Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ben Casparius (78) reacts in the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The first two and a half weeks of the season were uncommonly stable for the Dodgers pitching staff, but on Monday they made their first pitching roster move since opening day. Ben Casparius was placed on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation before the Dodgers’ series opener against the New York Mets, and Kyle Hurt was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Casparius allowed two runs on a pair of singles and two walks in the seventh inning of Sunday’s loss to the Texas Rangers. On the season he’s allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings for a 9.64 ERA and 6.21 xERA, with four walks and four strikeouts among his 23 batters faced.
Last week, we asked True Blue LA readers which pitcher, among the relievers on the 40-man roster plus the final two non-roster invitees in spring training, they would like to see called up. Hurt was the overwhelming favorite, and now he’s in Los Angeles.
This year with the Comets, Hurt has a 5.79 ERA in six games, having allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings, with eight strikeouts and five walks. He last pitched last Thursday, making Hurt a certified fresh arm for a bullpen that used four pitchers to cover the final five innings of the series finale against Texas.
There’s stupid money — and then there’s whatever this is.
The Mets travel to Dodger Stadium to take on the back-to-back reigning World Series champion Dodgers for a three-game series this week—and with it arrives something the sport has never seen before: a combined payroll tab for both teams that clears $1.09 billion.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani at bat against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Without further ado, we give you the billion dollar series.
Let’s start with the visiting Mets.
The quintessential example of what happens when wealth meets urgency.
Since buying the Mets in the fall of 2020, owner Steve Cohen has spent money like time is chasing him. The franchise hasn’t won a World Series in 40 years. Since taking over he’s poured money into the roster. The payroll has ballooned and the expectations have followed.
In Cohen’s five years as owner, the results have been uneven at best. Just two playoff appearances over that span and not a single NL East division title. Last season, equipped with the second-highest payroll in the league, they finished 83-79, collapsing to the finish line, eliminated on the final day of the season.
The Mets payroll this year is over $380 million with an estimated tax of $136 million-plus. That’s a total of over $516 million for a team that is currently dead last in the NL East.
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is on the field during batting practice before a game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Queens, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are what happens when wealth and vision meet in the middle.
They don’t just spend money — they optimize.
Their 2026 CBT payroll number of $413.5 million isn’t reckless; it’s engineered. Los Angeles has won 12 division titles in 13 years. Five World Series appearances in nine years. Three championships in six seasons. They currently have the best record in baseball. They are a money printing and title clinching machine.
Owner Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, runs a privately held global financial services firm worth more than $345 billion. The Dodgers payroll alone this season is more than the White Sox, Rays, Guardians and Marlins combined. Their estimated tax bill this season of $169 million is higher than the total payroll of 12 different MLB teams.
Los Angeles Dodgers Owner and Chairman Mark Walter looks on before game one of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on October 13, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Getty Images
Both owners have spent on the biggest names in baseball over the last six years. Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for $700 million. Juan Soto beat that record with a $765 million deal.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 2025 World Series MVP was snatched up for $325 million. Not to be outdone, Cohen inked Francisco Lindor to a $341 million deal.
This winter, Cohen and Walter were involved in a bidding war for the services of free agent All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker. The Dodgers won, signing him to a four-year, $240 million contract that earned him the highest AAV deal in history at $57 million, after factoring in deferrals.
What did Cohen do in response? He signed the next best free agent on the market, infielder Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million deal that was the fourth-largest AAV deal in history.
When the first-pitch is thrown on Monday, remember what this series is really about. The most expensive matchup in MLB history will not just be about the overpriced stars on the field, but a case study in how money behaves under pressure.
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts after scoring a run on an RBI double hit by infielder Bo Bichette against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
The Dodgers have turned dollars into dominance.
The Mets are still searching for the right financial equation.
In baseball, money can buy you stars.
It just can’t buy you what the Dodgers have.
Not yet, anyway.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 12: (L-R) Jakob Junis #16 and Danny Jansen #9 of the Texas Rangers celebrate a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Season Record: 8-7
Week Record: 4-2
Series Record: 3-2
GAME 10: 2-1 WIN VS SEATTLE MARINERS
GAME 11: 3-2 WIN VS SEATTLE MARINERS
GAME 12: 3-0 WIN VS SEATTLE MARINERS
GAME 13: 7-8 LOSS @ LOS ANGELES DODGERS
GAME 14: 3-6 LOSS @ LOS ANGELES DODGERS
GAME 15: 5-2 WIN @ LOS ANGELES DODGERS
The Rangers had a much better week with a sweep of the Mariners at home and preventing a sweep by the Dodgers on the road.
As I said last week while it’s too early to really scoreboard watch, it should be noted the Rangers are back on top of the division (tied with the Ahtletics who they start a four game series against tonight.) while Seattle just completed a four game sweep of the Houston Astros who are on an eight game losing streak and now in last place in the west.
Texas was still swing happy, especially against the Dodgers, but in Sunday’s game they also showed patience, walking 10 times. A good takeaway from the Dodgers series, other than them not getting swept, is all three games were fairly close. The back-to-back reigning World Series champs didn’t blow the Rangers out of the water and with Texas now three games into a 10-game-in-10-days roadtrip, taking one of three feels good.
The other takeaway I got from Sunday’s game was the Rangers use of ABS challenges. They don’t seem to be very confident to challenge as hitters, however on Sunday, Danny Jansen challenged five times and won four of them. Before that, the Rangers only had six challenges as fielders. Three of the challenges changed the outcome of the at-bat to a strikeout.
It’ll be interesting to see if Jansen just had an excellent understanding of the strike zone in this particular game, he also walked three times, or if this is just the beginning of seeing Jansen’s confidence throughout the season and the bigger influence he can have behind the plate.
I’m going to go ahead and knock on wood before I say this next observation. *pause to knock* Texas seems to have a new closer in Jakob Junis. This week he had three save opportunities and and got all three, two against Seattle and Sunday’s win against the Dodgers. In those three innings, he’s walked one and hit a batter but he has yet to allow a hit.
It’ll be interesting to see if Skip continues to use him as a closer (I don’t know why he wouldn’t because why mess with something that’s working) or if this is a move for the time being to get Chris Martin and Robert Garcia in less high leverage situations, get more confidence, and then move them back to later innings.
Before this week, Junis has two saves in seven opportunities in his career.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 1: Matthew Liberatore #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium on April 1, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals will welcome the Cleveland Guardians to town on Monday, April 13. According to MLB.com, Matthew Liberatore will start for the Cardinals while the starter for the Guardians will be Gavin Williams who is 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA so far in 2026. Masyn Winn is back in the lineup tonight.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 11: Brandon Nimmo #24 of the Texas Rangers reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for April 13, 2026 against the A’s: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and Luis Severino for the A’s.
Texas begins a series against the Athletics of California, with whom they are tied for first place in the American League West. Wyatt Langford, who left Friday’s game due to a quad issue, is still out.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Carter — CF
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
Pederson — DH
Higashioka — C
Smith — 2B
Jung — 3B
Duran — LF
8:40 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -130 favorites.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 04: Yainer Diaz #21 of the Houston Astros bats against the Athletics in the top of the third inning at Sutter Health Park on April 04, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 6-2 defeat at T-Mobile Park completed a 4-game sweep by the Mariners, the first time they have swept the Astros in a 4 game series since August 2018.
Two things have hallmarked this season for the Houston Astros thus far: injuries and pitching woes. Both were on display this afternoon when the Astros fell to the Mariners 6-2 at T-Mobile Park. The loss concluded a 4-game sweep by the Mariners and extended the Astros losing streak to 8 games. Houston went 1-9 on it’s 10 game road trip that included Sacramento (Athletics) and Colorado.
Before the game today, the Astros placed both SS Jeremy Pena (10-day) and SP Tatsuya Imai (15-day) on the IL. They optioned reliever Jayden Murray to Triple A. The recalled SP J.P. France, SP Colton Gordon and UT Shay Whitcomb from Triple A as well.
Then in the first inning, SP Mike Burrows, who looked incredible all spring, continued his regular season struggles. He allowed a 3-run homer to struggling Josh Naylor, who entered the game hitting just .102 this season with a .197 OBP and a .299 OPS, in the first inning to put Houston in an early hole.
Burrows threw a 95.8 MPH fastball right down the middle that Naylor hit for his first HR of the season 365 feet to right centerfield.
It didn’t get any better the second time he faced Naylor in the 3rd inning either.
Naylor would take Burrows deep again, on a nearly identical pitch in nearly the identical spot. A 95.6 MPH fastball, just slightly to the outside of the middle of the plate, and mid-thigh, that Naylor blasted 111.5 MPH and 433 feet to center for his second homer of the season to make it 5-0.
The Astros would try to claw back in the top of the fifth. Cam Smith led off with a single to right, followed by a single to left by Taylor Trammell. With 2 on and no out, Yainer Diaz laced an RBI single to center to get the Astros on the board, scoring Smith. Trammell would score when Nick Allen bounced into a double play to make it 5-2. That is as close as the Astros would get.
In the bottom of the fifth, Luke Raley would get a run back for Seattle with an RBI single to score Julio Rodriguez to make it a 6-2 game.
While J.P France held the line in the 7th and 8th innings, the Astros offense could not respond any further on this day.
While before today’s game the Astros listed all 3 starters for the upcoming series at home against Colorado as TBD, Colton Gordon will get the start for Houston tomorrow.
The Atlanta Braves and their scorching hot offense are taking on the surprisingly good Miami Marlins tonight as they look to extend their division lead.
The Braves are scoring runs at a pace that only three teams in MLB are doing at a higher rate, and only the Dodgers have hit more HRs. No Braves player has more than six at-bats against the Marlins’ starter Eury Pérez, yet have four HRs against him in that limited action. Tonight is primed for another offensive explosion, but we know these Braves can be feast or famine at times when it comes to offense.
Grant Holmes is on the mound for the Braves, and has looked great so far this season. The Braves are in a good spot to win tonight. These are the exact type of games they need to win if they want to re-claim the division crown this season.
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 11: Trevor Larnach #9 of the Minnesota Twins reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 11, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First Pitch (CT):6:40 PM TV: Twins.TV Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App Know Yo’ Foe: Over the Monster
You’re not going to believe this, but the Twins are facing a left-handed starter once again. Even more suprising: it’s once again one of the best starters in the sport. The good news is the Twins have already conquered Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez in the past week, so how much harder could Garrett Crochet be?
The other good news: your Minnesota Twins are in first place, tied atop both the AL Central and American League standings with the dreaded Cleveland Guardians. Sure, every team in the AL has between six and nine wins, but this is about two weeks later than I thought the Twins would be able to claim a top spot in the standings. They’ll look to keep the good vibes going tonight!
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 08: Will Warren #29 of the New York Yankees throws against the Athletics during the first inning at Yankee Stadium on April 08, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There’s a lot of good and bad to the length of MLB’s 162-game season. On one hand, it can be long and arduous, making games at the beginning and end of the year feel much further apart. The season can feel endless if your team is down in the dumps. The benefits are that there’s always something to watch every day, and that individual games over the course of the season are too minuscule for it to make or break a season early on.
It also means that teams will go on hot streaks where they look unbeatable and cold streaks where you wonder if they will ever end. It’s usually an emotional roller coaster for every team with any aspirations (except the Dodgers, to an extent). With the Yankees on a five-game losing streak, looking as decrepit as possible, it serves them well to get off the schneid at some point. Getting away from a longtime house of horrors and returning home to a nice, warm day in the Bronx might do the trick.
Will Warren will get the ball for his fourth start of the young season to open the series with the Angels. Through three starts, it’s been very Warren-y, as he’s pitched under five innings per start with a good 3 ERA (135 ERA+) and 4.03 FIP. All of his starts have followed a trend, where he’s looked dialed in for two or three innings at a time before unraveling. In his most recent start against the A’s, he fell apart in the fifth after being dialed in through four innings. He’ll look to rectify that and get deeper into tonight’s game, although the bullpen has been in better shape with recent lengthy starts from Max Fried and Ryan Weathers.
Yusei Kikuchi has spent his entire career in the American League, and with that, has plenty of experience against the Yankees. The 34-year-old left-hander is coming off a serviceable 2025 with the Angels, but has struggled to start 2026, with his best start being 4.1 innings of two-run ball against the Astros, while allowing eight hits. This will be his 17th career game against the Yankees, entering with a 3.27 ERA in 74.1 innings. I always remember his first start against them in 2019 for Seattle, where there seemed to be a foreign substance on his cap that the umpires didn’t do anything about in the midst of a brilliant, 7.2-inning outing.
Even as he nears his 35th birthday, Kikuchi’s fastball remains a mid-90s offering, even if he has drastically reduced its usage over the last two years at the expense of throwing more changeups and adding a new cutter. After throwing more sliders than ever in 2025, he’s toned it down in 2026 after it yielded a lot of damage. He’ll lean on his curveball and changeup against righties and look to generate soft contact. His location has been subpar to start the year, and he’s allowed a lot of hard contact, so the Yankees should be looking to swing early and often.
With a lefty on the mound, all the lefty-killers are in the lineup, although none have them have really done damage against southpaw pitching yet. Paul Goldschmidt leads off, playing over the red-hot Ben Rice, followed by Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton. Amed Rosario will start over Ryan McMahon and bat fifth over Jazz Chisholm Jr., while Randal Grichuk gets another start as he looks to finally get a hit. José Caballero and Austin Wells swung the bat better in Tropicana Field, so let’s hope it sparks something at the bottom.
It’s a lot of hot and cold in the Angels’ lineup. Zach Neto leads off, followed by future Hall of Famer Mike Trout, who’s cooled off after a blisteringly hot start. Nolan Schanuel and the sorta-suspended Jorge Soler follow, along with Yoan Moncada, Jo Adell, former Ray Josh Lowe, Logan O’Hoppe, and Adam Frazier, who I am just now learning is still in the league. Old friend Oswald Peraza is available off the bench.
Apr 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) wears the green monster mask after hitting a two run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The Guardians and Cardinals begin a three game series in St. Louis today. Let’s see what we should expect.
The Cardinals are 8-7, 19th in wRC+ at 95, 14th in baserunning at 0.6, first in Defense at 8.0, and 28th in pitching ERA at 5.10 (5.43 FIP).
The Guardians are 9-7, 12th in wRC+ at 101, 24th in Baserunning at -0.9, 10th in Defense at -0.5, 17th in pitching ERA at 4.05 (4.04 FIP).
Matchups:
7:45PM ET Monday – Williams vs. Liberatore
7:45PM ET Tuesday – Cantillo vs. McGreevy
1:15PM ET Wednesday – Cecconi vs. May
Quick write-up today – watch out for Jordan Walker, he’s figured out how to hit.
GOODYEAR, ARIZONA - MARCH 4: Christian Encarnacion-Strand #33 of the Cincinnati Reds bats during the sixth inning of the World Baseball Classic exhibition game against Team Cuba at Goodyear Ballpark on March 4, 2026 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Christian Encarnacion-Strand era of Cincinnati Reds has come to an unceremonius close. The slugging 1B was designated for assignment back on April 8th as a way to get PJ Higgins onto the roster for catching depth in the wake of Jose Trevino’s injury, and the Reds revealed today that CES did not, in fact clear waivers.
Instead, the Reds struck a deal with the Baltimore Orioles for his services, accepting cash considerations as the return. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relayed the news on Bluesky on Monday afternoon.
CES joined the Reds at the 2022 trade deadline, doing so alongside pitcher Steve Hajjar and Spencer Steer in the deal that sent Tyler Mahle the other way to Minnesota. It was part of Cincinnati’s latest massive firesale as the Reds dealt away Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Eugenio Suarez, and Jesse Winker in other deals that calendar year (while also finally buying out the remainder of Mike Moustakas’ albatross contract). The hope was that CES would be the team’s 1B of the future with Joey Votto’s deal running down, and for a time that looked like a very real possibility.
After reaching the bigs midway through 2023, CES hit the ground running. He smashed 13 homers in just 63 games, and his 112 OPS+ led to him opening the 2024 season as the team’s 1B. It was soon revealed that he was actually trying to play through a small fracture in his wrist that had originally been overlooked, and the hope was his awful start to the year (.513 OPS in 123 PA through May 7th) was 100% due to just that. However, he’s struggled immensely ever since at the big league level as teams realized they didn’t have to throw him strikes to get him to swing, and his time with the Reds looked increasingly doomed as Sal Stewart (among others) jumped him on the right-handed hitting depth chart.
Now, though, he’ll join a Baltimore organization that just placed longtime 1B Ryan Mountcastle on the 60-day IL with a broken foot. Pete Alonso is obviously now there, but with Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad, and Jackson Holliday all also out at the moment with injuries there could well be a path to some PA at the big league level through DH duties in the near term for CES.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - APRIL 11: Joey Ortiz #3 of the Milwaukee Brewers tags out Daylen Lile #4 of the Washington Nationals attempting to steal second base i6 at American Family Field on April 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Nats are coming into Pittsburgh riding high after a sweep over the Brewers. However, they will be greeted by one of baseball’s premier arms, as Paul Skenes takes the bump. With the way the Nats offense is rolling, this will be a strength against strength matchup. Skenes will be their toughest test yet.
To match up with Skenes, Blake Butera is loading up his lineup with lefties. CJ Abrams will hit third tonight, the highest he has been in the lineup all season. Butera has tried to spread out righties and lefties, but today he has four lefties at the top including reigning NL Player of the Week James Wood in the lead off spot. Brady House will get the day off, which means Jorbit Vivas will be at third base. The hot Jacob Young is all the way up in the 5 spot. Nats ace Cade Cavalli will be on the bump tonight.
So far, the Pirates offense has been much improved. Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn have been great additions for them. Those two will be hitting second and fourth. Bryan Reynolds will be in between them at DH. Marcell Ozuna has not been hitting, so he is not in the lineup. Oneil Cruz has also been red hot at the top of the Bucs lineup. Nats fans will get their first look at the Pirates 19 year old shortstop Konnor Griffin. He has been cold to start his MLB career, but he is a phenom. As we mentioned up top, Paul Skenes will be on the mound.
This should be a fun four game set between two teams on the rise. The Pirates have elite young arms, and the Nats have an up and coming offense. That sets the stage for a really exciting matchup. I can’t wait to see what this offense can do against Skenes. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.
SARASOTA, FL - FEBRUARY 18: (EDITORS NOTE: A special effects camera filter was used for this image.) Dean Kremer #64 of the Baltimore Orioles poses for a photo during the Baltimore Orioles photo day at Ed Smith Stadium on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Ladies and gentlemen: Dean. Is. Back.
After a two-week banishment to Triple-A Norfolk to start the year, Dean Kremer is back in Baltimore and ready to make his Orioles season debut tonight. It ends one of the more bizarre sagas of the Orioles’ early 2026 season, in which Kremer — who hadn’t pitched in the minors since 2021, aside from rehab assignments — was left out in the cold when the O’s set their Opening Day rotation, then made two starts without being called up even after Zach Eflin’s injury. The Orioles had both Brandon Young and Cade Povich make major league starts before summoning Kremer (although, considering those two each delivered excellent outings, maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea).
But now he’s back. Tonight, Kremer will slide into the rotation in Eflin’s place. And poor Povich, who delivered a gem against the Giants yesterday on his birthday, has been demoted back to Norfolk, just as Young was before him. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.
Kremer worked 4.2 innings in each of his two starts with the Tides, but his second outing (zero runs) was much improved over his first (three runs). His first major league opponent of the year is not one he’s had success with. He’s faced the Diamondbacks twice, once in 2024 and once in 2025, and gave up 12 runs combined. Ouch. However, no current D’Backs hitter has more than six at-bats against him.
Arizona counters with righty Ryne Nelson, making his second career start against the Orioles. If Pete Alonso is going to continue the momentum of his two-hit day on Sunday, this is the perfect guy to do it against. He has demolished Nelson with four home runs in 11 career at-bats. In other roster news, the O’s placed Ryan Mountcastle on the 60-day IL with a left foot fracture, so the poor guy, who had already had to fight for playing time, is now gone for the next two months at least. The O’s called up utility guy Weston Wilson from Norfolk to take his place.
An Orioles win and a Yankees loss tonight would move the O’s into sole possession of first place in the AL East. That’d be neat! Let’s do it, guys.
Orioles lineup:
SS Gunnar Henderson LF Taylor Ward 1B Pete Alonso C Samuel Basallo DH Dylan Beavers CF Leody Taveras RF Colton Cowser 2B Jeremiah Jackson 3B Blaze Alexander
RHP Dean Kremer
Diamondbacks lineup:
2B Ketel Marte RF Corbin Carroll SS Geraldo Perdomo C Adrian Del Castillo DH José Fernández 1B Ildemaro Vargas 3B Nolan Arenado CF Alek Thomas LF Jorge Barrosa
Mar 26, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
After a ruff start, the Sox are still a sad 6-9 but are only two games out of first place. Tonight, we ball behind Garrett Crochet to help close that gap in a wide-open AL East (and AL in general). Game’s at 7:40 p.m. and the Sox will face Bailey Ober, who’s had a tuff start to the season himself. Here are the lineups:
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 4: Hunter Barco #45 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the sixth inning during the game against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park on April 4, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates used a unique strategy with their young starting pitchers in 2025.
The team called up top pitching prospects Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler to make highly anticipated debuts — Chandler more than any rookie in the organization last season — but out of the bullpen.
To get acclimated to MLB hitters, Chandler and Ashcraft were used in bulk relief roles before entering the rotation at the back end of the season.
It worked for both pitchers, who are now fixtures in the current Pirates rotation.
The same can’t be said for Hunter Barco. Just because the strategy worked for some doesn’t mean it will work for all.
Prior to Monday night’s series opener against the Washington Nationals, the Pirates demoted Barco to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Left-handed bullpen arm Evan Sisk is joining the club for the first time.
Barco allowed at least one run in three of his four relief appearances. He allowed one in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday as a part of the Pirates blowing a three-run lead when the ‘pen took over. The Pirates led 5-0 after the second.
Barco allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out one in 1.2 innings in the series finale. In seven total innings, Barco has allowed seven runs (five earned), walked five, and recorded five strikeouts.
He allowed three home runs in four games, totaling a 6.43 ERA and 2.14 WHIP.
Barco, 25, has the stuff to be a viable left-handed starting pitcher in the Major Leagues.
The former second-round pick only allowed three earned runs over 11.2 spring training innings and struck out 15, but also walked eight hitters.
Don Kelly told the media on Monday that the Pirates went to lengthen Barco as a starter. The Pirates are also running thin on innings and need a fresh arm, calling up the fellow lefty Sisk to fill the spot.
Kelly said the Pirates still view Barco as a starter, but he could come back to the MLB team this year in either role. Barco hadn’t pitched since April 4 until Sunday, and wasn’t pitching consistently.
In 27 games (23 starts) between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis in 2025, Barco finished 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
He very impressively didn’t allow a run in 25.2 innings over six starts at Double-A. Barco earned a 3.79 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 73.2 innings in Indianapolis.
Sisk, 28, made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals before being acquired in the Bailey Falter trade.
In 14 outings with the Pirates, Sisk allowed six runs over 12.1 innings, walked five, struck out 14, and posted a 1.30 WHIP.
He allowed two runs (one earned) over 7.2 frames with the Indians this year before receiving the call.
The Pirates host the Nationals for the first of a four-game series at PNC Park, with Paul Skenes on the mound at 6:40 p.m.
