Game Thread: White Sox (15-17) at Padres (19-12)

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 17: Jarred Kelenic #24 of the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch on February 17, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona.
Jarred Kelenic makes his first White Sox start. | (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)

Winning is fun! The Chicago White Sox are on a four-game winning streak and have won three of their last four series. The Good Guys look to extend both streaks tonight, to five and four.

After notching his first career road win on April 22 in Arizona, Sean Burke takes the bump tonight and looks to snag his second. He’s been avoiding walks and missing barrels, which will be crucial against one of the best teams in baseball.

The ace for the San Diego Padres, Michael King, plans to put an end to Chicago’s offensive explosion. Where Burke excels with the fastball, King gets his job done with his breaking and off-speed pitches. Hopefully, he’ll hang a few tonight!

Here’s how the Sox are going to line up against King, with a few changes from last night:

Jarred Kelenic makes his first White Sox start, and Edgar Quero will take over tonight’s backstop duty.

The Padres are shaking it up a bit compared to last night:

Gavin Sheets (old friend alert), Jackson Merrill, Luis Campusano and Jake Cronenworth find themselves in the starting nine.

Luckily, starting an hour earlier today, you can catch the White Sox at 7:40 p.m. CT on CHSN for your viewing pleasure and WMVP-AM 1000 for your listening pleasure.

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Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing trying to change ‘bad dude’ rap: ‘Don’t want to create an image like that’

ST. LOUIS — You won’t find anyone with the Dodgers who thinks Dalton Rushing is a bad guy.

But that doesn’t mean the second-year slugger wants to be saddled publicly with a bad rap.

Throughout his career, Rushing has always tried to play with a smoldering competitive fire. He has never shied away from the fact he carries a competitive edge.

The Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing has produced on the field, but some of his heated in-game interactions have rubbed some the wrong way. AP

“I played football half my life,” the Dodgers’ backup catcher said. “So I compete a little differently, I click a little differently.”

Lately, however, a string of heated in-game interactions that have gone viral on social media — and, in one instance, drawn public criticism from an opposing player — have forced the 25-year-old to take a step back and make a renewed effort to keep his emotions in check.

“You never want to be viewed as a guy like that from opposing teams,” Rushing told The California Post on Saturday. “You want guys to hate playing against you because of the player that you are and how great you are on a baseball field. Not because of the verbalized things you say.”

Already this season, Rushing had been in the middle of several different headline-grabbing situations; from saying the Rockies were making “fishy” swing decisions during a series in Denver, to catching flak for an F-bomb he appeared to direct (though later said was misinterpreted) at Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee after a collision at the plate.

“You never want to be viewed as a guy like that from opposing teams,” Rushing told The California Post on Saturday. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Then came last weekend’s series against the Cubs, when Rushing was captured dropping another seemingly disparaging expletive in reference to Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya.

This time, it wasn’t only lip-reading internet sleuths who called Rushing out but also Cubs veteran Nico Hoerner, who was standing in the box when Rushing made his alleged “fat f–k” comment as Amaya advanced to second base on a wild pitch last Saturday.

“I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly, to be honest,” Hoerner said during a radio interview this week. “It was just kind of a strange thing to experience. So, yeah, I felt a little weird about that.”

Turns out, Rushing did, too.

Rushing and Hoerner are represented by the same agency, Apex Baseball. So this week, Rushing said he reached out to Hoerner through his agents “to clear the air” about what happened.

“I respect his point of view of it, from the looks and the sound of it,” Rushing said. “And I respect him sticking up for his players. I would do the same thing for any of these guys.”

Rushing has had run-ins so far in series against the Rockies, Giants and Cubs this season. AP

Asked if he thought Hoerner (or, for that matter, the online lip readers) had understood him correctly, Rushing said he didn’t think so — though stopped short of recounting his exact dialogue from the moment in question.

“Regardless,” Rushing explained, “there was a word said, whether it was positive or negative or what. And he didn’t like it. And I respect that.”

Thus, moving forward, Rushing is trying to be more careful about how his emotions are expressed on the field.


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“Obviously, you know what social media can turn you into, [how it can] build an image for yourself both positively and negatively,” the second-year big leaguer said. “So I think from here on out, it’s just my job to build a positive platform for myself.”

“There’s things that can change,” he added. “There’s things I’m going to change.” 

Rushing’s fiery temperament is nothing new. It was part of his persona long before the Dodgers made him a second-round draft pick out of the University of Louisville in 2022. And it was there throughout his rise through the farm system as one of the organization’s top prospects.

Thus, moving forward, Rushing is trying to be more careful about how his emotions are expressed on the field. AP

For the most part, the Dodgers have appreciated that component of his competitive makeup.

Even after the recent bouts of drama, manager Dave Roberts said the club doesn’t “want to take the fire out of him.”

At the same time, though, Roberts has cautioned Rushing “to be mindful” of his outbursts. Others in the clubhouse have reinforced the same message.

“He’s bringing stuff onto himself he doesn’t need to bring on,” Roberts said. “There’s a responsibility to not be reckless because everything is captured.”

Rushing also cited that “responsibility” during an interview at his locker Saturday, acknowledging how, when “tempers flare,” he sometimes lets “things take over.”

“I don’t want to create an image like that,” he said.

However, Rushing also noted that nothing “I’ve said verbally on a field has enhanced my play by any means.” AP

The good news: The newfound scrutiny has been spurred by Rushing’s breakout start to the year. Entering Saturday, he was batting .348 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs despite limited playing time in the season’s opening month.

“It wouldn’t matter if I was struggling,” he said. “It would just be, ‘Oh, this guy is just a bad dude. Bad player. Bad dude.’”

However, Rushing also noted that nothing “I’ve said verbally on a field has enhanced my play by any means.”

So, while he won’t douse his competitive fire anytime soon, he will be trying to limit how often it flares up. 

“I’m gonna continue to compete, I’m gonna continue to play with an edge,” he said. “But obviously we can hone back a little bit on things that can get you in trouble in this media world.”

Reds pitchers make ugly MLB history with seven consecutive walks

The Cincinnati Reds pitching staff accomplished something Saturday that hadn’t been done in more than 40 years.

Two Reds pitchers walked seven consecutive Pittsburgh Pirates hitters in the second inning of a May 2 game at PNC Park, tying an MLB record and turning what was already a rough afternoon into a historically bad day.  

Starter Rhett Lowder and reliever Connor Phillips combined to walk seven consecutive Pirates with one out in the second inning. That included issuing the final four walks with the bases loaded. Between them, they threw 42 pitches and only 11 for strikes, according to MLB.com.  

Lowder struck out leadoff hitter Oneil Cruz and then it went off the rails from there.

Lowder issued the first three walks before being pulled for Phillips. He came in with the bases loaded and walked four in a row, each one forcing in a run. Reliever Sam Moll finally stopped the bleeding. Entering the game with the bases loaded, he got both catcher Henry Davis and Cruz, batting for the second time that inning, to ground out.  

After that inning, the Pirates led 10-3.

The MLB record for consecutive walks had last been set on May 25, 1983, when the Pirates walked seven consecutive Atlanta Braves batters. One of the pitchers that day happened to be named Bob Walk. On April 27, 1994, the Seattle Mariners walked six in a row, hit a batter and then walked the next batter in a 12-2 loss to the Yankees.  

The Reds entered play Saturday having walked 11.6% of batters they faced this season, which was the fifth highest in baseball. Saturday, they showed just how much they struggle with the strike zone.  

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder delivers the ball to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Phillip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

Lowder, 24, came in 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA, which ballooned to 5.09 after that inning. Phillips had been one of the more reliable arms in Cincinnati's bullpen before Saturday’s outing. He had walked just 15 in 17 appearances before Saturday.  

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Reds pitchers tie MLB record for consecutive walks

Washington Nationals fall to 3-12 at home in a flat showing against the Brewers

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 02: Nasim Nunez #26 of the Washington Nationals hits a single in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park on May 02, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images

As a fan of this team, all of the losing at home is getting old. The Nats have been playing a fun and aggressive brand of baseball on the road. However, they have treated their fans to some flat and sloppy baseball. Today was a perfect example of that. This game was there for the taking, but the Nats did not grab it.

They went 1/11 with runners in scoring position and only scored one run despite constantly getting the leadoff man on. It was not a blowout, but I think this was one of the Nats worst overall performances of the season. The pitching kept them in the game, but the bats went quiet and the gloves were mistake prone.

It turned out that this game was decided in the first inning. After Foster Griffin got two quick outs, he ran into trouble, giving up one hit and two walks. However, with the bases loaded, he got a ground ball that should have ended the inning. Instead, an indecisive Brady House booted the ball, allowing a run to score and everyone to advance a base. Then Brandon Lockridge drove a single through the hole to score two more runners.

The game was now 3-0, but none of the runs were earned. It has been a really rough start to the season on the defensive side of the ball for Brady House. He looked rock solid last year, but now already has six errors in 2026. Coming into this game, House had posted -2 outs above average, a number that is likely to drop even further. It has been an all around regression on that side of the ball for the 22 year old.

It is still early, but you have to wonder if House’s job could be in jeopardy. Yohandy Morales has been hitting the cover off the ball in AAA and is deserving of an opportunity before too long. Between his poor defense and his issues with fastballs, House might need a re-set if this continues for much longer.

Outside of their 14 run outburst against the Mets, this offense has really cooled off. That was likely to be inevitable given the talent on the roster. It is still a bummer though. The lack of clutch hitting has been very frustrating lately. 

One bright spot for today and the season as a whole is Foster Griffin. While Griffin did not have his best stuff or command, he was able to grind through six innings, and did not allow any earned runs. Griffin did not allow any runs at all after that unfortunate first inning.

Griffin only got two whiffs today, both on curveballs. However, he did a good job keeping the ball off the barrel. There was not a lot of loud contact given up by Griffin after that first inning. He was uncharacteristically wild, walking four batters, but that is an outlier for the normally precise Griffin.

Foster Griffin pitched well enough to get a win, but instead, he tasted defeat for the first time as a National. The disparity between how the Nats play at home compared to how they compete on the road is truly jarring. You would think a team would come out with more juice and energy in front of their home fans, but it has been the opposite for the Nats.

Tomorrow is going to be a really big game for them. They desperately need Zack Littell to step up and be the guy Paul Toboni signed him to be. He had a solid start against the Brewers the last time he pitched against them, so hopefully that can give him some confidence. 

Today was yet another disappointing day at the yard for Nats fans. They will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow and avoid falling 10 games under .500 at home. This Nats team has shown some real positive signs, but the home losing is becoming a dark cloud for this group.

Braves vs Rockies Game Thread: 5/2/2026

DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 01: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates as he crosses home plate after hitting a 2 RBI home run against the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning at Coors Field on May 01, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Let’s beat the Rockies again tonight, but maybe don’t go down 5-0 in the first inning this time. Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below!

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, May 2, 8:10 p.m. EDT

Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv (and Braves.tv if you’re in-market, etc.)

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

Blue Jays 11, Twins 4: Naught 4 Nothing

May 2, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (7) celebrates his solo home run against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

We ought to have a boilerplate template for 2026 Twins recaps, because it feels like every time the Twins lose this season, it’s for exactly the same reasons as I am about to describe. Another encouraging start from a young arm was emphatically erased by possibly the most predictably incompetent bullpen you’ve ever seen in your life, rendering any offensive contributions almost entirely meaningless. Sound familiar? Well, these were the same beats that played out in Saturday afternoon’s 11-4 Blue Jays victory, the 20th loss of Minnesota’s season, and another defeat that transpired for reasons that anyone could have seen coming.

In his third major-league start, Connor Prielipp went another five innings and only allowed three hits, although two were homers (Lenyn Sosa and Myles Straw, both in the second inning.) The Jays generated five hard-hit balls off the young lefty, who walked two and only struck out four in a 91-pitch outing, which is the longest of his professional career.

When he left, Minnesota even had a 4-2 lead. Byron Buxton had started the game with a leadoff bomb to right, his 10th homer of the year, and latest offensive outburst in a scorching-hot stretch that has raised his OPS back up to .857. The Twins added two more in the second, with a pair of runners scoring on a Brooks Lee single + Vladdy Jr. throwing error. Add on an RBI single from Trevor Larnach in the fifth, and Minnesota had pole position going into the later innings.

This has happened before, and it will happen again, and the usual suspects will be involved.

Toronto got one back as soon as the doors to Derek’s Magical Arm Barn opened; the homer-happy Kazuma Okamoto tagged Justin Topa for his 8th of the year with one out in the sixth. Okay, 4-3, you say. Not bad.

Bad!

BAD!!!

It could have been 10-3. It could have been 10-3, brother. And the Twins would have lost this game anyway.

That’s because the wheels came off completely in a marathon 8-run 8th inning for the third-place Jays. It’s an inning that behests bullet-pointing brather than a bregular baragraph. Let’s take a look at the highlights real quick before we get you the heck out of here.

  • Eighth inning begins. Luis Garcia enters. (Why?!)
  • Ernie Clement singles
  • Vladdy Jr. walks
  • Okamoto ties the game with a shot back up the middle off Luke Keaschall. 4-4.
  • Lenyn Sosa drops an infield single into the mix and scores Vladdy from third. 5-4.
  • Anthony Banda comes in. At least we tried, Luis!
  • Daulton Varsho reaches and everybody’s safe on a fielder’s choice attempt that ends in an Anthony Banda error.
  • Myles Straw walks and everybody moves up. 6-4 Jays.
  • Davis Schneider smacks a two-run double to left. 8-4 Jays. Two runners still in scoring position.
  • Brandon Valenzuela ropes a three-run homer to center. 11-4 Jays, although at this point, it would be reasonable to assume that nobody is keeping score anymore.
  • Three quick outs are then recorded. Presumably the Jays got bored.

It may not surprise you to learn that the Twins did not reach base for the rest of the game.

The team is ass.

STUDS:

RP John Klein (IP, 0 R in his major-league debut. For this bullpen, stud-worthy.)

LF Trevor Larnach (2-for-4, RBI, 2B)

DUDS:

DH Josh Bell (0-for-4, K)

RF Matt Wallner (0-for-4, K)

RP Justin Topa (0.2 IP, H, ER, K, HR)

RP Luis Garcia (0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB)

RP Anthony Banda (IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, HR)

Colorado Rockies game no. 34 thread: Chris Sale vs. Brennan Bernardino

DENVER, CO - APRIL 21: Brennan Bernardino #83 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on April 21, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Colorado Rockies had a prime opportunity to steal the series opener at home against the Atlanta Braves. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead but then, they saw the opportunity walk away. Literally.

Crucial walks in the eighth and ninth innings put the Rox in danger and ultimately behind in a game where they cranked their win probability up to 96.0% at one point. Alas, leads can be fleeting at Coors, especially when a team doesn’t score again after the second inning.

The Rockies managed a 13-15 record in April, avoiding sustained losing streaks outside of a six-game skid. To get May off on the right foot, they’ll try to nip the losses in the bud and take at least one of the next two against Atlanta.

Unfortunately, on Fourth Wing Night at Coors Field on Saturday, the Rockies hitters encounter a challenge tougher than crossing the parapet: facing Chris Sale. Sale has been stellar this year (5-1 in six games started, 2.31 ERA). He’s been incredibly efficient in so many metrics, boasting a sub-1.00 WHIP so far — currently holding at 0.914 — along with 38 strikeouts and just nine walks.

Outside of a bumpy outlier game in which he gave up six runs on two dingers to the Los Angeles Angels in early April, Sale has been the epitome of consistency. In the other five games, he’s given up either just one run or none at all. For the cherry on top, he’s sitting on a .185 batting average against. Father Time has not slowed the 16-year veteran down at all, as he continues to be just incredibly stingy. That’s historically carried through against the Rockies, where Sale is 1-1 with a 1.48 ERA across five games, including 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA at Coors.

The Rockies will try and counter with a steady presence of their own. Despite Chase Dollander getting his first start in his last outing against the New York Mets, the Rockies will go back to their opener + Dollander approach, with Brennan Bernardino kicking things off tonight. The last time Colorado looked to use Bernardino and Dollander as a dynamic duo (April 4th against the Philadelphia Phillies), it turned into a trio. Bernardino gave up a walk followed by an early run, forcing an appearance from Jimmy Herget to better set up Dollander to enter in the third.

Across the year, Bernardino is 2-0 in 14 games with the one start and a 0.71 ERA over 12.2 IP. He’s looked sharp and will try to move quickly through a hot top of the order for the Braves.

While it looked like Dollander moved closer to securing a full-time starter role like many hoped, his lone start might have been forced by the doubleheader, as he slots back into his bulk relief role today. For his part, Dollander is 3-2 through seven games, posting a 2.25 ERA over 32.0 IP. Atlanta will be one of his toughest tests so far as he continues to make his case for a spot in the rotation.

The Rockies found a spark and got the bats going early yesterday. Their six runs gave them a chance. That many may be harder to come by given the matchup, but they’ll look to hang around in what should be an intriguing pitching matchup on both sides.

First Pitch: 6:10 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Braves SB Nation Site:Battery Power

Lineups:

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GameThread: Tigers vs. Rangers, 7:15 p.m.

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) reacts after a fly out against Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers (16-17) vs. Texas Rangers (16-16)

Time/Place: 7:15 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Lone Star Ball
Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (1-2, 4.00 ERA) vs. RHP Kumar Rocker (1-2, 3.38 ERA)

PlayerGIPK%BB%GB%FIPfWAR
Montero527.021.54.734.62.930.8
Rocker526.219.18.756.13.680.5

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One hit, that’s all we got? Marlins 4, Phillies 0

May 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Max Meyer (23) throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

One of the keys to winning baseball games is hitting the ball. While it is possible to achieve victory without recording a base hit, history has shown that getting multiple hits in a ball game is far more conducive to winning. In their game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday, the Phillies did not get multiple hits. They only got one. One lousy hit. And that hit was promptly erased by a double play!

The hitless afternoon resulted in a 4-0 loss that put an end to the team’s four-game winning streak and was Don Mattingly’s first loss as Phillies manager.

On the other side of the ball, Andrew Painter got the start for the Phillies, and he gave up several hits. In fact, in the second inning, Painter gave up three times as many hits as Phillies batters did all game. But he was somehow able to keep any of those runners from scoring.

In the top of the third, left fielder (!) Garrett Stubbs recorded the Phillies’ only base knock, only to be doubled up by a ground ball double play off the bat of Felix Reyes. (As you read these names, it starts to become clearer exactly why the Phillies struggled on offense.)

Painter again gave up three hits in the third inning, and this time, due to the fact that he also walked two batters with the bases loaded, the Phillies fell into a 2-0 hole.

Painter settled down a bit, but the Marlins extended their lead to 3-0 courtesy of a Xavier Edwards home run in the fifth.

The Marlins concluded their scoring in the sixth when a double, ground out, and infield single against Tanner Banks made the score 4-0.

This was far too much for the Phillies to overcome. Marlins starter Max Meyer struck out seven in his career-high seven innings and walked only one batter. Things didn’t improve after he left the game, as the Phillies went down in order in both the eighth and the ninth.

While the Phillies could be excused because they were missing a couple of starters, it should be noted that their stars didn’t exactly have great games either. Kyle Schwarber struck out three times, putting him at 0-8 with eight strikeouts in the series.

They’ll be back at it on Sunday afternoon. The Marlins will start righthander Chris Paddack who enters the game with a 6.11 ERA. I’m hoping the Phillies will do a little better against him, because let’s face it, they couldn’t do much worse.

Dodgers vs. Cardinals game II chat

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 1: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers catches a bounced pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Busch Stadium on May 1, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Dodgers look to snap their three-game losing streak against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Roki Sasaki faces Michael McGreevy.

SATURDAY GAME INFO
  • Teams: Dodgers vs. Cardinals
  • Stadium: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
  • Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
  • TV: FOX
  • Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

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Where to watch Kansas City Royals vs. Seattle Mariners: Live stream, TV channel, odds for Saturday, May 2

The Kansas City Royals (13-19) face the Seattle Mariners (16-17) in the second game of their series. The Royals won Friday’s opener 7-6. Starting pitchers are Seth Lugo for Kansas City, with a 2.63 ERA, and Emerson Hancock for Seattle, with a 2.86 ERA.

  • Kansas City Royals: 13-19 (No. 5 in AL Central)

  • Seattle Mariners: 16-17 (No. 3 in AL West)

  • Spread: Seattle Mariners -1.5

  • Moneyline: Seattle Mariners -147 (57.0%) / Kansas City Royals +123 (43.0%)

  • Over/Under: 7.5

Kansas City Royals: Seth Lugo (1-1, ERA: 2.63, K: 31, WHIP: 1.17)
Seattle Mariners: Emerson Hancock (2-1, ERA: 2.86, K: 32, WHIP: 0.98)

Weather: 72°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 47,929 | Roof: Retractable | Surface: Grass

Game Discussion for St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 26: Michael McGreevy #36 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Seattle Mariners at Busch Stadium on April 26, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The St. Louis Cardinals will play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers again Saturday night for game 2 of their homestand versus the west coasters. Michael McGreevy (1-2, 2.97 ERA, 21 SO) will start for the Cardinals while the Californians will toss Roki Sasaki (1-2, 6.35 ERA, 22 SO) on the mound. First pitch scheduled for 6:15pm central time and this is a national game from Fox.

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Game 33 Game Day Thread – Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 26: Kumar Rocker #80 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Athletics at Globe Life Field on April 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers

Saturday, May 2, 2026, 6:15 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / FOX)

Comerica Park

LHP Kumar Rocker vs. RHP Keider Montero

Today’s Lineups

RANGERSTIGERS
Evan Carter – CFKevin McGonigle – SS
Corey Seager – SSGleyber Torres – 2B
Josh Jung – 3BColt Keith – 3B
Joc Pederson – DHRiley Greene – LF
Jake Burger – 1BDillon Dingler – C
Alejandro Osuna – LFKerry Carpenter – RF
Ezequiel Duran – RFSpencer Torkelson – 1B
Josh Smith – 2BWenceel Perez – CF
Danny Jansen – CJace Jung – DH
Kumar Rocker – RHPKeider Montero – RHP

Go Rangers!

Cubs 2, Diamondbacks 0: The Shōta Imanaga and Ian Happ show

On a sunny, but blustery and chilly afternoon at Wrigley Field, two Cubs totally dominated the action.

Shōta Imanaga had another outstanding start, scattering four hits over seven innings and striking out five.

And Ian Happ doubled, tripled and homered, scoring both of the Cubs’ runs in a 2-0 shutout of the Diamondbacks, the Cubs’ second shutout win of 2026.

Neither team scored in the first, then Happ led off the second with his eighth home run of the year [VIDEO].

Happ didn’t hit his eighth home run last year until June 19, the team’s 74th game. And that one went into the proverbial teeth of a pretty strong wind blowing off Lake Michigan.

Imanaga continued to dominate the D-backs. After a first-inning single by Corbin Carroll, he retired 16 of the next 18 Arizona hitters he faced, and got helped in part by some slick defense by Dansby Swanson.

I don’t think any other shortstop in the league makes this play [VIDEO].

It’s not just the stop behind the bag — sure, many shortstops can do that. Then he whirls and makes a strong, accurate throw to Michael Busch. The totality of the play is what makes Swanson so good. That was the first out of the sixth and he wound up making all three plays that inning.

The Cubs, though, could not get any offense going after Happ’s home run. They loaded the bases in the third on a walk, double by Busch and a two-out intentional walk to Happ (now how often do you see that in the modern game in the third inning?). But Seiya Suzuki flied to left to end the inning.

Happ’s one-out double in the sixth gave the Cubs a runner in scoring position, but Suzuki flied to right and after a walk drawn by Pete Crow-Armstrong (he’s getting good at that!), Swanson grounded out to end the inning.

Imanaga got into a bit of trouble in the seventh, allowing a one-out double and two-out walk. But then he got James McCann to ground to third to end the inning.

Overall, Imanaga threw 87 pitches (56 strikes). Here are his five K’s [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Imanaga’s outing [VIDEO].

Imanaga now has a 2.40 ERA in 41.1 innings, with 10 walks and 43 strikeouts. He again did not allow a home run in this game, so he’s still given up just three long balls this year, no more than one in any game. This is exactly the guy the Cubs hoped he’d be, and hopefully Jed Hoyer is working on some sort of contract extension for Imanaga. Yes, it will cost more than the $57 million for three years the Cubs turned down. Yes, it’s worth it.

Ben Brown, who has been so good in a multi-inning relief role this year, threw a 1-2-3 eighth.

Then Happ and the Cubs padded the lead with an insurance run in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Happ tripled into the gap in right-center [VIDEO].

That was his first triple of the year — and he didn’t hit any last year, either. He now has 17 triples in his career, and that was his first since Sept. 2, 2024 against the Pirates at Wrigley. More on Happ’s day from BCB’s JohnW53:

Ian Happ extended his on-base streak to 23 games with his second-inning homer. He began the day tied with Ronald Acuna of the Braves, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers for the third-longest such streak in MLB this season. Acuna’s streak was active. So were the two longer than Happ’s: 26 games, by Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, and 24, by Ildemaro Vargas of the Diamondbacks. Vargas’ streak ended in today’s game.

Suzuki drove Happ in with this sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 [VIDEO].

Brown was left in the game to throw the ninth. And Swanson made a nifty play to help out Brown for the first out [VIDEO].

All three outs in the ninth went to Dansby, who had nine assists on the afternoon. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

What a fantastic team effort — great pitching (from both Imanaga and Brown), outstanding defense and timely hitting. And so, at least for today:

An additional note on the game, and Happ’s afternoon, from John:

With Happ’s eighth-inning triple, the Cubs completed a team cycle — with only five total hits.

Happ missed a cycle by a single. He is the 31st Cub to do that since 1901. Michael Busch was the last, on Sept. 27 of last year. Seiya Suzuki had done it on April 29, 2025, and Garrett Cooper, on April 2, 2024. Those had been the first such games by a Cub since Happ, on May 19, 2018.

There have been seven since 2000. Aramis Ramirez, in 2006, and Moises Alou, in 2004, were the earlier two.
Happ joins Manny Trillo as the only Cub to do it twice.

For comparison, a Cub has had 10 complete cycles, while 702 missed one for lack of a triple. They included Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw this year and 11 last year. Among the nine were Suzuki and Kyle Tucker, three each, and Busch and Happ, twice.

Last note: This was the first time in 2026 that the Diamondbacks lost to a left-handed starter.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

The Cubs won the series and now have not only a 10-game home winning streak, but have won four in a row overall, and are 14-3 since beginning that 10-game overall win streak on April 14. Good times. And at this writing the Pirates are demolishing the Reds 15-3 in the fifth (!) inning. Presuming that score holds up, the Cubs will be in first place by themselves after today’s action.

The Cubs will go for the series sweep Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs and Merrill Kelly goes for the D-backs. Game time is again 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Game Thread: Miss ya, Willy.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 30: San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames #2 is shown during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants on April 30th, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Go Rays!

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