Category: MLB

No ABS.

For those of you who, just like me, wasn’t really having its vision towards the next series, it might have come as a surprise to see the Diamondbacks play a two-game weekend series against a division rival.

The reason: the Diamondbacks move to Mexico to face the San Diego Padres in an International Series.

It is MLB’s first international series of the season and, by courtesy of a couple of articles on MLB.com, here are some facts:

• It is the 3rd time that MLB plays a series at the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City.
• The first time MLB played at this stadium was in 2023, when the Padres faced the Giants.
• In 2024 MLB returned with a game between the Astros and Rockies.
• The stadium has around 20,000 seats and is named after a minority owner of the Padres.
• The stadium is at an elevation of 7,300 feet above sea level, so we could expect lots of homeruns: Padres and Giants launched 11 in their inaugural match of the series in 2023.
• The Padres have played MLB games 4 times in Mexico, one against each NL West opponent so far.
• The Diamondbacks have never played a regular season game in Mexico, though have been in Mexico 11 times for exhibition games (Hermosillo and Monterey).
• This match won’t have the ABS, because the stadium lacks the infrastructure for it.

The Diamondbacks nor the Padres have a Mexican player on their 40-man roster. Alek Thomas has played for Mexico in the past on the WBC. Who will the Mexicans side with?

The Padres are league leaders.

The Padres started the season with a 2-4 record after the first two series but beat the Red Sox and the Pirates after that to get to .500. Ever since, they have taken advantage of a poor Rockies team, sweeping a four-game series and winning a three-game one. In between another sweep of the Seattle Mariners and a series win against the Angels, who halted their 8-game winning streak. It is no surprise that this hot Padres team has taken over the Dodgers as league leaders.

The guys that have carried the Padres’ offence are not the names you’d most likely expect. Sure, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. have had their share of RBI’s and hits, but since the start of their 8-game winning streak against Pittsburgh, veteran Xander Bogaerts (3 homeruns, 12 RBI, 178 WRC+), Ramón Laureano (12 homeruns, 11 RBI, 148 WRC+) and first baseman Gavin Sheets (3 homeruns, 7 RBI, 134 WRC+) have been driving everyone in. Both Bogaerts (.342 BABIP) and Laureano (.419 BABIP) are especially riding the hot bat. Add to that some excellent pitching from starters like Michael King and Randy Vasquez, reliable innings from former Rockie Germán Marquez and former Dodger Walker Buehler and a stand-out performance from the bullpen, led by Mason Miller and his 9 saves and 0.00 ERA, and you have yourself a very difficult team to beat.

Now the Diamondbacks haven’t been a shabby team themselves either, winning every series since splitting the four-game series against the Braves, until we found our Waterloo in the Chicago White Sox. That loss hurt and seems unnecessary and, from previous years, we know that those losses will cost you the post-season.

Matchups.

Game #1 Sat 04/24 3:05 PM MST, Zac Gallen (ARI) vs Germán Márquez (SDP).

• Zac Gallen. 5 GS, 25.2 IP, 1 W-1 L, 3.51 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.48 WHIP, 14/7 K/BB.
• Germán Márquez. 4 GS, 18.2 IP, 2 W-1 L, 3.86 ERA, 5.97 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, 15/6 K/BB.

Gallen sure isn’t pitching like an ace and battles heavy traffic on the bases each time he goes out there, though it hasn’t resulted in too many runs. The Padres aren’t a team that get on base easily, but once they get on, they are one of the better ones in running them to get home. Currently the offence is one of the colder ones and they lean heavy on the hot bat of Bogaerts and Laureano. The other bats will probably come alive sooner or later, but let’s hope it won’t happen in Mexico City against Zac Gallen.

Germán Márquez was once a promising pitcher in Denver until he wasn’t, hampered by many injuries. Last year he was crap for the Rockies, finishing the season with 26 games and a 6.70 ERA. Positive thing was: it was his first full season since 2022. The Padres offered him a 1-year contract with an annual average salary of $1,750,000 in the off-season. So far, that has paid off, especially considering he is de-facto the 5th starting pitcher in the rotation. His first outing of the season was a bit of a hiccup against the Giants, but since then he has fired two scoreless outings against Pittsburgh and, his most recent one, against the Angels. In between his former team, Rockies, punished him with 4 runs in 5 innings, though he still got the win.

Game #2 Sun 04/25 1:05 PM MST, Ryne Nelson (ARI) vs Michael King (SDP).

• Ryne Nelson. 5 GS, 20.2 IP, 1 W-2 L, 6.97 ERA, 5.02 FIP, 1.45 WHIP, 20/9 K/BB.
• Michael King. 5 GS, 27.2 IP, 3 W-1 L, 2.28 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, 26/14 K/BB.

Michael King has been leading the Padres to 3 wins in 5 of his outings, so on the outside his performance looks terrific with that 2.28 ERA. However, his command hasn’t been terrific and he has been allowing quite some base on balls, though that isn’t really a surprise with Michael King, but it hasn’t come back to hurt him so far. His change-up has always been one of his better pitches, especially in 2025 when it carried him through the season, but this season it has lost some its effectiveness. However, his breaking balls are getting the job done at the moment.

After hopeful outings against the Mets and Baltimore, his outing against Toronto was a day to forget for Ryne. So let’s not talk about that one and hope he can find his groove in an exciting, though pitching wise difficult, environment.

The St. Louis Cardinals play game 2 of the 3-game series versus the Seattle Mariners Saturday as Matthew Liberatore (0-1 with a 3.67 ERA) gets the start for the Cardinals. The Mariners will send Bryan Woo (1-2 with a 2.25 ERA) to the mound for his 4th start of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm central time at Busch Stadium.

The Texas Rangers have traded catcher Willie MacIver to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations, the team announced yesterday.

MacIver was claimed on waivers by the Rangers from the A’s at the end of the 2025 season. The 29 year old had been originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Washington in the 9th round of the 2018 MLB Draft — 21 picks after the Detroit Tigers selected Tarik Skubal from Seattle University. Two college players from universities in Washington being taken in the 9th round of the same draft and ultimately making the majors! Though Skubal has had a bit of a better career than MacIver…

MacIver signed with the A’s after becoming a free agent following the 2024 season, and split the 2025 season between AAA and the majors, putting up a .186/.252/.324 slash line in 111 major league plate appearances. In 14 games for Round Rock this year, he has slashed .170/.333/.255. He was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear a 40 man roster spot for Peyton Gray.

After a thrilling win against the New York Mets last night, the Colorado Rockies will have to wait for game two of the series. Rain across the Big Apple pushed today’s game to a Sunday doubleheader.

In lieu of a Rockies rematch, here’s what’s going on today for our minor league clubs! Check out the Pebble Report for more info on the Rockies’ prospects. (More details to be added about the later games as they become available.)

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (13-11) vs. Sacramento River Cats (13-9)

Like the Rockies will tomorrow, the Isotopes get a doubleheader today after their Tuesday matchup against Sacramento was postponed for weather. The ‘Topes will look to snap a losing streak after dropping Thursday’s game 12-10 and Friday’s 4-3. Valente Bellozo, recently optioned to the minors after some rough relief innings for the Rockies, will get the start in the first matchup of the evening.

Game 1 First Pitch: 5:30 p.m. MDT

TV: MiLB.TV

Radio: MiLB.TV

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (8-10) vs. Portland Sea Dogs (9-9)

The Yard Goats look to add another win against Portland after taking three out of four in the series so far. Their latest came in a 5-1 win over the Sea Dogs yesterday. RHP Eiberson Castellano (1-1, 3.60 ERA) takes the ball for the Yard Goats. In his last outing, Castellano pitched five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with a home run, one hit batter, three walks and four strikeouts.

First Pitch: 11:00 a.m. MDT

TV: MiLB.TV

Radio: MiLB.TV

Lineups:

Here’s our line up for today’s game!
⚾️@PortlandSeaDogs
⏰ 1:00PM
🏟️Delta Dental Park
📺https://t.co/QpdabTibvq
📻https://t.co/dY5nqsNRQnpic.twitter.com/m3IHNmpZkH

— Hartford Yard Goats (@GoYardGoats) April 25, 2026

High-A: Spokane Indians (6-13) vs. Everett AquaSox (11-8)

After last night’s 2-1 loss, the Indians will look to bounce back. Brody Brecht (No. 3 PuRP) will get the start. In his last outing against the Vancouver Canadians, Brecht threw just three innings but put up a lot of zeroes — zero hits and zero runs, but also two walks and five strikeouts.

First Pitch: 8:05 MDT

TV: MiLB.TV

Radio: MiLB.TV

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (12-7) vs. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (10-9)

The Fresno Grizzlies beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 10-3 last night and will look to capitalize that on their “Halfway to Halloween” day. Lefty Brady Parker will be making his second start (fourth appearance) of the year. In his last outing, Parker threw 2.1 innings of relief against the Ontario Tower Buzzers in the 23-7 loss last Sunday.

First Pitch: 7:50 p.m. MDT

TV: MiLB.TV

Radio: MiLB.TV

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With the Cincinnati Reds entering the weekend as joint leaders of the NL Central and the Detroit Tigers rounding into form, today’s matchup is one of the standouts on the slate, especially after last night’s fireworks.

Nathaniel Lowe mashed a two-run walk-off dinger for Cincinnati yesterday to cap a barrage of homers either side of a rain delay, but my Tigers vs Reds predictions expect the visitors to get revenge here, giving starter Jack Flaherty enough run support to escape with a victory.

Read on for my free MLB picks for this April 25 battle.

Who will win Tigers vs Reds today: Tigers moneyline (-105)

The Detroit Tigers have found a nice rhythm since getting swept in Minnesota earlier this month, and that uptick in form has translated to a 10-4 mark in their last 14 games.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds have had erratic outings from tonight’s starter Brady Singer, who enters with a 5.32 ERA and could be vulnerable against a potent Detroit lineup.

Jack Flaherty racked up walks in Boston on Monday, but he’s only allowed two earned runs across his last 15 innings of work, so I’m riding with the Tigers, who’ve won six of the past nine meetings between these teams.

Tigers vs Reds Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+100)

These squads crushed eight homers last night, so look for the scoreboard to be busy again here. The Over is 5-1 in the Tigers’ last six games – and it has cashed easily in their past four matchups against the Reds.

The visitors rank 10th in the majors in hits, and they’ve scored 34 runs across their past six contests. Cincinnati is trending up at the plate too, with 6+ runs in four of its last five outings.

With both starting pitchers searching for their best stuff, we should see the batters on top after the lineups combined for 17 runs and 22 hits last night.

Tigers vs Reds odds

• Moneyline: Detroit -107 | Cincinnati -103
• Run line: Detroit -1.5 (+146) | Cincinnati +1.5 (-161)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+105) | Under 9.5 (-161)

Tigers vs Reds trend

The Tigers have won seven of their past 10 matchups against the Reds in Cincinnati. Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Reds.

How to watch Tigers vs Reds and game info

Tigers vs Reds latest injuries

Tigers vs Reds weather

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.

Seattle looks to build on what, for the 2026 Mariners, counts as a formidible winning streak of two games into today’s mid-morning contest against the Cardinals. The M’s will hand the ball to Bryan Woo, who’s been his regular spectacular self for most of the year and is coming off a six-strikeout performance against the Rangers in his most recent start. The at-bats to watch will be when he faces Jordan Walker, who jumped into the center of the national baseball discourse with his hot start. But his hot start has cooled since opposing teams figured out that he’d finally learned to punish a fastball and consequently started throwing him more breaking balls. That’ll make for an interesting puzzle for the fastball-dominant Woo.

On the other side, the Mariners will face St. Louis’s Matthew Liberatore, who pronounces his name LIBB-er-uh-tore, but who I always say in my head like Super Mario would right before slamming some canolis—lib-er-uh-TORRE. Originally drafted by the Rays, Liberatore was the return when Tampa Bay acquired Randy Arozarena before the 2020 season. That reunited Liberatore with Cardinals’ third baseman Nolan Gorman, who started playing baseball with Liberatore when they were five years old. Fun story.

Liberatore has a kitchen sink approach befitting his career 18.5% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. But his slider and his changeup are his best pitches, which may well befuddle this Mariners lineup right now.

Lineups

The Mariners will run out what’s become their standard attack against lefty starters, including having Mitch Garver catch and Cal Raleigh DH, though I still wish they’d shuffle the front three to be Julio-Refsnyder-Cal. The one change from their standard will be to have Will Wilson play third instead of Leo Rivas while Brendan Donovan continues his IL stint.

The Cardinals will mix things up significantly from last night, with the change wer’re most likely to notice being the addition of Victor Scott II in center field. Scott’s sprint speed really jumps off the screen, though it comes across more on defense since he’s not on base often enough to steal as many bases as you’d expect.

On the Mend

Bryce Miller fared well in his second rehab start last night, pitching three scoreless innings in Everett. He was up to 47 pitches and struck out six while surrendering one walk and one hit.

Colt Emerson was back in the lineup for Tacoma, having missed the midweek games after being hit by a pitch. He was 0 for 5 with a walk, but it’s nice to know the injury didn’t keep him off the field for long.

Game Info

First pitch: 11:15 PDT
TV: Mariners TV
Radio: Old Reliable

After looking very comfortable in Low-A as a 17 year old last year, Eli Willits got off to a surprisingly slow start for the Fred Nats. The former first overall pick was only hitting .139 in his first nine games. It was great to see the rest of that Fred Nats team performing, but Willits struggling put a damper on that.

However, he has really turned things around lately, which is not much of a surprise. Willits is just too skilled and too talented to struggle for long. That slump was not going to last for long, and it has not. In his last 10 games, Willits is hitting .391 with an OPS of 1.101. He is hitting the ball with much more authority and settling into pro ball nicely.

Eli Willits has found his groove and is on fire over his past 10 games — .341/.491/.610.

The @Nationals' No. 1 prospect filled up the box score for the Single-A @FXBGNats: https://t.co/LF03mXTd7rpic.twitter.com/qsh1A8Ygoj

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 25, 2026

For the season, Willits’ OPS is up to .799. That number should keep rising as he gets further removed from his cold streak. What we have seen the last couple weeks is the Willits we thought we would get from the jump. He is showcasing his combination of contact skills, a great eye, speed and defense.

When I saw Willits this spring, the thing that stood out to me the most was his plate discipline. He was casually spitting on borderline pitches from Liam Doyle, a top five pick, in the Spring Breakout game. Willits has shown his eagle eye so far in Low-A, posting an 18.1% walk rate.

The one thing I would like to see Willits improve on is his strikeout rate. Right now, he is striking out 21.3% of the time. That is higher than I want to see for a player of his profile. He is a hit over power guy, so hopefully he can get that K rate closer to 15%. Maybe the strikeouts are elevated because he is just working a lot of deep counts.

While Willits will never be a big power guy, he is showing more impact lately. He hit home runs in back to back games about a week ago, though one was an inside the park homer. However, he did hit one over the fence and it was a real nice opposite field shot. Willits becoming a 15-20 home run guy will be crucial if he wants to be a star player rather than just a solid starter.

Eli Willits homer! And this one leaves the yard 😀@Nationals | @FXBGNats | @Nats_PlayerDevpic.twitter.com/NbA5UmM7Nn

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 16, 2026

Another part of Willits’ game I really like is his speed and instincts on the bases. He may not have Trea Turner speed, but Willits is a good runner who is very aggressive. The 18 year old already has 16 stolen bases on the season. Whenever you watch him play, you immediately notice the all out hustle he plays with. Sometimes he can be overly aggressive on the bases and get thrown out, but he will learn where he should pick his spots as he gets older.

Eli Willits’ polish extends to the defensive side of the ball as well. Most evaluators expect him to be an above average or even plus defender at short. He has all the requisite physical tools to play the position, but his instincts and internal clock are what really separate him.

Last season, his defense may have stood out even more than his offense, despite the fact he was hitting well. That has continued this year. The teenager has not made a single error in his 15 games at shortstop. That is a crazy stat for such a young player. He has also made some really nice plays as well.

Eli Willits is 18 with a MLB ready glove god damn pic.twitter.com/QoJL25CEVx

— Kev (@klwoodjr) April 22, 2026

After a shaky start, it is back to scheduled programming for the Nats number one prospect. I would like to see him make a bit more contact, but I think that will come as he starts to really establish himself in pro ball. It is important to remember that Willits just turned 18 in December. He should be in this upcoming draft, yet he is already performing in full season ball.

It just shows how refined he is and why the Nats took him first overall. He may not have the tools to be a Bobby Witt Jr. type mega star, but for an 18 year old Willits is a very safe bet to be a quality starter for a long time. If he taps into more power than expected, there is also star upside here. 

Just look at what Geraldo Perdomo did last year if you want to see a peak of Willits’ ceiling. Eli Willits struggled out of the gate, but you can’t keep a talent like this down for long. There is a reason this kid went first overall.

Back in August, I began a series here at Pinstripe Alley where I was going to put together an All-Star Yankee team of players who were born in a given month. Since then, we as a staff have started doing daily posts for the year 2026, highlighting a Yankee from history whose birthday happens to land on that day. So what better way to put a cap on a month’s worth of birthday posts then by using the all-month teams as a way to look back on who we covered? And maybe some we didn’t cover who shared a birthday with someone else?

With that in mind, here are my choices for the All-April Birthday Yankee Team. Also, we haven’t always named a manager to go with these clubs, but April presents a perfect opportunity with Hall of Fame skipper Joe McCarthy.

Pitcher: Catfish Hunter (April 8th birthday post)

There are a couple of decent pitching options for April, including my No. 2 choice Phil Niekro. However, the pitcher for this team probably has to be Catfish. Other than his ridiculous 1975, Hunter’s Yankee tenure didn’t come during his prime, but everyone who played for the team in that era credits him for helping turn the team culture into a championship-winning one by the end of 1970s.

Catcher: Bob Watson (April 10th birthday post)

OK, so Watson only played 10 career MLB games at catcher, and all came well before his stint with the Yankees. However, there’s not a ton of other good option for backstops, and Team April can also rely on him for his front office expertice.

First Baseman: Don Mattingly (April 20th birthday post)

Between Watson and the guy who we’re putting at DH later on, first base for the April team has some pretty good depth. However, there’s only one choice for this team’s starter we can make: Donnie Baseball.

Second Baseman: Spike Owen

We didn’t profile Owen as part of the Birthday Series and he more played on the left side of the infield in his career, but middle infield depth for the April team is pretty shallow. He was a 13-year big-leaguer in the ’80s and ’90s, most notably with the Mariners, Red Sox, and Expos, and in 1993, he was one of the Yankees’ last regulars at shortstop before a guy named Derek came along.

Shortstop: Anthony Volpe

As frustrating as his MLB career has often been, he’s a pretty clear no-doubt pick for April’s shortstop, considering who we picked for second base.

Third Baseman: Wid Conroy (April 5th Birthday Post)

Conroy was a NL pennant-winning player with the 103-win 1902 Pirates, in the final year before the World Series came into existence. He then hopped over to the AL to play with the then New York Highlanders in their first year of existence in 1903.

Left Field: David Justice (April 14th birthday post)

The 2000 trade for Justice deservedly goes down as one of the best midseason deals in team history. He provided a much needed spark to the Yankees’ lineup, allowing them to complete a World Series three-peat.

Center Field: Carlos Beltrán (April 24th birthday post)

OK yes, Beltrán wasn’t much of a center fielder when he finally came to the Yankees, as his three years in the Bronx came in his age 37-39 years. However, he was an excellent center fielder in his prime, which helped him gain election into the Hall of Fame in this year’s class.

Right Field: Aaron Judge(you’ll never believe who the birthday post is for tomorrow – Ed.)

I’ve heard of that guy.

Designated Hitter: Mark Teixeira (April 11th birthday post)

“Tex” probably could’ve been the starting first baseman for a lot of the other month’s teams. However with Mattingly around, we’ll just stick Teixeira over at DH.

There’s my personal picks for April, but less us know how would line up a Yankees’ team with April birthdays.

They couldn’t have announce this before I hit publish on the last post?

Trey Yesavage will make Tuesday’s start for the Jays, against the Red Sox. That doesn’t quite lineup with Max Scherzer’s next start, which would be Wednesday if the rotation stayed the same.

Whoops, now I see that Eric Lauer is being moved to the pen. I’d imagine they will try to hold him to piggy back with Scherzer, but I shouldn’t try to outguess them. Yesavage has been hit pretty hard in his 12 rehab innings, but is throwing as hard as ever.

Lauer, I’d imagine, won’t be pleased to be the one losing his spot in the rotation, but he has done well in the long relief role (or at least what the team considers a long relief role). They do need someone to go three or more innings out of the pen. If they had someone who could have gone three yesterday, it would have helped out.

Welcome back, Trey.

I guess the headline says it, Nathan Lukes hits the IL with a left hamstring strain. Yohendrick Piñango gets the call up. Yimi Garcia was moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Yohendrick.

Piñango is hitting .288/.370/.488 with 3 home runs in 22 games. He is a left-handed batter and also throws left-handed. He’s split time between left and right field, which surprised me because they usually place lefties in right field. I’m interested to see him place. He’s on the bench for today’s game.

Yohendrick is #13 on our top 40 prospects list this year. Tom M wrote:

The return for Nate Pearson at the 2024 deadline didn’t look like much at the time. Pinango signed with the Cubs out of Venezuela in 2018, and while he lit up the DSL the next summer he was pretty unremarkable over the three minor league seasons following the pandemic. A torrid first month of the 2024 season at A+ popped him onto the radar and probably lead to the trade. He bombed in his first 33 games in the Jays system, posting a .518 OPS at AA New Hampshire. It all came together in 2025, though. Pinango torched the Eastern league to the tune of .298/.406/.522, earning a promotion to AAA Buffalo. He cooled down there, but still posted a roughly average line with lots of walks, solid K numbers, and some pop.

Pinango has always been a solid contact hitter, but his breakout was fueled by trading an aggressive approach for a very selective one. He now watches more strikes than would be ideal, but he rarely chases and waits on pitches he can hammer. As for the hammering part, his max exit velocity in Buffalo was over 115mph. Only 30 major leaguers last year could say the same. his 91.9mph average exit velocity and 47.6% hard hit rate were both comfortably plus. The lone offensive knock on him is that while he hits enough fly balls, his best power comes a low angles, producing line drives and hard grounders instead of home runs. If he can fix that, he could be a cleanup calibre hitter, and even if he can’t the combination of patience, contact and strength is enough for a viable offensive profile.

There’s a lot of pressure on the bat, as Pinango is a below average runner whose ugly routes and iffy arm make him a liability even in left field. If it comes together offensively he can be a regular regardless, but anything short and he’s likely a bench bat or not an MLB player.

I hope we get to see him play some.

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Today’s lineup against a lefty. Okamoto moves up.

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Max Scherzer on ‘getting punched in the face’. Really, he can’t say much else, but I don’t know if there is anything left in that arm. The team hasn’t announced if Trey Yesavage will make one more minor league start or if he’ll be put in Scherzer’s (or Lauer’s) spot next time through the rotation.

"You get punched in the face, spit it out, figure out what's wrong and go back out there." – Punched in the face indeed, as Max Scherzer can't get out of the third inning yet again. https://t.co/ggTFI1IzRq

— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) April 25, 2026

The Detroit Tigers dropped their series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, 9-8, in a walk-off on Friday night after building an early lead and sitting through a two-hour rain delay.

On Saturday, they look to even things up behind right-hander Jack Flaherty. Opposite him on the mound for Cincinnati is fellow righty Brady Singer. Here’s a quick look at how they match up.

Detroit Tigers (14-13) vs. Cincinnati Reds (17-9)

Time (ET): 7:15 p.m.
Place: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
SB Nation Site:Red Reporter
Media: FOX, Tigers Radio Network

Game 28: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-1, 3.47 ERA) vs. RHP Brady Singer (1-1, 5.32 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Flaherty	5	23.1	22.2	18.5	30.5	4.60	0.3
Singer	5	23.2	14.5	6.4	40.0	4.58	0.3

FLAHERTY

SINGER

I was wrong.

When the White Sox signed Munetaka Murakami to a two-year, $34-million deal, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that something was wrong with him. A cursory glance at his NPB stats snowballed into a statistical analysis on his hypothetical impact on the 2025 Sox before he even stepped foot in the batter’s box, and ultimately landed on a conclusion that Murakami would be underwhelming.

While my predictions and assessments were grounded in logical projections and modeling, I’ll quote Dodgers and Blue Jays managers Dave Roberts and John Schneider from their latest interview with Jeff Passan: “Baseball happened.”

Murakami’s first 26 games in the big leagues has far exceeded expectations. While he unfortunately has lived up to his expectation of being an all-or-nothing hitter with a 40.3% whiff rate and 32.1% strikeout rate (ranked in the bottom-first and -eighth percentiles), his “all” has been nothing short of historic. Murakami’s healthy .256/.398/.622 slash line and towering 1.020 OPS indicate that he’s already near his ceiling of being the Japanese Babe Ruth.

Before the Sox’s 5-4 win over the Nationals, Murakami’s name was already etched in the history books for tying Shohei Ohtani’s record for most consecutive games with a home run by any Japanese-born player, owning the longest MLB rookie home run streak, and tying the franchise record homering in five consecutive games.

But his 11th home run was different.

Coming off the bat at 104 mph and traveling 415 feet, Murakami’s elegant and seemingly effortless lefty swing on Friday night flipped a switch numerically and emotionally:

MURAKAMI IS NOW TIED FOR THE LEAGUE LEAD IN HOMERS 🔥 https://t.co/RezIEx9y8Lpic.twitter.com/jRi8hyasEj

— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2026

Murakami is now tied with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the most home runs in baseball and ranked among MLB’s Top 10 in wOBA (.430), xwOBA (.433), barrel percentage (25.5%) and hard hit percentage (65.5%). You can’t deny that the stats themselves are impressive, but attitude and passion can’t be boiled down into a single measure. What my math failed to account for is how Murakami’s presence on the team would impact the team’s momentum. 

His Statcast 11 run value, measuring run creation, has rubbed off on his teammates and fueled Chicago’s palpable shift in style and grittiness that hasn’t been felt in years. The Sox have won 11 games before April has concluded, marking the first time since 2021 that Sox have finished with double digits in the win column at this point. And in 2021, the Sox went on to win the AL Central for the first time in 13 years. The excitement radiating off the players is felt by Sox fans who have endured anything but for the last three years, and now the rest of baseball is noticing.

For the next two years, Murakami isn’t just here to trend and collect his cash. He’s here to make a statement about himself and the Sox. Even when he invariably faces tough stretches, Murakami has already earned every penny in his contract by simply giving Sox fans hope that this new chapter is finally here. For that alone, Murakami has soared beyond expectations this spring, and I couldn’t be happier that my calculations didn’t account for this.

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The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers both feature Top-5 offenses, which were on full display in a 10 run series opener.

My Cubs vs. Dodgers predictions see another high-scoring affair in the cards Saturday night.

Let’s take a closer look at my daily MLB picks for April 25.

Who will win Cubs vs Dodgers today: Dodgers (-140)

Colin Rea has pitched very well for the Chicago Cubs but his two best starts came against an 8-18 Philadelphia Phillies team.

There are also a couple of concerns in his numbers. For one, he ranks 26th among today’s projected starters in soft contact rate. He’s not generating much.

That’s not a great recipe heading into a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who rank first in hard hit rate against righties this season.

He also ranks 40th percentile or worst in whiffs and K%. He doesn’t miss many bats, and that could lead to problems against a powerful Dodgers offense.

Cubs vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+100)

The Dodgers rank first in average, second in OBP, and fourth in runs per game. They also hit the ball as hard as anybody, and Rea has not induced a lot of soft contact.

Chicago should score plenty of runs as well. They have plated at least six runs in six consecutive road games, and 4+ in eight of 10 away dates this season.

Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki is sporting a 6.11 ERA and allowing more than two homers per nine innings, which doesn’t set up well facing a Cubs team that slots fifth in homers.

Cubs vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Chicago (+130) | Los Angeles (-150)
• Run line: Chicago +1.5 (-145) | Los Angeles -1.5 (+125)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+100) | Under 9.5 (-120)

Cubs vs Dodgers trend

The Los Angeles Dodgers have hit the Moneyline in 35 of their last 50 games (+6.45 Units / 7% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Cubs vs Dodgers and game info

Cubs vs Dodgers latest injuries

Cubs vs Dodgers weather

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The Dodgers offense spent most of the last week wasting an incredible stretch by the starting rotation, coupled with a suddenly vulnerable bullpen having their worst week of the season. That fueled five losses over the last seven games, and now the Dodgers on Saturday turn to Roki Sasaki, the black sheep of the rotation still looking for some semblance of success to build on.

Los Angeles scored eight runs in their last four games, with four of those runs scored on Friday night though none after the fourth inning. The Dodgers inability to tack on runs has cost them dearly during this dismal stretch, which includes three or fewer runs in six of their last 12 games.

Shohei Ohtani is hitless in his last 12 at-bats, has two hits in 20 at-bats since his last extra-base hit, and is 7-for-43 (.163) since his last home run 13 days ago. Teoscar Hernández is also hitless in his last 12 at-bats and two for his last 28. Even Andy Pages after his impossibly hot start has three hits in his last 25 at-bats.

Signing Edwin Díaz was an attempt to improve on a Dodgers bullpen that was mostly a weakness in 2024, but with a diminished Díaz ineffective for two weeks and now sidelined for three months after arthroscopic elbow surgery, the Dodgers are relying on mostly the same cast of characters from last year.

Their four relievers they’ve used in the highest-leverage spots all had their worst games of the season this week. Jack Dreyer got a slider crushed for a three-run home run on Wednesday by Patrick Bailey, who owns a 19 wRC+ this season (and 73 wRC+ in his major league career). Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, and Tanner Scott coughed up a 4-0 lead in Friday night’s stunning loss to the Cubs.

That’s a recipe for losing games this week that saw Dodgers starters deliver two of the top eight game scores on the team this season — Emmet Sheehan 70 game score (6 1/3 IP, 1 R, 10 K Friday), Ohtani 69 game score (6 scoreless IP, 7 K Wednesday) — plus another seven-inning start by Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday in San Francisco.

Sasaki has four of the Dodgers’ worst six game scores in his starts this season, and enters his Saturday start on his bobblehead night with a 6.11 ERA and 5.67 xERA. Among the 302 major league pitchers with at least 10 innings this season, Sasaki ranks 256th in ERA, 264th in xERA, and 246th with a 5.9-percent strikeout minus walk rate.

The Dodgers are committed to letting Sasaki figure things out in the majors, with his last start coming the closest with one run allowed through four innings at Coors Field, but he was unable to finish the fifth inning. With Blake Snell likely needing three more minor league rehab starts before returning, and with River Ryan on the minor league injured list with a hamstring issue, the Dodgers don’t really have other options than Sasaki for a little bit.

Sasaki has recorded between 12 and 15 outs in his four starts this season, so Saturday sure feels like a day for Jake Eder to soak up some innings in relief and then get optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for a fresh arm on Sunday with four more games in this stretch of 13 games in 13 days.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Cubs
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 4:15 p.m.
• TV: Fox (Joe Davis, John Smoltz)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

1951
White Sox slugger Eddie Robinson hit the first rooftop home run by a Chicago player at Comiskey Park. Robinson’s blast was off of Al Widmar of the Browns, in the third inning of an 8-6 White Sox win. It was the eighth all-time home run over the roof.

Robinson hit 29 home runs that year and drove in 117 runs, as the Sox went 81-73-1.

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1968
By losing 3-2 at Minnesota despite outhitting the Twins, 12-3, the White Sox fell to 0-10, the worst 10-game start in franchise history. The scoring would reverse the next day, mercifully snapping Chicago’s losing streak.

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1969
Speaking of roof shots, 18 years later Buddy Bradford put a home run over the roof, capping a four-run first that put the White Sox ahead of the Twins, 4-1. Minnesota battled back ahead, 5-4, but the home team prevailed on a bases-loaded single from Carlos May for a walk-off win. It seems odd to say for a team that would finish 68-90 and fifth of six in the AL West, but the thrilling victory pushed the White Sox to 8-5 and into their only day in first place all season.

The towering shot was Bradford’s only hit of the game. It was the fourth White Sox roof shot ever, and the 18th overall.

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2004
Coming over from the Bulls organization, Brooks Boyer was named White Sox vice president of marketing, replacing the taciturn and aloof Rob Gallas. Boyerimmediately instituted a series of great ad campaigns (including “Sox Pride” and “Win or Die Trying”) that keyed interest, tweaked the Cubs and generated excitement among the fan base. Things have taken a turn since those early salad days, including running popular play-by-play man, lifelong White Sox fan and Chicago native Jason Benetti into the arms of division rival Detroit.

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2005
With a 6-0 win at Oakland, the White Sox improved to 16-4 — topping the 1973 team (15-5) for the best 20-game start in franchise history. Jon Garland moved to 4-0 with a 116-pitch shutout, yielding just four hits and a walk against three strikeouts. The Sox offense jumped on Barry Zito, with Pablo Ozuna (2-for-3, two runs, two steals) and Chris Widger (2-for-4, two-run homer) the unexpected standouts.

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2014
It was the first big moment in what would be a stellar White Sox career for José Abreu. The Cuban native smashed a two-out, walk-off grand slam off Grant Balfour to beat the Rays, 9-6. The rookie tallied three hits and six RBIs in the game.

Abreu would cap off his rookie season by garnering the American League Rookie of the Year award from both The Sporting News and the BBWAA for blasting 36 home runs, with 35 doubles, 80 runs scored, 107 RBIs, a .317 batting average and leading the league in slugging percentage (.581).

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2016
Relief pitcher Matt Albers threw his 30th consecutive scoreless outing, breaking the White Sox record set by Jesse Crain. Albers’ streak dated back to Aug. 5, 2015 and spanned 33 innings. Ironically, Albers’ streak was snapped in a game several days later, on April 30 in Baltimore, when a José Abreu error caused two unearned runs to cross the plate, charged to Albers.