Category: MLB

The Diamondbacks continued to impress on a 6-3 roadtrip. What’s the key for this success to continue?

James: Get healthy. Stay healthy. That’s a solid first step. Arizona’s biggest opponent over the last year has been the IL. Also, Michael Soroka has to continue to be the Michael Soroka that he has been, resembling when he first debuted many years ago.

Wesley: James is absolutely right on all counts, especially that last point. Michael Soroka really needs to continue pitching well and stay healthy, not for the team or anything, but so that we as a fanbase can come together and publicly shame James for being so completely wrong about Soroka.

In all seriousness, aside from the team needing to stay healthy and continue playing well, the biggest thing I think is picking the right time to call up a Ryan Waldschmidt or LuJames Groover, or one of the many RHPs that Hazen signed over the offseason. At this point it is unrealistic to expect perfect health from this roster, so knowing the optimal time to call up our prospects is going to be important down the stretch 

Ben: I think the easiest answer certainly is health, but the team has played really solid, well-rounded baseball. The pitching – both in the rotation and from the bullpen – has been somewhere between good and very good, there are offensive sparks up and down the lineup, and the defense has been excellent with the team pacing the majors in defensive runs saved. I think how the pitching holds up will be the key to maintaining this success. There’s probably some negative regression in store for several important contributors – particularly Eduardo Rodriguez whose FIP and expected ERA (4.24 and 4.15) are so far beyond his actual ERA of 1.96 that he almost certainly can’t continue it at that level. 

Makakilo:  Two observations about the Diamondbacks (7-15 April games):

• 5.3 runs scored per game.  
• 15 shutdown performances by relief pitchers.  Their shutdowns were second most in the Majors during their road trip.

Preston: This success will not continue in the same ways. We’ve almost certainly seen the best of both the starting rotation and the bullpen. The offense needs to step up and be the offense that we’ve seen the last couple of years. Perdomo needs to start finding more open spaces. Ildemaro Vargas is not going to continue to post a wRC+ in the 180s; his career wRC+ is 80, and his BABIP is .415. The third and fourth most valuable Diamondbacks on the offensive side (by fWAR) this season are both on the IL. 

There’s been both good luck and bad luck, though. The second best xFIP on the team belongs to…Taylor Rashi? Paul Sewald has either been lucky (if you look at BABIP and contact) or relatively in line with expectations (if you look at xERA and xFIP).

Dare I say that we are seeing what a good team does? This team isn’t winning one way. The rotation, the bullpen, the offense, the defense…none of them are elite, but all of them have contributed. This is close to the “anybody, anytime” days of the recently disgraced Tony Clark, with the significant difference that this team is not a mirage. They are legitimately good, and can win in multiple ways.

Spencer: Play solid baseball. And trust pure talent and motivation over experience and “readiness” (Fernandez and Vargas vs Smith/Sanatana).

ISH95: They have to be able to weather whatever comes next. It’s a long season, with 140 some odd games, give or take, left to go. The answer to what makes for winning baseball the past two weeks will not be the answer for the next two. Adapt to the next challenge. It’s something the team has struggled with in the past. 

Merrill Kelly looked alright in his return. Any flash opinions?

James: I was pleased to see him gut out 5+ innings. I think he still looks rusty though. The ball to strike ratio would suggest the same (for Kelly). He’s going to need a bit more time to knock the rust off, which is fine and to be expected

Wesley: He did seem a bit rusty, but overall he looked really good, all things considered.

Ben: He looked all right. There wasn’t any noticeable drop in velocity or movement on his pitches and he looked relatively comfortable. I have faith he’ll continue to get more comfortable and more confident as the season progresses. 

Makakilo:  This season, his first game was comparable to his first game last season.  He pitched 5.1 innings in each, facing 24 batters (86 pitches) this season and 23 batters (85 pitches) last season.  My flash opinion is he is on track to pitch like he did last season.

Preston: He had a really bad inning that could have (and, for many D-backs’ pitchers, would have) snowballed into a 17-2 loss. He toughed through it and the Diamondbacks won. That’s the kind of veteran leadership the team needs.

Spencer: I’ve stopped discounting Kelly. He’s gonna be solid to great for years. Very impressive man. 

ISH95: It’s nice to have the best pitcher on the team back, even if he didn’t pitch to his normal standards. Rust is to be expected, especially since if my memory serves he only got one true rehab game, with the others being a sim game at Extended Spring Training and a long bullpen. 

Nolan Arenado has shown flashes of contribution recently. Mirage or might he be turning the corner toward Longoria type presence?

James: I never understood all the Arenado hate. Even the best players in the league go through spells like he did, especially as they get older. As long as he continues to be steady, I am not worried. The one thing I like about Arenado is that he tends not to get nervous and doesn’t try to be something he isn’t at the plate. He puts in the work and trusts the results will follow. It seems that now they are.

Wesley: I still stand by my prediction that he will bounce back offensively. I don’t think he’ll ever be the guy he was in his peak, but I think he has enough gas left in the tank to provide some positive WAR on both sides of the diamond. If he doesn’t bounce back, then you call up LuJames Groover, Tommy Troy, or one of the many good hitting middle infielders.

Makakilo:  During the road trip, his 8 RBIs led the team.  And his .208 BABIP shows he was relatively unlucky, so his performance could be higher.

On the other hand, on the road trip, his 15.4% hard hits was lower than his season average, suggesting it was a mirage.  

Overall, I’m optimistic that he will continue to make significant positive contributions.  

Preston: For what we are paying him, we’re getting value. He’s not the player he once was. He also has turned on some fastballs recently and hit them a long way. His bat speed isn’t bad. But I’d really like to see him draw some walks and stop chasing pitches a mile out of the zone. That’s not an age-related decline; that’s more of a pressing too hard decline.

Spencer: He old, man. But even old dogs still have tricks. He’s almost always defied some metrics, so I trust he can be productive. Something close to the middle ground of the polar sides we saw from Suarez. 

Ben: If our expectations for Arenado are 2023 Longoria, then I think those expectations will be met. In the first few weeks, Arenado has shown he can still be a very positive contributor in the field while having some contributions with the bat. Putting the two head-to-head emphasizes that as Arenado still finds his footing with a new team. The biggest red flag so far? His chase rate, strikeout rate, and walk rate are all sitting at career worst, but that might be a function of trying to force something rather than allowing the game to come to him more naturally.  

ISH95: Spencer’s right, the man is old and it shows. His defense, while still good, has clearly lost a step, and the bat hasn’t been there for a while. Can he maintain a decent balance of the two and be Longoria 2.0, yeah, probably. 

What’s your favorite TV show?

James: That’s a tough call for me as I have seen a ridiculous amount of television in my time as I review many shows/episodes. On the short list though would be such titles as:
Murdoch Mysteries
Death in Paradise

The West Wing (followed quite closely by another Aaron Sorkin gem, The Newsroom)

Lucifer
Babyloinfielder.

Wesley: I can’t answer a question as broad as that. Even if we narrow it down to a favorite in specific genres, I’d still have a hard time picking just one favorite. Favorite scripted live-action comedy? Hard to choose between ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’ ‘Wilfred’ ‘Brockmire’ along with another five or six shows I’m forgetting. Favorite sketch comedy show? Once again, it’s very hard to choose between ‘The Whitest Kids U Know’ ‘Key & Peele’ ‘Upright Citizens Brigade’ ‘Kids in the Hall’ ‘Chappelle’s Show’ ‘Mr. Show w/ Bob and David’ and that doesn’t even get it things like ‘The Muppet Show’ 

Although I didn’t exactly answer the question, I think you get my point. Comparing a comedy like ‘It’s Always Sunny’ to a dramatic thriller ‘Mr. Robot’ doesn’t do either show any favors.

Makakilo:  Death in Paradise.

Preston: I’ve recently enjoyed sharing The Good Place with my oldest; there’s something about sharing shows with people that mean a lot to you that makes them better. I personally love Bojack Horseman, but I also haven’t seen it since my life was in a place where I needed to see it, so I don’t know if holds up.

Spencer: Person of Interest has long been the answer here. It’s just excellent in every aspect (with one weird episode ending music choice). But currently on air? The Pitt, Ted Lasso, Shrinking and maybe Your Friends & Neighbors. 

Ben: I’m with everyone else – trying to choose just one TV show would be extremely difficult. The West Wing is regularly quoted in our household, The Office was long a comfort show for me, but there are so many shows that I’ve loved. 
ISH95: My colleagues are not wrong that this is nearly an impossible question to answer. However, nothing is actually impossible if you actually set your mind to it, so I will say Doctor Who, even though sometimes it seems as though the show and those behind it do in fact hate its viewers.

The Astros have placed IF Nick Allen on the 10-day IL (retro 4/19) due to mid-back spasms.

To take his place on the active roster, the Astros selected IF Braden Shewmake (#28)to the Major League roster.

To make room for Shewmake on 40-man roster, the Astros transferred RHP Cristian Javier to the 60-day IL.

RHP J.P. France has been outrighted to Triple A Sugar Land.

The Nats were able to salvage their weekend series against the San Francisco Giants with a 3-0 win on Sunday, and now they’re slated to play host to the red-hot Atlanta Braves.

Zack Littell gave up 6 runs in the 2nd inning of Game 1 to essentially put the game out of reach, as Daylen Lile and James Wood’s homers were only able to cut the deficit to 5. Game 2 was an extra-inning heartbreaker, as the Nats wasted walk-off chances in the 10th and 11th innings after tying the game in the 9th before relinquishing the deciding run in the 12th. Bulk outings from Miles Mikolas and Andrew Alvarez blanked San Francisco in the final game of the series, with a Keibert Ruiz RBI double and a 2-run Joey Wiemer blast more than enough to secure the victory.

Atlanta comes to the nation’s capital as winners of 8 of their last 10 games, with a sweep of the division rival Philadelphia Phillies extending their lead in the NL East. Getting to the Braves’ pitching staff has been far from easy for teams to do, and the Nats are next in line, looking to bring themselves closer to the division lead.

Monday – 6:45 PM EST

ATL: RHP Bryce Elder (2-1, 0.77 ERA)

WSH: RHP Jake Irvin (1-2, 6.16 ERA)

It had been a rough go for Elder the past 2 seasons after he broke onto the scene in 2022 and then posted respectable numbers as a 12-game winner in 2023. Through 4 starts in 2025, however, it’s been a completely different story. The righthander has generated timely whiffs, has kept the ball on the ground, and has given up barrels at a staggeringly low 1.7%. He’s certainly a tough matchup for the series opener, and the Nats’ lefties will look to keep him from getting into an early groove.

Irvin hasn’t given Washington much length this season, as he hasn’t worked past 5.0 innings in a start so far this season, but he looked much better in his last outing against Pittsburgh. The walks are still a concerning aspect of his game, but he limited the Pirates to just 4 hits and 2 runs last Wednesday. Atlanta clearly has the statistical pitching advantage, but a replication of Irvin’s last start could keep the Nats in the game long enough for the offense to take over.

Tuesday – 6:45 PM EST

ATL: RHP Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 2.18 ERA)

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (2-0, 3.05 ERA)

Lopez is another Braves starter who has gotten off to a much better start in 2026 than his 2025 campaign did. He’s dropped his ERA by over 3 full points since last season, and his strikeout numbers have followed in his most recent outings. Lifting the ball has been the one area where opponents have found success against the 32-year-old, making the game plan for the Nats’ hitters quite clear.

Tuesday night’s game will be a big test for Griffin, as he’s faced with his first opportunity to bounce back after a bad start since making his MLB return. He surrendered 8 hits and 4 runs in 5.1 innings against the Pirates, and will look to regain his form versus Atlanta. The southpaw has been one of the most effective arms on the roster, and proving he can fight through adversity would be another fantastic sign.

Wednesday – 6:45 PM EST

ATL: LHP Martin Perez (1-1, 2.21 ERA)

WSH: RHP Zack Littell (0-2, 7.11 ERA)

Atlanta entered the season with plenty of question marks surrounding their starting rotation, including Perez, but boy, have the doubters quieted. Pitching for his 5th team, he’s had his entire arsenal working through 4 starts, including a shutdown 6-inning, 0-run performance last Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Inducing soft contact is where Perez has beaten teams, with Washington slated to try to break that pattern.

This will be a start to watch for Littell, as he’s coming off enduring an absolute beatdown from the San Francisco Giants. Opposing batters are hitting .325 with 7 home runs off him in just 19 total innings, making this easily the Nats’ toughest draw. With both Irvin and Miles Mikolas unable to find their rhythm to this point, Littell reverting to the steady arm he’s been for most of his career would be a much-needed change.

Thursday – 1:05 PM EST

ATL: LHP Chris Sale (4-1, 2.79 ERA)

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (0-1, 4.12 ERA)

Sale hasn’t missed a beat from his elite 2025 campaign, racking up 4 wins on the early season and keeping his ERA under 3 for the 3rd consecutive year. He’s given opponents everything they can handle with 29 sparkling innings, and the underlying metrics are just as good. Finding a weak spot in his game is a task few hitters have accomplished so far, and it would be quite beneficial for the Nats to push across some wins early in the series before facing him.

Cavalli has looked extremely close to putting it together at times this year, but has consistently come up short trying to work his way out of innings. Defense didn’t help him in his shortened 4.0-inning outing against the Giants, with just 1 of his 3 runs earned, and he did post his first start without a walk. Adding onto what he was able to do could give the Nats a much-needed chance against Sale, especially if the series is close entering the finale.

Chance to turn the NL East tide

Sitting 5.0 games back of the Braves for 1st place in the National League East, this could be a pivotal series despite still being in April. If the Nats can come in guns blazing and force a sweep, they would find themselves within just 1 game of the division lead. Tempering expectations a bit, the goal should be to maintain within striking distance of Atlanta by the time they depart for Chicago on Thursday. Splitting or winning the series would keep Washington in the thick of things, as they’re set to face the White Sox and then the scuffling New York Mets after this series.

Hope you had your coffee ready for this, the stupidest start time of the season. The Tigers had a very early game today because they have no off days this weekend so they needed time to get to Milwaukee. It’s also Boston Marathon day, which makes me wonder why they aren’t wearing their marathon-inspired City Connects. Anyway, we had Jack Flaherty on the mound for the Tigers, while Sonny Gray was getting the start for the Red Sox. The Tigers had taken the last two games in the series and were hoping to make it three of four.

Kevin McGonigle kicked things off in the first with a leadoff single, but was soon eliminated in a double play off the bat of Gleyber Torres. A Colt Keith flyout ended things with no runs scored. In the home half, Willson Contreras got a one-out single, then one out later, Masataka Yoshida took a walk, but Flaherty got out of the jam with no harm done. We did get treated to this incredible catch for the final out of the inning, though.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the second. Things got incredibly weird in the bottom of the inning. Caleb Durbin got a one-out walk, followed by a single from Marcelo Mayer that advanced Dubrin to third. Carlos Narvaez reached on a fielder’s choice, and what should have been a rundown out on the third base path resulted in the ball getting thrown away and Durbin scoring. Flaherty was charged with the error. Roman Anthony then walked to load the bases. With two outs in the inning, Flaherty’s troubles continued and he walked Wilyer Abreu, walking in the second run of the game. That was it for the inning, but not at all a good showing from Flaherty.

Matt Vierling started the third with a double on a zippy line drive. Then a Hao-Yu Lee groundout got Vierling to third. A Jake Rogers single brought Matt home, and put the Tigers on the board.

Rogers saw an opening and successfully stole second while Torres worked on a lengthy at-bat against Gray. Torres fought out a walk, and then the Red Sox came out for a mound visit with Gray, who was obviously experiencing some issues. Gray was then pulled from the game, despite a strong early start, something was definitely wrong. Danny Coulombe came out of the Red Sox pen and collected the final out of the inning, leaving two men stranded. In the bottom of the inning, Flaherty got his footing back a little. He gave up a two-out double to Durbin, but the runner didn’t amount to anything as the next out finished the inning.

Riley Greene got a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth. However, a force out off the bat of Dillon Dingler eliminated Greene and deposited Greene safely on first. Kerry Carpenter was hit by a pitch to put two men on. Zack Kelly came in to replace Coulombe for the Sox. With two outs in the inning, Lee came in and collected his first major league hit, and an RBI at that, bringing in the tying run.

An update came through about Gray, who apparently left the game with a leg injury. I am not a doctor, but it looked like a potential hamstring injury. Good old unreliable Flaherty was back in gear in the bottom of the fourth, giving up back-to-back walks to Narvaez and Roman Anthony, and acting like the strike zone was an ex-girlfriend he was trying to avoid. Flaherty got the first out of the inning, but it would be his last out of the game as Hinch came in to pull him. Brant Hurter came out of the pen. Jack’s final line of the game was 3.1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER (though I feel like if you committed the error, you should still be responsible for the run), 6 BB, 3 K on 73 pitches. I would normally try to look at the bright side of any start, but the bright side here is that he was pulled before things got worse. Abreu hit into a force out at second, which was a bit of a heart-stopper as Torres struggled to tag second on time, but made it just before the runner. A lineout ended the inning and the threat.

The Tigers had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth, and for the first time all game, the Red Sox went down in order in the home half.

Jovani Morán came on in the top of the sixth, and gave up back-to-back walks to Greene and Dingler. Jahmai Jones came in to pinch-hit for Kerry Carpenter, and he singled, bringing Greene in and giving the Tigers the lead for the first time in the game.

The Sox made another pitching change, bringing in Greg Weissert, and he got the Tigers out in order after that. With one out in the home half, Narvaez doubled, then successfully stole third. Roman Anthony came in and singled, re-tying the game. Anthony then stole second. The Tigers stopped the bleeding at just one run, but the score was back to even.

Garrett Whitlock was the next Red Sox pitcher in, and he got the Tigers out in order in the top of the seventh. Tyler Holton replaced Hurter in the home half, and it was about to be one very ugly inning. Yoshida got things started with a single, followed by a walk to Trevor Story. A one-out single from Durbin got the bases loaded. Ceddanne Rafaela, on to pinch hit, hit a liner into right, to drive in two runs and get the Red Sox a much healthier lead. Durbin was tagged out at home, though, so it could have been worse. A wild pitch allowed Rafaela to advance, then Narvaez singled to bring him home. Anthony walked, and that was it for Holton, who was replaced by Drew Anderson. Anderson induced the final out of the inning, but the Sox were now ahead three runs.

Riley Greene singled at the top of the eighth, but was once again eliminated in a force out off the bat of Dingler. The Red Sox then got lucky with a review call that ultimately resulted in Wenceel Perez being ruled out at first instead of the initial safe call. Definitely a bummer for the Tigers. Yoshida got a one-out single in the home half. Trevor Story then doubled, but the Red Sox third base coach basically had to stand in front of Yoshida to keep him from going for home. He got there anyway when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to score two additional runs. Kiner-Falefa then stole second, but two outs followed, including another great catch by Greene at the Monster to keep the damage at least somewhat limited.

Lee kept going with MLB firsts, getting his first double with a leadoff in the top of the ninth. If there was one nice thing about losing the lead so spectacularly, the Tigers didn’t need to face Aroldis Chapman. Kevin McGonigle doubled, but Lee only advanced to third thanks to a strong arm with Abreu in the outfield. Torres singled, bringing Lee home. So much for avoiding Chapman, because the Red Sox now had to dip into the bullpen for him. With two outs, Riley Greene doubled, scoring another two runs. Chapman did the final out after that, though, so while the Tigers did make a valiant effort in the ninth, it wasn’t enough to stage a full comeback.

Final: Red Sox 8, Tigers 6

The Atlanta Braves are coming off their first sweep of the Phillies in Philadelphia since 2016 while also leading MLB in run differential, total runs scored, team ERA, and hold the best division lead in MLB. The start for the Braves could not have been much better, especially considering they are down half their rotation, their starting SS, and Sean Murphy.

Speaking of good starts, Bryce Elder is back to All-Star form this season with his sterling ERA of 0.77 and will be taking the mound to face the second place (tied) Washington Nationals. The Nationals have a losing record but some could argue that they have been better than expected, especially offensively. Only the Dodgers and Braves are scoring more runs per game than the Nationals are this season. 5.50 runs per game is an elite offense, the only problem is that the Nats are also allowing the most runs per game tied with the Astros at 6.09.

With the level of runs that the Nats have been scoring it will be interesting to see if Elder can hold them at bay. It does not take much research to know that it is highly likely that Elder will not be able to sustain a sub one ERA, but his expected ERA (xERA) of 2.30 is easily the best of his career. In fact, his Statcast numbers look the best they ever have too.

Now, you always want to take early season Statcast numbers with a grain of salt because they can change drastically as the season progresses, but the point is that Elder has not just been lucky this season, he has also pitched very well. Good strikeout and walk rates to go along with a good groundball rate and an elite barrel percentage is a mix for solid results, which has clearly happened.

It will be fun this evening to see how the Nats hitters will do against this new and improved Elder, because in the past they have absolutely wrecked him. Of the seven hitters on the roster who have faced him before, five of them have an OPS .800 or higher. CJ Abrams has a .905 OPS in fifteen at-bats, and Luis García Jr. has a 1.227 in eleven at-bats. Keep an eye on rising star James Wood as he is the only player to hit a HR off of Elder in his six at-bats against him.

Jake Irvin will be taking the mound for the Nats and he has had the opposite results of Elder. He currently sits at an ERA of 6.16, and it has not been entirely bad luck either. His xERA of 5.07 shows he has likely had some misfortune, but even if he actual ERA matched his xERA, it would not be a result to be proud of. The Braves currently have the fourth best walk rate in MLB and Irvin’s 12.8 percent walk rate is in the bottom 24.0 percent of the league. Walks could be the key to success for the Braves’ offense tonight.

Michael Harris will be the offensive player to watch this evening for the Braves. Not only is he red hot right now, but he has more at-bats than anyone else against Irvin with eighteen. He has a .389 average and .950 OPS in those at-bats as well. Matt Olson has the second most at-bats with sixteen but has struggled to a .188 average and .610 OPS against Irvin.

Two of the top three offenses offenses meet tonight, so on paper it should come down to which pitching staff can perform the best. First pitch is at 6:45 EDT.

Game Info

Game Time: Monday, April 20th, 6:45 pm EDT

Location: Nationals Park, Washington, DC.

Watch: BravesVision

Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

Boston Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray left his Patriots' Day start against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning after experiencing what the team called "right hamstring tightness."

In his first season with the Red Sox after being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade last November, Gray was making his fifth start of the 2026 campaign.

He had allowed one run on three hits and a walk over 2 ⅔ innings when he began having difficulty executing his pitching motion. After a brief visit from an athletic trainer and one practice pitch, Gray walked off the field.

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Ernie Clement’s bat is sizzling right now, and with the Angels sending a southpaw to the mound, I’m banking on the lefty-masher to stay hot.

Read on to see why in my Blue Jays vs. Angels predictions and free MLB picks on Monday, April 20.

Blue Jays vs Angels predictions

Blue Jays vs Angels best bet: Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases (+115)

Ernie Clement is riding a four-game hit streak while recording a hit in eight of his last nine games. 

The Toronto Blue Jays infielder has gone Over his total bases prop in five of those, including each of his last three outings. 

Clement is starting to find his power stroke, too, doubling in three straight, with six total two-baggers in this nine-game stretch, averaging 2.11 bases per game. 

The pitching matchup is in his favor as well. 

The Los Angeles Angels are starting LHP Reid Detmers tonight, who Clement should be able to take advantage of. He’s 6-for-18 against lefties this season and had a .900 OPS against southpaws in 2025.

COVERS INTEL: Clement owns an .833 OPS in six career at-bats against Detmers.

Blue Jays vs Angels same-game parlay (SGP)

The Angels' lineup has baseball's seventh-highest strikeout rate. Dylan Cease is a strikeout machine, ranking in the 95th percentile in K-rate this season, while averaging eight punchouts per start. 

For the last leg of the SGP, I’ll pair Cease’s strikeout total with Jorge Soler to go Over his 1.5 Ks prop. The outfielder has struggled mightily in this matchup throughout his career, going just 1-for-23 against Cease with a 56% K-rate.

Blue Jays vs Angels SGP

• Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases
• Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts
• Jorge Soler Over 1.5 hitter strikeouts

Blue Jays vs Angels home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+475)

I’ll make this a half-unit wager.

Detmers is a flyball pitcher who relies on his four-seam fastball often, which has a 43% usage rate and a hard-hit rate of 56.5%. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushes the fastball and has a .500 average against the four-seamer, with a .571 SLG against the pitch.

Blue Jays vs Angels odds

• Moneyline: Toronto -120 | Los Angeles +100
• Run line: Toronto -1.5 (+145) | Los Angeles +1.5 (-170)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-115) | Under 7.5 (-105)

Blue Jays vs Angels trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Under in 8 of their last 11 games (+5.50 Units / 44% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Angels.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Angels and game info

Blue Jays vs Angels latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Angels weather

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The New York Rangers will hold a top-five pick in the 2026 NHL Draft coming up on June 26.

The NHL Draft Lottery is set for May 5, in what will be a critical day for the Rangers’ organization. 

To close out the 2025-26 season, the Rangers finished 30th in the NHL league standings with a 34-39-9 record and 77 points, which means the Blueshirts have the third-best odds to land the first overall pick. 

At the May 5 draft lottery, the Rangers will have a 11.5% chance to get the first pick, 11.2% chance to get the second pick, 7.8% chance to get the third pick, 39.7% chance to get the fourth pick, and 29.8% chance to get the fifth pick. 

This draft will be a golden opportunity for the Rangers to land a potential cornerstone piece going into the future.

“It's exciting because we can potentially add a high-quality player that could potentially be a New York Ranger for a long time,” Mike Sullivan said. “And so from that standpoint, it's really exciting.”

We’ve seen a number of top-five picks in recent years make immediate impacts for their respective teams upon arrival, including Macklin Celebrini, Matthew Schaefer, Leo Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, Ivan Demidov, and many more. 

“We’re excited it’s in the top five,” Chris Drury said of the Rangers’ 2026 first-round pick. “Will see on May 5 to where it is.”

The last time the Rangers held a top-five pick was in 2020, when the team selected Alexis Lafrenière first overall, while they drafted Kaapo Kakko second overall in 2019.

The 13-game NL East gauntlet continues on for the Atlanta Braves and so far, they’ve passed their first divisional test with flying colors. They’re 5-1 through the first six games and they’re two wins away from making this a successful divisional swing. They’re also just one win away from confirming a successful road trip on this seven-game jaunt across the Eastern Seaboard after picking up a very lovely sweep in Philadelphia.

With that being said, I think this Braves team has more than just the bare minimum expectations for success at the moment. They’ve already built up a relatively large cushion in the division and they’ve got an opportunity to continue to put plenty of space between them and the rest of their foes in the NL East. The good news is that it’s the type of opportunity that feels like a golden one for this team.

Sure, they’ll have to deal with the Phillies again but they’ll be doing it in their own dojo this weekend. Also, the Braves will have four games against the Nationals in the nation’s capital. While the Nationals clearly aren’t going to be moribund (as you’ll see below), it’s a situation where if the Braves are the caliber of team that we think they’re shaping up to be, they should be considering a series split as the bare minimum.

Let’s take a look at what lies ahead this week for the Braves:

April 20-23: Washington Nationals

Current Record: 10-12 Projected Record(via FanGraphs): 69-93

_{(We’re now using up-to-date standings since the Braves are finally into repeat opponent territory starting this week)}

Well this’ll certainly be an interesting series! The Nationals might be under .500 like the rest of the NL East but it’s not for lack of trying at the plate! While Atlanta has been cooking at the plate to the tune of a team wRC+ of 122 (tied for second in all of baseball with the Astros but 16 points behind the Dodgers for first place because of course), the Nationals aren’t that far behind with a team wRC+ of 109. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Michael Harris II’s good buddy CJ Abrams has been very dangerous at the plate so far — he’s hitting .320/.429/.600 with a 182 wRC+, six home runs and a .443 wOBA across 91 plate appearances and 21 games.

James Wood isn’t too far behind with a 153 wRC+ and they’ve also gotten strong contributions from Jorbit Vivas and Joey Wiemer now that they’ve gotten more chances to show their stuff. Ivan talked a bit about this offense during his article earlier and it’s going to be very interesting to see if they can keep it up against a Braves pitching staff that is proving to be very formidable for any opponent to deal with so far.

With that being said, there’s a reason why this team is still under .500 and it’s their pitching staff. Like, full stop: They have been straight-up bad on the mound so far this season. Their best pitcher (according to fWAR) so far has been Cade Cavalli, who is sporting a 4.12 ERA and a 3.59 FIP across 19.2 innings of work and five starts. That’s not great, and hopefully the Braves will be able to do plenty of damage against this pitching staff before they run into him in the series finale on Thursday afternoon.

Outside of Cavalli, this pitching staff has been varying degrees of mediocre-to-bad so far. If this was 2024, I’d be terrified at the prospect of the Braves having to deal with Jake Irvin but Atlanta appears to have slain that particular boogeyman after what they did to him last season so he seems like a manageable prospect for this Atlanta lineup. Foster Griffin has been more in the “okay” category and he did manage to limit the Dodgers to just one run over five innings on April 5 but he got dinged for four runs against the Pirates in his last time out. Then you have Zack Littell, who has gotten lit up so far this season. Again, he also has a five-inning, one-run stint to his name but he’s given up at least three runs in his other three starts and he even got smacked for eight runs in his most recent start.

As bleak as this starting rotation looks for Washington, the bullpen looks just as bad. The bullpen is currently sitting on an ERA- of 136 and a FIP- of 144 — that ERA- number is the second-worst mark in the NL and the FIP- is the worst. Both of those numbers are actually better than what the starting rotation is putting up, as they’ve collectively delivered an ERA- of 152 and a FIP- of 131. Even if these games end up turning into slugfests, I like Atlanta’s chances in those slugfests since their offense has been better as well. It would be a crying shame if the Braves didn’t put in some serious work at the plate during this series as this Nationals pitching staff appears to be ripe for the picking at the moment.

April 24-26: Philadelphia Phillies

Current Record: 8-13 Projected Record: 84-78

Assuming they don’t get right this week against the Cubs, the Phillies might be really hating baseball life by the time the get to Atlanta. The sweep they suffered at the hands of the Braves is now part of a five-game losing streak and a 2-8 stretch. If it wasn’t for the Mets being completely dreadful for two weeks now, the Phillies would be at the bottom of the NL right now. Instead, they’re next to the bottom and currently looking up at the Colorado Rockies in the NL standings. Are they going to be trailing the Rockies for much longer? Probably to but it’s still funny to see!

Either way, we just got done seeing Philadelphia and the problem is clear: They are doing some serious scuffling at the plate. They’re currently bottom-five as a team in the National League when it comes to team wRC+ (88) and outside of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, this lineup isn’t providing the type of production that we’re used to seeing from them and subsequently being annoyed by. Again there are some potential big boppers in this lineup so I don’t think that they’re going to stay down like this for a lot longer but I’m sure the Braves would appreciate it if they continued to scuffle while making their visit to Truist Park this weekend.

Atlanta will also be getting a bit of a break due to the Phillies’ visit to Wrigley Field being a four-gamer as well. Cristopher Sánchez is currently set to start the series finale in Chicago, which means the Braves will avoid get to avoid him this weekend. There is a chance that Zack Wheeler could return to the Phillies rotation just in time to see the Braves but if not, they’ll likely get another dose of Andrew Painter. On top of that, Atlanta will still have to deal with the tricky propositions of Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola on the weekend — Luzardo has been a tough customer for the Braves to deal with since his time with the Marlins and I think we’re all too well acquainted with Nola at this point in his career.

Either way, if the Cubs extend Philadelphia’s misery then the Braves could have a chance to really pour on the pain once this weekend rolls around. I’m not going to count any chickens before they hatch but Atlanta could be in line to put some serious distance between them and Philadelphia right away if all goes well for the Braves this week.

It’s hard to place all that much importance on an April series against a division rival, but the Mariners series win over the Rangers last weekend was pretty important. Not only did it serve as a reset after a tough stretch of games — not unlike the Astros series a few weekends ago — it also ensured Seattle has a much better chance to win the season series — and the all-important tiebreaker — later on this season. It’s probably too early to start worrying about things like that. First, the M’s need to take care of business against another upstart division rival.

The Athletics have gotten off to a bit of an up-and-down start to the season. A few weeks ago, they won consecutive series against the Astros, Yankees, and Mets but just dropped a three-game set against the White Sox last weekend. The young offense that looked so impressive last year has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season. They’re just 19th in baseball with 4.14 runs scored per game. 

There are a ton of high-whiff, high-power guys populating the A’s lineup and then there’s Jacob Wilson and Jeff McNeil. Those two high-contact hitters aren’t enough to offset the high strikeout rates from guys like Nick Kurtz, Lawrence Butler, or Shea Langeliers; the team’s strikeout rate is fifth highest in baseball right now. After taking a pretty big step forward last year, Langeliers has been even better this season. He’s already blasted six home runs and is currently sporting a 163 wRC+. Kurtz, in particular, has gotten off to a slow start at the plate. The reigning Rookie of the Year has hit only two home runs this year, though he’s walking in more than a quarter of his plate appearances; opposing pitchers are treating him a lot more carefully after he torched the league last summer. He isn’t the only guy off to a slow start; Tyler Soderstrom (87 wRC+ so far), Wilson (68), and Butler (58) have all scuffled in April.

Probable Pitchers 

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

J.T. Ginn has spent the last few seasons bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen for the A’s. He’s dealt with a number of injuries over the years, stunting his development, but the stuff models really love his sinker-slider combo. He gets a ton of groundballs with those two pitches and can turn to a pretty good changeup to get a whiff if he needs it. Considering the problems the A’s have had developing mid-rotation arms, and Ginn’s penchant for groundball contact, it’s surprising they haven’t given him a longer look in the rotation. 

Jacob Lopez was a surprise last year. Never regarded as a top prospect, and a throw-in in the Jeffrey Springs trade a few years ago, he had a stretch of 13 starts last summer where he ran a 2.64 ERA and a 3.08 FIP. He ran into the Mariners on August 24, allowed nine runs, and was placed on the IL with an elbow strain the next day. His raw stuff just isn’t that impressive; his fastball barely averages 90 mph and a slow looping slider is hardly optimized for whiffs. Still, some deception in his throwing motion allows his stuff to play up a bit.

The A’s signed Aaron Civale in February to give them another veteran innings eater while their top pitching prospects continue to develop in the minors. Pitching for his sixth team in four years, he’s a prototypical back-end starter with a deep repertoire. He doesn’t stand out in any one area, but average skills across the board help him work through a lineup a couple of times without courting disaster. His best pitch is a hammer curveball and he’ll mix in five other pitches to keep batters off balance.

The Big Picture:

The AL West standings are currently a big ol’ mess. The Rangers and A’s are tied in first with matching .500 records with the Angels and Mariners following close behind. And then there’s the Astros who are limping along at the bottom with the second worst record in the AL. Texas returns home to begin a long homestand beginning with a series against the Pirates, Los Angeles hosts the struggling Blue Jays, and Houston will try and turn things around in Cleveland this week.