fifteen percent in April. ‘7’ also kicked up a bit, with the 5-6 range fueling most of the positive sentiment above them. All told, confidence improved by just over one-quarter of a point, increasing from 6.12 to 6.39 at the start of April.

Below, you can see the breakdown for the past 12 polls’ results, followed by the line graph showing the trends over this and previous seasons.

May poll

April is in the books. The D-backs made it through with a 16-14 record. I think we’d all have settled for that at the beginning of the month. But while impressive on the surface, there are obvious issues – notably a pitching staff, who end April with a collective ERA north of five (5.09 if my math is correct), and ranked 28th in the majors. That’s the highest figure through 30 games since the hell which was 2020. Of course, there are positives as well. The amazing performance of Ildemaro Vargas, the unexpected rookie production from Jose Fernandez and veteran Nolan Arenado, and Corbin Carroll continuing to be Corbin Carroll. But what is your overall take on the team as we enter May?

That’s what the poll below would be for. You can explain your decision in the comments, especially if your vote has changed from last time. Link for mobile.