Braves vs Red Sox Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's MLB Game

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After getting blown out Wednesday night, the Atlanta Braves will look for a series win in their rubber match with the Boston Red Sox.

My Braves vs. Red Sox predictions lean on the visitors, who bring baseball’s best road record to Fenway Park, and start one of the league’s nastiest lefties in Chris Sale.

That should be plenty to cover their -1.5 run line at +127 for my MLB picks on Thursday, May 28.

Who will win Braves vs Red Sox today: Braves -1.5 (+125)

Chris Sale is the perfect starter to expose a Boston Red Sox lineup ranking second in batting average over the last week.

Batters are hitting .181 against him, and he’s allowing 5.8 hits per 9 innings — both Top-2 ranks in the majors.

Sale relies on a fastball-slider combo that has stymied opponents even into the advanced stages of his career, as evidenced by a 98th-percentile chase rate and a 93rd-percentile strikeout rate.

Sale’s backed by a lineup that knows how to rebound: in the four previous times they’ve lost by at least six runs, they’ve averaged 8.8 runs the next game.

I’d take the Atlanta Braves' run line up to -2.5 at +215.

Covers COVERS INTEL: Boston’s MLB-worst .118 ISO against four-seamers sets up perfectly for Sale. Play Braves Run Line -1.5 (+127)

Braves vs Red Sox Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (+112)

Even with Sale pitching, it doesn’t always mean a low-scoring affair. In his last seven starts, the Braves and their opponent have combined to top 7.5 runs four times.

Boston starter Payton Tolle was dinged up in his last start, surrendering three runs on four hits in six innings against the Twins. A 10th-percentile ground ball rate means he could be more susceptible to home runs than he has been. 

He’ll be in tough with an Atlanta lineup that puts up 6.04 runs per game on the road, which is tops in MLB.

That’s a big part of the reason the Braves’ Over record on the road is 10-5-0 over the last 15 away games. I'd take the Over down to +105 or avoid the market if it goes any shorter than that because Sale can put up zeroes.

Eric Rosales' 2026 Transparency Record
  • ML/RL bets: 8-8, -0.01 units
  • Over/Under bets: 11-4, +6.62 units

Braves vs Red Sox odds

  • Moneyline: Braves -138 | Red Sox +133
  • Run line: Braves -1.5 (+127) | Red Sox +1.5 (-133)
  • Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+127) | Under 7.5 (-133)

Braves vs Red Sox trend

Boston lost seven straight home games following a win. Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs. Red Sox.

How to watch Braves vs Red Sox and game info

LocationFenway Park, Boston, MA
DateThursday, May 28, 2026
First pitch4:10 p.m. ET
TVBravesVsn, NESN
Braves starting pitcherChris Sale
(7-3, 1.89 ERA)
Red Sox starting pitcherPayton Tolle
(2-2, 2.45 ERA)

Braves vs Red Sox latest injuries

Braves vs Red Sox weather

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.

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Twins vs White Sox Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's MLB Game

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The Chicago White Sox will be looking to keep it rolling offensively this afternoon at 2:10 p.m. ET against the Minnesota Twins after scoring 15 runs on Wednesday. 

With their ace Davis Martin on the mound, my Twins vs. White Sox predictions are targeting Chicago to grab another win in the finale. 

Find out more in my MLB picks for Thursday, May 28. 

Who will win Twins vs White Sox today: White Sox moneyline (-140)

The Chicago White Sox exploded offensively in the second game of the series, winning 15-2. They've been solid at the dish all year, ranking seventh in runs scored.

The hosts typically give Davis Martin run support as well, as he owns a 7-1 record and 2.04 ERA. 

Martin has been lights-out at home this season, compiling a 1.14 ERA. 

Minnesota Twins reliever Kendry Rojas will "open" the rubber match. Although he's been solid with a 1.26 ERA across five outings, he's still a reliever, and won't be in there long,. Minnesota's bullpen is poor overall, posting a 4.94 ERA

I'd play this to -150.

Covers COVERS INTEL: Martin has collected a very impressive 2.29 FIP this season, the lowest mark of his career. 

Twins vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-138)

Three of the last five meetings have cashed the Under, and with Martin taking the hill, I expect most of the offense to come from Chicago. He's practically unhittable at home, and the Twins have only scored a total of eight runs so far in this series.

Minnesota enters this game ranked 15th overall in OPS.

It will be a relatively one-sided offensive affair, but don't expect another 10+ runs. I'll play the Under to -140. 

Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
  • ML/RL bets: 19-13, +5.50 units
  • Over/Under bets: 19-12, +3.68 units

Twins vs White Sox odds

  • Moneyline: Twins +133 | White Sox -138
  • Run line: Twins +1.5 (-170) | White Sox -1.5 (+163)
  • Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+122) | Under 8.5 (-133)

Twins vs White Sox trend

The White Sox have hit the moneyline in 12 of their last 15 games at home (+9.60 Units / 61% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Twins vs. White Sox.

How to watch Twins vs White Sox and game info

LocationRate Field, Chicago, IL
DateThursday, May 28, 2026
First pitch2:10 p.m. ET
TVTwins.TV, CHSN
Twins starting pitcherKendry Rojas
(1-0, 1.26 ERA)
White Sox starting pitcherDavis Martin
(7-1, 2.04 ERA)

Twins vs White Sox latest injuries

Twins vs White Sox weather

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela is quietly turning himself into one of the best players in baseball

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 27: Ceddanne Rafaela #3 of the Boston Red Sox at bat during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park on May 27, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Before this season, if you threw a paper airplane out of the stands and onto the field [not advised] with Ceddanne Rafaela at the dish, I’m pretty sure he would have swung at it. But things are changing in 2026, and we need to discuss what that means when you stack this sudden and newfound restraint atop his already wonderful bag of tools.

Up until a couple of months ago, all the things that made Rafaela a good baseball player were flashy: The speed, the clutch hits, the athleticism; and of course, his signature ability to play gold glove defense in centerfield with the grace of a gazelle. Here’s a video showcasing some of his best defensive plays from last year:

But we’re not here to talk about those, because the thing that’s transforming Rafaela from a good to potentially great player in 2026 is far more mundane. Here’s a much shorter, and admittedly much less interesting video showcasing what’s making Rafaela so good in 2026:

That may not seem like a huge deal, but that’s Ceddanne Rafaela not swinging at a tempting pitch sweeping out of the zone, and that’s a huge change from previous seasons. It’s subtle when it unfolds early in an at bat, but it’s the key to unlocking his ceiling at the plate — And if we’re being fair, it’s a ceiling that’s far higher than he’s ever been given credit for.

Anyway, here’s what happened later in that same at-bat because he hung around with a little better count leverage and proved to Kerkering he wasn’t going to chase the sweeper:

You want a more recent example? Here’s Rafaela taking another 0-1 pitch on Tuesday. This time, it’s a slider above the zone, which is a location and pitch opponents have always used to get him to chase with great success.

Not here. Strider had to come back on the very next pitch with an offer lower and in the strike zone, and here’s what Rafaela did with that:

Rafaela has always been able to pound pitches in the zone, and for whatever reason, we’ve largely overlooked that. Perhaps it’s because of his size — he’s listed at 5’10” and a 165 pounds. Perhaps it’s because he’s a defensive first guy. Or maybe it’s because before this year, he’s swing at anything and everything.

Taking away the hyperbole and drilling down on the numbers, Rafaela swung at 59 percent of all the pitches he saw last year, which was the third most among qualified hitters in all of baseball. That was only slightly better than the 62 percent of pitches he swung at in 2024, which was good for the second most in all of baseball.

This year? Out of 188 guys with at least 2.1 plate appearances per team game, Rafaela ranks 73rd in swing percentage, dropping the number to just 48.6 percent of the time.

How about just swinging at the first pitch of an at bat? In both 2024 and 2025, he did that the fourth most of any hitter in baseball. Now, from that same list of 188 players, he’s moved to 71st.

But of course, the most important number revolving around this topic is swinging at pitches out of the zone, and there’s been major improvement there as well. Rafaela went from swinging out of the zone the most in all of baseball in 2024, to second most in 2025, to the 46th most this season at 34.8 percent. That’s not just improvement, that’s potentially finding the keys the castle and transforming as a player.

Furthermore, he’s doing it with a stat that usually solidifies pretty quickly, and if these trends continue, you’re talking about a guy who is going to start finishing in the top ten in MVP voting very soon. Think about it: He’s still just 25-years-old, he plays the best defensive centerfield in the sport, he’s already put up the third most WAR of anybody in a Red Sox uniform since the start of 2024, he’s got above average speed, he plays a premium position, and he’s always had a penchant for clutch knocks.

That last piece of his game was so apparent from the get-go, Coley Mick of the fabulous Section 10 Podcast made this evergreen observation nearly two years ago now:

But as I watch Rafaela grow as a player this year, I’m starting to develop a theory regarding his clutch hits from previous seasons and his refined approach at the plate in this one. Specially, Rafaela is just a good major league hitter when he swings exclusively at strikes, and he wasn’t doing that during the majority of his plate appearances before 2026. In other words, these things might be connected. Whether Rafaela was just locking in more during high leverage at bats or opposing pitchers had to throw him more strikes with men on base in a sticky spots, it led to increased production in these moments and swinging at more strikes (Rafaela was in the top ten in all of baseball last year in Fangraphs’ clutch metric).

Now, we’re seeing what happens when he makes better swing decisions across the board and adds a semblance of plate discipline to the mix (he could still add more). In other words, we might just be seeing what “clutch Rafaela” looks like when he shows up in all of his at bats throughout every game. Take a look at the across the board improvement in some general big picture batting stats:

We basically just need one more month of patient Rafaela at the plate for the swing numbers to say this is who he is now (again, plate discipline numbers solidify quick), and if that locks in, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu are going to have some competition in terms of who is the best Red Sox outfielder over the next handful of years.

Cubs 10, Pirates 4: Ian Happ and Michael Conforto homer and the long losing streak ends

You knew the Cubs’ losing streak wasn’t going to last forever.

Right? Right?

The Cubs exploded with a 14-hit, seven-walk, two-homer offense and crushed the Pirates 10-4 Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh, at last ending their 10-game losing streak. The 10 runs were as many as they had score in the last six games of the streak — combined.

The onslaught began in the first inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong had an excellent at-bat, working a 10-pitch walk. Nico Hoerner singled him to second. Michael Busch also walked, loading the bases.

You could have been forgiven at that point if you thought, “In what soul-crushing yet entertaining fashion will they fail to score in this situation?”

But they did score. Alex Bregman struck out but then Ian Happ singled in two runs [VIDEO].

Seiya Suzuki, unfortunately, hit into a double play but the Cubs had a two-run lead. They’d led in only two other games during the entire losing streak.

They made it 3-0 in the second. Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson hit singles with one out. One out later, Nico singled in Kelly [VIDEO].

That’s when the home run bug bit Jameson Taillon again. A walk, single and three-run homer by Brandon Lowe tied the game 3-3. Lowe, who spent his entire career with the Rays until this year, has absolutely worn out Cubs pitching this year: .350/.435/.850 (7-for-20) with three home runs. I’ll be glad after today when the Cubs don’t have to see him again until after the All-Star break. Maybe by then they’ll be able to figure out how to slow him down.

A not-so-fun fact about that homer from BCB’s JohnW53:

The three-run homer off Jameson Taillon that wiped out a three-run lead was the 12th of its kind surrendered by the Cubs since 2021.

The previous one was Sept. 25 of last season, by Brett Baty of the Mets at Wrigley Field in the fourth inning off Shota Imanaga. It made the score 3-3.

The Cubs gave up four such homers in 2024, including one by TJ Friedl of the Reds off Jameson Taillon at home. It also made the score 3-3, as did three of the others, served up by Adbert Alzolay to Jack Suwinski of the Pirates in 2022, and by Jeremiah Estrada to Fernando Tatis of the Padres and by Jose Cuas to Joshua Palacios of the Pirates, both in 2023. All were at Wrigley.

The Cubs took the lead again in the fourth. Dansby Swanson hit a two-out double and PCA doubled him in [VIDEO].

But Taillon again could not keep the ball in the yard. Konnor Griffin’s solo homer tied the game. For Taillon it was the 19th home run he had allowed this year in 60.1 innings, yikes. That’s on top of 10 homers he allowed in Spring Training in just 13.1 innings. The 19 homers is four more than anyone else in MLB (Zack Littell of the Nationals, 15).

Taillon was removed after five innings and Jacob Webb threw a 1-2-3 sixth, striking out all three batters he faced. After a rough start to his 2026 season, Webb’s been really good lately.

Then the Cubs blew the game open in the seventh.

Michael Busch was hit by a pitch and Bregman doubled him to third.

Happ sent a ball deep into the right-field seats at PNC Park [VIDEO].

The scorebug on that clip says that the homer was on Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez’s eighth pitch but looking at the pitch-by-pitch, Busch had a five-pitch at-bat before he was hit and both Bregman and Happ jumped on the first pitch. Pretty efficient, seven pitches, three runs.

The Cubs weren’t done in that inning, either!

Seiya Suzuki singled off Ramirez and the Pirates brought in reliever Justin Lawrence to face Michael Conforto, who was batting for Kevin Alcántara.

Conforto wasted no time, sending Lawrence’s first pitch out of the yard [VIDEO].

So if you’re counting, that’s six more pitches, so the Cubs put five runs on the board on just the first 13 pitches of the seventh inning. Impressive!

One more run crossed the plate in that inning for the Cubs. Swanson reached base on an error and stole second. After PCA struck out, Hoerner walked. Busch’s single to right scored Swanson with the sixth run of the inning [VIDEO].

About the six-run inning, from John:

The Cubs’ seventh inning was their first of the season with six runs. They scored seven on May 7 in an 8-3 win at home over the Reds. They scored five in three games, all between April 1 and 13.

Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar and Ethan Roberts finished up with one scoreless inning each. They allowed two hits total, walked two and struck out two. Maton got this double-play ball to end the seventh [VIDEO]. The Pirates challenged both calls and were wrong on both.

Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

Now that’s the way to end a losing streak, just blast out of it with a huge offensive display. In addition to all the runs, hits and walks, the Cubs had five hits with RISP (okay, 5-for-16, but still). They could have had even more runs, as they left 13 on base. That’s not a complaint, just a comment. Speaking of comments, here are Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks [VIDEO].

And here’s Happ on his five-RBI night [VIDEO].

The comments are spot-on. A game like this really takes the pressure of that streak off, gives the guys a chance to have some happy moments in the dugout, and hopefully resets everything so, perhaps, another winning streak can follow.

One more fact from John:

This was the Cubs’ sixth game of the season with at least 10 runs: four between March 28 and April 17, then May 15 in a 10-5 win at the White Sox, their last win before Wednesday.

Which is, of course, interesting — they book-ended the losing streak with two 10-run outbursts. Hopefully there are more of those to come. The 10-run game put the Cubs back in sixth place in MLB in runs, passing the Brewers. The seven walks allowed them to maintain their MLB lead in that category, with 255 — that’s 4.55 walks per game, or a pace for 738, which would shatter the franchise record (656, set in 2016).

The win pulled the Cubs out of a last-place tie with the Pirates, and combined with the Cardinals’ loss to the Brewers, the Cubs are now in a virtual tie with St. Louis (one percentage point behind) for second place, 4.5 games behind Milwaukee. 106 games remain in the 2026 season. There’s plenty of time to turn this ship around.

And the Cubs now have the opportunity to split this four-game series, though it will not be easy, with Paul Skenes starting for the Pirates. Colin Rea will go for the Cubs. Game time is 5:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Solving the Guardians Four-Year Roster Puzzle

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 17: Cleveland Indians President Chris Antonetti looks on before an exhibition game between the Indians and the Chicago Cubs at Cashman Field on March 17, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David J. Becker/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Guardians are playing sudoku with their long-term roster plan, using hints we can’t easily see.

Actually, pretty much any organization worth its salt treats roster management eerily similar to a sudoku puzzle. I’ll elaborate on that strange claim, of course, but before I do, let’s take a look at the unique mechanics of the puzzle the Guardians are trying to solve…

The rules of the roster puzzle.

If I’m Chris Antonetti or Mike Chernoff, I probably have this image (or one like it) pinned to a wall near my desk:

13 MLB hitters. 13 MLB pitchers. And at least 7 depth options stashed in the upper minors who could contribute at the MLB level if needed. This is what a major league ballclub needs in order to compete for a playoff berth, and ultimately, a World Series.

So what does “solving” this puzzle look like? Here’s my best effort at describing the objective:

Put together a roster with the best possible chance of winning a World Series within the next four years.

Winning a title is the organization’s stated goal, they’re currently contenders on paper, and it’s exponentially more difficult to accurately predict what the team will look like any further down the road than 2029. This parameter also lines up well with the fact that several of their MLB regulars become free agents after the 2029 season.

It’s a daunting puzzle, obviously. But much like sudoku, the puzzle starts with a couple of freebies.

The Proven Core

Like any team, the Guardians already have several proven MLB veterans they can rely on for relatively predictable production in any given year. Here’s what the puzzle looks like after adding those players…

All of these players are under team control through 2029, and barring major injuries or extremely dramatic performance decline, all seven will be on every Opening Day roster (and playoff roster) for the next four seasons.

With these seven players, over 20% of the puzzle is complete. It doesn’t seem like much, but as with sudoku, it’s enough to get started. And there are some exciting players that fit in nicely around them on the roster.

The Safe Bets

The next group of answers comes in the form of some players who have less experience, but have shown enough talent and staying power to merit a long, long leash at the MLB level.

These six players are worth plugging into the puzzle with confidence. While there’s some risk that they won’t pan out, they’re such safe bets that it’s worth committing to them for the foreseeable future, and building the rest of the puzzle around them. That’s good news, because it gets much trickier from here.

The Gotta See ‘Ems

The third group of players are all prospects, which means they introduce something new to the equation: genuine bust risk. The truth is, even Top 100 prospects only develop into average MLB regulars about 25% of the time.

Still, when you’re an organization with a long window of contention ahead and one of your top prospects fills an organizational need, the responsible thing to do is to see what they can do, and stick with them as long as you can.

These six prospects are all less than a year away from the big leagues, and have the potential to be top ten players at their positions. In the case of the relievers, it’s easy to carve out a spot for all of them.

For each of the position players, however, there isn’t a clear path to everyday playing time as of right now. So while the responsible thing to do is give them time to develop at the MLB level, tough decisions will eventually need to be made. Is being part-timers in MLB a good use of their value? Or will they (or someone blocking them) need to be traded to fill an area of greater need?

In order to make that decision, we probably need to fill in more of the puzzle.

The Chance Earners

Not every answer in a puzzle feels perfect when you write it in. The Guardians have a few players who have shown flashes of potential through some inconsistencies. While they may not all be extraordinarily exciting in terms of ceiling, they’ve all shown enough to prove they deserve a job for the time being.

Kahlil Watson is still at AAA, but tearing it up despite a somewhat flawed approach at the plate. David Fry is more of a DH than a left fielder, but so is Ralphy Velazquez, and they both fit well into this puzzle. Kyle Manzardo has been absolutely terrible in 2026, but he showed potential in 2026; Angel Martinez is the reverse of that.

Remarkably, most of the 26-man roster is filled by this point. And every player here is under team control through at least 2029, with the exception of David Fry (2028).

With that said, three questions remain:

1. How do we fill that last SP and RP spot?
2. Who’s our depth?
3. What do we do with the rest of the players currently on the roster or in the upper minors?

#2 is the easiest to answer, so let’s start there.

The Fringe Major Leaguers

Like any team, the Guardians have a few players who have been given all the opportunity in the world to prove themselves at the MLB level, but never really panned out.


With depth roles, there’s a limitation simply because players have a limited number of options. So unlike previous pieces of the puzzle, depth is more of a short-term outlook.

Slade Cecconi’s inclusion here was a difficult call, but at this point, he has a 5.14 ERA and 4.79 FIP across 281 career innings. We pretty much know who he is, and it’s not a dependable major league pitcher.

The Interesting Enoughs

The bar isn’t high for depth pieces. All an organization really needs from a depth spot is a guy who has enough talent to put up quality at bats/pitch quality innings, but it’s a nice bonus if that player has the potential to become an MLB mainstay.

CJ Kayfus gets the nod here for having more options than Valera. Juan Brito makes the cut in spite of his prospect stock tanking after a dreadful first look in MLB.

For long-term depth relievers, I actually had to go all the way down to the AA level because the AAA bullpen is so terrible outside of Aleman/Espino/Walters. Fortunately, depth relievers are pretty easy to come by, and the Guardians are good at spinning straw into gold in this department anyway.

So how do we go about filling the last SP and RP slot? Here’s my best effort.

The Whatever Remains

These two players are the best long-term options that the Guardians have in house.

Stephen has struggled with command in AAA, but has a much higher ceiling in general than Cecconi. Herrin has gone through highs and lows, but he’s a veteran southpaw in the ‘pen and the club will probably hang onto him.

So… the puzzle is complete now, right? Right??

The Extra Pieces

Turns out, there are at least two major differences between roster building and sudoku…

1. Each spot in the puzzle doesn’t necessarily have one perfect answer.

2. There are more players than there are spaces to write them all.

These players would make excellent trade chips if the Guardians decide to make a big playoff push at some point, but they also make great backup plans if some of the guys penciled into the puzzle don’t pan out.

Regardless, we’ve filled in the puzzle! So we’re done, right? Well… not exactly.

Finding the real solution.

Sure, we’ve filled in the puzzle the best we can, but remember, this is was the criteria we used for solving it:

Put together a roster with the best possible chance of winning a World Series within the next four years.

If I’m Antonetti and Chernoff, I’m proud of how this puzzle looks after using internal options only. But I’m also smart enough to realize that this roster does not have a very good chance of winning a title. Looking at the board right now, I’d be asking myself some tough questions, including…

1. What are my best options to improve my 1B/DH situation?
2. Is Angel Genao’s value really utilized appropriately as a backup infielder, or or should I maximize it by making him a trade chip?

3. What am I willing to give up in order to upgrade the top of my rotation?
4. Can I stomach Ingle’s defense enough to shoehorn him into a backup catcher role?
5. How long am I willing to wait for Steven Kwan to turn things around before deciding it’s time to move on?6. Which external trade candidates are actually available for a cost I’m comfortable with?

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Some puzzles take time.

The truth is that as much effort as we put into this exercise, the answers and outlook will continue to change as players develop, break out, bust, fall off, or rebound. We’ll almost never be able to put together a set of answers that still look satisfying a couple of months later.

Regardless, viewing roster building through this lens can give us some key insights into a front office’s process. It also may help us realize how tough these decisions can be, and why a lot of patience is necessary in order to make the right choices.

I’d imagine that if we can all find some of that patience within us, we’re much more likely to enjoy watching the answers take shape.

Alistair Tanner shines in a perfect outing for Lakeland, John Peck hits ninth homer for Erie

Columbus Clippers 6, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)

A bullpen game from the Hens went sideways as their pitchers issued 10 walks on the night. The offense was a little off, failing to capitalize on a few chances as they fell to the Cllippers on Wednesday.

Konnor Pilkington got the spot start and just dug himself a little hole in the second with walks, allowing a pair of runs. Tyler Mattison was lucky to only surrender a run in the fourth as he walked four hitters and only got one out in the inning. Tanney Rainey was the only one looking good as he cleaned up Mattison’s mess and tossed a nice fifth inning, collecting five outs with three punchouts.

So it was 3-0 Clippers heading into the sixth as Nick Sandlin took over for the Hens. He had a shaky inning with an assist from a Jace Jung error at second base as the Clippers scored two more for a 5-0 lead.

Finally in the bottom of the sixth, Max Burt drew a walk and singles from Ben Malgeri and Max Clark loaded the bases. Instead of a chance to come back in the game, they just ended up with one run as Max Anderson grounded into a double play. A Corey Julks solo shot and a Max Burt sacrifice fly to score Tyler Gentry made it 5-3 in the seventh.

Matt Seelinger allowed a run in the eighth, and the Hens couldn’t muster any more offense.

Malgeri: 2-4, 2B, K

Gentry: 1-3, R, BB, K

Pilkington (L, 1-4): 3.0 IP, 2 ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Chesapeake Baysox 9, Erie SeaWolves 2 (box)

The SeaWolves had an uncharacteristically quiet day at the plate while the Baysox did not on Wednesday.

Max Alba got the start, allowing a run in the top of the first. John Peck answered back in the bottom half with his ninth homer of the season to tie things up. It was Peck again in the third with a two-out double, scoring on a Thayron Liranzo single that sneaked through the right side of the infield.

So it was 2-1 Erie, but Alba ran out of gas in the fourth. He gave up three runs, and Johan Simon took over and gave up three more of his own as the Baysox took a 7-2 lead. The offense was out of juice at that point, and Yosber Sanchez gave up two more late runs as the Baysox ran away with this one.

Peck: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, BB

Liranzo: 1-4, RBI, K

Alba (L, 0-1): 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start at UPMC Park on Thursday.

West Michigan Whitecaps 6, Lansing Lugnuts 5 (F/12)(box)

After being walked off over and over again over the past month, it was finally the Whitecaps who rallied late to win on Wednesday. It took 12 innings, but a wild pitch from Lansing and impressively game work from the Whitecaps bullpen got it done.

Ben Jacobs had a rough outing and the Lugnuts took advantage. A pair of walks in the bottom of the second, followed by a successful double steal got them in position for a sacrifice fly that made it 1-0 Lansing. In the fourth, Rodney Green Jr. got to Jacobs for a leadoff homer, and a single followed, ending Jacobs night. Luke Stofel took over and walked the first two hitters he faced, ultimately allowing two more runs and a 4-0 Lansing lead.

Jacobs struck out seven and intermittently looked outstanding as usual, but two walks and a lot of lengthy at-bats shortened his outing signficantly.

The ‘Caps had plenty of opportunities, but couldn’t break through until the eighth inning. Andrew Sojka led off with a walk and stole second base. Ricardo Hurtado was hit by a pitch with one out, and then Lugnuts relievers Ryan Brown threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt. Bryce Rainer stayed ball and flicked an RBI single to right field to make it 4-1, and Luke Shliger pulled a single through the infield to score Hurtado.

Jalen Evans spun a shutdown inning in the bottom of the eighth after good work from Duque Hebbert and Dariel Fregio shepherded the Whitecaps through the middle innings.

In the top of the ninth, with the game on the line, three straight singles from Clayton Campbell, Sojka, and Garrett Pennington scored a run and with two outs, Rainer and Shliger drew walks to force in the tying run. Unfortunately, Jackson Strong struck out to end the bases loaded threat, turning this one into an endurance test.

With Strong on second base to start the 10th, Cristian Santana sacrifice bunted him to third. That proved unnecessary as Juan Hernandez lined a single to make it 5-4. Campbell was hit by a pitch, but Sojka and Pennington struck out.

Logan Berrier allowed the tying run in the bottom half, and the game was only saved by a double play turn that went 4-6-3-2. CJ Weins was able to get a double play ball after a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 11th to keep things tied up after the Whitecaps failed to get the runner home in the top half.

Finally, in the top of the 12th, Strong came through with a good bunt for a single that moved the runner to third. A wild pitch scored the run, but that was all they’d get after they loaded the bases only to see Sojka strike out and Pennington fly out to end the threat.

Weins came back out and induced a pair of pop-ups, and then a grounder to Rainer at shortstop that ended it.

Hernandez: 3-5, RBI

Sojka: 2-5, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K, SB

Rainer: 1-5, RBI, BB, K

Jacobs: 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start in Lansing on Thursday.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Palm Beach Cardinals 3 (box)

Cash Kuiper ran into some largely walk-induced trouble in his start, but Alistair Tanner and the offense were up to the task as the Flying Tigers pounded out 10 hits and took nine walks, running away with this one late.

Zach MacDonald opened the scoring in the top of the third with a drive over the left field wall for his 11th home run already on the season. Unfortunately, he’s still striking out a ton, because he’s an athletic outfielder with huge power developing.

Kuiper was solid early, but gave up two runs in the third and another in the bottom of the fourth. Beau Ankeney had cracked a two-run shot in the top half with Trei Cruz aboard after a walk, so it was 3-3 after four innings.

In the top of the fifth, the Flying Tigers took the lead for good. Jack Goodman reached on a swinging bunt, taking second on a throwing error, and then scoring on a Jordan Yost opposite field double. Trei Cruz spanked a ground ball single to score Yost and make it a 5-3 game.

Jan Carabello did nice work taking over for Kuiper and pitching a clean fifth inning. Then Ali Tanner took the mound for the final four innings, and the 19-year-old right-hander was untouchable. Tanner has a high overhand arm slot and gets massive ride on his fastball. The Cardinals couldn’t cope with it as Tanner mowed through them for four perfect innings and seven strikeouts.

Tanner topped out at 96.5 mph with his fourseamer, averaging 94.5 mph with 20 inches of induced vertical break. He got eight whiffs on 24 swings, but the Cardinals largely just couldn’t pick up his stuff out of hand, taking a ton of called strikes as well. He’s got a mean breaking ball to boot. Like most of the Tigers best young arms, Tanner is still years from Detroit, but his progress will be worth following.

In the seventh, Yost and Cruz drew walks to start the inning and the Flying Tigers were able to rack a pair of insurance runs. Nick Dumesnil bounced into a force of Cruz at second, but Ankeney singled in Yost, and Jesus Pinto plated Dumesnil with a single to make it 7-3 where it ended as Tanner was unhittable the rest of the way.

Yost: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB

Pinto: 3-4, RBI, 2B, BB

Ankeney: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 K

Kuiper: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K

Tanner (S, 1): 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: First pitch on Thursday is set for 6:30 p.m. ET with the series tied at a game apiece.

Yankees news: Giancarlo Stanton, Jasson Domínguez ready to take next steps in rehab

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 17: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees in action during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on April 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The results from imaging taken on Giancarlo Stanton Tuesday showed enough progress to give him the green light to begin running again. Per Aaron Boone, he’s seeing “a lot of improvement” and, given the fact that he’s continued taking swings while on the IL, he might be able to return before too long. The Yankees DH landed on the shelf a month ago with an injured right calf.

In other injury news, Jasson Domínguez may be in a position to begin taking live BP next week, advancing him along in his recovery from an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. The outfielder would likely need a rehab stint before he’s ready to be activated.

MLB.com | Brian Murphy: The Yankees accomplished an extraordinary team feat Tuesday in the middle game of their eventual sweep, with each starter recording at least two hits for the first time in franchise history. “It feels great to be part of Yankees history,” said third baseman Amed Rosario who notched four hits, two of which were round trippers. A few other statistical nuggets to underscore the rarity of the offensive explosion:

  • Five players recorded at least three hits (the most since August 3, 2011)
  • The lineup recorded 46 total bases (the most since July 22, 2007)
  • The lineup had 24 hard-hit balls (the most in the Statcast era, which began in 2015)

MLB.com | Robert Falkoff: Amidst the Yankees’ historic 15-1 steamrolling of the Royals Tuesday, Cam Schlittler’s six-inning, one-run showing was an afterthought. It’s a testament to how dominant the sophomore hurler has become. “Not the best,” Schlittler said of his strong performance. “My stuff wasn’t as sharp, but I was able to put the team in position to win. That’s all you can ask for.”

His manager was more effusive in his praise of the right-handed phenom, highlighting his competitive edge. “He expects to not only pitch well, but dominate,” said Aaron Boone. “He has that mindset. Some people have that mindset but don’t have the confidence to go with it. He certainly does.”

The Athletic | Evan Drellich: ($) The MLB Players Association has proposed a new revenue sharing model, including a soft salary floor to encourage teams to spend at least $150 million. The proposal comes a day in advance of the owners’ plan, which is expected to include a salary cap. The union’s plan also includes nearly doubling the baseline MLB salary to $1.5 million with sizable increases in the pre-arbitration pool and arbitration minimums. In competing statements, the MLBPA and owners presented opposing viewpoints, with the union trumpeting competition while the owners drove home their purported belief in the importance of parity.

Minor League Recap: Relief Help Is On The Way

Columbus Clippers 6, Toledo Mud Hens 3

This Columbus lineup is extremely stacked. Cooper Ingle went 1-5 with a two RBI single in the 8th. Ralphy Velazquez extended his on base streak to 12 games with a single. Angel Genao went 1-3 with an RBI, single, and a walk. Kody Huff went 0-1 with 2 RBIs via a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly.

Koby Allard got the start and went 5 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks. Andrew Walters and Franco Aleman both appeared in this game and they both looked great. Walters struck out two and didn’t allow a single hit. Aleman still has yet to allow an earned run in AAA this season. I expect both of these two to make an impact in the Guardians bullpen at some point this season.

Akron RubberDucks 0 , Richmond Flying Squirrels 3

It was a rough game for the RubberDucks offense. Former RubberDuck Matt Wilkinson shut them down with 7 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. Jake Fox was the only player to record a hit tonight, he went 1-3 with a walk. This offense badly misses Angel Gena0 and Ralphy Velazquez.

Khal Stephen had another great outing. He tossed 6 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. I would like to see that strikeout number increase but it’s hard to complain about 6 scoreless innings. His ERA is down to 2.74 on the season.

Lake County Captains 2, Beloit Sky Carp 4

No multi hit performances from anyone on the Captains today, but we did see Dean Curley, Luke Hill, and Aaron Walton hit doubles. Nolan Schubart went 1-2 with a HR and two walks.

It wasn’t the best start for Franklin Gomez today, as he allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in 4.2 innings. However he was still able to strike out 5 batters, his ERA sits at a cool 2.47 on the season.

Hill City Howlers 2, Fayetteville Woodpeckers 3

It wasn’t a big day for the Howlers offense. Cannon Peebles went 1-3 with an RBI single. Yeiferth Castillo went 3-4 with three singles.

Nelson Keljo continues to rack up the strikeouts against Single A hitters. He did allow two runs in 3.2 innings pitched but was able to strike out 7 batters. His ERA on the season is at 3.14.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Josh Hader nearing return, Kenley Jansen departs with groin injury

In this week's Closer Report, Josh Hader's season debut with the Astros is drawing closer as he wraps up his minor league rehab assignment. Gregory Soto is tightening his hold on the Pirates' closer role. And Kenley Jansen's status is worth watching after the veteran closer departed Wednesday's contest. All that and more as we break down the last week in saves.

⚾️ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.

Check out this week’s Stolen Base Report!

2026 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings

▶ Tier 1

Mason Miller - San Diego Padres
Cade Smith - Cleveland Guardians
Jhoan Duran - Philadelphia Phillies
Aroldis Chapman - Boston Red Sox
Andrés Muñoz - Seattle Mariners
Raisel Iglesias- Atlanta Braves

Miller made one appearance this week, striking out two in a clean inning against the Athletics on Saturday for his 16th save. It was the first time he didn't have to navigate baserunners over his previous five outings. With solid contributions from Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, and Jeremiah Estrada, the Padres have collectively had one of the best bullpens in baseball.

Smith locked down three more saves to give him an MLB-leading 19. The 27-year-old right-hander has been lights out, posting a 2.70 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts over 26 2/3 innings. The back end of the Cleveland bullpen did take a hit, with Erik Sabrowski landing on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. Sabrowski has been one of baseball's best setup men, with a 1.71 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 21 innings while leading the league in holds at 17.

Duran surrendered a run to blow a save chance against the Guardians on Friday, then bounced back with three straight scoreless outings for three saves this week. He's certainly making up for the time he missed with an oblique strain, converting 11 saves with a 1.62 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings.

Chapman got a week of rest as he didn't see any save chances. Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten lost the lead for the Red Sox on two occasions. The team currently finds itself in last place in the AL East. While they'll likely stick it out and try to get in the hunt over the next two months, Chapman will be a hot commodity if the team sells at the trade deadline.

Muñoz picked up a save against the Royals on Friday and had strung together five straight scoreless appearances before giving up a solo homer in a non-save situation on Tuesday against the A's. The 27-year-old right-hander is up to nine saves with a 4.79 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings.

On one hand, Muñoz has lowered his walk rate from last year and is generating far more whiffs, giving him an elite 29.2% K-BB rate that bodes well for better performance. On the other hand, he's giving up more hard contact than ever, giving up a 14.3% barrel rate and 49% hard-hit rate. Hitters are slugging .625 on his fastball. Still, it feels a little more fluky, and I trust he'll get back to his dominant self through the rest of the season.

After starting the season with 15 consecutive scoreless appearances, Iglesias finally has an ERA after giving up two runs against the Red Sox on Tuesday. Still, he held on for his ninth save of the season, looking as effective as ever in his 12th MLB campaign.

▶ Tier 2

Riley O'Brien - St. Louis Cardinals
Bryan Baker - Tampa Bay Rays
Daniel Palencia - Chicago Cubs
Louis Varland - Toronto Blue Jays
Tanner Scott - Los Angeles Dodgers

O'Brien recorded four outs and gave up an unearned run to take the loss against the Reds on Saturday for his only appearance this week. He remains at 13 saves with a 2.96 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 27 strikeouts over 24 1/3 innings.

Baker appeared in two games this week, picking up his 14th save with a scoreless inning against the Yankees on Friday. The 31-year-old right-hander is well on pace for over 30 saves this season, not something we thought we'd get out of a Rays reliever coming into the year.

The Cubs have had a hard time getting a tight lead to the ninth for save chances all season. Palencia hadn't pitched in a week before getting the seventh inning in a blowout loss on Tuesday. He gave up one run on a solo homer.

Varland completed a clean, two-inning save against the Pirates on Friday with three strikeouts. He was unavailable on Saturday after the extended outing, with Jeff Hoffman stepping in for a save. Varland was then used in the eighth on Wednesday against the Marlins to face the heart of the order. He kept Miami off the board before Tyler Rogers picked up the save in the ninth.

Scott didn't get a save chance this week, either. Instead, he made a pair of scoreless appearances against the Brewers over the weekend, striking out five over two innings of work. With Scott unavailable on Monday, Blake Treinen stepped in to record the final out for a save against the Rockies. Scott then pitched the eighth inning against the top of the Rockies lineup on Wednesday before Kyle Hurt took the ninth for a save. While Scott should be considered the primary closer in Los Angeles, it's clear manager Dave Roberts isn't going to save him for every save chance.

▶ Tier 3

Paul Sewald - Arizona Diamondbacks
David Bednar - New York Yankees
Josh Hader - Houston Astros
Gregory Soto - Pittsburgh Pirates
Devin Williams - New York Mets
Kenley Jansen - Detroit Tigers
Pete Fairbanks - Miami Marlins
Jacob Latz - Texas Rangers
Seranthony Domínguez - Chicago White Sox

Sewald continues to get it done for the Diamondbacks. He picked up three saves and a win this week, giving him 14 saves with a 3.80 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 21 1/3 innings.

Bednar got back on track with two scoreless outings. He struck out the side in a non-save situation against the Rays on Friday, then picked up a save against the Royals on Monday. Bednar is another reliever with better underlying metrics than surface stats, suggesting better days ahead.

Bryan King recorded back-to-back saves against the Cubs over the weekend, then gave up one run in the eighth inning against the Rangers on Wednesday before Enyel De Los Santos stepped in for his fourth save. King has led the way in Josh Hader's absence with six. His utility could be coming to an end soon, with Hader approaching his season debut in the coming days. He's been out of action all season recovering from a biceps injury. The 32-year-old left-hander made his eighth rehab appearance on Wednesday and will likely get one more outing in with Triple-A Sugar Land before he's activated from the injured list. We'd place him here in the rankings for now, but he could quickly rise if he looks like he's returned to form following the long layoff.

Soto has fully entrenched himself as the Pirates' primary closer. He picked up back-to-back saves this week against the Blue Jays and Cubs. The 31-year-old left-hander has converted five saves this month and six on the season to go with a 2.13 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts over 25 1/3 innings. Fellow left-handers Evan Sisk and Mason Montgomery have been excellent in middle relief, giving Soto the chance to be saved for the ninth inning.

Just when Williams looked to have turned a corner, he surrendered four runs and took the loss while recording one out against the Marlins on Sunday. He had worked his ERA down to 4.32, then ended that day with a 6.35 mark. Williams recovered on Wednesday with a scoreless inning against the Reds, striking out the side for his eighth save, but had to work around three walks and strand the bases loaded.

In Detroit, Jansen surrendered three runs, blowing a save and taking a loss against the Orioles on Sunday. He then departed from Wednesday's game against the Angels with a right groin injury and will undergo further evaluation. If Jansen is forced to miss some time, Kyle Finnegan would likely step in as next in line for saves. Though Finnegan's 1.82 ERA is mostly a mirage, as he's issued more walks than strikeouts with a 15/19 K/BB ratio across 25 2/3 innings. Drew Anderson has shown far better skills, with a 45/16 K/BB ratio over 36 2/3 innings. But he's been used for multiple innings in his outings, including three scoreless frames against the Angels on Wednesday.

Fairbanks took the mound four times in the last week, picking up a win and a save. Nine of his eleven runs allowed have come in three blowup outings. He's been otherwise solid for the Marlins when healthy, converting six saves with a 21/7 K/BB ratio over 14 innings.

Latz gave up a solo homer against the Astros on Tuesday, but held on to convert a four-out save with two strikeouts. Four of his six runs allowed have come over his last three appearances. Still, he's been incredibly solid for the Rangers, settling in as the team's closer with six saves and a 2.16 ERA over 25 innings.

After giving up four runs in two appearances last week, Domíguez bounced back with a pair of scoreless outings. He picked up his 11th save against the Twins on Monday. The Grant Taylor hype turned out to be a bit premature after he picked up a save last week. He pitched the fifth inning in his next outing, giving up two runs against the Giants, then tossed a scoreless seventh against the Twins.

▶ Tier 4

Trevor Megill/Abner Uribe - Milwaukee Brewers
Rico Garcia/Anthony Nunez - Baltimore Orioles
Lucas Erceg - Kansas City Royals
Kaleb Killian - San Francisco Giants

Megill may be taking a step towards retaking the primary closer role. He pitched the ninth with a six-run lead against the Cardinals on Tuesday. This came after Uribe tossed a scoreless eighth and displayed a controversial gesture toward the Cardinals' dugout as he walked off the mound. Megill was given the ninth again on Wednesday, converting a save against the Cardinals.

Garcia and Nunez have split save chances in the absence of Ryan Helsley, with three saves each. Nunez converted a save on Friday against the Tigers, then gave up a run to blow the lead in the eighth inning against the Rays on Monday. Helsley is working his way back from a bout of right elbow inflammation and hopes to return sometime next month.

Erceg had a rough week. He gave up three runs against the Mariners on Sunday, then blew a save chance and took the loss with two runs allowed against the Yankees on Monday. It was always going to be difficult to maintain success with a 5.4% K-BB rate. But Erceg appears to have a leash on the closer role, for now. Daniel Lynch IV may be the biggest threat for saves in the bullpen, but he's the only effective left-hander on the roster. Carlos Estévez, out with a shoulder injury, could be cleared to resume throwing, but it'll likely be a while still before he's able to return.

Kilian struck out the side in a perfect inning of work against the White Sox on Sunday for his third save of the season. He then tossed two scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, giving him a 2.22 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a 26/12 K/BB ratio across 24 1/3 innings. If there's anyone worth rostering for saves in San Francisco, it's Kilian.

▶ Tier 5

Kirby Yates/Sam Bachman/Ryan Zeferjahn - Los Angeles Angels
Gus Varland/Richard Lovelady - Washington Nationals
Tony Santillan/Graham Ashcraft - Cincinnati Reds
Mark Leiter Jr./Joel Kuhnel/Hogan Harris - Athletics
Juan Mejia/Antonio Senzatela - Colorado Rockies
Eric Orze/Justin Topa/Luis Garcia - Minnesota Twins

These are the situations that are probably better off left untouched for fantasy purposes outside of the deepest of leagues. Varland had been gaining steam with the Nationals, but has now made seven appearances without recording a save as the team has gone with a matchup-based committee. Richard Lovelady and Orlando Ribalta recorded the two Nationals' saves this week. Kirby Yates picked up his first save with the Angels this week, striking out one batter in a clean inning against the Rangers on Saturday. He's one of the few in this tier worth speculating on in deep leagues if desperate for saves.

Dodgers 4, Rockies 1: One hit wonders

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 27: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his solo home run with Dino Ebel #91, to take a 1-0 lead, during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 27, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images

For the 10th straight time in Los Angeles, the Colorado Rockies lost to the LA Dodgers as they fell 4-1 on Wednesday. In a game featuring two of Japan’s baseball heroes on the mound, it would be the Dodgers’ unicorn of a player that highlighted the game as Colorado managed just one hit.

Sugano’s shortened start

Making his first career start at Dodger Stadium, Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) had the monumental task of trying to tame the Dodgers’ offense with the eyes of the world upon him.

Things got off to an ominous start in the bottom of the first inning for the veteran righty when Shohei Ohtani (大谷 翔平) belted a lead-off home run, his ninth long ball of the year, on Sugano’s third pitch to give the Dodgers a quick 1-0 lead. It was the third time in MLB history that a pitcher hit a lead-off home run, Ohtani being the only one to accomplish the feat.

After Andy Pages flew out to right field, Freddie Freeman then laced a ball to left field for an opposite-field home run, his seventh of the year, to put the Dodgers up 2-0. Sugano responded accordingly and retired the next two batters to escape the inning, highlighted by a Max Muncy strikeout.

He then went to work attacking the Dodgers’ lineup. He ended up allowing just four more hits after the two home runs. Pages collected a single in the third inning, but it was the three hits with two outs in the fourth inning that proved costly. Hyeseong Kim laced a single to center field, followed by a double from Will Smith. Alex Call then sent a ball into left field for an RBI single to score Kim, but an excellent throw from Troy Johnston cut down Smith at the plate and ended the inning.

Sugano then got two quick outs in the top of the fifth, but a throwing error by third baseman Willi Castro allowed Pages to reach, and with the left-handed Freeman coming up to the plate, manager Warren Schaeffer decided to pull Sugano from the game.

He ended up tossing 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He had three strikeouts, including one of Ohtani, and issued just one walk. He threw 83 pitches, 48 for strikes, and induced six groundouts along with three flyouts. He also managed to pick off a batter at first base.

“Sugano, I thought, gave us a chance to win,” Schaeffer said. “Just a couple of homers in the first inning, but then he settled in.”

“The fastball command wavered a little bit [in the fourth inning], but he was good overall.”

One of One

The Rockies were going to have a tough time against Ohtani at the plate, but he proved just as troublesome on the mound.

Through six innings, Ohtani did not allow a hit while striking out seven batters. His pitches had the signature bite and kept the Rockies off balance, but the oddity of his outing is what was fascinating.

Ohtani battled his command as he allowed a season-high four walks and hit a batter while throwing 56-of-99 pitches for strikes. He found himself working behind hitters often, as the Rockies did put together some quality at-bats despite the lack of production.

The Rockies’ lone run against Ohtani came in the fourth inning after TJ Rumfield drew a leadoff walk — his second of the game — becoming the first hitter to draw two or more walks in a game against Ohtani since Cal Raleigh in 2023. Hunter Goodman was then hit by a pitch, setting up Johnston to bounce into a fielder’s choice and put runners on the corners. Castro then chopped a ball high to second base, where Alex Freeland snagged the ball and dove to first base to get the out, allowing Rumfield to score and make it 2-1 at the time.

Ohtani exited the game after the sixth inning, securing a quality start and a unique line, as it was the first time in MLB history that a starting pitcher allowed one run on no hits with four walks and seven strikeouts over six innings.

It was also the first time since 1971 that a player hit a home run and threw six no-hit innings.

“Ohtani, we couldn’t find a barrel tonight,” Schaeffer said, “I thought we made him work… gave us chances to score but couldn’t get the knock.”

Bullpen fills in

Thanks to a mostly rested bullpen and the off day on Thursday, Schaeffer felt comfortable lifting Sugano in the fifth inning to bring in Brennan Bernardino to finish that inning. Bernardino then completed a quick 1-2-3 sixth inning to keep the score 3-1 and hand the baton to Antonio Senzatela.

Senzatela easily navigated a leadoff walk in the seventh, getting a couple of groundouts and a lineout but the Dodgers found a way to add on to their lead in the eighth. Pages hit a leadoff home run, his 13th of the year, to make it 4-1. After allowing a single, the Rockies then had to turn to Blas Castaño, who managed to strike out Mookie Betts and then induce a double-play ground ball.

The Dodgers bullpen, on the other hand, kept things rolling for 1.2 innings after Ohtani departed, but thankfully, with two outs in the eighth, Tyler Freeman collected the Rockies’ first hit with a single into right field. However, Kyle Hurt managed to slam the door in the ninth to complete the sweep.

Up Next

The Rockies are off Thursday before welcoming the San Francisco Giants to Coors Field to kick off the homestand. Michael Lorenzen (2-7, 7.21 ERA) will face off against the Giants’ Logan Webb (2-4, 5.06 ERA).

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D-Backs 3, Giants 2: Sweep Me San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 27: Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka (34) throws a pitch during a MLB game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants on May 27, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Trinity Machan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

No matter how you split it, it’s been a pretty fun couple of weeks to be a Diamondbacks’ fan. Since May 9th, the day after the D-Backs lost an extra-inning affair to the Mets, they’ve gone a major league best 14-4 including today’s win. They’ve pitched to a 2.69 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP between then and today while putting together a .271/.346/.423 slash line and scoring 5.3 runs per game. This stretch has obviously been keyed by an incredibly hot stretch at the plate by Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll, but it’s also been a stretch that has shown the depth this team has up and down the lineup as well as on the pitching staff. There are obvious qualifiers, namely that none of their opponents in that stretch have winning records, but good teams are supposed to beat bad teams, none of these teams are pushovers, and they’re all professionals.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the team-focused approach the players have brought to the stadium every day during this stretch where there are days the offense has to carry the pitching staff and the pitchers find ways to support a struggling offense. This afternoon featured more of the latter as the D-Backs’ dynamic offense managed just three runs on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out eight times. Instead, Michael Soroka continued to impress in his first season with the D-Backs, keeping his ERA down at 3.25 and firmly putting that rough outing against the Brewers in the rearview mirror. As has become D-Back pitcher tradition, Soroka was the victim of one bad inning, but was otherwise pretty efficient at keeping the struggling San Francisco offense off-kilter throughout the afternoon. His one bad inning came in the third when he allowed a leadoff single to Drew Gilbert and a one-out double to Will Adames before grooving a fastball to Luis Arraez that just eluded both Soroka and Geraldo Perdomo to sneak into centerfield and plate both Gilbert and Adames to give the Giants an early two-run lead. Outside of that rough patch, Soroka limited the traffic around him by leaning on his slurve and four-seamer to keep batters guessing even if he struggled to strikeout very many Giants.

Meanwhile, an Arizona offense that has been on an incredible heater lately struggled to find any kind of traction against Trevor McDonald making just his seventh career start. Through the first five innings, Arizona batters had been limited to just three total baserunners. Unsurprisingly, Marte shifted the dynamic in the sixth with a leadoff single before being erased on a would-be double play from Corbin Carroll that he just beat out to keep the pressure up. Carroll advanced to third on a Perdomo single and eventually scored on an Adrian Del Castillo single before Ildemaro Vargas collected his 35th RBI of the season on a sacrifice fly to deep right field that tied the game. The D-Backs manufactured their final run of the game in the next inning by loading the bases on a pair of one-out singles and an ugly error from newly-entered reliever Matt Gage before Perdomo scooped a Gage changeup to left field for another sacrifice fly to give the team the lead for good.

Poor play was yet again a theme for a Giants team that has mostly disappointed to this point in the season. There was the key fielding error by Gage that loaded the bases in the seventh and set up the go-ahead sacrifice fly, but there were also two baserunning blunders that kept the Giants from tying the game in the bottom of the eighth. Adames again doubled to put the tying run into scoring position and bewilderingly tried to score on a bloop single from Arraez that Jorge Barrosa couldn’t quite corral and a perfect relay play cut him down at home. Then Arraez, who had moved up to second on the play, wandered too far off the base and Kevin Ginkel executed an excellent pickoff move to catch Arraez and end the inning. But good teams are able to take advantage of poor play from their opponents and the D-Backs have been doing that in spades lately. They are now seven games over .500 and will take on a Mariners team that has failed to find any traction in a strangely weak AL West and junior circuit more generally. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Shohei Ohtani homers, tosses six no-hit innings in win over Rockies

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 27: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 27, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Dodgers flirted with a no-hitter until the eighth inning and earned a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies, winning the finale 4-1 on Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours after taking a pitch to his right hand, Shohei Ohtani was both the starting pitcher and the leadoff hitter for the series finale. After starting his day on the mound with a scoreless first inning, Ohtani connected for his second leadoff home run in as many starts to give the Dodgers another first inning lead. It was Ohtani’s third home run in just his sixth at-bat against Tomoyuki Sugano. Ohtani now has 22 leadoff home runs as a Dodger, passing Joc Pederson for the third most in franchise history.

Freddie Freeman gave the Dodgers their seventh home run over their last nine innings at the plate by taking Tomoyuki Sugano the other way for his third home run over his past eight games, giving the Dodgers their second 2-0 first inning lead in as many games.

The two runs in the first were plenty for Ohtani on the mound, as although he allowed a pair of two-out walks over his first two innings, the Rockies went scoreless through their first go-around. Colorado to lead off the fourth inning with a pair of baserunners, as T.J. Rumfield walked before Hunter Goodman was drilled by a pitch. A fielder’s choice from Troy Johnston moved Rumfield to third base, and Willi Castro drove him in on a groundout.

The Dodgers would get that run right back in the bottom half of the fourth, as Alex Call followed up Hyeseong Kim and Will Smith with the Dodgers’ third straight two-out hit. While Kim scored on the play, Smith was cut down at the plate trying to extend the lead to three.

Ohtani was able to complete six innings after tossing just five in his last start in San Diego, and although he held Colorado hitless, he put five runners on base as he walked four along with the hit batsman. While Ohtani does have seven different pitches in his repertoire, he relied heavily on his fastball and sweeper, accounting for 88 of his 99 pitches on the night and six of his seven strikeouts. He tossed his curveball, sinker and splitter a total of 11 times while completely ditching his cutter and slider altogether.

After allowing the one run over six innings, Ohtani’s ERA now sits at 0.83 over his first nine starts on the year, besting Fernando Valenzuela’s 0.91 ERA he had over his first nine starts in his legendary 1981 season.

Will Klein followed Ohtani with a scoreless inning with the potential no-hit bid intact, but a two-out single from Tyler Freeman against Tanner Scott in the top of the eighth ended the bid with just four outs to go.

Andy Pages added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with his third home run in his last four games to give the Dodgers a three-run lead. Pages’ 13 home runs on the year are now the most on the team while he is the first player this season to reach the 50 RBI plateau.

Kyle Hurt recorded his first career save to lock down the sweep of Colorado. Hurt has been remarkable over his first 17 appearances on the season, as he has 20 strikeouts to only four walks over 17 innings while carrying a 1.06 ERA.

The Dodgers are now in the midst of a five-game winning streak and are now winners in 11 of their last 13 games. The three-game sweep of the Rockies was the first series sweep at home since the Dodgers took all three against the New York Mets from April 13-15. With the Philadelphia Phillies sweeping the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers now increase their division lead to 4.5 games over both San Diego and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Game particulars
  • Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (9), Freddie Freeman (7), Andy Pages (13)
  • WP— Shohei Ohtani (5-2): 6 IP, 0 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
  • LP— Tomoyuki Sugano (4-4): 4 2/3 IP, 7 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts
  • SV— Kyle Hurt (1): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
Up next

The Dodgers are off on Thursday but are back at home to welcome the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game series beginning Friday (7:10 p.m. PT, Apple TV). Justin Wrobleski faces Zack Wheeler.

Aaron Judge throws out runner at plate in tone-setting Yankees reminder

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge fields a fly ball and throws to home plate, Image 2 shows Aaron Judge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An injury robbed Aaron Judge of one of his superpowers in the second half of last season.

But his right arm is alive and well now, and teams are once again being reminded of the dangers of trying to test it.

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Judge unleashed a laser from right field to throw a runner out at the plate in the third inning Wednesday night, keeping Gerrit Cole’s shutout intact on the way to a 7-0 win over the Royals that finished off a sweep at Kauffman Stadium.

“I thought the game really got going with Judge’s play,” said Cole, who tossed 6 ²/₃ scoreless innings. “He set the tone.”

It was still a scoreless game in the bottom of the third inning when the Royals had a runner on second and two outs for Maikel Garcia, who hit a sinking liner to right field. Judge knew he could either make a do-or-die diving attempt on it or pull up and try to throw out Michael Massey at the plate. He chose the latter, playing it on one hop and casually firing home to nail Massey for the third out.

“All I was thinking was, ‘Don’t let this guy score,’ ” Judge said. “Especially Gerrit coming back, second game, it’s a tight game. I know if we stop them from scoring there, they’re probably not going to score the rest of the game. Just trying to do my job.”

Aaron Judge throws Michael Massey out at the plate during the third inning of the Yankees’ 7-0 win over Royals on May 27, 2026 in Kansas City. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Judge, who dealt with a right flexor strain late last season that initially shut him down altogether before sapping some of his arm strength upon his return to the field, got healthier with rest this offseason and then came back looking like himself this spring.

But even knowing Judge’s arm, Cole thought the runner was going to score “for sure” before seeing it play out.

“He was dead to rights,” Cole said. “That just elevated our play a little bit, and we rolled from there.”

Aaron Boone said he thought it was the right send by the Royals because it was going to take a perfect throw to nab the runner. Judge delivered just that.

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“It was a sneaky great play,” Boone said. “What he does so well out there is slows it down. He moves quickly, but not in a hurry. To take a tricky hop and gather himself and slow down and execute a perfect throw, that’s a really good play right there.”

Mets’ Devin Williams bends, but doesn’t break in second straight shaky outing

Devin Williams is going through one of those stretches again. 

Taking the mound Wednesday night, the right-hander seemed to have picked up right where he left off in his previous outing where he struggled and ended things by giving up a walk-off grand slam. 

Williams entered in the top of the ninth Wednesday looking to protect a two-run Mets lead.

The usually effective closer had a hard time putting the first two hitters he faced away, though, battling before walking the both of them on a total of 15 pitches. 

He then picked up a much-needed first out, striking out Spencer Steer on four pitches.  

Williams endured another long and tough at-bat, though, this time battling P.J. Higgins for eight pitches before walking him to load the bases and push the tying run into scoring position. 

With no room for error, the righty was able to lock back in though, and he struck out Dane Myers on four pitches and then Blake Dunn on three to somehow dance his way out of danger. 

It certainly wasn’t pretty, but Williams locked up a 4-2 win and his eighth save of the season.

“He got the job done,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Obviously you don’t want to walk the bases loaded, he kind of lost it a little but then got back on track, made pitches -- I’m glad he was able get the job done, that was a good team win.”

It was a much-needed victory too, as it snapped New York’s five-game losing skid. 

The Mets will have an off day on Thursday before they look to get some vengeance on those pesky Marlins during a three-game weekend set at Citi Field.

Braves News: Top 30 prospects list, Braves crushed, more

TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 21, 2026: Eric Hartman #64 of the Atlanta Braves throws a ball to the crowd during the third inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 21, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images

MLBPA submitted their initial CBA proposal Wednesday, as the owners are expected to make their initial proposal Thursday. The union proposal includes some interesting ideas, some increased benefits to players, and at least one clear nonstarter for the owners. The owners positioned themselves as advocating for fan desire for competitive balance and rejected the proposal, criticizing its ideas towards achieving competitive, which focused on raising spending floors and creating stronger incentive structures to win games, rather than limiting the top spending clubs. I think the union’s ideas about making recipients of revenue sharing more incentivized to spend money and win games by socializing the more stable TV money through revenue, while privatizing more performance-responsive stadium revenue is a strong idea. I am also sympathetic to the concept of withholding revenue sharing from teams that don’t spend it towards winning games. Dramatically raising the luxury tax ceiling is going to be a tough sell for owners and fans, however, and the proposed changes to service time rules, making players over 30 free agents after 5 years of service time instead of 6 is a clear nonstarter for owners.

Braves News

Our prospect team put out an early refresh of the Battery Power Braves Top 30 prospect list, which is the best you’ll find, featuring the nationally recognized meteoric rise of Eric Hartman.

The Braves’ offense was shut out and Bryce Elder was bad and unlucky in an 8-0 loss.

MLB News

ESPN’s Jeff Passan gave the major bullet points of the MLBPA’s initial negotiating proposal to MLB, with the owners’ proposal expected today.

Dodgers’ utilityman Kike Hernandez will miss significant time with a significant oblique tear.

Former Brave Aaron Bummer signed a minor league deal with the Cubs.

NFL star Travis Kelce purchased a minority stake in the Guardians.