MLB News
The St. Louis Cardinals are back at Busch Stadium Tuesday night for game 5 of the 2026 season with the New York Mets still in town. According to MLB.com, Andre Pallante will make the start for St. Louis while New York will put Kodai Senga on the mound for another 6:45pm start.
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The Houston Astros (3-2) host the Boston Red Sox (1-3) tonight at Daikin Park in the second game of a three game series.
Astros Opening Day starter RHP Hunter Brown will make his second start of the season for the Astros, this time opposite RHP Brayan Bello and the Red Sox.
TUESDAY’S TILT: The Astros and Red Sox will play the middle game of their three-game series tonight as Houston goes for their fourth straight win and a series victory.
ON THE HUNT: RHP Hunter Brown is making his second start of the season after tossing 4.2 scoreless innings against the Angels on Opening Day.
A 2025 All-Star, Brown finished third in the AL in Cy Young voting last season after turning in the best year of his career with a 12-9 record, a 2.43 ERA (50ER/185.1IP) and posting a 1.03 WHIP. He held opponents to a career-low .201 average and posted 206 strikeouts in 185.1 innings pitched.
ASTROS VS. BELLO: The Astros are seeing RHP Brayan Bello tonight for the first time since facing him in back-to-back starts on Aug. 24 and Aug. 29, 2023. A couple Astros have career homers opposite Bello in LF Yordan Alvarez (3×5, HR, RBI) and IF Isaac Paredes (2×7, HR, 2RBI).
RIVALRY VS. THE RED SOX: The Astros and Red Sox have developed a nice rivalry over the last 10 years, as the two clubs have seen each other in three different postseason series since the 2017 season. The Astros won two of those three series, winning the 2017 ALDS and 2021 ALCS, while the Red Sox took the 2018 ALCS.
YORDAN AND THE BABE: LF Yordan Alvarez has played 30 career games against the Red Sox, including six in the postseason, combining for a .404 (44×109) average with 11 doubles, nine homers, 29 RBI, a .481 OBP and a .771 SLG. Among all Major League players with at least 125 regular season and postseason plate appearances against the Red Sox, Alvarez leads all in batting average, OBP and SLG. The lists below include the postseason.
ALL-TIME LEADERS VS. BOS (MIN. 125 PA)
Batting Average
1. Yordan Alvarez: .404
2. Will Clark: .403
3. Lyman Bostick: .467
SLG
1. Yordan Alvarez: .771
2. Babe Ruth: .683
3. Wander Franco: .659
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Astros lead the Majors in doubles (14) and total bases (73), while ranking second in hits (44) and walks (25). Individually, 1B Christian Walker leads the Majors in doubles (4), while 2B Jose Altuve owns a share for the MLB lead with six runs scored.
JOSE, JOSE, JOSE, JOSE!: 2B Jose Altuve went 4×4 with four runs scored and a pair of homers last night, giving him 42 four-hit games since he debuted in 2011, which are by far the most in the Majors in that time frame (1B Freddie Freeman ranks second with 31). Altuve’s four runs scored matched his career high, which he’s accomplished seven times, most recently on July 4, 2025 at LAD.
YORDAN’S UPCOMING MILESTONES: LF Yordan Alvarez (497 RBI) is three RBI shy of reaching 500 career RBI, a mark only 14 players in franchise history have reached. Alvarez also checks in with 172 career homers, which makes him just two homers shy of matching franchise icon OF George Springer (174HR) for seventh on the Astros all-time list.
GOIN’ DEEP:LF Brice Matthews hit his first homer of the season last night, a 434’ shot to left-center field. Matthews’ homer was the longest of his career, the longest by an Astro this season (by 40 feet) and the fifth-longest in the Majors in 2026.
COLE SIDELINED:OF Zach Cole will be placed on the minor league IL today with a fifth toe fracture on his right foot. Cole began the season at Triple A Sugar Land, where he sustained the injury on a HBP on Sunday vs. Round Rock.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, March 31, 7:10 p.m. CST
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+
Radio: KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
Following their first loss of the season last night, the Brewers have their first chance to bounce back. They will look to do that tonight in their second game against the Rays.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Brewers made a few roster moves and provided some injury updates. First, Luis Matos was officially added to the active roster. In a corresponding move, Jeferson Quero was optioned back to Triple-A Nashville. Steward Berroa and Rob Zastryzny were also sent to Nashville on rehab assignments. Zastryzny is expected to pitch an inning tonight.
In other injury news (from Dave Gasper), Andrew Vaughn underwent hand surgery today and is expected to return in mid-May. Quinn Priester is scheduled to throw a bullpen today with “two ups” — meaning he will warm up and start two simulated innings. Craig Yoho is also scheduled to throw a bullpen on Thursday.
The Brewers finish their first turn through the rotation as Brandon Woodruff takes the mound tonight. He’s been building up through the spring and is ready to go to start the season, despite some concerns in spring training if he would be stretched out enough. According to Pat Murphy, “we could see six ‘ups’ for Woodruff tonight”. which could mean we see Woodruff pitch into the sixth inning. In his final start of the spring, he threw 62 pitches in a three-inning start against the Rangers. He allowed three runs, four hits, and one walk while striking out four. Last season, he had a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts. Over his last 24 starts at American Family Field, he’s posted a 14-1 record and a 2.10 ERA, and the Brewers are 21-3 in those starts.
For the Rays, Shane McClanahan will make the start. This is his first regular-season MLB start since 2023. In the last two years, he underwent Tommy John surgery, then a nerve issue in his elbow kept him out in 2025. Before that, he received votes for AL Rookie of the Year in 2021 and AL Cy Young in 2022. This spring, he made four starts and posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings, with 15 strikeouts and five walks. The Brewers faced him once back in 2023, and he pitched seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts.
The Brewers are shuffling the lineup a little tonight. Brice Turang remains the leadoff hitter, but Luis Rengifo will move up into the second slot. This slides William Contreras back to third, and Christian Yelich — who will make the start in left field tonight — bats fourth. Gary Sánchez gets the start at DH and bats fifth, with Jake Bauers at first base batting sixth. Brandon Lockridge moves over to center field and bats seventh. Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz round out the lineup in their usual positions.
Here are the full starting lineups for tonight. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
Kerry Carpenter has been in a pretty rough place this spring. After a fairly good, but again injury plagued 2025 season, the Tigers’ right fielder and designated hitter came into camp looking to put together a more consistent 2026 and hopefully finally banish the back and hamstring injuries that have nagged at him for much of his career. He seems healthy, but he just hasn’t been seeing the ball well this spring. With 10 strikeouts through four games, manager A.J. Hinch has at least temporarily pulled the plug on the leadoff experiment.
The lineup on Tuesday night features Colt Keith leading off and playing third base, and this is a fairly interesting development. Keith has always controlled the strike zone pretty well, taking his share of walks and keeping his strikeouts to league average or better levels. Meanwhile, his contact showed signs of improvement last summer that have carried over in the early going. An estimated 416 foot double off Mike Soroka in Monday night’s game was the latest sign that Keith is seeing the ball well and starting to get off more A-swings to take advantage of his plus raw power.
Meanwhile, teams are already scared of Kevin McGonigle, quickly backing away from throwing him fastballs in the zone, and the rookie now moves to the two-hole in tonight’s lineup. No one is putting together better at-bats in the lineup, and he’s already adapted to the respect he’s being shown by taking his walks. He’ll also make his second start at the shortstop position with Javy Báez getting the night off apart from pinch-hitting duties.
Of course, we’re four games into the season. None of this says anything much about how various hitters will do over the course of the season. Carpenter will be fine as long as he’s healthy. But, while the strategy of putting a legit power hitter atop the order is a good one that has found more favor among managers in recent years, particularly if it’s a hitter with pronounced splits that you may want to pinch-hit for later in games, Carpenter needs to heat up before this is going to work.
In the meantime, while it’s customary to protect a rookie a bit by hitting them down in the order until they’ve settled in, McGonigle isn’t a regular rookie. He’s walking and striking out both at a 17.6 percent clip, and holds a 185 wRC+ in the very early going. Keith runs reasonably well, and McGonigle can challenge Parker Meadows as the fastest guy on the team home to first. So the change gives the Tigers some of their most disciplined hitters atop the order, both with the ability to take the extra base.
The Red Sox look to get back in the win column tonight and avoid falling three games under .500 in the first swing through the rotation.
On the mound, they’ll have Brayan Bello, who is very much the definition of Trick or Treat. At times (including much of last summer), he looks like a top of the rotation starter you want out there to end a losing streak. Unfortunately, at other times (like in Game 2 of the Wild Card series last October), he rides the edge of disaster and puts the team behind the 8-ball.
If the Sox are going to win tonight, they’re likely going to need the first guy to show up because the lineup will be facing Hunter Brown who finished third in Cy Young voting last year and didn’t allow a run his first time out.
To try and generate a spark (and also to just rotate guys in there), Alex Cora shook up the lineup in a few spots. Masataka Yoshida is in the third slot, Jaren Duran and Caleb Durbin will start the evening on the bench, and Connor Wong will do the catching instead of Carlos Narvaez.
Perhaps the best thing the Red Sox have going for them in this one is that all the high leverage relievers are rested after the team got their doors blown off yesterday, which means if they can keep it tight in the early innings, they might be able to pull one out late.
⚾️ First Pitch: 8:10 pm – Daikin Park (Formally Minute Maid and Enron Field), Houston, Texas
📺 TV: NESN
📻 Radio: WEEI
6pm CT on SECN+.
After three straight improbably walk-off victories over THEM, what will the Diamond Dores bring against Belmont?
See you in the comments.
The White Sox served the Marlins their first loss of the season Monday night, and perhaps righthander Erick Fedde can carry that momentum into his first start of the season; anything that will make us all forget about the first three losses of the year.
Fedde is back with the South Siders after being traded at the deadline in 2024, and while is 2025 season wasn’t much to write home about, he looked a bit more consistent in his Spring Training performances, albeit a small sample size. In three outings (8 2/3 innings), Fedde allowed three runs on nine hits — including one home run — and struck out seven compared to two walks, amounting to a 3.12 ERA. In 2025, his strikeout rate declined to 13.3% from 21% the year prior, which still isn’t an elite K% by any means, but still highlights a significant year-over-year drop-off. Walks were also a bigger problem last season, as his rate ballooned in 2025, going from a 63-percentile in 2024 (7.2% BB%), all the way up to a 10.8% BB%.
Despite some struggles with control, Fedde does have a solid five-pitch arsenal with a cutter, sinker, sweeper, changeup and four-seamer, and he relies most heavily on the first four. His sweeper has remained consistent year-over-year with sub-.200 opponent batting averages and his top whiff rate, hovering between 25-26% both seasons.
Fedde will have to deal with some hard hitters from Miami, especially at the top of the order with Liam Hicks in the 4-spot, currently ranking second in the majors in hard-hit percentage (75%): Six of eight of his batted balls have left the bat at 95 mph or faster.
On the other end, righthander Janson Junk will take the mound for Miami, also making his first start of the year. In 16 starts (21 appearances) and 110 innings in 2025, Junk posted a 4.17 ERA on the season, and a 4.53 ERA as a starter. His low (2.9%) walk rate in 2025 was definitely a highlight, though Junk doesn’t strike out a ton of batters (17.2%).
Junk will still have to deal with a White Sox team that has scored 16 runs in the last two games (though only winning one, of course), and the top of the lineup has been hitting the ball fairly hard despite the lack of team success. Chase Meidroth has been one of the more consistent players to start the season and will hold down the leadoff slot, posting a 1.162 OPS in his first four games. The real star of the show, however, is in the 2-slot, as Munetaka Murakami has already mashed three home runs on the season, and has been getting on base quite a bit with four walks.
Miguel Vargas is thankfully back in the lineup as well in the 5-hole, after blasting a grand slam in Monday’s matchup.
First pitch will take place shortly at 5:40 p.m. CT, and you can tune into the TV broadcast on CHSN or MLB Network, or listen in at ESPN Chicago AM 1000 on the radio. How about two Sox wins in a row?
Francisco Lindor – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Luis Robert – CF
Jared Young – 1B
Mark Vientos – DH
Marcus Semien – 2B
Carson Benge – RF
Luis Torrens – C
Kodai Senga – RHP
JJ Wetherholt – 2B
Ivan Herrera – C
Alec Burleson – 1B
Masyn Winn – SS
Nolan Gorman – DH
Jordan Walker – RF
Nathan Church – LF
Ramon Urias – 3B
Victor Scott – CF
Andre Pallante – RHP
First pitch: 7:45 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
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The Braves go for the series win over the A’s in a matchup of fifth starters Jose Suarez and Aaron Civale. Today’s game starts at 7:15 PM ET in Atlanta and can be viewed on BravesVision and on Gray TV. You can read more on the pitching matchup in the game preview here and see the lineups here.
Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below!
The Mets brought in Jorge Polanco to play first base -- which he had not done before this season -- and to be a DH option for manager Carlos Mendoza.
After inserting Polanco as the DH in the last two games, as the veteran infielder deals with a sore Achilles, Polanco was not in Tuesday's lineup against the Cardinals. It's the first game Polanco has missed in the early going, but the Mets skipper signified that this was a planned off day for Polanco.
"Just an off day. Middle of a nine-game stretch, here," Mendoza said ahead of Tuesday's game. "He was going to get a day here. I thought today, with a lefty pitching tomorrow, it was either going to be today or tomorrow, and decided to do it today. Woke up today and he’s in a good spot."
When asked whether Polanco will continue to be the Mets' DH when he returns to the lineup tomorrow or play first, Mendoza said that he wasn't sure but wanted to get through Tuesday's game first. He did say he "wouldn't be surprised" if he penciled Polanco's name at first base tomorrow, however.
Through four games, Polanco is 3-for-15 with a double and one RBI as a Met.
Mendoza was asked about potentially sitting other veterans like Marcus Semien. The manager gave some insight into his thought process and boiled it down to open communication between coach and player.
"They all want to play 162, but we have to be mindful of a lot of these guys," he said. "I’ll continue to talk to him, I’ll continue to visit with him after every game. If it doesn’t happen in this stretch of nine, it’s going to happen. The player will need a day or two. They want to play, they take pride in posting and being available. That’s part of getting to know each other here. And we’ll go from here."
Francisco Lindor, who underwent offseason surgery for a hamate bone, has yet to miss a game or time playing shortstop. Mendoza said that the same philosophy goes for Lindor, but, knowing how Lindor is, he'll have to work on him to give him a breather in the early going.
"It’ll be fluid, but we’ll have to be smart," Mendoza said.
Williams' second appearance with the Mets came in a save situation on Monday night, and the All-Star reliever showed why the team acquired him this offseason.
It took Williams just 12 pitches (10 strikes) to get a 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure the team's third win of the season.
"He looked pretty nasty. If you look at the metrics, it was pretty good," Mendoza said of Williams and his changeup. "He’s elite. And when he’s on his game and at his best, he’s pretty tough. It was just good to see him out there, getting the first one out of the way, and we have to keep him there."
Across his two appearances, Williams has been near-perfect. He's allowed one baserunner (a walk) in 2.0 innings pitched while striking out three batters.
The Athletics continue their interleague series with the Atlanta Braves today. The 3-1 Braves will take on the 0-4 A’s at Truist Park in Atlanta. Making his first official start of the season for the A’s is Aaron Civale. The 30-year-old righty was 4-9 with a 4.85 ERA last season with three different teams: the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. He signed with the A’s as a free agent in February. Civale will go up against 28-year-old lefty José Suarez for the Braves. Suarez just pitched in 19 innings for the Braves last season, going 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA.
Suarez will go up against this lineup for Mark Kotsay’s A’s today who will see Jacob Wilson leading off for the first time in 2026:
Civale will face off against this lineup for the homestanding Braves:
Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA
Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast
After a comprehensive 13-2 beatdown of the Phillies last night, the Nats are looking for more in game two of the series. The Nats are red hot and the Phillies are looking to find a foothold in this new season, so this should be a fun matchup. We will also see a couple new Phillies.
Against a right handed starter, the Nats are going with a lefty heavy lineup. The first five hitters are all left handed and Joey Wiemer is the only true right hander in the lineup tonight. Brady House will get his first off day of the season, with Jobit Vivas filling in at third. Keibert Ruiz and Nasim Nunez also return to the fold after days off yesterday. The Nats will actually use PJ Poulin as an opener to deal with the lefties at the top of the Phillies lineup. Zack Littell is likely to follow him and make his Nats debut.
There is a good bit of rookie talent in this Phillies lineup, which we are not used to seeing from this veteran laden group. Justin Crawford will be in the lineup tonight and will patrol center field. He is the son of Carl Crawford and one of the team’s top prospects. Andrew Painter is another top prospect for the Phillies, and he will be making his MLB debut tonight.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Citizens Bank Park
Time: 6:40 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV and MLB Network (out of market)
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
The Nats have had such a positive start to the season and the beat down they delivered to the Phillies was so satisfying. Hopefully that can continue tonight, with the Nats hot bats facing a rookie pitcher. This opener strategy will also be something fun to monitor. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
Probable pitchers: RHP Zach Eflin (6-5, 5.93 ERA, 71.1 IP, 50 Ks in 2025) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom
Four games into the Orioles season and we’ve already gotten a solid glimpse at the volatile nature of this O’s team. We’ve seen a great outing from Trevor Rogers and several middling outings from the rest of the rotation. We’ve seen one offensive outburst in the series finale against the Twins and three other games where the offense left something to be desired. Baltimore has been competitive in every game they’ve played, and yet the 2-2 record also feels a bit generous.
Through these first four contests, the O’s have been a bizarro version of the team most expect them to be. The pitching has largely been good, with the staff ranking Top 10 in FIP and K/9 while also being above average in ERA, BAA and opponent OPS.
The offense, which most projected to be among the best in baseball, has been a disappointment so far. Baltimore is currently in the Bottom 10 in runs/game, slugging percentage and strikeout rate, while also being below average in batting average, on-base percentage and hard hit rate. Marquis free agent signing Pete Alonso is yet to register an extra-base hit as an Oriole, while Gunnar Henderson is 3-for-16 to start the season.
The Baltimore bats will be tasked with the tough ask of breaking out of their mini-slump against two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. The longtime Met is coming off his first healthy season with the Rangers, posting a 2.97 ERA and 185 K in 30 starts last season. That output was good enough for a Top 10 Cy Young finish as the 37-year-old earned his fifth career All-Star selection.
The Orioles will hopefully fare better against deGrom this season than in their encounter with him last year. The O’s faced off against the veteran right-hander last June in Camden Yards, with the Rangers starter tossing seven shutout innings while only allowing one hit and punching out seven. DeGrom’s 1.34 career ERA against the Orioles is his third-best against any single opponent, and he’s never lost to the O’s in five starts.
Zach Eflin will also return to the Camden Yards mound for the first time since late last July, as he returns from back surgery. Eflin last faced the Rangers in April 2024 when he was still a member of the Rays, pitching 6.1 innings while allowing one run and striking out five in a 5-2 win. The Orioles will need that type of outing from Eflin if they want to take down deGrom and even the series.
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Another quality pitching matchup awaits us in the second of a three-game set between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.
We like one of the most improved arms in baseball last season to carve up a swing-heavy Yankees lineup.
My Yankees vs. Mariners predictions and MLB picks break down why we like the plus money over price on Logan Gilbert's strikeouts for Tuesday, March 31.
First pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. ET from T-Mobile Park in Seattle, with the game airing on TBS.
It’s fair to ask if Luis Castillo can mow down the New York Yankees with seven strikeouts rather comfortably than why would a better pitcher be any different a day later?
Logan Gilbert's 32% strikeout rate ranked in the 94th percentile last season, and his 33% whiff rate sat 93rd. Those are not empty numbers.
He posted an 11.9 K/9 last year across 131 innings, and the Yankees are the right matchup to push him over this number.
If Gilbert records 18 outs, his strikeout total projects to just over 8. I’ll take that at this price point.
COVERS INTEL: Logan Gilbert's 7+ foot extension is the longest in baseball. That release point makes his fastball arrive on hitters roughly a foot closer to the plate than the average pitcher.I’m pairing a scoreless first frame with my best bet.
I like the angle of backing Gilbert early against a swing happy lineup after a rough season opening stat.
On the other side, I trust the strong peripherals that heavily tilt towards Max Fried against the 1 through 4 hitters in the Seattle Mariners lineup.
Giancarlo Stanton’s raw power makes him attractive here. Over four games, he’s posted one of the highest chase contact numbers of his career.
The sample is hardly meaningful but if it can continue for another night, it will give him a boost in this matchup as Gilbert is a chase reliant pitcher.
Stanton gets to one and it’s likely going to be hit quite hard.
The New York Yankees have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline in 42 of their last 70 games (+16.15 Units / 14% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Mariners.
| Location | T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA |
| Date | Tuesday, March 31, 2026 |
| First pitch | 9:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | TBS |
| Yankees starting pitcher | Max Fried (1-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Mariners starting pitcher | Logan Gilbert (0-0, 5.06 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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In Game 1, the Colorado Rockies (1-3) managed to absolutely bludgeon the American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays (3-1) in a 14-5 win that saw them facing a position player pitching before the evening had ended.
Tonight, they will look to take the series from the Blue Jays.
Something to watch: Colorado has not had a starter throw at least five innings this season, the only team in 2026 that has failed to do so.
Starting for the Rockies is RHP Ryan Feltner in his first start for the Rockies in the 2026 MLB season. Through parts of five seasons with the Rockies (2021-25), he has gone 9-26 with a 5.19 ERA (339.2 IP, 196 ER) through 68 games (67 starts).
His 2025 season was limited due to injuries. Feltner posted a 4.75 ERA (30.1 IP, 16 ER) with 12 walks and 25 strikeouts in six starts.
Taking the mound for the Blue Jays will be Mad Max himself, RHP Max Scherzer who returns for his second season with the team. In 2025, he started in 17 games and finished the season with a 5.19 ERA. He signed late and did not report to spring training until March 2.
And now to the details.
First Pitch: 5:07 pm MDT
TV: Rockies TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)
SBN Site: Bluebird Banter
Lineups:
For the visiting Rockies:
And the home Blue Jays:
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