Category: MLB

Tuesday notes…

• NOT SOMETHING YOU HAD HOPED TO READ THIS YEAR: The Cubs are the 26th team since 1901 to have at least one double-digit winning streak and at least one losing streak of nine games in the same season. The Guardians were the previous team to do it. Last year, they won 10 and lost 10, to become the 19th team with double-digit streaks of both kinds. The three others with 10 or more wins and at least nine losses since 2000 were the Dodgers in 2017 (11 of each), Guardians in 2008 (10 of each) and Pirates in 2004 (10 and nine). The Cubs did it once before, in 1970 (10 and 12). The Guardians have had four seasons of at least 10 and nine; the Orioles and Senators/Twins, three; and the Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox and Reds, two. Teams besides the Cubs with one: Athletics, Braves, Brewers, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and White Sox. That makes a total of 15 teams that have done it at least once. The 1976 White Sox and 1985 Twins both won 10 and lost nine and 10. The 1987 Orioles won 11 and lost nine and 10. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• CAN’T WIN IF YOU DON’T SCORE: Yesterday’s game was the 12th this season in which the Cubs gave up exactly two runs. They have lost three of them. They are 3-0 when yielding both no runs and one. They are 2-2 with three runs allowed, 6-4 with four, 3-3 with five — and 6-16 with five or more. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• LIKE NIGHT AND DAY: After Monday’s loss, the Cubs are only 13-15 in day games, while going 16-10 under the lights.
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: A two-run homer by Alfonso Soriano in the eighth ties the game against the Reds and a double by Welington Castillo in the ninth gives the team a 5-4 win in Cincinnati. The win ends a six-game losing streak. It happened 13 years ago today, Sunday, May 26, 2013.

Cubs lineup:

Game 2 in Pittsburgh.

Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/FaD1THfsuD

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 26, 2026

Pirates lineup:

55/162.

📺@SNPittsburgh
📷@937theFanpic.twitter.com/3fxS2yuXwF

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 26, 2026

Jordan Wicks, LHP vs. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP

So here we are, with another pitcher from Triple-A Iowa pressed into service because of a rotation injury.

Jordan Wicks was the Cubs’ No. 1 pick out of Kansas State in 2021 and there were great hopes for him to be a solid starter. He did reasonably well in seven starts in 2023 but the next two years were filled with bad pitching and injuries. This year, he suffered nerve irritation in his left forearm and had to start the year on the IL, then had a rehab assignment to Triple-A Iowa and then one start there after being optioned.

Potential hope: Over his last three starts at Iowa, Wicks has allowed only one run in 15 total innings. His walk rate is a bit high, though.

This, obviously, is his MLB season debut for 2026. Hopefully it goes well. The pitch chart below is from last year. It was obviously a very different Pirates team, but Wicks made his MLB debut at PNC Park Aug. 26, 2023 and threw five two-hit innings, striking out nine. Perhaps he can channel that tonight. To date, that’s Wicks’ only career appearance against the Pirates.

Braxton Ashcraft has done well as a full-time member of the Pirates rotation this year: 10 starts, 2.89 ERA, 1.027 WHIP. That includes five innings of one-run ball against the Cubs April 11 at Wrigley Field.

This month he has a 1.91 ERA and 0.882 WHIP in four starts, with 26 strikeouts and only four walks in 28.1 innings.

So tonight will not be an easy task for Cubs hitters.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around PNC Park.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout. If you do go there to interact with Pirates fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Many factors have contributed to the strong start, but what have we actually learned that we didn’t already expect entering the season?

Pitching

The Rays entered the season with a much stronger pitching outlook than they had in 2025 thanks to the additions of Martinez and Matz, along with the return to the pitcher-friendly Trop. McClanahan’s return from injury has also gone about as well as the organization could have hoped – especially when considering he hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since 2023. Rasmussen continues to be as reliable as they come, and Jax’s much-anticipated transition to the rotation has gone well so far. Pepiot’s injury was surprising and disappointing, but the depth has held up and we haven’t really learned anything new about the rotation.

We also knew the bullpen had plenty depth, and that depth has already been tested with Uceta and Wilson on the 60-day IL to begin the season. IL stints from Cleavinger and now Sulser have further tested that depth. Despite those injury concerns, the bullpen has performed relatively well. They’re roughly league average in earned runs per batter faced — a useful bullpen metric because it accounts for workload — and middle of the pack in save-plus-hold conversion rate. Ben Williamson (a position player who has pitched 1 inning), Yoendrys Gomez, Chase Solesky, and Aaron Brooks have combined for a 7.48 ERA in 21.2 IP this season and are skewing the bullpen performance quite a bit.

One thing we’ve learned: the Rays have a closer, and his name is Bryan Baker. All offseason the idea was there would be a “closer by committee” approach, but that hasn’t happened, although Cash will use Baker to pitch the eighth inning if that’s when the heart of the opposing lineup is batting. There are still four relievers with multiple saves and I expect that to continue to some extent, but Baker has made the most of the opportunity given to him.

Position Players

We knew the catching group would be better on both sides of the ball compared to 2025. It has been a bit of a surprise to see Nick Fortes get so much playing time – he has appeared in 42 of the team’s 51 games so far while Feduccia has played in 29. The Rays currently have the 12th best wRC+ from their catching group and are 3rd in framing strike rate. The duo we have right now is looking good, and Dom Keegan could see some reps in the majors at some point later in the summer.

The infield (plus DH) is still the strongest group of players on this team. Aranda, Caminero, and Yandy lead the way while Williamson and Palacios have made solid contributions so far. Taylor Walls surprised everyone with a quick return from an early IL stint, and it was good timing too as the game appeared to be a little too quick for Carson Williams. The infield has converted ground balls into outs at roughly a league-average rate, but I expect that to improve a bit as Caminero continues to find his groove defensively and Williamson gets more comfortable with his transition to second base.

The outfield has been better, but that was expected. The improvement has been driven by a shift towards more plate discipline and contact profiles on the offensive side while year-over-year improvements from Cedric Mullins and Chandler Simpson have helped make this unit one of the better defensive groups in the league. The Rays convert fly balls and line drives into outs 61.8% of the time – the third highest rate in the league and well above the average of 57.7%. Unsurprisingly to some, Ryan Vilade has been impactful on both sides of the ball with his 140 wRC+ and three defensive runs saved in the outfield.

The main thing we’ve learned is that the new Rays offense works. The run environment is different than it was a few years ago, and the Rays have put together an offense that is built for it. I expected them to be a playoff team, but I didn’t expect a 108-win pace. This pace is unlikely to hold for any club over a full season, but this looks like a legitimate playoff team. It’ll be interesting to see how aggressively the Rays approach the deadline as they try to improve the roster while also managing the coming Rule 5 crunch.

This has been a rough year when it comes to notable names in Atlanta Braves history passing away. There was the double blow of losing both Ted Turner and Bobby Cox within the same week and now a former player has passed on. The Braves somberly shared the news that former star Bob Horner has passed away at the age of 68.

pic.twitter.com/qc38iKmqi3

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 26, 2026

As the post shared, Horner left an indelible mark on the franchise while he donned the Atlanta uniform. He was picked first overall in 1978, he didn’t play a single game in the minors before making his big league debut and just to show that he belonged, he clubbed a homer in his first game as well and eventually earned the National League Rookie of the Year honors for that season.

Horner went on to spend nine seasons with the Braves where he earned an All-Star spot in 1982, hit four homers in a game in 1986 and he finished his Braves career with a slash line of .277/.340/.499 with an OPS of .839 and a OPS+ of 127. After becoming a free agent, he spent one season with the Yakult Swallows in Japan (which ended up being the best spot for him after it came out that the owners were colluding against free agents at the time) before joining the St. Louis Cardinals for the season after that. A shoulder injury derailed Horner’s time in St. Louis and he eventually called it a career once spring training rolled around the next season.

There wasn’t a ton for Braves fans to cheer about during the 1980s but if there was something to cheer about, there was a decent chance that it involved either Dale Murphy or Bob Horner. He remained a popular figure among Braves fans who had been fans during that time and he’s still a name that comes up whenever fans from that era reminisce about those days. He’ll be missed among fans across Braves Country. May he rest in peace.

Three keys: Creativity can help Aaron Nola right ship in San Diego originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

SAN DIEGO — The Phillies’ top three starters have been lights out lately.

Since Zack Wheeler returned to the rotation on April 25, Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo have combined to go 10-1 in 17 starts with a 1.46 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. Opponents are slashing .192/.243/.269 against them.

Outstanding.

That kind of production has helped mask some of the inconsistency from the back end of the rotation.

The Phillies have recently gotten more from rookie right-hander Andrew Painter, who has a 2.60 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over his last three starts. The 23-year-old has made adjustments to his pitch mix and usage, which has helped him hit his stride as the Phillies continue to do the same under interim manager Don Mattingly.

The one rotation constant during their 18-8 stretch under Mattingly has been Aaron Nola’s struggles.

Nola will take the ball Tuesday night against the Padres at Petco Park. Through his first 10 starts, the Phillies’ longest-tenured player has a 6.01 ERA. He has allowed 61 hits in 50 2/3 innings. Only three of his outings have been quality starts — against the Rockies, Giants and Marlins.

Those three teams have a combined .415 winning percentage and .688 OPS this season.

San Diego may look like a tougher task at 31-22, good for the top Wild Card spot in the National League. But the Padres have produced a .657 OPS, the second worst mark in the Majors.

So, how can Nola bounce back?

THE SEQUENCE

The pitch that has hamstrung Nola in his 12th big league season has been his four-seam fastball.

Opponents are hitting .417 against it with an astronomical .958 slugging percentage. That opponent slug would be close to double his career high against the pitch.

Left-handed hitters have done the most damage, hitting .484 with a 1.065 slugging percentage and 97.2 mph average exit velocity.

It has not been a competitive pitch.

Luckily for Nola, he will face a Padres lineup with just two left-handed hitters, the fewest he has faced in a start this season. Gavin Sheets has posted a .902 OPS against righties. Jackson Merrill is batting just .194 against right-handers.

That could allow Nola to lean more heavily on his knuckle curve, which has been his most reliable weapon this year. Opponents have struggled against it from both sides. Right-handed hitters are batting .189 against the pitch. Lefties are at .229.

Nola threw the pitch on the first pitch seven times in his last start, six of them for strikes. He threw it for a strike at an 85 percent rate, a season high. If there was a positive from that outing, it was that.

The ability to throw the knuckle curve in any count helps him pitch backward. It can also open up more creativity with his changeup. Nola throws it only five percent of the time against righties, but it could become a strikeout pitch if he is ahead with two strikes.

LIMIT THE HEATER?

Nola is going to have to get creative if he moves away from the four-seamer.

It is a pitch this Padres lineup can damage.

Nola’s four-seamer averages 92.1 mph. San Diego’s hitters have slashed .289/.418/.467 against four-seamers at 92.1 mph or lower this season. Their average drops to .266 against four-seamers at 93 mph or lower and .236 at 94 mph or lower.

One pitch right-handed hitters have handled against Nola is the sinker. But the Padres have posted just a .715 OPS against sinkers and two-seamers.

Boring that pitch in on the hands of San Diego’s right-handed bats could help Nola induce softer contact, something he has struggled to do this year. According to Statcast, he is in the 32nd percentile among pitchers with a 41.9 percent hard-hit rate.

Tunneling the knuckle curve with the sinker against a mostly right-handed Padres lineup could be a key to a bounce-back outing.

STAY AHEAD

This can be said about any pitcher, but Nola’s numbers show a stark difference between pitching ahead and pitching behind.

When Nola gets ahead 0-1, hitters have a .314 on-base percentage. If the season ended today, that would still be a career high, but it has at least limited opposing bats.

When he falls behind 1-0, that OBP jumps to .388 with a .903 OPS.

And Nola cannot simply steal a first-pitch strike by catching too much plate.

Of the 25 balls put in play against Nola’s first pitch this season, he has allowed 11 hits, a .440 average and two homers. He carries a 7.71 ERA on the first pitch. That ERA has been north of seven in first-pitch situations over the past four seasons.

That circles back to pitch diversity.

Nola does not need to reinvent himself Tuesday night. But against a Padres lineup that has struggled overall and will not be stacked with left-handed bats, there is a path. It likely starts with fewer predictable four-seamers, more early-count curveballs and enough sinkers to keep righties from leaning out over the plate.

NOTES

Mattingly will go with Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot Tuesday. Trea Turner will bat second. The Phillies’ interim skipper will give Adolis García “a day” and play Edmundo Sosa out in left field, with Brandon Marsh in right.

Turner is batting .115 over his last seven games with three hits in 26 at-bats. Schwarber, meanwhile, has a 1.204 OPS over his last 15 games. As Mattingly put it, moving him to leadoff gives the Phillies “boom out of the gate.”

The argument against Schwarber in the leadoff spot in the past has been that it can clog the basepaths for Turner. But right now, the Phillies’ shortstop is not getting on base enough to use his legs.

Until he does, giving the club’s hottest hitter a chance to provide thump at the top of the lineup makes sense. Schwarber’s big swings have been the difference plenty of times lately, especially working hand-in-hand with their dominant pitching performances.

The starting rotation has been the strength of the Yankees in the season’s first third, even as it’s dealt with its own share of chaos. Luis Gil didn’t last long in the starting five, Elmer Rodríguez has shown that he’s not quite ready for MLB, the team has had to manage the returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, and of course Max Fried has been placed on the IL. Somehow the player we had the least information on at the start of the year has had a remarkable stabilizing effect as pitchers move in and out around him, and Ryan Weathers has already surpassed his preseason fWAR projection.

Everyone pitches backwards these days — well, everyone but Cam Schlittler — with fastball usage at the lowest level it’s been in 20 years. Truth be told it’s probably at the lowest level that we have pitch tracking data for, I just went back 20 years because it was a nice round number. Pitchers have accepted that the bendy stuff is harder to hit than the straight stuff, and that’s been key to Weathers’ strong start.

Offering his four-seam just 30 percent of the time, bang on league average, Weathers mixes a pair of breaking balls and a changeup alongside a sinker, and he’s probably best off to drop the four-seam fastball entirely. It boasts an ugly .641 xSLG, nearly double the same metric for each of his “secondary” offerings. The sinker is slightly more effective, mostly against right-handed hitters with traffic. The slider, sweeper and offspeed though, all run whiff rates north of 30 percent — all while he has also been able to pitch reasonably deep into ballgames.

Normally we see a tradeoff with this kind of stuff; batters swing and miss a lot but that drives up pitch count. Weathers runs those whiff rates while making it into the sixth inning in 40 percent of his starts so far. Yes, there’s a collection of folks who will scoff at that being an impressive rate, but Weathers’ 5.71 innings per start is a step above the MLB average, 5.12.

It’s this combination that has made me rethink the perpetual discussion around which pitcher in the rotation is destined for some bullpen time. Weathers’ experience as a swingman and the power of those breaking pitches has had me thinking about an Andrew Miller-esque role out of the rotation, but then again when Andrew Miller was Andrew Miller he simply had a better fastball than Weathers boasts. Will Warren has a much better fastball, and through his 11 starts, Memorial Day inclusive, goes 5.27 innings per start.

Of course these problems eventually work themselves out — a week or so ago we were hemming and hawing about this exact dilemma, only for Max Fried to bump his elbow and need an IL stint. When Fried is ready to come back, unfortunately someone will likely have an ache or pain of their own, or performance will make the decision an obvious one. In the season’s first third though, the Ryan Weathers trade has to be considered a remarkable success. Maintenance of this pace now becomes the goal, rather than raw improvement.

Talk about a ruff day at the ballpark.

One of the Dodgers’ top prospects suffered an injury on Monday during a freak encounter with his team’s bat dog.

The bizarre scene unfolded during the second inning of the Tulsa Drillers’ matchup with Northwest Arkansas at ONEOK Field in Oklahoma.

Kendall George, the No. 13 prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system and the Drillers’ starting center fielder, scored on a line drive to right field. As he was jogging to his dugout, a Tulsa bat-retrieving dog suddenly bolted toward home plate.

Dodgers prospect Kendall George was visibly frustrated because he got hurt avoiding the bat dog pic.twitter.com/yBaFf7jYYh

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 26, 2026

In an effort to avoid a collision with the pup, George jumped into the air. But as he came down, he tweaked something.

The 21-year-old looked visibly frustrated as he was forced to leave the game.

The extent of George’s injury is not yet known, though his loss would be a big one for the Drillers. In 43 games this season, he batted .333 with 16 RBI and 52 runs scored. A first-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft, George also had 26 steals in 29 attempts.

According to MLB Pipeline, it’s anticipated the 5-foot-9, 170-pound outfielder will make his Big League debut in 2027.

Fans of the Dodgers weren’t pleased when news of George’s issue reached their computers on Tuesday, with many racing to X to call for Tulsa to ban bat dogs moving forward.

“Dogs don’t belong on the baseball field,” one app user wrote. “This is such a stupid gimmick.”

“I’m all for bat dogs,” another added, “but man, teams gotta hold them until the play is entirely over. Keep both the players and the pups safe.”

Others, however, blamed George for the situation.

“Buddy learn how to slow down,” an X user said. “Practically run into the the stands after crossing home without any pressure.”

The Drillers — who boasted about their lineup of bat dogs on Facebook before the season — haven’t yet publicly commented on the situation.

Introduction

Instead of talking about the named and better known prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system, today I thought I’d take a quick look at three lesser known prospects.

Jose Mejia 2B/3B

Fangraphs | Baseball-Reference

The Baltimore Orioles signed the then 17 year old Jose Mejia as international amateur free agent back in 2023, who then proceed to clobber the Dominican Summer League for 54 games across his 2023 and 2024 season with a triple slash of .307/.425/.409, a 136 wRC+ while walking (14.2 BB%) more than he was striking out (9.0%). In 2025, the Orioles had him play stateside in the complex league, where he’d play in 47 games and put up a triple slash of .274/.418/.411 with a .416 wOBA and a 132 wRC+. More importantly, he’d improve his walk percentage (16.5 BB%) while his strikeout percentage (10k%) saw only a slightly uptick. Mejia would then get a two game cup of coffee in A ball, where he’d go 1 for 5 with a pair of stolen bases thanks to the walk and hit by pitch.

The Dbacks would acquire Mejia (along with two pitchers) from the Orioles in the Blaze Alexander trade, the 20 year old Mejia was assigned to the Visalia Rawhide to begin the 2026 season. In 33 games for Visalia, Mejia hit .299/.449/.486 with a 144 wRC+, a .434 wOBA. His walk percentage an improvement to 19.9%, but he did also see his strikeout percentage jump up to 15 4%. Regardless his hot hitting earned him a promotion to Hillsboro on May 15th. In his seven games in Hillsboro, Mejia is 3 for 25 with 5 walks and two stolen bases, though he has struck out eight times and been caught stealing twice. Considering the lowest wRC+ Mejia has posted prior to his promotion to Hillsboro is a 121 wRC+, I’d expect his current 29 wRC+ not to last very long.

Unless Mejia goes on another month long hot streak, I would expect him to finish his year out at the High A level, though if he’s successful enough the Dbacks could promote him once again to the AA level Amarillo Sod Poodles finish out the last few games of the season. The Diamondbacks are absolutely stacked at second base, so Mejia will likely have to settle on another position for an easier path to the majors

Alberto Barriga C

Fangraphs | Baseball-Reference

The Diamondbacks signed Barriga as a 17 year old amateur free agent out of Mexico back in january of 2022. Barriga would put up impressive numbers in his pro debut in the DSL in 2022 (253/.342/.361, 120 wRC+) and even more eye popping numbers in the complex in 2023 (.414/.457/.586, 158 WRC+) and above average numbers in 2024 (276/.362/.432 105 wRC+), but he’d struggle after being promoted to A ball to end his 2024. In 2025, Barriga returned to A ball and put up the worst numbers of his career, hitting .199/.326/.296 with a well below average 83 wRC+ and insane 28.8 SO%. The one bright spot by far was his above average 12.9 BB%, the highest of his career since his debut.

Barriga was promoted to A+ Level Hillsboro for 2026, where he’s completely rebounded offensively, and arguably has been the team’s best hitter. Through his first 28 games, the 21 year old catcher is hitting .296/.391/.541 with a 144 wRC+. He’s improved upon his BB% to 13%, while he’s cut the strikout percent back down to an acceptable 22.6%.

The player I like to compare Barriga to is Daulton Varsho, or at least who he was as a prospect. Barriga isn’t quite as undersized as Varsho was, but they’re both undersized surprisingly nimble catchers, though Barriga in my opinion is much more likely to stick at catcher.

Manuel Pena 1B/2B/3B/LF

Fangraphs | Baseball-Reference

Manuel Pena was signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Diamondbacks all the way back in January of 2021. He has a solid enough debut as a 17 year old in 57 games played in the Dominican Summer League, putting up a 253/.342/.361 with a .349wOBA and a 105 wRC+, with a solid 11.7 BB% and acceptable 20.7 K%. The following year, he’d come stateside and play in 32 games in the Complex, hitting 284/336/.466 with .364 wOBA and 120 wRC+, though his BB% fell to 7.8% while his K% jumped to 23.4%. Pena would spend the remaining 36 games of his 2022 season in A ball, which began a stretch of four season in a row where he’d fail to put up above average numbers as a hitter. We’ll skip ahead a few seasons, as Pena was okay enough that he did work his way up to AA by the 2025 season. In 143 games last year in Amarillo, Pena hit .288/.326/.460 with a 99 wRC+, a .356 wOBA, 5.1 BB% and 22.3 K%.

In his second go around, Pena is hitting much better. In 43 games this year Pena has 18 homeruns, compared to the 14 he hit the entire season the previous year. He’s hitting .284/.328/.634 with 123 wRc+ and a .406 wOBA. Although his 23.2 K% is a tick higher than the year before, his 6.6 BB% is as well. Interestingly, Pena has the lowest BABIP of his career at .281, which is much lower than next lowest at .310. Pena is still only 22 years old despite being in the system for so long.

Will Dion will soon make his MLB debut as a left-handed reliever for the Guardians.

Cleveland optioned Logan Allen to Columbus and brought Dion up, adding him to the roster to bring it to 40 players.

Dion has put up a quietly outstanding season at Columbus, with a 1.83 FIP and a 12.46/1.73 K/BB/9 innings since being turned into a reliever this season. Oddly enough, his only trouble has come against left-handed hitters who have put up 1.200 OPS against him this year, while right-handed bats have managed only a .514 OPS. Small sample size? Well, throughout his career, he has put up even splits, so it will be interesting to see if that continues to be the case in a bullpen role.

Dion is only 5’10 but went slightly viral a few years ago for mimicking Clayton Kershaw’s throwing mechanics from his shorter frame.

Dion features a four-seamer that sits at 91, a cutter, a changeup, a curveball, and occasionally a sinker and slider. The changeup is his best out pitch, but he has confidence to throw the cutter and slider in any count.

Dion averages around 21 inches of induced vertical break on his four-seamer which is elite. For comparison, Erik Sabrowski is one of the best pitchers for IVB and averaged 23 inches. It makes a big difference that Sabrowski throws 3-4 mph faster, but Dion’ fastball should still be difficult for hitters to square up. If he can leverage it with getting whiffs on his changeup and curveball, the Guardians have potential for another very effective reliever.

Congratulations to a 9th round draft pick from McNeese state for making the bigs! He will wear 98 and be the first Cleveland baseball player to choose that number. Excited to see what he can do.

Like so many deck chairs being rearranged on the Titanic, the Mets roster carousel continued Tuesday.

Lefty A.J. Minter and Jared Young returned from IL stints, and Eric Wagaman was called up from Triple-A Syracuse.

Gone are outfielders Tyrone Taylor (placed on the 10-day IL with a right hip flexor strain) and Nick Morabito (optioned to Syracuse) and right-hander Jonathan Pintaro (also optioned to Syracuse).

The Mets will need to make a 40-man roster move to add Wagaman, whose contract was selected from Syracuse.

Minter hasn’t pitched in the majors since April 2025, sidelined for over a year with a torn lat that required season-ending surgery.

Young — out since last month with a torn meniscus — had provided a solid left-handed bat off the bench prior to the injury, while Morabito, ranked the organization’s 11th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, was 0-for-11 with nine strikeouts.

The stage is set for both teams in game one.

The Atlanta Braves, who’ve struggled on offense during their last series against the Washington Nationals and dropped the series, are looking to have a full turnaround in their matchup against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway. Spencer Strider will be taking the mound in hopes of topping his season-high strikeout rate (nine) from his last outing against the Miami Marlins across his sixth innings on May 21st.

Notice anyone at the DH spot? That’s right, Manager Walt Weiss has placed Eli White in the spot, shifting from the outfield and making hitting his main focus of the night.

All of the Redsox hitters have less than four at-bats against Strider, but the only numbers marked for production were from Wilson Contreras, who recorded two RBIs with a .500 OPS. Their experience is pretty limited with a healthy Strider on the mound, but with his high number of walks (12) he’s recorded since his return this month, that could be their main opening if their offensive woes continue to last.

Against Boston’s Ranger Suarez, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have seen their on-base production fare well above .900. They will need to keep that stature and get the remainder of the offense to produce behind Strider if they want to set the tone for the series.

First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. EDT.

Tarik Skubal took another significant step toward his return Tuesday, throwing live batting practice at Comerica Park before the Detroit Tigers’ game against the Los Angeles Angels on May 26. Skubal simulated 2 2/3 innings by throwing 39 pitches, according to reports. He struck out three and gave up a home run.

That was a welcome sight for a Tigers team that is struggling without their ace.

It's been just three weeks since the two-time Cy Young Award winner had elbow surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow. His recovery and rehab have moved at an unprecedented pace, thanks in part to a new NanoNeedle technology.

Tuesday was Skubal’s scheduled “start day” in his five-day progression back to the mound. His last outing was a bullpen session, during which he threw his full repertoire,  A.J. Hinch told reporters.

The Tigers manager said that Skubal was ready to throw to hitters Tuesday morning on his weekly SiriusXM spot. He said that it could be a short sim game.

Skubal has been careful not to get ahead of himself. “I don’t know in the history of the game if there’s been a surgery 15 days ago and I’m throwing a one-inning hypothetical start,” Skubal said last week. “I want to be back as fast as possible. I also want to be healthy.”

While Skubal will need more time before he can rejoin the Tigers’ rotation, Hinch sidestepped a question about a traditional minor league rehab when asked on SiriusXM. He just indicated that Skubal will need "a rehab" to be built up enough to give the Tigers volume when he returns.

Hinch also emphasized that no step will be skipped and Skubal will not be rushed.

The Tigers, however, desperately need him back.

Skubal is one of three sidelined Detroit starters, along with Casey Mize and Justin Verlander. The Tigers are 20-31, 9.5 games behind the Central Division-leading Cleveland Guardians and the owner of baseball’s worst record in May.

Before surgery, Skubal had been pitching like himself. He had a 2.70 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and a 45-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 43 1/3 innings in seven starts.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tarik Skubal injury update: Tigers ace throws to hitters

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After cashing my first profitable MLB player props piece here, I'll look to keep the momentum rolling as a few familiar faces grab my attention tonight.

Byron Buxton, Munetaka Murakami, and Kyle Schwarber all find themselves in prime spots to do damage at the dish, so let’s dive into why each of them could be in for big evenings on Tuesday, May 26.

Best MLB player props today

Byron Buxton Over 1.5 total bases (-110)

Boots will be grounded for me this evening and I need some action while I suck down a few polish dogs with extra onions.

Twins star Byron Buxton may be the best bat to back on the Southside tonight, as he takes on right hander Sean Burke, who has been getting crushed by right-handed hitters over his last few outings.

The last 30 right-handed hitters Burke has faced own a 14.3% barrel rate with just a 4.8% ground ball rate, while opposing hitters are elevating the ball 95.2% of the time. Those hitters also sport a .387 xBA, .726 xSLG, and .424 xwOBA during that span.

Buxton owns 85.5% arsenal coverage against Burke, while also elevating the ball well over his last 10 games. During that stretch, he owns a 55.2% hard-hit rate and 20.7% barrel rate.

This marks the Twins outfielder’s 36th elite rating on the road. In the previous 35, he has cleared this prop 51.43% of the time and homered 25.71% of the time as well. Of course, I sprinkled on his home run prop.

Overall, Buxton has recorded 2+ bases in six of his last 10 elite-rated spots.

As always, I’m looking out for the “I do not pay juice” crowd. If you are not a fan of laying the -110 here, sprinkle on Buxton’s double and home run props instead. The only way you are losing those is if he triples or strings together multiple singles, plus you are getting a far better number.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Twins.TV, CHSN

Munetaka Murakami Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-109)

Double dipping tonight as I enjoy two props from the nosebleeds.

The second play in a matchup I am all over features the most exciting player in the city of Chicago, Munetaka Murakami. Give me the Over on his hits, runs, and RBI prop set at 1.5. 

The White Sox slugger enters tonight with an elite rating on Batters-Box. In 27 elite ratings this season, he has surpassed this prop 55.56% of the time. If you are looking to pair his hit with Byron Buxton’s, Murakami has also recorded a hit in 70.37% of those elite-rated matchups.

Murakami draws Twins right hander Joe Ryan this evening, giving him a great opportunity to take advantage of Ryan’s struggles against left handed hitters. The slugger owns a 1.141 OPS and .481 wOBA over his last 30 plate appearances against right handed pitching.

Ryan enters today with poorly rated matchup numbers in ISO and ground ball rate, giving one of the most dangerous hitters in the White Sox lineup a chance to elevate and drive the ball tonight.

Sprinkle the home run for some extra fun! 

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Twins.TV, CHSN

Kyle Schwarber Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-107)

Kyle Schwarber enters today with the highest rating in this matchup, marking his 241st elite rating over the last three years. During that span, he has cleared this prop in 54.17% of those elite ratings.

No different on the road, where he has gone over this number 52.83% of the time across 106 elite ratings.

Despite the slight cold streak following an illness, Schwarber is still making 58.3% hard contact with a 25% barrel rate and just a 16.7% ground ball rate over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.

The slugger draws Padres right hander Randy Vasquez, against whom he owns 57.7% arsenal coverage.

The 27-year-old starter has been giving up plenty of hard contact lately and allowing left-handed hitters to elevate the ball at a high clip. During that stretch, he owns just a 36% ground ball rate allowed, while lefties are making 46% hard contact with a 10% barrel rate against him.

If you are willing to lay roughly -160, you can take Schwarber’s hit prop. But from a value standpoint, I think this is the better play.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSP, Padres.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.

Last week’s edition of Rangers Reacts asked folks about whether the 2026 Texas Rangers are meeting your expectations.

They are not:

I whopping 0% of you said the Texas Rangers are exceeding your expectations for 2026.

And perhaps most remarkably, this poll went up before the team was swept in Anaheim, and then no-hit by a collection of Bumpus Joneses in Astros uniforms.

Dark times, indeed…

The Mets activated left-handed reliever A.J. Minter and outfielder/first baseman Jared Young off the IL ahead of Tuesday's game against the Reds at Citi Field, the team announced.

In corresponding moves, right-handed reliever Jonathan Pintaro and outfielder Nick Morabito were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Additionally, outfielder Tyrone Taylor was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right hip flexor strain, with infielder Eric Wagaman called up to take his spot on the 26-man roster.

Mendoza said that there was a "sense of relief" that the team didn't get worse news on Taylor, though the manager did not want to put a definitive timetable on his recovery.

"I think we got relatively good news, especially after what he was expressing after the game last night," said Mendoza. "We were kind of expecting the worst to be honest with you. We just had the news here, it’s kind of like week-by-week here. So hopefully 2-to-3 [weeks], but putting a timetable here I think is too early."

A 40-man roster move will be needed to accommodate the transactions, and will be announced prior to Tuesday's game.

Minter has been out since early last season after needing surgery for a torn lat. His return should bolster a back end of the bullpen that has been a strength for New York over the last month or so. 

Young, who is returning from a torn meniscus, excelled for New York earlier this season, hitting .350/.391/.450 in 23 plate appearances over 11 games.

It's fair to believe that the presence of the lefty-hitting Young could eventually cut into the playing time of MJ Melendez, who is hitting .063/.250/.063 in 40 plate appearances spanning 17 games since May 7. 

Young is in the lineup at first base on Tuesday, with Mark Vientos on the bench.

With Morabito sent down and Taylor on the IL, the Mets have just three natural outfielders on the active roster, though Young, Melendez, and Brett Baty can play the corner outfield spots. 

According to Mendoza, the decision was made to keep Wagaman and send Morabito down because the Mets like Wagaman as a right-handed hitter off the bench and against lefties, where as Morabito need to play every day. 

"Just continue to play, I think that’s the biggest thing," Mendoza said about his message to Morabito. "There is a lot to like about the player. We saw flashes of his defense, his speed, but he has to play every day. There’s no reason for him to be here, playing once every two or three days just waiting on lefties. He got a taste, he knows what it’s like here at the big league level, and he knows how important he is to this organization. 

"The message is keep going over there, we’ll see you back here."