Category: MLB

Friday’s 9-4 loss against the Chicago White Sox was just the latest in a growing line of duds, of get-it-over-with games — and it started with an element of promise. They always do: fresh off a day of rest, back home after a nine game road trip, Trevor McDonald on the mound.

McDonald’s career still qualifies as fledgling— Friday was just his sixth career start and fourth this year — but he’s already earned a reputation as a ballast for the rotation and fanbase. McDonald has taken the mound calmly, stoically, against Los Angeles (twice), against San Diego, and helped everyone in the Giants organization feel a little less insane. San Francisco had won every one of his starts. The young right-hander had pitched into the 6th in every one of his outings while logging four quality starts. Three runs were the most he had allowed in a game going into Friday.

The reason for McDonald’s early success has been his ability to stay out of trouble. He’s attacked the zone aggressively so far and that’s because he trusts the weight of his sinker and movement of his slider. Strikeouts aren’t necessary because batters weren’t hitting the ball hard against him, and more often than not, those balls in play were diving directly into the ground. Contact was McDonald’s friend, so why not force batters to swing? 

Friday’s outing started out exactly like that. McDonald’s first three innings were flawless. Nine up, nine down with the help of a trio of strikeouts, and a pair of nice plays by Rafael Devers at first. In the 3rd, he retired the first two batters on two pitches before K’ing Derek Hill for an efficient six-pitch frame. 

The only stressor in those early innings was his Chicago counterpart Davis Martin. The righty came into town with the third lowest ERA in baseball, thanks in part to a six-pitch mix that kept hitters on their heels. He gave up three singles over those first three frames (including two lead-off hits), but used that deep bag of tricks to elicit five strike-threes, nullifying any threat those knocks posed.    

The 4th inning came around, and we were all settled in for a pitcher’s duel. A two-hour tit-for-tat exchange… and then McDonald slung a sinker into Sam Antonacci’s calf and that was that. A nickel on the track that sent McDonald’s outing off the rails like we had never seen before. 

That HBP was followed by another: a slider skipping off the back foot of Munetaka Murakami. A one-out swinging bunt by Colson Montgomery loaded the bases. A frustrating turn of events, but for a groundball pitcher like McDonald, there’s a clear way out of the bramble unscathed. Welcome contact. Get the ball on the ground. Attack the zone. We had all seen McDonald do this before, we all expected him to do it again because across our short relationship with the pitcher, there was no memory of him not coming through for us. 

We all have that memory now. It was destined to happen eventually. We all shall fall, and McDonald fell behind in the count to Chase Meidroth, who clearly had no intention of moving the bat from his shoulder until he had to swing out of a two-strike corner. McDonald never forced his hand. He took five pitches and accepted the third gift of 90 feet as well as an RBI. Andrew Benintendi, a veteran who smelled blood on the water, ambushed a first pitch, get-it-in slider for a two-run double.

Sensing the game get away from them, the defense started to do too much. On a grounder that took him to his knees, Luis Arraez forced a desperate throw home instead of just conceding another run and taking the second out. That fielder’s choice proved costly. The inning could’ve been mercifully over after McDonald struck out the next batter, Tristan Peters – instead the frame wore on with number-9 man Derek Hill punching a sinker to right for an RBI single. 

At that point, McDonald’s efficient pitch count had swelled like road kill on a Texas interstate. A six pitch 3rd followed by a 34 pitch 4th was too much strain, and Tony Vitello decided to pull McDonald from the mound with just 3.2 innings logged, his shortest outing in his short career. Nine batters faced in the first three innings followed by nine in one frame — a shocking and sudden turn of events and completely new experience for McDonald.

The wheels came off fast, but the subsequent crash went down in slow-motion. Even with McDonald dragged from the scene, the train kept comically rolling over itself. Ryan Borucki came in and decidedly did not bring the ruckus. Rather, he just re-set the whole thing by allowing the lefties he was brought into face reach base all over again.

Sam Antonacci, who (if you can remember way back when) started the whole ordeal by taking a sinker to the calf, got grazed again by Borucki. Murakami then punched an 0-2 bases clearing double to left, swelling McDonald’s earned run total on the day to 7. Murakami then scored from second on an infield single, and an error by Willy Adames on another desperate infielder’s throw from the hole.  

Chicago sent 13 batters to the plate in the 4th. Roughly 50 pitches were thrown by two different San Francisco arms to record three outs while giving up 9 runs on just 5 hits. The Giants actually out-hit the White Sox in this one, too. I guess that about says it all.

Cole Ragans will begin a rehab assignment at Omaha, writes Jaylon Thompson.

He is set to start Saturday’s game for the Storm Chasers against the St. Paul Saints — the Triple-A minor-league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

“We have him scheduled for four to five innings,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “(It’s) 65 pitches, something like that. You know, see how far he goes on that number of pitches.”

Tyler Tolbert is back with the club.

“It’s always a good feeling to have him as a pinch-runner, specifically, or have that safety blanket as a guy that can play multiple positions in case of need,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.

Pete Grathoff writes about Matt Quatraro following Ned Yost’s advice.

Yost publicly stated he heeded the advice of his mentor Bobby Cox: When wanting to make a change, wait a week before doing it.

“I‘ve heard that before about Ned, and from other managers as well,” Quatraro said. “I think that just speaks to trying to not be reactive and I believe you have a certain level of trust in your players. I mean, we don’t have 25 other major-league quality players just floating around that you pick and put in a lineup.”

Quatraro then mentioned Pasquantino and Perez without saying their names.

“I mean, you’re talking about guys that drove in 100 runs last year that have the track record of being good hitters,” Quatraro said. “And we believe in those guys, so I don’t have a strict like ‘after this many days we will do this,’ but we consider a lot of things all the time.”

Quatraro pleads patience.

Sam McDowell writes that Bobby Witt Jr. is pacing for an all-time great season.

Witt is on pace for a 10.7 WAR season, which, if it comes to fruition, would be the best individual season for a position player in franchise history, and by a lot. He’d surpass his own mark of 9.6, set back in 2024. (George Brett, by the way, has five of the club’s top eight marks, and he was the last KC player to lead baseball in WAR some 40 years ago.)

If Witt finishes at 10.7, and the Royals don’t improve their last-place standing, it would be the best season ever for a player on a last-place team. Barry Bonds currently holds that distinction, a 9.7 WAR for the last-place Giants in 1996.

David Lesky looks at what the Royals would have to offer if they become sellers.

Wacha is under team control through at least 2027 and has a club option for $14 million. In fact, next year’s salary drops to $14 million as well. Given the start to his season, he’s extremely valuable. But there are some concerns. He’ll turn 35 on July 1, which means a team trading for him would technically get the rest of his age-34 season (seasonal age is as of June 30, so he barely gets in) and his age-35 season, but they’re really getting all of his year-35 and half of 36 with an option for the rest of that year and half of 37. Still, he seems to be aging quite well with some of his best years coming since he turned 30.

I suppose the Orioles acquisition of Zach Eflin a couple of years ago kind of fits the mold here.

The Royals sign veteran pitchers Luke Jackson and Génesis Cabrera to minor league contracts.

Cristopher Sánchez extends his scoreless streak to 37.2 innings.

The Red Sox will move Marcelo Mayor back to shortstop.

Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe may move to second base.

The Mets cut ties with veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel.

Why the Brewers are not underdogs.

Chris Taylor officially retires after 12 seasons.

Buster Olney at ESPN writes about the X-factors for this year’s trade deadline.

What’s up with the “Tarps Off” trend?

Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes.

What we know about Kyle Busch’s untimely death at age 41.

The ways toilets have killed people.

Spotify will allow users to use AI to create remixes.

What are America’s most misspelled words?

Your song of the day is Boston with Peace of Mind.

It isn’t often that a team wins 10 straight and so quickly thereafter loses six straight. But it’s been that kind of year for the Cubs. Every single year there is a stretch where the Cubs run into a number of elite pitchers and the bats go into a funk. To my eye, they’ve held up better this year than is years past. On top of four hits Friday, they drew five walks and were hit by three pitches. It’s not enough traffic, but it is traffic. This was one more starter that was no joke. The Cubs didn’t get to him. But they did, as was very predictable, get to the Astros bullpen. But two runs against the Astros bullpen was nowhere near enough to overcome the four that Jameson Taillon allowed in just 4.2 innings.

I look around and I see some seats opening up on the Cubs bandwagon. There’s a ton of room on the Ian Happ bandwagon and a fair amount of room on the bandwagons for Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki. You’ll be shocked to know that I think all three will more or less play to the stats on the back of their baseball card. The Cubs will bounce. All of this is transient. I told you when the Cubs were going through their 20-3 stretch that they weren’t that good and I’ll tell you that during this 2-10 stretch that they aren’t that bad. All together, that’s a 22-13 stretch. That’s a 102-win pace. Guess what, this team isn’t that good either. Their 29-22 mark on the season? That’s a 92-win team. So that’s probably within a standard deviation for this team. I feel relatively comfortable saying that this was an insane placement of 29 wins over 51 games. But that 29 wins is within a game or two one way or the other of the reasonable expectations for this team.

One of the immortal truths of sports is that you are never as good as everything looks when you are clicking or as bas as you look when everything is misfiring. I think the biggest indicator of that is the plays this defense isn’t making. There weren’t any errors in this one, but there were definitely at least one or two plays that you kind of ordinarily expect the Cubs would make the play on. Most of these games, I feel like two or three plays here or there would flip the outcome. Heck, some of them are probably closer than that.

This, too, shall pass. I’m inclined to think the Cubs probably go something like 4-2 over the next six. I don’t think one game will exorcize all of the demons. It’s probably going to take at least two or three. But once this team gets back grooved in, they are going to start stacking series wins again. It’s only a matter of time and I’m guessing sooner than later. It’s definitely a tough watch right now, but I’m keeping the faith.

Three Positives:

• Pete Crow-Armstrong had a two-run homer and drew two walks. He made a couple of less than routine plays in the outfield and in every way appeared to shake off the rough week he’s had.
• Miguel Amaya had a single in his only plate appearance and was along for the ride on the homer.
• Jacob Webb’s inning of work came against the lower half, but he retired all three batters he faced, striking out two. The ERA is down to 2.91.

Game 51, May 22: Astros 4, Cubs 2 (29-22)

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

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.174). 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Hero: Alex Bregman (.084). 1-3, BB, HBP
• Sidekick: Ethan Roberts (.047). 2 IP, 7 BF, BB, 2 K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.225). 0-4
• Goat: Jameson Taillon (-.140). 4.2 IP, 23 BF, 8 H, BB, 4 ER, 5 K (L 2-4)
• Kid: Nico Hoerner (-.132). 0-4, BB, SB

WPA Play of the Game: With the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, the Cubs were leading by two when Bryan King entered the game and got Nico Hoerner to bounce into a force play and end the inning. (.152)

Cubs Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run homer with one out in the sixth to cut the Astros lead in half. (.122)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 50 Winner: Trent Thornton nudged out Nico Hoerner 39-33.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

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

• Michael Busch +16
• Michael Conforto +14
• Nico Hoerner +10.5
• Shōta Imanaga +10
• Trent Thornton +6
• Ryan Rolison -8
• Phil Maton -9
• Matt Shaw -10
• Dansby Swanson -11
• Seiya Suzuki -17.5

Current Win Pace: 92.11 wins

Up Next: Game two of the three-game set with the Astros. Colin Rea (4-2, 4.98, 47 IP) makes his eighth start of the season (11th appearance). Last time out, he allowed four runs on six hits and a walk in 4.2 IP of work. He hasn’t won since May 1. Much better at home (2.66 vs 6.75). Kai-Wei Teng (2-3, 2.61, 31 IP) gets his fourth start of the year (17th appearance overall). The 27-year-old Taiwanese import won his last start, allowing two hits and four walks over five innings, picking up the win. Not as good on the road (1.69 v 3.60).

This is another game that has the appearance that, if the Cubs wait out Teng, and keep the game close, they should be in good position to win.

Go Cubs!

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Athletics visit the Padres tonight, and that matchup will headline my favorite MLB picks today for the "no run first inning" and "yes run first inning" markets.

Here are my best NRFI and YRFI picks for Saturday, May 23. 

Best NRFI/YRFI bets today

Pick	Odds
/ - NRFI (Game 2)	-105
/ - NRFI	-115
/ - NRFI	-122

Cardinals at Reds Game 2: NRFI (-105)

The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds meet in the second game of a doubleheader tonight, and neither team has been doing much damage in the first inning lately.

The Cards haven't scored in the opening frame in four straight games, and while they're hitting .297 in the first, St. Louis has scored in the first just 13 times this season. 

As for the Reds, they're in the midst of a seven-game run without a run in the first, and overall, they also struggle to produce offense out of the gates.

Kyle Leahy owns an 8-1 NRFI/YRFI record this season as he takes the hill for the Cardinals, while Chase Petty had a scoreless first in his big league debut earlier this month. 

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FOX

Athletics at Padres: NRFI (-115)

The Athletics will throw right-hander JT Ginn at the San Diego Padres this evening, who has a 7-1 NRFI/YRFI record this season.

He usually comes out unscathed in the first inning, and the Padres have a .140 average in the opening frame.

The A's aren't much better, batting .202 in the first, and scoring in the opening frame only 13 times in 2026. 

They will see Lucas Giolito, who tossed a scoreless first in his season debut last Sunday. He's also held this Athletics lineup to a .206 average across 34 at-bats. 

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Padres.TV, NBC Sports California

Mets at Marlins: NRFI (-122)

Today's matchup between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins profiles to be a low-scoring one, especially in the opening frame. 

Freddy Peralta has surrendered a run in the first just once in 10 outings this season, while Max Meyer has an 8-2 NRFI/YRFI record of his own. The Mets rarely score in the first, and Meyer has been dominant in '26.

Peralta has had success against this Marlins lineup, holding them to a .200 average across 35 at-bats. Miami has also failed to score in the first inning in back-to-back contests. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SNY, Marlins.TV

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Friday, in case you missed it...

• The Mets registered just three hits in a series-opening 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins
• Jonah Tong delivers "very encouraging" season debut despite Friday's loss
• New York is reportedly expected to promote RHP Jonathan Pintaro on Saturday, while Tong will stick around to pitch again in Reds series
• Kodai Sengapitches into fourth inning in first rehab start with St. Lucie
• Carlos Mendoza doesn't close door on potential return to Mets for recently DFA'd Craig Kimbrel
• WATCH: Mendoza, Juan Soto, and Tong react to the Mets frustrating loss in Miam
• WATCH: On The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo talk about the continued development of Mark Vientos

Blowout wins in Double-A and High-A were he highlights from Friday night in the Dodgers minor leagues.

Player of the day

It feels weird that for a game in which Tulsa scored 14 runs this award goes to a pitcher, but Adam Serwinowski had his best start of the season, striking out 10 in his seven innings, matching the longest start of his professional career, and allowed only one run on three singles and two walks.

The left-hander also lasted seven innings one time previously — last August 29 in his penultimate start for High-A Great Lakes before getting promoted to Double-A.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets fell behind 7-3 in four innings and their comeback fell just short in a loss to the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks).

Tyler Fitzgerald homered, singled, and drove in three runs. He played left field on Friday and in his three and a half weeks with Oklahoma City has also started games at third base, second base, shortstop, and right field.

Ryder Ryan kept the Comets in it with four scoreless, hitless innings of bulk relief to get through the seventh.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers didn’t need much offense with Serwinowski having such a good game, but the Tulsa bats went wild in a rout of the Wichita Wind Surge (Twins). Josue De Paula had four hits, including two doubles plus a walk.

Elijah Hainline drove in five runs with a two-run home run, a two-run double, and sacrifice fly. The Drillers shortstop has driven in runs in all three games he’s played this week in Wichita, with nine total RBI.

Kendall George kept things going with two more hits, stole another base, and scored three runs, his career-best 13th straight game scoring at least once. George in May has scored 30 runs in 19 games.

High-A Great Lakes

Chuck Davalan and Eduardo Quintero shined atop the order in the Loons blowout of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers). Davalan doubled, singled, walked twice, stole two bases, scored four runs, and drove in four runs from the leadoff spot.

Quintero singled three times, stole three bases, and scored three runs while batting second. First baseman Jose Hernandez homered, doubled, and singled in the win.

Christian Zazueta struck out five in his five innings, with two runs allowed, both on a two-run home run in the first inning.

Class-A Ontario

Tower Buzzers pitchers allowed multiple runs in six different innings while getting pasted by the Inland Empire 66ers (Mariners). Ontario did score the final three runs of the game, cutting the final deficit to a lean 14 runs.

Starter Jesus Tillero took the brunt of the damage, allowing nine runs (seven earned) in his 3 1/3 innings.

Arizona Complex League

On Thursday right-hander Tyler Gough made his second rehab appearance in Arizona, and in those two outings has allowed two runs in his three innings with seven strikeouts among his 13 batters faced. Gough was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in November 16 for Robinson Ortiz, the left-hander the Dodgers added to the 40-man on November 6. Gough, 22, missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery and is on the injured list for Ontario in Class-A, the same level he pitched at in 2023-24 in Modesto.

Transaction

Double-A: Right-hander Joel Ibarra was released, after the 23-year-old from Mexico walked 23 of his 59 batters faced (38.9 percent) with 10 runs (nine earned) and 12 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings over 12 games this year for Tulsa.

Friday schedule

• Reno 7, Oklahoma City 6
• Tulsa 14, Wichita 2
• Great Lakes 13, Wisconsin 4
• Inland Empire 17, Ontario 3

Saturday schedule

• 2:05 p.m. PT: Tulsa (TBA) at Wichita (Sam Armstrong)
• 3:35 p.m.: Great Lakes (Brooks Auger) vs. Wisconsin (Ethan Dorchies)
• 4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Logan Allen) vs. Reno (Mitch Bratt)
• 6:35 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) at Inland Empire (Danny Macchiarola)

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Another busy slate in the Majors today screams value in my latest MLB player props. I'll be highlighting Paul Skenes, Ronald Acuna Jr. and George Kirby. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Saturday, May 23. 

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Paul Skenes	Over 6.5 strikeouts	-132
Ronald Acuna Jr.	Over 0.5 runs	-149
George Kirby	Over 4.5 strikeouts	-163

Paul Skenes Over 6.5 strikeouts (-132)

The Toronto Blue Jays have their hands full this afternoon as Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the righty hasn't been as lights-out in 2026, he's still one of the most electrifying arms in baseball. Skenes has struck out 63 batters in 55 innings this season. 

He's hit the Over in punchouts in five consecutive outings as well. Although Skenes was hit around a bit in his last start, he still collected seven Ks against the Philadelphia Phillies. In just 18 at-bats against this Jays lineup, Skenes has eight strikeouts. Toronto doesn't usually strike out a lot, but they're struggling right now, averaging 12 Ks across their previous three games. 

• Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, SportsNet Pittsburgh

Ronald Acuna Jr. Over 0.5 runs (-149)

I had this pick a couple of days ago, and Ronald Acuna Jr. came through again. While he did finish 0-for-4 with no offensive contributions on Friday evening, the Atlanta Braves star has a favorable matchup here. The Washington Nationals send Jake Irvin to the bump, and Acuna is 3-for-6 lifetime against him. 

The slugger has come across the plate in five of his last six games, and the Braves are the top team in the Majors with RISP. Since returning from injury, Acuna Jr has four runs across five appearances, too. The Nats also have a horrendous bullpen that sports a 4.87 ERA. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: BravesVision, Nationals.TV

George Kirby Over 4.5 strikeouts (-163)

George Kirby has compiled 52 strikeouts in 62.2 innings of work this season, and he's cashed the Over in punchouts in four consecutive appearances. The right-hander struck out six last time out against the San Diego Padres.

Kirby faces the Kansas City Royals tonight, who he's held to a .210 average across 62 at-bats. KC is around the middle of the pack in team Ks, but they're striking out nearly 10 times per game across their previous three contests.

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FS1, FOX One

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

It did not look like it was going to be a good day for the San Diego Padres when their starting pitcher, Walker Buehler, allowed two runs in the first inning. It did not look much better when he allowed the visiting Athletics to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning. But in the end, the Padres were able to tie the game in the fifth, take the lead in the seventh and add three insurance runs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a 7-3 win at Petco Park on Friday night.

The Padres displayed their power in the early innings of the game – although none of that came from Fernando Tatis Jr. – when Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, Nick Castellanos hit a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and Ramon Laureano put the home team in front with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Jason Adam came out of the bullpen with San Diego leading 4-3 and allowed what looked like a leadoff double on a ball hit to left-center field. Bryce Johnson, who got the start in place of the injured Jackson Merrill, raced into the gap, made a backhand play on the ball and threw a one-hop strike to Sung-Mun Song at second base to throw out Tyler Soderstrom for the first out of the inning. Adam then got a groundout and flyout from the next two batters to send the Padres to the plate in the bottom half of the inning.

Rodolfo Duran opened the bottom of the eighth inning with a single. He was followed by Tatis who also singled, to put runners at first and second. Miguel Andujar followed with a single to load the bases and Gavin Sheets stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and no outs. Sheets delivered with a ground ball into left center that scored two runs and pushed Andujar to third base to give San Diego a 6-3 lead. Machado struck out for the first out, but Xander Bogaerts picked him up with a sacrifice fly to center field, which allowed Andujar to score to put the Padres ahead, 7-3. Laureano was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with two outs before Song popped out to end the inning.

Mason Miller who was preparing to face his old team prior to the bottom of the three-run eighth inning, was able to sit back down and watch Jeremiah Estrada come in for the ninth inning. The right-hander faced the minimum and got three outs to secure the win for San Diego.

The Padres face the A’s for Game 2 of the series today at Petco Park at 6:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• The Padres have struggled to find consistent offense and Steven Souza Jr. is leading the effort to change that.

• Machado, Tatis and Merrill have all struggled at the plate this season, but in the case of Machado specifically, Jim Bowden of The Athletic believes that is a direct result of the pitching he has faced over the first quarter of the season.

• Kash Mayfield, San Diego’s first-round draft pick in 2024, is having an impressive season in High-A with the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The Padres minor league affiliates had a good day all-around.

Baseball News:

• Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Christopher Sanchez extended his scoreless innings streak to 37 2/3 innings, but the Phillies took a 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, which was their seventh consecutive win.

• The Tampa Bay Rays used the strength of an eighth-inning rally to get their fifth consecutive win.

• Gerritt Cole returned to the mound for the New York Yankees and threw six scoreless innings in his first start in 569 days.

• William Contreras hit a three-run home run and helped the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1.

• The New York Mets recalled pitcher Jonah Tong and designated long-time reliever Craig Kimbrel for assignment.

• The Chicago White Sox used a nine-run inning to beat the San Francisco Giants.

• The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals in 11 innings.

• Mitch Garver hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals.

• Jackson Holliday recently came off the injured list and is already making an impact for the Baltimore Orioles with a home run in a 7-4 win over the Detroit Tigers.

• The Houston Astros got their first win at Wrigley Field in 13 years, beating the Chicago Cubs, 4-2.

• The Colorado Rockies edged out the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Chicago Cubs will try to snap a six-game losing streak when they take on the Houston Astros today.

With Colin Rea on the mound at Wrigley, my Astros vs. Cubs predictions and free MLB picks for Saturday, May 23 see Chicago stopping their skid.

Who will win Astros vs Cubs today: Cubs moneyline (-142)

Colin Rea has a 2.66 ERA at home this season, allowing four earned runs in the last three starts covering 17 innings.

The Houston Astros are in the bottom half of MLB in scoring, and are hitting .214 in May. At 9-17, they have the second-fewest road wins in the American League.

The Chicago Cubs have won three of the last four in this head-to-head at home, averaging four runs a game. That should be enough to even this series.

COVERS INTEL: Five of Houston’s Top 6 hitters are right handed, and Rea has handled righties well this year, limiting them to a .333 SLG.

Astros vs Cubs Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-115)

The Cubs' offense has dried up, as they’ve scored two runs or fewer in eight of their last 12.

Houston sends converted reliever Kai-Wei Teng to the bump, and he's 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA through three starts, posting 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

This pitching matchup should help continue the trend of cashing the Under in this head-to-head, which has a 5-2 record in the last seven meetings.

Houston also has an impressive 8-0-1 Under record in its last nine.

Astros vs Cubs odds

• Moneyline: Astros +133 | Cubs -138
• Run line: Astros +1.5 | Cubs -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5

Astros vs Cubs trend

Seven of Chicago's last eight games vs. AL West opponents have gone Under the total. Find more MLB betting trends for Astros vs. Cubs.

How to watch Astros vs Cubs and game info

Astros vs Cubs latest injuries

Astros vs Cubs weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Angels 9, Rangers 6

• That was unpleasant.
• For the second time on this road trip, the Rangers scored a fairly large number of runs, but still lost.
• Previously, it was a combination of MacKenzie Gore’s lat and bad defense that was the primary cause of the lost.
• This time, it was Jacob deGrom giving up six runs in three innings.
• A six run, three inning outing from Jacob deGrom really makes you question whether you understand the universe.
• What does it say about our understanding of the world when Cal Quantrill outpitches Jacob deGrom?
• Has madness overtaken us? Does nothing have any meaning? Is it all randomness and chaos?
• Zach Neto is launching bombs off of Rangers pitches. Someone named Wade Meckler took Jacob deGrom deep. How do we fit that into our worldview?
• Are our struggles to fathom such events due to our own limitations, our blinkered views and inherent biases? Or are we at a point where acausal phenomena are ascendent, where surrealist scapes are the accepted norm?
• Also, Skip Schumaker did that thing again where he hit for Evan Carter too early, and it is annoying.
• Down two, leading off the seventh, Sam Haggerty pinch hit for Carter and popped out. The very next inning, with two on and two out, Carter’s spot in the lineup came up, and Haggerty, who hits righthanded pitchers about as well as…
• Look, I can’t think of an appropriate metaphor. Or simile. I was going to say about as well as I do, but you know, that’s not fair to Sam Haggerty. I would be unable to make contact against a major league righthanded pitcher. Even Chris Martin, who returned to action in this game and gave up two runs in the eighth, including Zach Neto’s second home run of the game, and look, dammit, Zach Neto doesn’t even sound like a real name, its a Star Wars-ass name, and you shouldn’t be allowing him to home off of you, much less allow him to homer twice in one game, once against one of the best pitchers of his generation, even if said pitcher’s fastball has become ass for some reason.
• The first three batters Chris Martin faced were Neto, who had a 109.6 mph homer, Mike Trout, who had a 110.2 mph double, and Nolan Schanuel, who had a 104.2 mph single. That’s certainly the type of results that leads one to believe Martin didn’t need any more time out on his rehab assignment.
• Zach Neto makes me think of Judge Ito, who Pauly Shore famously wanted to offer a burrito.
• Pauly Shore is terrible, by the way.
• I’m in fact embarrassed I even mentioned him.
• I’d go back and delete it, but it already happened, so even deleting it would just mean I was lying to myself about mentioning him, plus it seems apropos that in a game where Jacob deGrom gives up six runs in three innings that I would make a reference to something terrible that I’m embarrassed to have mentioned, even if I really shouldn’t be embarrassed, I guess, because random things run through your brain and sometimes you think of things that are objectively terrible, like right now that “Well I’m-a chicken fried” song just popped into my head, and that’s a really awful song and there’s no reason for it to have suddenly appeared like that.
• See, y’all wanted the Rangers to start scoring more runs. Now they are scoring more runs and the pitching staff is giving up more runs. This team is like a rug, where you flatted it in one plus and a bulge pops up elsewhere.
• Jacob deGrom’s fastball topped out at 98.2 mph, averaging 96.8 mph. Cal Quantrill’s sinker reached 95.0 mph. Jalen Beeks touched 94.8 mph with his fastball. Chris Martin’s fastball maxed out at 96.3 mph.
• Brandon Nimmo had a 108.7 mph home run, a 101.7 mph ground out, and a 101.2 mph double. Alejandro Osuna had a 104.6 mph single and a 101.8 mph double. Evan Carter had a 104.1 mph triple. Danny Jansen had a 103.6 mph homer. Jake Burger had a 102.6 mph double. Josh Jung had a 102.3 mph fly out.
• Two more games in Anaheim, then back home.

The Yankees will have to wait another day to snap out of their divisional funk. They dropped back-to-back contests against the Blue Jays earlier this week to end the four-game set at Yankee Stadium in disappointing fashion, and a slim 1-0 lead against the first-place Rays in Gerrit Cole’s long-awaited comeback from Tommy John surgery last night went up in smoke thanks to shoddy defense and relief. The previously potent New York offense has scored 3 runs in their last 30 innings of play. Inspiring!

The second game of the Yankees/Rays series was supposed to be this afternoon at 1:35pm ET, but the weather for Memorial Day weekend is awful this year. With a dismal forecast for the entire day, the Yankees and Major League Baseball have already announced that the matinee is postponed. Since the Yankees and Rays will be lucky to get in the other planned game on Sunday, the announced twin bill will not be tomorrow but rather when the Rays are in town near the end of the season, September 22nd. The split doubleheader will feature the makeup game at 1:05pm ET and the already-scheduled nightcap at 7:05pm ET.

Hopefully none of you who were already planning on attending this afternoon actually made it out the door! That’s the advantage of the early postponement call for the general public.

Fingers crossed that they can get in the series finale tomorrow rather than have to schedule another doubleheader. Will Warren was expected to get the ball tomorrow at 1:35pm ET against Shane McClanahan; we’ll see if the Yankees stick to that plan or go with Ryan Weathers, who would also be on normal rest.

Saturday's game between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays has been rescheduled due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather, the team announced.

The game will be made up as part of a split-admission doubleheader on Tuesday, September 22 at 1:05 p.m.

New York dropped the first game of the three-game series on Friday, falling 4-2 in Gerrit Cole's season debut.

The star right-hander allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in his first start in 569 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2025 season. 

Sunday's game is still scheduled for 1:35 p.m., but rain throughout the area could ruin fans' Memorial Day Weekend plans.

Today's game has been rescheduled due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather and will be made up as the first game of a split-admission doubleheader on Tuesday, September 22 at 1:05 PM.

For more info, visit https://t.co/2gtOlcmN6fpic.twitter.com/QzCnU2jl8Y

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 23, 2026

Hey all, here’s your open thread for Saturday!

MMA ADJACENT

Refreshing level of self awareness here.

A classic.

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC

Climbing!

Power Rangers live stream. What were you guys watching on Saturday mornings when you were a kid?

GAME TIME

Some tough ones in here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Brandrisk: Did you know Johnny Manziel is fighting tonight? — FULL STORY
• PFL, that still a thing?: They were brawling at the weigh-ins yesterday — FULL STORY
• Reasons: Fallout from Covington’s retirement announcement — FULL STORY

Enjoy!

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 8, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 3

This was a well-played game all around for the Tides, starting with a quality start by Nestor German, who worked six innings and gave up three runs. He struck out five and walked one. It was German’s longest outing of the year. Nick Raquet, Cameron Foster, and Andrew Magno each worked a scoreless inning of relief. Magno’s outing lowered his season ERA to 0.92.

The Tides also brought their bats to Jacksonville, starting with 5’5” shortstop Payton Eeles, who crushed an opposite-field grand slam in the top of the third. It was part of a three-hit day for Eeles, who’s batting .364 with a .933 OPS. He stole a base, too. Heston Kjerstad broke out of an 0-for-7 drought by going 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand contributed two hits as well. The Tides had 16 baserunners and went 4-for-10 with RISP.

Outfielder Michael Siani, claimed on waivers from the Dodgers on Monday, made his organizational debut and went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.

Box score

Double-A: Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 8, Chesapeake Baysox 2

All eyes were on Joseph Dzierwa’s Double-A debut, and it started out about as brilliantly as possible. Dzierwa mowed through five scoreless innings, only giving up his first hit with two outs in the fifth. He struck out the side in the second inning. He was fantastic…until the top of the sixth, when he hit the wall in a big way. A leadoff error opened the floodgates for the Patriots, who followed with an RBI double, then three consecutive singles that chased Dzierwa from the game. The bullpen allowed one of his inherited runners to score.

Dzierwa’s final line was 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), and — most impressively — 10 strikeouts and no walks. Had he left the game after the fifth, we’d be raving about his performance. Even with his rough sixth, it was a strong Double-A debut for the guy who’s emerging as the Orioles’ top pitching prospect.

There wasn’t much offense to speak of for the Baysox. They managed only four hits, which included an Aron Estrada homer. They also went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Ethan Anderson reached base thrice on a single and two walks.

Box score

High-A: Frederick Keys vs. Greenville Drive (Red Sox) — POSTPONED

The Keys were supposed to play a doubleheader to make up Thursday’s rainout, but instead they played none as both games got washed out. One game was rescheduled for tomorrow while the other was canceled outright.

Low-A: Wilson Warbirds (Brewers) 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

This was a 2-2 game until the bottom of the eighth, when the Warbirds erupted for five runs to take a commanding lead. Reliever Luis Beltrán was tagged for all five runs, though only three were earned. First baseman Juan Perez and right fielder Junior Aybar made errors on back-to-back plays with two outs, each scoring a run. Beltrán also walked in a run. It was that kind of game. Starter Brayan Orrantia lasted four innings, giving up two runs and five walks.

It was a rough night offensively for the Shorebirds, who struck out 11 times and walked just once. They had six hits, all singles. Nobody drove in any runs, as the two they scored came on a Warbirds throwing error. Delmarva fell to 15-28 on the season.

Box score

BONUS FCL NOTE: Newly signed veteran outfielder Tommy Pham made his organizational debut for the Florida Complex League Orioles. He went 0-for-1 with a strikeout and a walk.

Saturday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk: at Jacksonville, 6:35 PM. Starter: Cameron Weston (0-1, 6.56)
• Chesapeake: vs. Somerset, 6:35 PM. Starter: Sebastian Gongora (1-1, 4.21)
• Frederick: vs. Greenville, 6:00 PM. Starter: Yeiber Cartaya (0-0, 0.87)
• Delmarva: at Wilson, 7:05 PM. Starter: Caden Hunter (1-0, 0.95)

The Braves have released 11.5 million dollars of bullpen funds that were committed to Aaron Bummer and Joel Payamps. A few relievers, like Carlos Carrasco, Ian Hamilton, and Osvaldo Bido, have come and gone (and/or come and gone in a circular pattern). Meanwhile, James Karinchak has been silencing Triple-A batters in obscurity. I know he might have some questions around him, but he has a 2.84/3.14/3.24 line and a 36.0% strikeout rate in Gwinnett and the Braves won’t leave the country anyway. Does his absence have anything to do with his velocity dropping from 94.8 to 93.0 MPH? Probably, but also who cares? If he grabbed an inning or two here and there, it may help out the Braves. He could join the Cookie Carrasco Caravan, which I imagine consists of a rented Escalade that Carrasco drives to the next city after he gets designated for assignment.

Rowdy Tellez was a signing late in March. Tellez did not complete Spring Training but did play in the World Baseball Classic. The first few weeks looked very much like a Spring for Rowdy, but even with that slow start he has an .876 OPS and a 124 wRC+ in Triple-A overall. I imagine the issue here is that Matt Olson mans his primary position. Ronald Acuña Jr, the thermonuclear Dominic Smith, and when available Drake Baldwin hold down the designated hitter spot. So I think he’s currently depth for Olson, and may be third on the depth chart because Smith may be ahead of him. He would definitely be a great option in that 28th man roster spot in September and pinch hitting option in October, should the Braves somehow manage to get there.