Category: MLB

Winning is fun. For the first time in the 2026 season, the White Sox had a winning week. What started as an astonishing sweep of the Los Angeles Angels ended with a near sweep and series win in San Diego. Sunday’s loss capped a 5-1 week and saw the South Siders just two games below .500.

When your team wins five games in a week, there are only a few low lights to mention, but there are always some.

Dog Day Rain Delay

If you’re unfamiliar with the saying “April showers bring May flowers,” look no further than Monday’s game in Chicago. Fans of the Pale Hose braved the weather to bring their pooches to the park, only to be met with a three-hour rain delay. First pitch was finally tossed at 9:40 p.m. CDT, and the White Sox would not win the game until 12:34 a.m. CDT Tuesday. There are serious props to divvy out to those who stayed to see the end of the game. Here’s hoping there were endless beers for those fans.

Pitching’s Weakest Link

Anthony Kay has officially earned this title for the starting rotation. Kay pitched in two games this week, and while there was improvement between the two starts, there is still work to be done.

Monday’s rain delay might have been a long one but the lefty’s outing was quite short. Four innings of pitching resulted in four earned runs, two hit batters, two walks, and two strikeouts. Had the offense not kicked it into high gear, he would have earned the loss. Instead, he eked out a no-decision for the night and got to celebrate a comeback win with his teammates.

Kay also started in the series finale in San Diego on Sunday, giving up three runs (two earned), walking one, and striking out five. He was again in line to get the loss, but the White Sox tied the game in the seventh to take him off the hook. Two no-decisions in one week sure feels better than two losses.

Luisangel Acuña

To be fair, the offense was facing a well-rested Mason Miller in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday. However, I can make no excuses for Acuña when the tying run is on second base with two outs, and you strike out on three pitches to end the game.

Now for the fun stuff.

Fans can say the White Sox swept the Angels at home and took a series from the Padres in San Diego in 2026. If you had told them that in 2024, they probably would not have believed it. It has been a long road to get back to playing fun baseball again, and followers of the South Side team should be soaking in every last inch of it, no matter how brief it may be.

Monday’s Fun

After the aforementioned rain delay, the White Sox were down 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. If viewers had not already turned the game off, they were in for a treat.

In the seventh inning, Tristan Peters, Andrew Benintendi, Munetaka Murakami, and Miguel Vargas all drove in runs. The outfielders did their damage the old-fashioned way — with a single and a double — while Murakami and Vargas went with their usual method this year: the long ball.

Every run of the seventh inning would count for something as relief pitching gave up two additional tallies to open the week with a final score of 8-7.

Tuesday’s Takedown

In the second game of the home set against the Angels, the South Siders were up against April’s AL Pitcher of the Month, José Soriano. The apparent ace entered the game with an ERA of 0.24 and had not surrendered a run since his start on April 6. After 25 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, Colson Montgomery tagged one to right field in the second inning of the game to snap the streak.

On the home pitching side of things, Davis Martin continues to make himself known. He was one out shy of another quality start, going 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven, and allowing just one run. He ended the night with an ERA below 2.00.

Tuesday was the night Drew Romo officially made a name for himself. In the fourth inning, he too hit a home run off of Soriano. His first hit of the season would also be his first career home run. The switch-hitter decided to take his at-bat in the sixth inning from the right side of the plate and hit his second hit of the season. This one also exited the park.

Weather Day Wednesday

There was an abundance of school-aged children at Wednesday’s series finale, given that it was Weather Day at the ballpark. They made their presence known with many screams captured by the on-field microphone.

Even though he earned a no-decision, Erik Fedde showed up for seven strong innings of baseball. He held Mike Trout’s Angels to just two runs, walked no one, and struck out six. Seranthony Domínguez earned his keep after recording the save in Tuesday’s game. The closer held this game at a 2-2 tie in the top of the tenth and even ended up with the win.

The contest was looking like it was going to be a tough 2-1 loss until the bottom of the ninth inning. Sam Antonacci hit his second triple of the season to drive in Peters to tie it up and push the contest into extras. In the 10th inning with the bases loaded, Montgomery played hero and walked off the game to complete the sweep.

Friday the 13th

Vibes were high when the White Sox arrived in San Diego. Mune treated some of his teammates to sushi during the off-day, and it appears a new handshake between him and Montgomery was born out of it.

The power of friendship is clearly what brought them to homering in the same game for the seventh time this season. They are the only pair to do so this season thus far. Murakami’s home run capped off a six-run second inning for the White Sox. His 13th dinger of the season allowed him to retake the MLB home run lead (as of 9:35 p.m. CDT May 4, Mune and Aaron Judge are now tied for the lead after hitting their 14th home runs).

The shortstop’s round-tripper did not occur until three innings later to extend the lead to 7-0. Long balls are always exciting, but the ninth home run of Montgomery’s season carried a little less pizazz than his counterpart’s 13th.

Scoring eight runs will win plenty of ballgames, but strong pitching is what keeps teams in them. Noah Schultz knew the task at hand and delivered one of his strongest outings thus far. The 22-year-old rookie struck out only two batters in his six innings of work, but he also allowed no runs, keeping the White Sox’s cushion at maximum comfort.

Shutouts on Saturdays

Sean Burke would like a word with Martin about the title for pitching staff ace. The righthander came out guns blazing in San Diego and fired six innings of no-run baseball, striking out six along the way. Burke has now gone 14 1/3 innings without allowing a run.

Domínguez yet again gets praise for achieving the save in this win as well.

Sunday Scaries

The singular blemish to the week came on Sunday; however, there were still highlights in the close loss.

First and foremost, Romo homered for a third time in the week during the top of the third inning to give the Good Guys an early lead. As if that were not exciting enough, Derek Hill saw that the team was running out of time and hit a game-tying two-run bomb in the seventh inning.

The saddest little infield squibbler in the eighth brought home the go-ahead run, lifting the Padres and handing the White Sox their first loss of the week.

If you weren’t keeping track, pitching gave up only 17 runs last week. That is an average of less than three runs per game. On the flip side, the offense scored 32 runs. That comes out to just over five runs per game. Five runs scored per game > three given up per game = lots of wins this season. This equation, if repeated by the White Sox many weeks over, could result in a very fun rest of the season.

Other News and Notes

The big news during Sunday’s loss was that Chicago promoted Braden Montgomery from the Double-A Birmingham Barons to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. After 99 at-bats with the Barons, the outfield prospect is hitting .313 with five doubles, three triples, and six home runs. A promotion well deserved.

Also down on the farm, Hagen Smith was named the White Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April. He ended the month with a 2.20 ERA in Charlotte, striking out 21 batters in 16 1/3 innings pitched.

Austin Hays went on the injured list on May 4 with a calf strain. To add outfield depth to an already infield-heavy White Sox team, the front office signed Randal Grichuk to a one-year, $1.25 million deal. The former first-rounder was DFA’d by the Yankees on Friday after playing in 16 games and batting .194. He will fit right in with this outfield.

The momentum looks to continue on the West Coast with three more games against the Angels until the Good Guys can return home for a weekend series against the Mariners.

Shohei Ohtani has won the past two National League MVP awards, and his two-way production as a pitcher and a hitter give him a leg up on the competition in the race for what could be his third. 

FanDuel’s odds for NL MVP show Ohtani (-370) as the easy favorite to repeat amidst an emerging field of rising stars. Ohtani’s striking out 10 batters per 9 innings and posting a sub-1 WHIP. He’s still an excellent hitter who’s drawn the most intentional walks, but he’s slugging just .454 and working through a genuine slump, going hitless through four straight games for the first time in his career. 

Even a small dimming of Ohtani’s star might contribute to voter fatigue as members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) look to reward more of the game’s incredible talents. Despite the long odds of overtaking the dual-threat Ohtani, there are a few early candidates who could see their stocks rise significantly with another impressive month of production.

Corbin Carroll (+1700) finished tied for sixth in NL MVP voting last season, and he’s returning from a broken hamate bone by drawing more walks and legging out extra-base hits at an historic clip.

Matt Olson (+1700) is leading the league in WAR after the first month, mashing 11 HRs and pushing across a league-leading 31 RBI while slashing .299/.380/.650.

Elly De La Cruz (+2200) is already in his third season in the pros at just 24 years old. After playing through a quad strain for much of last season, he’s back on pace for a potential 40/40 season, and just a fraction behind the league lead in WAR.  

Ronald Acuna Jr (+2200) was the most recent non-Ohtani recipient of NL MVP, and he’s produced MVP-caliber numbers whenever he’s healthy. His health is another big reason for the Atlanta Braves’ league-leading win total, but he’ll need to bounce back quickly from a recent stint on the IL.

Juan Soto (+3000) – finished third in NL MVP voting last year, and he’s starting to get healthy for a Mets lineup that’s desperate for a star to step up. His first game back in the lineup marked the end of a 12-game losing streak.

James Wood (+4000) has a massive frame and a short swing that blasts through contact. He strikes out a fair amount, but he’s also walking more this season (19.9% walk rate leads NL), and has made a few highlightplays in right field.

Drake Baldwin (+5000) won the 2025 Rookie of the Year award, and if the left handed-hitting catcher continues on his pace to leap past last year’s 19 HRs, he could emerge as Atlanta’s brightest star.
Jordan Walker (+6000) is stealing more bases and he’s already exceeded last season’s HR total, showing the 23-year-old might be getting comfortable in his 6’6”, 250 lb. frame.

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Yohendrick Pinango is off to an amazing start to his MLB career, and I’m expecting the Toronto Blue Jays rookie to continue swinging a hot bat tonight against Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen.

Read on to see why with my Blue Jays vs. Rays predictions and MLB Picks on Tuesday, May 5. 

Blue Jays vs Rays predictions

Blue Jays vs Rays best bet: Yohendrick Piango Over 0.5 hits (-145)

Yohendrick Pinango has been a delight since being called up from Triple-A.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ rookie outfielder has seven hits in his last three contests, raising his batting average to .500 over seven games. 

He’s gone 5-2 to the Over on his hits market, and has cashed in three straight games. 

Pinango’s early results suggest he’s got a pretty good matchup tonight with Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a three-pitch starter who deploys a cutter, sinker, and four-seamer. 

Though it's a small sample size, Toronto’s rookie owns a .600 batting average with a .475 xBA against the trio of pitches Rasmussen uses. He's also batted leadoff in the last two games, giving him more opportunities at the dish.

COVERS INTEL: While his 5.3% strikeout rate is unsustainable, Pinango has never showcased much swing-and-miss, with K-rates ranging between 19-24% in Double-A and up since 2024.

Blue Jays vs Rays same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll continue to bet on the birds and take Kazuma Okamoto to record a hit. The Jays slugger is on a heater, with at least one hit in four straight, recording seven total in that stretch.

For the final leg of the SGP, I’ll take Kevin Gausman to go Over 17.5 outs. The Blue Jays ace owns a .96 WHIP and has seen his pitch count increase game by game. He should be in line to throw up to 100 pitches if he’s dealing.

Additionally, Gausman is averaging 18 outs over his last three starts, and has finished the sixth in four of his seven appearances.

Blue Jays vs Rays SGP

• Yohendrick Pinango Over 0.5 hits
• Kazuma Okamoto Over 0.5 hits
• Kevin Gausman Over 17.5 outs

Blue Jays vs Rays home run pick: Daulton Varsho (+510)

I’m only betting a half unit on this one.

Rasmussen doesn’t give up a lot of hard contact, but he has been a little homer-prone in 2026, allowing five long balls in just over 30 innings (1.47 HR/9). 

However, Daulton Varsho has a good chance to go hard tonight. 

He’s got a lot of pop in his bat and has a .611 SLG rate against the sinker, which is one of Rasmussen's go-to pitches. Also, four of the five home runs Rasmussen has allowed have come off left-handed bats.

Blue Jays vs Rays odds

• Moneyline: Toronto +110 | Tampa Bay -130
• Run line: Toronto +1.5 (-190) | Tampa Bay -1.5 (+160)
• Over/Under: Over 7 (-110) | Under 7 (-110)

Blue Jays vs Rays trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Under in 25 of their last 35 games (+14.90 Units / 35% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Rays.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Rays and game info

Blue Jays vs Rays latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Rays weather

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This is going to be a grab bag of news items on the Tigers for Tuesday. Manager A.J. Hinch was on MLB Radio on Tuesday morning. He confirmed that infielder Zach McKinstry will return from the injured list against the Boston Red Sox tonight. McKinstry was banged up in a pair of collisions in a series against the Kansas City Royals in mid-April, and went on the injured list with hip and abdominal inflammation after colliding with Jac Caglione as he tried to field a ground ball.

Hinch also mentioned that Gleyber Torres is still day-to-day with tightness on the left side of his torso, presumably a mild oblique strain. At the moment Torres is still expected to avoid an injured list stint, but isn’t ready to play either. Torres last played on Saturday.

The Tigers infield depth is under some stress as a result, with Javier Báez on the injured list with an ankle injury. The club picked up veteran infielder Paul deJong on a minor league deal on Tuesday. DeJong played for the Washington Nationals in 2025, and still played a bit of shortstop with them, though third base was his most played position. He hit .228/.269/.373 with six homers and four stolen bases in 208 plate appearances. He will be assigned to Triple-A Toledo.

Finally, in a shocker, Toledo Mud Hens manager Gabe Alvarez, a rising star on the farm system who managed the Double-A Erie SeaWolves to back-to-back Eastern League Championships in 2023 and 2024, has been fired. There are no further details, as the Tigers simply announced that his contract was terminated for a violation of club policy. All we know is that hitting coach Mike Hessman has taken over as interim manager. That’s a tough one as Alvarez has played a role shepherding several of the club’s top prospects to the major leagues, and was thought to have the potential to manage in the major leagues or move into player development in the front office.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, ranked first in the NL West with a 22-13 record, face the Houston Astros, who are fourth in the AL West with a 14-22 record. Starting pitchers are Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, with a 0.60 ERA, and Peter Lambert for the Astros, with a 3.52 ERA.

How to watch Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros

• Date: Tuesday, May 5

• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET / 5:10 p.m. PT

• Where: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

• TV Channels: TBS, Space City Home Network, Space City Home Network (Sp), SportsNet LA

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Los Angeles Dodgers: 22-13 (first in NL West)

• Houston Astros: 14-22 (fourth in AL West)

Odds

• Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5

• Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -220 / Houston Astros +180

• Over/under: 8.5

Starting pitchers

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (2-1, ERA: 0.60, K: 34, WHIP: 0.87)

Houston Astros: Peter Lambert (1-2, ERA: 3.52, K: 19, WHIP: 1.24)

Weather: 81°F at first pitch

Two rookies are off to fast starts in the American League with both Munetaka Murakami and Kevin McGonigle making an early splash.

It’s no surprise the duo finds themselves atop FanDuel’s American League Rookie of the Year 2026 market through the first month of the season. Only two of the last 14 American League Rookie of the Year winners were full-time pitchers, giving a sizable recency advantage to rookie hitters in the voting. 

Chicago White Sox slugging sensation Munetaka Murakami (+145) is the current favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. Tied for the league lead in home runs (14 in 35 games) with Aaron Judge, Murakami is tied for fifth in baseball in RBI (28) and ninth in OPS (.961).

The Japanese first baseman is off to a highlight-reel start with numerous towering home runs and a star quality the White Sox lacked in recent seasons. Murakami’s only downside is a high strikeout rate with 50 in his first 35 games. 

Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle (+155) stays in the mix with Murakami after claiming AL Rookie of the Month for March/April. A four-hit performance on Opening Day set the tone for the 21-year-old’s fast start, which included signing an eight-year, $150 million extension just weeks into the start of his Major League career. 

McGonigle is 16th in baseball with a .315 batting average to go along with two home runs, 16 RBI and a notable 2.2 WAR. Although Murakami is deservedly grabbing early headlines for his power, McGonigle has been the most polished rookie at the start of the season.   

After a rapid decline in odds from the top two contenders, Cleveland Guardians right fielder Chase DeLauter (+1000) and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (+1200) find themselves firmly in the next tier. Both players find themselves in the midst of recent hot streaks.

DeLauter went 8-for-11 during Cleveland’s latest three-game series against the Athletics, giving him a team-leading .304 batting average, 21 RBI and .946 OPS. In the midst of an eight-game hitting streak and 12 straight games on base, DeLauter is recovering nicely from a small slump in mid-April and could be a sleeper candidate with continued production. 

Okamoto has six of his nine home runs in the last 15 days, finding his stride by hitting mammoth home runs and climbing Toronto’s batting order. Although behind in offensive numbers compared to his rookie counterparts, Okamoto has the power and defensive acumen to quickly climb the odds if the hot streak sustains. 

The 1950s were a hugely successful stretch for the Yankees organization. Although the rosters were often headlined by future Hall of Fame members and generational greats, they were rosters full of talented players, a necessity for winning multiple World Series. Among the players with smaller roles was Bob Cerv, who had limited playing time in pinstripes, but would later prove himself as a talented player in his own right.

Although his most significant mark may have been made with other clubs, Cerv was a legitimate big league bat for much of his 12 years in The Show, even if it didn’t always come with New York. Either way, the outfielder filled a role on the successful Yankees teams of the early 1950s, one of the franchise’s most impressive runs of dominance.

Bob Cerv
Born: May 5, 1925 (Weston, NE)
Died: April 6, 2017 (Blair, NE)
Yankees Tenure: 1951-56, 1960, 1961-62

Born in Nebraska in 1925, Robert Henry Cerv played baseball in college as a Cornhusker and fought in World War II, before eventually signing with the Yankees prior to the 1950 season. A year later, at the age of 26, Cerv would make his Major League debut with New York. The big right-hander was called up in August of 1951, kicking off just a cup of coffee with the club. Although this was more in the style of a late-season call-up, the part-time role he had in ‘51 became the norm for Cerv for much of his Yankee career.

After just 12 games and 33 plate appearances in that debut season, Cerv combined for barely over 100 combined plate appearances over the next two seasons with the Yankees. The results were not particularly convincing, but enough to keep him around going into the 1954 season, when he would really begin to prove himself.

That ‘54 campaign kicked off a really good run for Cerv, though it notably took place in a limited role, as he spent much of his time on the field in a part-time capacity and as a pinch-hitter. That being said, for the final three years of his first stretch with New York, Cerv was an All-Star level hitter, who likely would have earned himself a lot more time in the modern game. He had a 121 OPS + in ‘54 across 112 plate appearances, and would only come to improve on that number. In the following season, he posted a terrific .341/.411/.541 slash line and was worth 1.2 bWAR in less than 100 plate appearances. And in 1956, he was just as good, in a then career-high 155 plate appearances. He was also a postseason contributor during that impressive run, which included a home run in their losing 1955 Fall Classic, as well a 1-for-1 line in the victorious ‘56 Series, both against the Dodgers.

Shortly after that World Series win, Cerv’s services were purchased by the Kansas City Athletics. It was clear that the A’s planned on giving Cerv a more substantial shot, and although the experiment was disappointing in 1957, the veteran turned in a massive career-year in the following season. In that 1958 season, Cerv was a star, exploding for 38 home runs, and hitting to the tune of a near-MVP-level 159 OPS+. Reasonably so, he was rewarded with his first and only All-Star selection, and finished fourth in MVP voting that season — not too bad for a former part-timer relegated to pinch-hitting duty.

The powerful outfielder had a couple of good seasons left in him as he entered his mid-30s, including another with KC in ‘59, and a season split between teams in 1960. Despite the post-World Series departure, Cerv’s time in pinstripes was also far from done. In 1960, he was traded back to the Bombers and played 87 solid games with them that season, before being selected by the Angels in the expansion draft that winter.

He returned to the club once again via trade in 1961 for 51 solid games with the Yankees, and would spend the beginning of the ‘62 season with the club as well. By this point, Cerv was entering his late-30s, and was once again largely occupying a part-time role. He wrapped up his big league career in 1962, with his final time coming with Houston in the middle of that season.

After a dozen seasons, Bob Cerv’s big-league career was over, and though his role was limited for much of it, he was able to briefly reach significant heights. Born on this day 101 years ago, he lived in his native Nebraska into his 90s, before passing in 2017. Like many players featured in this series, today marks a good opportunity to look back on an interesting and at times very good career in Yankees history — and one that got to be celebrated at several futures Old-Timers’ Days. Happy birthday, Bob.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

The Texas Rangers, ranked third in the AL West with a 16-18 record, face the New York Yankees, who are first in the AL East with a 24-11 record. Starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for Texas, with a 2.01 ERA, and Elmer Rodríguez for New York, with a 4.50 ERA.

How to watch Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees

• Date: Tuesday, May 5

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET / 4:05 p.m. PT

• Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

• TV Channels: YES, Rangers Sports Network

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Texas Rangers: 16-18 (third in AL West)

• New York Yankees: 24-11 (first in AL East)

Odds

• Spread: New York Yankees -1.5

• Moneyline: New York Yankees -125 / Texas Rangers +105

• Over/under: 9

Starting pitchers

Texas Rangers: Jacob deGrom (2-1, ERA: 2.01, K: 40, WHIP: 0.96)

New York Yankees: Elmer Rodríguez (0-1, ERA: 4.50, K: 3, WHIP: 2.00)

Weather: 74°F at first pitch

Catcher Jonah Heim, who signed with the Atlanta Braves this offseason after being non-tendered by the Texas Rangers, was traded to the Athletics yesterday for cash considerations.

Heim went to camp with the Braves on a minor league deal, but with veteran Sean Murphy starting the year on the injured list, Heim was on the Opening Day roster for Atlanta as the backup to Drake Baldwin. Murphy was activated yesterday, so Heim was designated for assignment, and then promptly traded to the A’s.

Both Heim and Murphy, incidentally, originally debuted with Oakland. Murphy was a third round pick of the A’s and spent four seasons in the majors with them before being traded to the Braves in a weird three team deal that saw the A’s get an underwhelming package of five players highlighted by Esteury Ruiz. The Milwaukee Brewers, the third team in the deal, got catcher William Contreras from Atlanta.

Heim, meanwhile, was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2013, was traded to the Rays at the 2016 trade deadline, and then was sent to Oakland as the player to be named later in the Joey Wendle trade. Heim then was traded to Texas in February, 2021, as part of the Khris Davis/Elvis Andrus trade.

Heim is slashing .231/.311/.410 in 45 plate appearances so far this season, and is taking the active roster spot of Shea Langeliers, who has been placed on paternity leave. 35 year old veteran Austin Wynns has been backing up Langeliers this season, but has a 244 OPS in 39 plate appearances, and so Heim may ultimately end up replacing Wynns as the primary backup catcher.

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Our MLB best bets for May 5 start with another fade of a struggling squad, as well as banking on runs in the Bronx, despite Jacob deGrom taking the mound.

See why our expert MLB picks love the value of these two plays at Polymarket — plus the Tigers, who are also undervalued as well. 

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: TEX/NYY o8.5	+100
Joe Osborne: CHW ML	+104
Neil Parker: CHW/LAA NRFI	-102
Jon Metler: DET ML	-150

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Rangers/Yankees Over 8.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

The hitting conditions at Yankee Stadium are prime for runs, with 17 mph winds blowing out to left field and THE BAT projecting over 10 runs in this matchup. The fair price on Over 8.5 sits around -130. Jacob deGrom is always a concern, but he’s still working on a ~90-pitch leash, and the New York Yankees just saw him on April 28. On the other side, Elmer Rodriguez had an inefficient outing vs. the Texas Rangers last week — and could be in trouble again, especially with a familiarity edge for hitters on both sides.

Joe Osborne's expert pick: White Sox moneyline

Price: 49¢ (+104) at Polymarket

I don't think the Los Angeles Angels should be favored over anyone right now. After a promising start to the season, they've lost 13 of their last 15 games! Over the last two weeks, LA ranks 25th in OPS and 27th in bullpen ERA, while the Chicago White Sox sit in the top eight in both categories and have the edge on the mound tonight. Erick Fedde has been solid with a 3.24 ERA, while the Angels turn to youngster Sam Aldegheri, who's been rocked for a 7.77 ERA in AAA this season — and a 6.35 ERA in limited MLB action across the last three years.

Neil Parker's expert pick: White Sox/Angels NRFI

Price: 51¢ (-102) at Polymarket

White Sox starter Erick Fedde has held opposing hitters to a minuscule .385 OPS in the opening frame and pitched a scoreless first in three of his four starts, including last time out against these Angels. Los Angeles counters with lefty Sam Aldegheri, and he’ll have the benefit of the Chicago lineup seeing him for the first time. So, while Aldegheri’s MLB and Triple A numbers are nothing to write home about, the Pale Hose sport a .231 batting average in the first frame and score in the first inning at a league-average 28.57% rate.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Tigers moneyline

Price: 60¢ (-150) at Polymarket

Losing Tarik Skubal for months was a tough blow for the Detroit Tigers, but this is exactly why they brought in Framber Valdez — to stabilize the rotation — and his opportunity to step in as the ace begins tonight against the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers are trading at 60 cents, while I make them closer to 64 cents, leaving a clear edge. Brayan Bello will do the bulk of the pitching for Boston, and he’s struggled badly against left-handed hitters this season, allowing a .414 average and a 1.313 OPS. That’s a major concern against a Tigers lineup loaded with left-handed bats like Kevin McGonigle, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Colt Keith. Boston will try to offset that with left-hander Jovani Moran as an opener, but that wrinkle is already baked into the projection.

More MLB best bets for today

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The AL Cy Young award betting market was reshaped once again by Monday’s news of Detroit Tigers ace pitcher Tarik Skubal needing elbow surgery.  

Key Takeaways

• Skubal was a +250 favorite last week and is now off the board. 
  
  
• There is no timetable yet for his return from elbow surgery. 
  
  
• Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler is now the market’s favorite at +200.

Not only are all three 2025 top vote getters (Skubal, Garrett Crochet, and Hunter Brown) currently on the injured list, but Skubal and Crochet were co-favorites at +350 to win the award when BetMGM opened its market earlier this year. 

The Tigers today placed LHP Tarik Skubal on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 1) with loose bodies in his left elbow. RHP Ty Madden (#36) has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo.

— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) May 4, 2026

Skubal, who won the award last year, got as short as +175 after the first week of the regular season and was the +250 favorite heading into this week in the Cy Young odds. 

By Monday afternoon, Skubal was off the board at BetMGM. There is no timetable yet for the return of the fiery left-hander, who is having loose bodies removed from his elbow. 

New favorite

New York Yankees hurler Cam Schlittler was installed as the new AL Cy Young award favorite on Monday afternoon and was as low as +200 on Tuesday morning. Teammate Max Fried was listed second with odds of +350, Toronto’s Dylan Cease was placed fourth at +500, while Los Angeles Angels ace Jose Soriano was fifth at +550. 

Odds spiked to +1,200 on Texas Rangers starter Jacob deGrom. 

Crochet had fallen to over +6,000 before he was sidelined with shoulder inflammation, and he is not currently listed on BetMGM’s board. The Red Sox expect Crochet back this month. 

Brown, who could return to the Astros in June, has massive odds of +20,000 to win the Cy Young. 

Moving on up

The week before Skubal went on the IL, he led BetMGM’s AL Cy Young award market with 9.8% of the tickets. Skubal was second in handle (11.8%) behind Soriano’s 14.5% of the money. 

Schlittler has seen his odds shorten quickly over the last few weeks. He opened at +10,000 and was down to +3,000 when the season began. A hot start got Schlittler down to +450 last week, tying him for second on the odds list with Soriano. 

Schlittler has a 5-1 record and leads the AL with a 1.52 ERA. He’s tied for third in the AL in strikeouts (53) and has allowed just one home run over eight starts. 

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The automated ball and strike system is here to stay, and we’ve already seen its impact around baseball. It seems that the general consensus between players, fans, and media after one month of the new system is that it’s a welcome improvement that also adds a bit of a new strategy wrinkle to games. So, let’s take this opportunity to see how the Phillies have utilized their ABS challenges and how successful they’ve been after the month of April.

As a team, the Phillies are near the bottom of the league in total number of challenges issued, with their 59 challenges entering play on Monday ranking 25th in baseball. They’ve been correct in their challenge 51% of the time, putting them at 21st in baseball. For comparison, the Minnesota Twins have issued the most challenges with 97 but they’ve only been correct 54% of the time, putting them 13th in accuracy. Meanwhile the Arizona Diamondbacks have been the most accurate in their challenges, as they were correct 64% of the time despite ranking 28th in total challenges issued.

As may have been expected, J.T. Realmuto has been one of the best at challenging pitches as a catcher. He’s done it seven times and has been correct six times. It’s a small sample as Realmuto has just returned from the injured list, but his 86% success rate has him tied for fifth best among catchers who have issued at least five challenges so far. However, the Phillies other two catchers have not had the same amount of success. Garrett Stubbs has only issued two challenges, getting one right and one wrong. Rafael Marchán meanwhile has challenged 16 pitches in his 16 games in the majors this year and has a 50%-win rate. That half and half win percentage ties Marchán for the ninth worst rate among all catchers who have issued at least 15 challenges.

An early trend league wide is that many teams are not allowing their pitchers to challenge pitches. It’s a logical position, as pitchers could be too emotional or not in a good position to actually see where the pitch ended up. However, the Phillies are one team that has allowed their pitches to challenge, and Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo are among the league leaders in challenges issued. Of course, the league lead is only three challenges held by old friend Gregory Soto. Nevertheless, Sánchez and Luzardo have both challenged two pitches with the former being 0-2 and the latter being 1-1. Zach Pop was the first and only other Phillies pitcher to challenge this year and he was unsuccessful on one attempt.

Phillies hitters have issued 29 challenges, placing them 19th among all teams. Their 48%-win rate is among the top half of the league though, ranking 12th best. Kyle Schwarber has issued the most challenges as a hitter for the Phillies with 8 which also puts him in an eight-way tie for the fifth most among all hitters league wide. Schwarber has won five challenges and lost three, giving him a success rate of 63% that is 12th best among all hitters who have issued at least five challenges. He’s also the only Phillies hitter to attempt a challenge more than three times, with Alec Bohm, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Justin Crawford all tied for second place. Bohm has been the most successful of that group, going 2-3 while Harper and Turner are both 1-3. Crawford so far is 0-3 and is the only Phillies to have issued more than one challenge that has not been correct yet, an interesting early development considering Crawford played with the ABS all of last season in Triple-A. He wasn’t particularly good at it there either though, as Crawford went 3-10 on challenges in 2025.

These are just some of the early trends through one month of the ABS system. It will be fascinating to see if teams and players adjust their strategies as everyone around Major League Baseball gets more comfortable with the idea of being able to challenge balls and strikes.

Much has been made about the fact that the Red Sox lineup was essentially constructed around the belief that Roman Anthony, despite not yet hitting his 22nd birthday, would perform like one of the best hitters in the game this year. Suffice it to say, that hasn’t happened yet. Anthony is slashing just .229/.354/.321 (though the underlying metrics suggest he hasn’t been nearly that bad) and the lineup’s been struggling to score with him at the top of it. But now, for a few days at least, it will need to find a way to score without him at all. Anthony has flown back to Boston to see a specialist after leaving last night’s game with right wrist discomfort. X-rays conducted in Detroit last night were negative, which is certainly great to hear, but the Sox can’t afford to take any chances. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

That’s not the only injury the Sox are monitoring right now. Lefty reliever Danny Coulombe has been placed on the 15-day IL with cervical spasms, and he has absolutely no idea how he got them. “Old age?” Coulombe guessed. “I think when you sleep on a lot of different pillows, sometimes you just tweak things. I don’t have anything else.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

Brayan Bello is not injured; he’s just been terrible. In an attempt to help him fight his way out of his funk, Bello will not start tonight’s game, but will instead follow Jovani Moran as an opener. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

So how are things going with the starters who are injured? Everything went swimmingly when Sonny Gray threw a bullpen over the weekend, and he is expected to be activated and start tomorrow night’s game against the Tigers. Ranger Suarez, meanwhile, feels good after being forced out of a recent game due to hamstring tightness, while Garrett Crochet is playing catch to rebuild arm strength after going on the IL with shoulder inflammation. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Interim manager Chad Tracy isn’t going to have much success without health from his big arms, no matter what changes he implements. But here’s an early look at some of those changes anyway, with the most impactful one being that he’s dealing with the outfield logjam by keeping Masataka Yoshida on the bench to use as a pinch-hitter. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Tracy’s reasoning for benching Yoshida is based on the fact that the three other outfield/DH options have better all-around skill sets and provide more ways to win. Jarren Duran’s home run last night was the key hit in the game and a reminder of just how much he can help the Sox win when he’s firing. (WEEI)

Holy cow. 42 years of watching baseball prepares you for so many things. So many days, you “feel” what is going to happen next. Obviously, I liked this matchup on paper for this game. Chase Petty has a pretty decent pedigree, but he hadn’t yet established himself at the major league level. I doubt any memoirs will be written about his first 2026 start, 5.2 innings and three runs allowed. But against a Cub offense that has been terrific, four hits and two walks in just shy of six innings is a good outcome. Cub starter Edward Cabrera bested him by just one out. But he allowed the same three runs and two walks. But his outing came with nine hits. The Reds had constant traffic and save for one inning, Petty was real effective.

So it was that as this one got into the late innings and after Ben Brown yielded a run in the eighth, this one felt like it might be a loss. But then, that pesky Cub offense loaded the bases in the eighth. Maybe. Maybe they could at least tie it. But when they left the bases loaded, you could feel it deflate. And why not, really? The Reds had basically an 84 percent chance to win after the eighth inning.

I saw Ryan Rolison pitch for the first time. What an impressive performance it was. He faced three batters, struck them all out and then had some serious vibes going as he walked off the field. It will be so easy to do, but we shouldn’t overlook how important it is to go lock it down in that spot. It changes the whole energy of the inning if that is a two run (or more) deficit in the bottom of the ninth. Still, this Reds team is in contention through this point in the season, basically because they’ve won literally every close game that they have played. This was a tall task. Even after Rolison froze that lead at one, the Cubs still had only a 19.5 percent chance of winning heading to the bottom of the ninth.

The data I saw said that the ball Pete Crow-Armstrong hit to start the ninth inning would have been a homer in 17 parks. Credit for Pete for busting it out of the box and getting a relatively easy triple after the ball dropped against the wall. The biggest drama there was him holding on to the base after a full speed slide into third. Additional kudos for Pete coming through after two quick strikes on him. After his triple, the Cubs jumped all of the way up to 58.3 percent chance of winning. That was about as big of a WPA play as we’ve seen. At least for a few more batters.

Then Dansby Swanson struck out. That dropped the Cubs back down to a 40.9 percent chance of winning. Outs are SO valuable. So valuable, in fact, that when Nico Hoerner hit the decently deep fly ball that I’m sure most of us expected, the chance of winning only bounced up to 53.4 percent. A tie game with two outs in the ninth is largely a coin flip.

You had to expect Michael Conforto to get to bat for Matt Shaw in that spot. What I would never have guessed is that Michael Conforto, in what has been a pretty decent career, had never hit a walk-off homer. His 180th career homer isn’t an insane number to never have one. With a career that has seen him go from the Mets to the Giants to the Dodgers (and now the Cubs), it feels like he’s been around some good teams. In a season of amazing things, Michael’s first ever walk-off homer is also his first homer for the Cubs. He crushed it, too. There wasn’t a lot of drama in it getting out. I’m fully aware of the late career bench players the Cubs have had in recent years. I also know that at 32 years old, he wasn’t very valuable for the Dodgers and wasn’t playing by the time they reached the postseason (despite 122 games started for them).

From Cabrera’s quality start, to Seiya Suzuki’s monstrous three-run, game-tying homer, to Rolison’s dominant inning, to PCA’s triple, to Nico’s sacrifice fly to Conforto’s walk-off, this one was thrilling throughout. It feels like the term “playoff baseball” maybe gets thrown around too easily. But, this felt like a big game for May 4. Every one of those contributions I mentioned above and several others that helped set the stage contributed to an exciting and fulfilling game.

Six straight wins. 12 straight wins at home. 16 of 19 overall. This team is blazing hot. In the division that has been the best one in baseball so far, the Cubs are creating a little space in the standings. What a time to be alive!

Three Positives:

• It feels impossible to pick just three. Conforto has to get this top spot for the game winner. Great moment for him. Great moment for the team.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong started the rally with his triple and then scored. The OPS trickles up to .667.
• Seiya Suzuki for the giant three-run homer. He had a single and a walk as well. It isn’t often that a three-run, game-tying homer while down three gets upstaged by not one but two other high value plays.

The Cubs ended up with six hits and six walks. That’s a pretty good performance by the Reds pitching staff.

Game 35, May 4: Cubs 5, Reds 4 (23-12)

WPA Graph

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Michael Conforto (.466). 1-1, HR, RBI, R
• 3rd largest WPA score of the year. Conforto also has the 2nd highest (4/19 against the Mets)
• Hero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.29). 1-4, 3B, R
• Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.26). 2-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI, R

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Dansby Swanson (-.27). 0-4
• Goat: Ben Brown (-.20). IP, 5 BF, H, BB, ER, K
• Kid: Carson Kelly (-.17). 0-3, BB

WPA Play of the Game: Michael Conforto’s walk-off, game-winning homer. (.466)

*Reds Play of the Game: Ke’Bryan Hayes hir a two-out, two-run home in the second gave the Reds a three-run lead. (.199)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 34 Winner: Michael Bush received 43% of the votes (94 votes)

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Conforto +10
• Nico Hoerner +9.5
• Shōta Imanaga +7
• Pete Crow-Armstrong/Caleb Thielbar/Phil Maton/Jacob Webb -6
• Matt Shaw -9
• Seiya Suzuki -11

Current Win Pace: 106.45

Up Next: Game two of the four-game set between these two teams. Jameson Taillon (2-1, 4.41, 34.2 IP) makes his seventh start of the season. Last time he allowed three runs over seven innings of work, allowing only three hits and one walk at San Diego. The Reds start 26-year-old Andrew Abbott (1-2, 5.97, 34.2 IP) who will be making his eighth start of the season. Abbott was the second round pick of the Reds in 2021 (53rd overall). The Cubs are only 5-5 when the other team starts a lefty but 18-7 when they start a righty.

Bringing back a discussion that ran through much of last season, the Cubs actually have a pretty considerable lead on best OPS versus lefties at .830. They have an .037 lead on the Dodgers. That same gap again would drop down to ninth. So the Cubs have separated from the pack that way. They are .056 behind the Braves against righties (.761). This same exact phenomenon existed all of last year. The Cubs hit lefties well, but don’t end up winning for whatever variety of reasons.

13 in a row at home would be an amazing feat. I don’t know about you, but I’m just fine if they want to keep on going.

Go Cubs!