Category: MLB

The White Sox (17-19) fought to the very end, but the bats were inconsistent with runners in scoring position, and the Angels (14-23) knocked Erick Fedde around as the Good Guys dropped game two of their LA road trip, 4-3. Now just two games under, the South Siders are hopefully just taking the scenic route on the road to .500, because we won’t be seeing it tomorrow. The good news is that since both the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers lost Tuesday as well, the Sox are still just a half-game back in the division.

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It was not Fedde’s night. The Angels hit him pretty hard, and his pitches simply just weren’t as effective. He only drew a 9% whiff rate over his 4 2/3 innings, and his sweeper typically averages around 23%, whereas it recorded only two whiffs (13%) tonight. The righthander came into this game with five home runs allowed, and added three more Tuesday as Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, and Zach Neto all took him deep.

The White Sox provided a small two-run cushion for Fedde to begin the game, quickly loading the bases in the top of the first and actually taking some advantage of it. Chase Meidroth led off the game with a base hit, and a pair of walks from Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery loaded ’em up. Making his first start as a South Sider and batting in the cleanup spot, Randal Grichuk dropped a broken-bat flare over the second baseman to score the first run of the game. In all honesty, the batting order was a bit weak after Montgomery without Munetaka Murakami in the lineup. I wasn’t expecting much with Edgar Quero up to bat, but he (sort of) proved me wrong and drove in the second run on a sacrifice fly out to center, but those two runs were all the Good Guys could push across the plate, 2-0.

That lead lasted for all of 10 minutes as both Trout and Soler launched solo bombs to tie the game up at two, making it a brand new ball game. Fedde maneuvered through the next few innings without many issues, but once the batting order swung around for the third time, Los Angeles started to get to him. This is when Neto struck, hanging for a second at the plate to watch it fly to give the Angels the lead, 3-2.

Trout walked for the second straight at-bat, and Nolan Schanuel doubled to drive him in and give LA a two-run lead, 4-2. Fedde met the end of his night after that, finishing with four runs surrendered on six hits, two walks, three bombs, and two strikeouts. Fortunately, this didn’t severely impact his ERA, which increased to 3.79 after starting the night at 3.23, and hopefully these types of outings don’t become a habit.

After the first inning rally, it took until the seventh for the South Siders to scrape another run across. They got something going in the sixth after Derek Hill reached on an infield single, and Will Venable called on Murakami to pinch-hit. In another universe, he might have hit the game-tying homer, but he did knock a single to put runners on the corners for Sam Antonacci, who flew out to end the inning. Finally breaking the scoring drought, Meidroth mashed his second long ball of the season in the seventh to bring the Sox within one, 4-3.

The bullpen was solid coming in to relieve Fedde, only allowing one base runner while keeping Los Angeles at bay in hopes that the bats could figure something out. For the final 3 1/3, Tyler Davis, Jordan Leasure, and Bryan Hudson shut the Angels down, combining for just one hit (from Hudson) and three strikeouts.

Sure, the three homers from Fedde were a killer, but the Sox had ample scoring opportunities, especially being within just one run. It’s a shame that the hitting couldn’t pull it together.

The Good Guys applied more pressure in the top of the ninth after Antonacci was hit by a pitch, stole second, and then made it to third base with one out and the heart of the order coming up. Vargas walked to bring Colson up with one out, needing just a measly fly ball to tie the game. He unfortunately struck out, but naturally Jared Kelenic walked to extend the inning and loaded the bases up for the second time of the night. A walk is fine, I guess, but with the Angels fan that was screaming his name throughout the entire broadcast, I was hoping that he would tank one out of the park.

That brought us to … Quero with the bases loaded. Just who you want in that situation, the guy with a .425 OPS. Shockingly enough, he rolled over on a ground ball to second to end the game. Unless Drew Romo was completely incapacitated, he should have been available off the bench, and that might have been a good time to use him — the guy that is mashing homers lately — but I digress.

Though they (barely) outhit the Angels again, 8-7, the White Sox weren’t able to convert as they did in the series opener. There were plenty of opportunities to drive in runs, but outside of Grichuk’s base hit in the first, no one else could get the job done, going 1-for-7 with RISP and 11 left on base. Literally any one of those runners would have made for a completely different ball game, but unfortunately, the South Siders won’t be making it back to .500 on this road trip.

George Kirby kept the Braves on the ground for seven innings, but the Mariners struck out 16 times while watching an early lead slip away.

Andrés Muñoz allowed the go-ahead homer to Matt Olson in the ninth inning Tuesday, giving the Braves a 3-2 win. The Mariners had gotten out to an early lead on a two-run home run from J.P. Crawford in the third. But they picked up just one more hit the rest of the way, rarely threatening while, again, punching out 16 times.

The highlight of the game, however, was another strong start from Kirby. It’s been a weird season for him so far. He’s walking more and striking out fewer batters than ever, but he entered the day with a 56.5% ground ball rate — the fifth best in baseball. His 2.84 xERA suggests the approach has been working, but even he’s not quite sure where all the grounders are coming from.

“Guys are just kind of hitting them on the ground, honestly,” Kirby said after the game. “I think that’s just kind of what happens when you try and get strike one. You’re in the zone a lot throwing quality strikes. So, the more ground balls, the better. Helps me go deeper in games and eventually get the swing and miss when I need it.”

Here’s how his first pass through the order went: 

1st inning: Groundout, groundout, strikeout
2nd inning: Groundout, single, groundout double play
3rd inning: Strikeout, weak fly out, ground out

The plot below doesn’t reflect Tuesday’s outing, in which Kirby posted a 65% ground ball rate, but it’s clearly a trend. We’ve simply never seen this type of contact from him before.

The other, less-fortunate trend for Kirby in the early going is a noticeable dip in effectiveness on the second turn through the order. He entered the day with a stellar 2.79 FIP on the first pass and a less flattering (but not terrible) 4.21 FIP on the second. 

That issue “technically” cropped up again in the fourth inning. Ozzie Albies and Olson picked up back-to-back singles, and Mauricio Dubón doubled them home to tie the game at 2-2. The contact wasn’t particularly hard, and it was mostly on the ground, so it’s not like he was getting rocked.

“I don’t think they made any good swings in that inning,” Kirby said of the fourth. “I thought I executed really well, it just kind of found a hole. So I’m gonna keep doing my thing, keep inducing weak contact, and those will eventually go my way off the bat.”

The flukey double from Dubón was hit at just 66 mph down the right field line.

Kirby mixed his pitches effectively throughout the game, helping keep a great Braves’ lineup off balance. He really leaned on his sweeper, throwing it 36% of the time — the most he’s thrown in a game this season. He was even throwing it 30% of the time to lefties, or about double his rate from his previous seven starts. He was clearly trying to back door the pitch, starting it way outside before scraping the outer part of the zone.

It often worked. In his final at bat of the game, Kirby started Mike Yastrzemski with a changeup right over the center of the plate, which he was clearly not expecting. Then he threw a biting hook that Yastrzemski chased at his toes. Kirby followed with two 96+ mph fastballs up, and Yastrzemski fouled them off. Then came the sweeper, looking like a fastball way up and away before landing right on the outer black for a called strike three.

“Tonight Garv did a good job establishing the outside to lefties with the sweeper, getting them to lean over and then attacking with heaters and then crowding them with spin. So, got a a lot of good weak contact…We game-planned to steal them back-door. I feel like that’s always been a good pitch of mine, I can get it there whenever I want to. And then with two strikes, I was able to get it down below the plate when I needed to. I’m always working on that pitch, trying to get some swings and misses.”

The paired pitches tool from FanGraphs illustrates just how tough it is for a batter to offer at that backdoor pitch:

Kirby’s final line was seven innings, six hits, one walk, four strikeouts, and a 65% ground ball rate. It’s sixth time in eight starts Kirby has gone at least six innings, and he’s now two-thirds of an inning short of Max Fried for the most in the majors.

“As a starter, I want to go as deep in the game as possible and give my team the best chance to win. So if it’s ground balls, great, strikeouts, awesome, if it’s a little bit of both, even better,” Kirby said.

Jose Ferrer came on in the eighth with the game stilled at 2-2. He delivered another impressive outing: strikeout, strikeout, pop out. He lowered his FIP to 2.31 in 18 innings, making him one of the top 15 relievers in baseball this year. Hhis role is only going to increase with Gabe Speier and Matt Brash each on the injured list.

Dan Wilson turned to Muñoz in the ninth with the game tied 2-2. He hung a slider not quite middle-middle but clearly within the reach of Olson, who deposited it over the center field wall at 110 mph. It was a leadoff homer that gave the Braves a 3-2 lead, which wound up being the final score.

It was the third home run Muñoz has allowed this season and raised his ERA to 6.00. He also picked up two more strikeouts to raise his K/9 to 15.00. He has a 3.81 FIP and 2.34 xFIP. This pesky homer problem crops up from time to time with Muñoz, mostly because he’s a reliever. A few bad outings looks like a streak when they come one inning at a time. The stuff continues to look dominant. I’m not worried.

Then there’s the Mariners lineup. Again, they struck out 16 times Tuesday. Cal Raleigh returned at DH after three days dealing with “general soreness” in his side, and he struck out three times. Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena, Mitch Garver, and Cole Young each struck out twice. Crawford also struck out twice, but he did this as well:

It’s the second homer in as many nights for Crawford, who swatted a tremendous go-ahead blast in Friday’s 5-4 win. He’s clearly seeing the ball well right now, drawing walks, avoiding strikeouts, and elevating to the pull side. Yes, the defense is worse than ever and unplayably bad — not an ideal for a team with several other DHs. But in general, Crawford remains with the team because he’s a solid hitter who can occasionally get scorching hot. His contact quality has outpaced his results most of the season, and the results are starting to come.

That’s the only positive thing to say about the offense Tuesday.

The Mariners will look to take the series Wednesday afternoon, with Bryan Woo facing Martín Pérez. The Braves have not lost a series in 2026.

On the same day that manager Torey Lovullo called the entire starting rotation into his office to tell them they needed to pick up the pace, Dbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez did just that and then some. ERod put this team on his back tonight shutting down the Pirates offense taking some of the pressure off his team and allowing them to get back to .500 on Cinco de Mayo as they beat the Pirates 9-0.

Eduardo Rodriguez was commanding all of his pitches to all parts of the zone today. His final line was 7 innings pitched, allowing only 2 hits, while walking 3, and striking out 7.  Early in the game he did a great job of getting some strikeouts on the curveball low in the zone. The curve is a pitch that ERod has not used much historically but tonight it was critical. That low curveball opened up the top of the zone for his fastball later in the game which generated a 47% whiff rate striking out 4 Pirates hitters. In the words of Jim McLennan earlier on twitter, only 2 AZ pitchers this year have thrown 7 shutout innings and Eduardo Rodriguez is both of them. Tonight’s outing lowered ERod’s season ERA down to 2.50, far and away the best of the starting rotation and I don’t even have to check.

The Dbacks offense got off to a great start in this one pushing across 2 runs in the first inning also pushing Pirates starter Bubba Chandler to 38 pitches. The Pirates actually had their bullpen up in the first and would’ve likely pulled Chandler had 1 more batter reached in the inning. Rather than continue to focus on getting the Pirates starter out of the game, the Arizona offense would proceed to have the next 7 batters get retired in order. This game was looking like it was going to be closer as the offense failed to record a hit in innings 2-5, however their patient approach would pay off in the 6^th inning as they sent 9 men to the plate and scored 5 runs blowing the game open.

The offense did do a much better job tonight staying patient at the plate walking 7 times creating a lot of base traffic and setting up some timely hits. Certainly a positive sign for an offense that has been perhaps overly aggressive in recent weeks. The most timely of the hits were a pair of doubles in the 6^th inning by Gabi Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo. It was also great to see some of Ketel Marte’s early season tough like start to dissipate tonight as he hit a triple, a single, scored 2 runs, and 2 RBI. Tonight was a good example of what this offense can do when they take their walks and cut down on the chase.

This was only the 2^nd win of 5 or more runs this season. Certainly a welcome beginning of the homestand for a team that has played so many high leverage close games. All eyes will be on Michael Soroka tomorrow night as he faces Paul Skenes. If Soroka can get back to the form he showed earlier in the season and keep this momentum rolling in the starting rotation, that could be a big boost for this team. Perhaps we will be able to look back on today as the day the starting rotation got back on track following a timely group meeting? Let’s hope!

An early lead with their ace on the mound wasn’t enough for the Giants to beat the Padres.

Casey Schmitt clubbed his second home run in as many games, and San Francisco built on that early advantage, but Logan Webb allowed it all back and more in a 10-5 loss Tuesday night at Oracle Park.

Webb was responsible for six of San Diego’s runs, including a five-spot in the fourth inning that turned the game in the Padres’ favor after the Giants jumped ahead 4-1 after two.

He didn’t return for the fifth, his shortest start of the year — only his 11th time in 140 starts since the start of 2022 going four innings or less. Manager Tony Vitello said knee discomfort was the reason Webb departed after only 62 pitches.

It put a damper on a night to remember for rookie catcher Jesus Rodriguez, who followed his first major-league hit and RBI in the second with a solo shot to right for his first career homer in the seventh.

San Diego brought nine men to the plate in the fourth. Only one run was in when Webb recorded the second out of the inning, but he allowed the next four Padres to reach.

Sung-Mun Song delivered the biggest hit of the inning — and the first of his MLB career — with a bases-clearing double that split Heliot Ramos in left and Drew Gilbert in center.

The six earned runs on Webb’s line were one away from a career high, raising his ERA to 5.06. It’s the highest mark he has carried this late into a season since 2021.

He had never allowed five runs in one inning at home before this season, but it has happened twice this year.

The Yankees also pounced on him for five runs in the second on their way to a 7-0 Opening Day win.

What it means

The Giants hit multiple home runs for only the fifth time this season, fewer than any team besides the Red Sox.

They had been unbeaten in those games but fell to 4-1 — 11-4 when getting any homers at all.

Who’s hot

Schmitt’s two-run shot stayed fair down the left field line for his team-best sixth home run of the season — his fourth in his past 10 games.

He has also hit safely in all but one of those games and now leads San Francisco in most offensive categories.

Meanwhile, Rafael Devers extended his hitting streak to a season-long six games with an opposite-field single. He stuck in the three-hole while Vitello slotted their other struggling veterans, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman, below rookie Bryce Eldridge in the lineup.

Jackson Merrill has been a thorn in the Giants’ side so far this series with five hits in nine ABs.

Who’s not

Adames struck out in his 15th consecutive game, matching the third-longest streak of his career.

While he singled and scored on Rodriguez’s knock in the third, it was just his seventh hit in 63 at-bats (.111 BA) since his last game without a strikeout.

Chapman came up empty in four tries and is now hitless in his past 21 at-bats.

Fernando Tatis Jr. moved down to fifth in the Padres order, the lowest he has batted since 2019, as his homerless drought to begin the season extended to 148 plate appearances with a 1-for-5 performance.

Tatis shot a double into right field and scored in San Diego’s big fourth inning, but he went down swinging against J.T. Brubaker with two on and nobody out his next time up.

Up next

RHP Adrian Houser (0-3, 7.12 ERA) gets the ball in the rubber match against RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 9.88 ERA). First pitch is set for 12:45 p.m.

Sung-Mun Song made his MLB debut in Mexico City against the Arizona Diamondbacks when the San Diego Padres added him to their roster as the 27th man. Song made an appearance as a pinch runner but did not do much more than that. Song changed that in his first MLB start when he hit a two-run double to left-center field to give the Padres a 5-4 lead in the top of the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants.

송성문 선수의 메이저리그 첫 안타! pic.twitter.com/p0FrjcUFJj

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 6, 2026

The double by Song was part of a five-run fourth inning for the Padres against Giants starter Logan Webb. San Diego entered the top of the fourth trailing 4-1, but after scoring five runs to take a two-run lead, they never looked back while earning a 10-5 win at Oracle Park Tuesday night.

Walker Buehler started on the mound for the Padres and surrendered two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a Casey Schmitt two-run home run. San Diego answered in the top of the second inning when Xander Bogaerts hit a solo home run to left field, but Buehler returned to the mound in the bottom of the second and quickly surrendered two more runs to San Francisco, giving them a 4-1 lead. Buehler settled in after the second and completed 5.1 innings allowing four runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

Bogey by the Bay. pic.twitter.com/QzrkkFSbeT

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 6, 2026

The new-look Padres offense continued to apply pressure to Giants pitchers, scoring runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings. Jackson Merrill was 3-for-5 with two runs scored two RBI and a stolen base from the leadoff spot. Miguel Andujar batted third and finished 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a run scored and an RBI. Gavin Sheets and Xander Bogaerts each finished 2-for-5 batting in the fourth and sixth spots respectively with Sheets adding a stolen base and Bogaerts opening the San Diego scoring with a solo home run in the second.

Perhaps the most notable change to the Padres lineup was Fernando Tatis Jr., who moved from the first or second spot in the lineup for much of the season, all the way down to fifth. Tatis Jr. finished 1-for-5 with a run scored.

San Diego will look to win the series when the two teams meet Wednesday at 12:45 p.m.

Nick Morabito continued his good run at the plate as Triple-A Syracuse dropped a 3-2 rain-shortened game, in six innings, to Rochester, on Tuesday night. 

Morabito notched a pair of singles in three at-bats and came around to score, raising his average to .284 and OPS to .864 through his first 30 games at Triple-A on the season, as he's 11-for-30 in his last 10 with four extra-base hits, four RBI, and eight walks.

Morabito, who turns 23 on Thursday, entered the 2026 season on the Mets' 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and as the No. 11 prospect on Joe DeMayo's Top 30 list of Mets’ prospects.

Ryan Clifford had a single and a double with an RBI and a walk in his three times at the plate on Tuesday. Both hits were scorched: 108.1 mph off the bat and 106.1 mph.

The No. 6 prospect raised his average to .234 with a .740 OPS in 32 games this year. He's got 11 extra-base hits (five homers) with 19 RBI.

A.J. Ewing, the No. 3 prospect in the Mets’ system, went hitless on Tuesday. Through his first seven games at Triple-A, the 21-year-old is batting .440 (11-for-25) with a pair of extra-base hits and two RBI and a 1.060 OPS.

Down in Port St. Lucie, Elian Peńa smacked a three-run home run for his lone hit in five times up. The 370-foot blast was smacked 104.7 mph off the bat. The Mets’ No. 7 prospect struck out twice, but is still batting .311 with a .866 OPS through his first 26 games of the year at Single-A

A night after letting another win slip through their fingers, the Atlanta Braves battled back to even the series in Seattle against the Mariners with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday.

In the top of the ninth, Matt Olson launched a solo homer off Mariners closer Andrés Munoz to give the Braves a 3-2 lead. Olson barreled the ball to center field, which kept cutting towards the left-center gap and cleared the fence. It was career homer No. 301 for Olson, who currently leads Major League Baseball in WAR. It ticked up a few more notches on Tuesday night.

MATT BLAST OFF 🚀#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/6SDRWblpDP

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 6, 2026

Offense was tough to come by for the better part of eight innings for the Braves, who seldom had much action on the bases against Seattle righty George Kirby. The lone rally came in the fourth inning — just moments after Seattle had taken a 2-0 lead — as Mauricio Dubon poked a ball down the right field line to score two runners. Dubon’s double and Olson’s homer were the lone extra base hits for Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Bryce Elder was, once again, fantastic for six innings. He struck out nine Mariners and generated 17 whiffs over 93 pitches. His lone mistake was a middle-middle fastball to JP Crawford that was crushed about 15 rows deep to the right field seats, but he was excellent otherwise. Through eight starts this season, Elder owns a stellar 2.02 ERA, 3.20 FIP and 3.83 xFIP. For a pitching staff with a lot of injuries and question marks, Elder has been a pillar of consistency through the first quarter of the season.

In relief of Elder, the vaunted trio of Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and freshly off the injured list Raisel Iglesias was nearly perfect. They recorded seven strikeouts across three innings, allowed just one soft single in the ninth to Josh Naylor.

The series will wrap up on Wednesday afternoon, and as of this writing, it seems Martin Perez may make the start in place of Grant Holmes. Whoever starts for the Braves will be opposed by righty Bryan Woo, who has pitched well the previous few years but is coming off two brutal starts in which he surrendered 13 runs across nine innings. First pitch is a much earlier 4:10 p.m. ET.

Top Yankees pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez took the mound Tuesday night for his second career start. 

After making his major league debut in Arlington against the Rangers, Rodriguez stood across the same lineup, but this time, in front of fans at Yankee Stadium.

"Better than what I expected. It was always a dream of mine pitching here," Rodriguez said after his start. "I was excited and it was a blast... Ever since I was a little kid, I was dreaming of playing in the big and hopefully play for the Yankees, extremely blessed and thankful for the opportunity to be here and wear pinstripes."

While it was a dream come true for Rodriguez, it started like a nightmare.

Rodriguez walked the first two batters of the game and it came back to bite him. That lack of control sullied what was otherwise a strong start from Rodriguez, and it was in danger of doing so again. The Rangers took advantage of the walks to put up a three-spot before the Yankees even came to bat. 

The young right-hander had to throw 37 pitches to get out of the first frame, but Rodriguez would find his way. He settled in and was able to pitch into the fifth for the second time and the offense was able to tie the score at 3-3. Rodriguez was close to getting through the fifth, too, but the Rangers got three on base before Aaron Boone had to pull his youngster. 

Brent Headrick came in and slammed the door on Texas to put an end to Rodriguez's stat line.

"Just having a hard time getting settled. Again, though, credit to him. It could have really gotten away there," Boone said of Rodriguez's performance. "To have two long at-bats to start it and lose them both. Then a base hit right away, to limit the damage somewhat and still grind his way through it. Proud of the effort and a great learning experience. You’re in the fire there. It can go haywire really quick. He didn’t flinch. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but he battled his butt off."

"First inning wasn’t the first inning I was trying to go for," Rodriguez said. "Two walks to start the game, I can’t be doing that. Makes me go into trouble, struggled a little bit there. After that, just tried to be simple, just go there, attack and not try to do too much and it felt like it worked better."

That simplification helped Rodriguez get through the bulk of his start, and leave runners on base -- the Rangers left 12 on Tuesday. He credited going one pitch at a time and executing. 

"I got good stuff," Rodriguez said. "Just trust in myself, stay in the zone and got good results."

"He’s got good stuff. He’s a good athlete," Boone said. "I feel like he was able to slow the situation down enough. In a night where he was struggling to get the ball where he wanted consistently."  

Following Tuesday's win, the Yankees optioned Rodriguez back to Triple-A.

The move isn't shocking. It doesn't have everything to do with Rodriguez's performances but with the imminent return of Carlos Rodon,who likely pitched his final rehab start with Scranton on Tuesday night.

Although his Yankee Stadium experience was brief, the 22-year-old can use that experience and continue his development at a level where he excelled. In his four starts with Triple-A this season, Rodriguez had a 1.27 ERA and walked just seven batters, just one more than his first two starts in the bigs, so the organization knows the control is there, and if he continues to pitch well this season, Tuesday may not be the last time Rodriguez dons pinstripes.

The good times: J.P. Crawford, +.14 WPA

The better times: George Kirby, +.16 WPA

Don’t cry for me: Andrés Muñoz, -.32 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

After the first month of the minor league season, MLB Pipeline reposted their top 100 prospects list with the graduation of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt. Catcher Ethan Salas, playing with the San Antonio Missions, has taken the 100th spot and re-entered the list after being left off at the start of the season.

He joins LHP Kruz Schoolcraft as the only two Padres prospects on the top 100 list, Schoolcraft is listed at No. 78. Salas has had an impressive first month with the Double-A Missions, again showing why he was so highly thought of as a 17-year-old. After losing all but 10 games of last season to a back injury, Salas spent the bulk of the year and the offseason working on his physical makeup and the mental side of the game. Reportedly gaining 15-20 pounds during that time, Salas studied film and worked with coaches to refine his mental approach and begin work on altering his swing.

Baseball America predicted his return to the prospect list on May 4.

Expect Ethan Salas to climb back up prospect rankings 📈

He’s slashing .353/.463/.810 with three homers over his last six games.

The Padres prospect could be putting together his best season to date 👀

(🎥@missionsmilb) pic.twitter.com/1Bi6QTGch9

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 5, 2026

The Padres have another young player attracting attention throughout baseball. Centerfielder Ryan Wideman, 22, who has blazed through the first month of the season with the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm, has been ranked No. 4 in the Padres system by ESPN (si.com is spreading the news). That puts Salas, Schoolcraft and LHP Kash Mayfield the top three with Wideman and RHP Tucker Musgrove rounding out the top five, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

Lake Elsinore Storm (5-1 over the week)

In other good news, Lake Elsinore has continued its winning ways and now sits atop the California League South Division with a 17-10 record. Newcomer, Qrey Lott, 21, brought up from Arizona to replace the injured Kale Fountain, has started with a bang. In eight games and 20 at-bats, the undrafted free agent from Northwest Florida State College is hitting .400/.500/.750 with a 1.250 OPS while playing both outfield corners. He has two home runs and nine RBI with four walks over those eight games.

The two other undrafted free agents playing with the Storm, Connor Westenburg and Bradley Frye, continue to hit well. Infielder Frye sits with a .347/.414/.507 line and has two home runs and 17 RBI. Outfielder Westenburg is hitting .315/.390/.425 with no homers but 13 RBI with four doubles and two triples.

Of the starters for the Storm, RHP Winyer Chourio has five games/four games started and 17 innings pitched with a 2.12 ERA. He leads the team in strikeouts with 26 and has eight walks. Fellow righty Bryan Balzer, the Japanese pitcher signed by the Padres in 2023 for $10,000, has finally found his stride after spending last season getting his feet under him. Not long after signing with the team he had Tommy John surgery and spent last season with the Storm working his way back into effectiveness.

Balzer, 21, has five games/four starts with 22 innings pitched and a 3.68 ERA. He is right behind Churio with 25 strikeouts and nine walks. Balzer boasts a four-seam fastball up to 97 mph, a sinker that sits around 93-94 mph, a sweeper, a changeup and a splitter (informative write-up here).

Reliever Ethan Long has three saves and a 1.35 ERA over 6.2 innings while striking out five. Javier Chacon has a 1.59 ERA over 17 innings with 24 strikeouts in his eight appearances.

The Storm benefited from the first two starts by Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito. He started two games and seven innings but did not factor into the decision for either game. He has now moved on to San Antonio for his start today.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (12-15 record, 4th in Midwest League East)

OF/1B Alex McCoy leads the TinCaps with a .330 average and has five home runs and 14 RBI. He has also walked six times with 24 strikeouts. Outfielder Jake Cunningham continues to reassert himself with Fort Wayne, showing a .325 average and .391 OBP with six home runs and 16 RBI. He also leads the team in slug at .636 and has the best OPS at 1.027.

RHP Carson Montgomery has four starts and 17 innings pitched with a 2.12 ERA with 13 strikeouts and seven walks. In his first season back after Tommy John surgery, Montgomery made his debut with the Storm in 2024 but this is his first full professional season. He is a sinker/slider pitcher that also mixes in a changeup so it would be expected that he would have a high ground ball rate.

Reliever Clay Edmondson, a 14th-round pick from the 2025 draft, has five saves and a 0.75 ERA in his 12 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and three walks. The sidearmer, who hits the mid-90’s with his fastball, has appeared in 10 games and allowed no home runs so far.

San Antonio Missions (7-20 record, last in Texas League South)

The Missions continue to struggle through the start of the season despite the break out performances of Ethan Salas, infielder Carson Tucker and DH/1B Leandro Cedeno. Cedeno leads the team with a .345 average, .441 OBP, .586 slug and 1.027 OPS. he has played in 16 games with 58 at-bats and has three home runs and nine RBI. At 27, he is far older than anyone else on the Storm roster and is making his transition stateside after playing the last several seasons in Japan and Venezuela.

Not far behind is 19-year-old Salas who has a .307/.402/.573 line with a .976 OPS in 22 games and 75 at-bats. He has five home runs (tops on the Missions) and 14 RBI (also first) with 21 strikeouts and 12 walks. Salas hit those five home runs in the span of seven games and has been on fire for the past two weeks.

Pitching for the Missions has been problematic. RHP Eric Yost is the best starter in his 6 games/3 games started and 22 innings pitched. He has a 3.27 ERA with 27 strikeouts to 15 walks. Top prospect Miguel Mendez is on the IL as is Luis Gutierrez.

Reliever Johan Moreno has appeared in 9 games and 15.2 innings pitched with a 1.15 ERA and a save. He has 17 strikeouts and 6 walks. Righty Francis Peña is staging a comeback after a rough 2025 second half. He sits at a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings pitched in his 9 appearances. He has 16 strikeouts but is still fighting with his command at times and has 14 walks.

El Paso Chihuahuas (15-18 record, 4th in Pacific Coast League East)

The Chihuahuas broke even over their past six games and have infielder Will Wagner back after his long stint on the injured list. Wagner strained an oblique early in spring training and just returned this past week to El Paso.

Outfielder Samad Taylor leads the team with a .330 average, a .750 slug, a .990 OPS and is second with six home runs and second with 21 RBI. Infielder Pablo Reyes leads with a .430 OBP due to his team leading 18 walks. Outfielder Jase Bowen has seven home runs to lead the team and infielder Mason McCoy has broken out the power this season with 24 RBI and six home runs.

Sung-Mun Song hit his first home run and has 15 RBI and three doubles but has struck out 27 times with 11 walks. His hard-hit rate remains low at 34.8% and he still has no barrel and a .354 slug. His home run was clocked at 94.6 mph off the bat. His line is a respectable .293/.364 otherwise and his OPS sits at .717.

RHP Evan Fitterer, 25, a free agent sign who was in the Marlins system for six years, has seven games and five starts for El Paso with a 0.98 ERA, 20 strikeouts and seven walks over his 18.1 innings pitched. That is an anomaly in the PCL with hitters only able to generate a .203 average against him. Lefty Jackson Wolf is the only other starter with an ERA below 5.00.

The best reliever is Ethan Routzahn with a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings and 13 appearances. He also has two saves and is tied with Alek Jacob for saves on the team. All other pitchers have ERA’s over 4.00 and many well over 5.00.

Yuki Matsui, who must be activated back to the Padres, finished his time in El Paso with a 4.97 ERA over 12.1 innings with 14 strikeouts and three walks.

The early season has not been kind to Chihuahuas pitching and their best starter, Matt Waldron, has been with the Padres since his third start with El Paso.

ACL Padres (Arizona Complex League)

The rookie league season has begun, and the Padres played their first game on last Saturday. They started the season against the Milwaukee Brewers rookies, and the season plays through July 23. There are undrafted free agents, 2025 draftees and international sign players on the roster. Several of the top players are transfers from last season’s Dominican Summer League team. As a side note, for those long-term Padres fans out there, former Padres pitcher Ernesto Frieri is the pitching coach for the ACL Padres.

Taiwanese pitcher Lan-Hong Su, the Padres No. 18 prospect, made his debut in the system. Su, 19, was the player signed by the Padres after missing out on Roki Sasaki in the international signing competition. He has high upside and should be closely monitored as he adds bulk to his 6-1 frame as well as development with MLB coaching.

Infielder Jhoan De La Cruz, infielder Luis De Leon and infielder Yimy Tovar are all international prospects to watch with the ACL team. Outfielder Cardell Thibodeaux, 22, drafted in the 15th round of the 2025 draft and former big leaguer Alex Verdugo, 29, who is working his way back from a sub-par 2025 where he was released by the Braves in July, both will be watched as well.

The ACL team played their first game last Saturday and lost to the Brewers 12-0 with five pitchers giving up eight hits and 12 earned runs with 12 walks. The offense only managed three hits over the game. IF De La Cruz went 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts while 3B De Leon went 1-for-2. Catcher Ty Harvey, rehabbing from an injury, was 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

Thomas Harding of MLB.com is reporting that the Colorado Rockies have signed RHP Jordan Romano to a minor-league contract.

Source: #Rockies have reached a Minor League contract with RHP Jordan Romano, most recently with the #Angels. Before entering game action, Romano will report to the team's performance lab in Scottsdale, Ariz.https://t.co/D41s2pRxrt

— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) May 6, 2026

On April 26, the Los Angeles Angels designated Romano for assignment; on April 27, he was released. The Angels must still pay the remainder of is $2 million salary with the Rockies only responsible for the prorated league minimum based on the time Romano spends on the roster.

In recent years, Romano, 33, has struggled, so the Rockies decision to send him to their Scottsdale pitching facility makes sense.

Romano was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2014 MLB Draft (10th round) and with their MLB team from 2019-2024. During his time with the Blue Jays, he earned a 2.90 ERA in 229.2 IP. In 2022 and 2023, the closer was named to the American League All-Star Team.

However, his 2024 season, the last with the team, was marred by injury when he pitched just 13.2 innings and posted a 6.59 ERA. Romano had mid-season surgery to fix an impingement in his throwing shoulder and missed the remainder of that season.

In 2025, he signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he continued to struggle. Over 42.2 IP, he earned an 8.23 ERA.

While with the Angels, Romano had 8.o IP. He recorded a 10.13 ERA that included 12 Ks and four saves.

According to Baseball Savant, Romano boasts a three-pitch mix: a four-seamer (94.5 mph), a slider (84.7 mph), and a splitter (86.6), all of which have seen declines in velocity in recent years.

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There’s many, many reasons why baseball is the best game on Earth, but one of my favorites is its relentless ability to produce wildly unexpected results. Take tonight as a perfect example: This was as close to a guaranteed Red Sox loss on paper as you could get. You had (among other things):

• Brayan Bello and his 9.12 ERA set to go on the mound as the bulk guy.
• Brayan Bello pitching so poorly in recent starts that the Red Sox used Jovani Moran as an opener in front of Bello (where he immediately gave up two runs in the first inning).
• Roman Anthony away from the team seeing a hand specialist in Boston hoping to avoid a trip to the IL.
• Masataka Yoshida and Marcelo Mayer both on the bench because of a lefty on the mound for Detroit.
• Jarren Duran going 0-5 with three strike outs from the top of the lineup when he’d been the team’s hottest hitter over the last handful of games.
• Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman both likely running on empty as they had each pitched in both of the last two games. (So even if the Sox got a small lead, they might have had trouble holding it.)
• Lastly, they were on the road facing Framber Valdez, who had held opponents to two earned runs or less in six of his seven starts this season.

So what did that combination of ingredients produce? The most dominant Red Sox victory of the season of course! (Yes, more dominant than the 17-1 win in Baltimore. That score was largely inflated by a position player pitching the ninth inning.) Once again, baseball’s gonna baseball!

And apparently, Framber Valdez is gonna Framber Valdez, because after spending the first three innings of this game getting his face ripped off, he decided he wanted out by any means necessary. The only problem was his manager, A.J. Hinch, had other ideas.

After losing Tarik Skubal to elbow surgery and having to run a bullpen game yesterday, Hinch and the Tigers needed innings out of Valdez tonight. So even though Valdez was getting his teeth kicked in during the first three innings to the tune of eight runs allowed – Which let’s face it, is about 15 runs against a normal lineup the way the Red Sox bats have looked in 2026 — he was sent back out there for the fourth with his pitch count sitting at just 56 bullets fired.

The first thing he did in an act of defiance was serve up this meatball to Willson Contreras, which couldn’t have been any more in the Goldilocks zone unless it was in the Three Bears fairytale.

Here’s what Willson Contreras did with that early birthday gift (it’s coming up next week on the same day as Roman Anthony’s):

But that moonshot still didn’t get Framber Valdez out of the game — Because again, A.J. Hinch needed innings from his pitcher. So after giving up another home run to Wilyer Abreu, Valdez took matters into his own hands by getting himself ejected. And he did this on his very first pitch of the next at bat that drilled Trevor Story in the back right between the numbers:

You want to know why this guy didn’t get signed off the free agent market until February despite oodles of talent and plenty of plus pitches? This clown show right here!

The Tigers needed a big start from Valdez tonight after yesterday’s Tarik Skubal news, and not only did he not deliver, but he got into a pissing match with his manager about leaving the game that escalated to the point where he found a way for the umpires to throw him out instead. What a weasel move!

But of course, he wasn’t going to admit that:

Framber Valdez on the HBP to Trevor Story:

"It was not intentional. It was not on purpose. It may look like that, but it wasn't."

— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) May 6, 2026

If he couldn’t pitch, Valdez would make a really great used car salesman.

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Meanwhile, Over The Monster’s own Jake Roy has a question for everybody:

Which one do you think hit him https://t.co/4Q2oRFspIHpic.twitter.com/1TjaDcsYYK

— Jake Roy (@Jake3Roy) May 6, 2026

From there, Jake did more research and found even more damning evidence:

Including today, Framber Valdez has thrown 30 four-seam fastballs over the last four seasons. Four of them have hit batters. This one, in 2023, was in a 0-0 count immediately following a home run. Like tonight, it was also his first four-seam of the season https://t.co/eYWUwJBIicpic.twitter.com/0GQqrl0cds

— Jake Roy (@Jake3Roy) May 6, 2026

Red Sox manager Chad Tracy also wasn’t buying what Valdez had to say:

Chad Tracy says he’s sure Framber Valdez threw at Trevor Story intentionally.

“It was weak,” Tracy said.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) May 6, 2026

Even Valdez’s own manager wasn’t defending him. Here’s A.J. Hinch’s comments on the matter:

“We play a really good brand of baseball here. That didn’t feel like it. I’m not judging intent. But I know when you go out on the field in those confrontations, you usually feel like you are in your right. It didn’t feel good being out there.”

When your own skipper is throwing you under the bus, that really says it all.

Three Studs

Ceddanne Rafaela: 3-5 with four RBI including this first inning home run to the opposite field to set the tone.

Wilyer Abreu: Went 3-4 with a home run. Here’s his blast:

Brayan Bello: I have to give credit where credit is due. As much as I’ve hated watching Bello pitch this season, he did his job tonight covering the middle seven innings to the tune of just one earned run, and perhaps more importantly, just one walk. It will be interesting to see what the team does from here because unlike tonight, it appears they’re going to have options.

Bonus Stud

Alec Gamboa: Made his major league debut in the ninth inning and sent the Tigers down in order. Here’s his first career strikeout and his family’s elated reaction:

Welcome to the Big Leagues 👏

Alec Gamboa strikes out Zach McKinstry for his first Major League strikeout 🥳 pic.twitter.com/ZhL2D7jjYU

— NESN (@NESN) May 6, 2026

This stuff never gets old! And also, it’s another one of those reasons why baseball is the best game we’ve got.

Three Duds

Jarren Duran: 0-5 with three strikeouts. This comes just one night after he hit an opposite field three-run homer in a one-run game. Again, baseball being baseball.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 0-4 from the bottom of the lineup. His OPS is down to .449.

Jovani Moran: His opening inning looked a lot like most of Brayan Bello’s starts this year, giving up a pair of runs on a pair of walks and three hits. However, this was one of the RARE games where it didn’t really matter what the starting pitcher did.

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Looking ahead, Sonny Gray is due to come off the IL tomorrow evening and face off against Jack Flaherty, who has gotten rocked in each of his last two starts. I would say this puts the Sox in a great position to sweep the Tigers, but if today taught us anything, it’s that baseball games aren’t played on paper and tend to be wildly unpredictable.

Oh, and also that Framber Valdez is a spineless scoundrel. We got a front row seat for that lesson.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thank you for stopping in. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We’ve still got a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you to grade Craig Counsell’s job as manager. I said over his entire tenure because I think it’s hard to not give him an “A” for this year unless you’re a complete curmudgeon. Also, because I think 35 games is too small of a sample size in baseball to judge anything. With that in mind, 47 percent gave Counsell an “A” and 46 percent gave him a “B.” The rest gave him a “C” and not even one single person voted “D” or “F.”

Honestly, that’s about as good an endorsement as a manager can get from the fans in the stands without winning a World Series.

On Tuesdays I don’t do any movie stuff, but there’s always time for jazz. You can skip it if you want.

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Tonight we’re taking a visit to Brazil as the legendary Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim plays some of his bossa nova classics “One Note Samba” and “Desafinado.”

This is from 1964.

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Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.

The Cubs got their first walk-off home run of the year last night from an unlikely source—pinch-hitter Michael Conforto.

That was a big home run, obviously. But was it the best? Was it your favorite? Was it the one that made you yell so loud you woke the neighbors? Or was there another one that had your family check in on you to make sure you were OK?

I’ve picked six home runs that I think are candidates for the best Cubs home run of the year (so far). I only picked home runs from wins. Then I looked at home runs with a high Win Probability Added. I didn’t go exclusively with that because there were some that maybe didn’t look big at the moment but turned out to be big in the end. (Happ’s home run is like that.) Maybe you would have another list, but I’m the one here writing the article. You can vote for “other” if you have another candidate.

To refresh your memory, here are the candidates.

Carson Kelly’s 3-run pinch-hit home run vs the Mets on April 18 [VIDEO]. Kelly’s home run broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning. The Cubs went on to win 4-2.

Seiya Suzuki’s solo home run against the Phillies on April 23 [VIDEO]. The home run gave the Cubs an 7-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth. It was spoiled a bit by Caleb Thielbar giving up a home run in the top of the ninth and blowing the save, but the Cubs would win in extra innings to sweep the Phillies and win their ninth straight.

Dansby Swanson’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth versus the Dodgers on April 24 [VIDEO]. This was a big one. The Cubs trailed this game 4-0 until they scored three in the seventh, one in the eighth and took the lead for good on Swanson’s homer. The win was the Cubs’ tenth-straight.

Matt Shaw’s solo home run versus the Padres on April 29 [VIDEO]. The Cubs were beating the Padres 4-3 in the top of the eighth. It turned out to be a huge insurance run after the Padres clawed back another run in the bottom of the inning. The Cubs would go on to win 5-4.

Ian Happ’s solo home run against the Diamondbacks on May 2 [VIDEO]. The wind was blowing in on this one and neither team could manage much offense. It looked like the Cubs were going to win this game 1-0 until they scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. They ended up winning 2-0.

And finally, Conforto’s walk-off home run from last night [VIDEO].

So now it’s time to vote.

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Shohei Ohtani is no longer unsullied by the longball this season. Yet he was still pretty outstanding against the Houston Astros.

Ohtani absorbed his second loss of the season − and gave up his first and second home runs this year − as the Astros held off the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, on Tuesday, May 5 at Houston's Daikin Park.

It's Ohtani, so that also means even in defeat, superlatives are involved. And Ohtani worked a season-high seven innings − his longest outing since July 27, 2023, when he pitched a one-hitter − and took over the major league ERA lead.

His Tuesday outing ensured he had enough innings to qualify, and Ohtani's 0.97 ERA is the only mark below 1.00 among qualified starters. He's holding opposing batters to a .160 average, bested only by teammate Tyler Glasnow's .146 mark.

On this night, though, a train-tracks bomb from Christian Walker and an opposite-field wall-scraper from Braden Shewmake into Houston's Crawford Boxes were enough to beat him. The homers comprised two of the four hits the Astros managed against Ohtani, who struck out eight.

"The hits were homers, so in that sense it was efficient," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, "but it wasn't something that was good."

And once again, the Dodgers kept Ohtani out of the lineup, so he could concentrate on pitching. On this night, they theoretically could have used him − but Ohtani is also 0 for his last 17 at the plate.

"I think offense, including myself, hasn't done a great job scoring runs. I'm sure if there was a situation where I was hitting well, they'd want me to hit and pitch as well," Ohtani said. "But I understand focus on pitching and turn the page on hitting."

Has his one-track mind when pitching hindered him at the plate?

"I don't think so personally that the pitching has affected the hitting," he says, "but at the same time it's been longer than expected. It's not ideal I'm trying to find that (hitting groove) in the game."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani pitching performance in Dodgers vs Astros not his best

Some honors for Cubs prospects came today. Infielder Pedro Ramírez was named International League Player of the Month for April. Ramírez batted .323/.398/.625 for the month and led the league-lead in home runs (seven), RBI (28) and runs scored (24). He also stole ten bases.

Right-hander Brooks Caple as named Midwest League Pitcher of the Month. Caple went 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in four starts. He struck out 24 and walked only three over 18.2 innings for the month.

Fangraphs released their Top 34 Cubs prospects yesterday. It’s interesting because they take into account the first month of the season in these rankings. The now-graduated Moisés Ballesteros is number one, so their current top Cubs prospect is infielder Jefferson Rojas.

Here’s their top ten.

1. Moisés Ballesteros
2. Jefferson Rojas
3. Pedro Ramírez
4. Jaxon Wiggins
5. Kevin Alcántara
6. Josiah Hartshorn
7. Ethan Conrad
8. Kane Kepley
9. Brooks Caple
10. Owen Ayers

Anyway, check out the full list.

There were a lot of moves in the system since Sunday.

Second baseman Hayden Cantrelle was moved from Triple-A Iowa to Double-A Knoxville

Right-hander Tyler Santana also went from Iowa to Knoxville.

Right-hander Brooks Caple was promoted to Knoxville from High-A South Bend.

Right-hander Jackson Kirkpatrick also went to Knoxville from South Bend.

Shortstop Alex Madera was demoted to South Bend from Knoxville.

Shortstop Geuri Lubo was sent to Low-A Myrtle Beach from South Bend

Right-hander Eli Jerzembeck was promoted to South Bend from Myrtle Beach.

Left-hander Pierce Coppola joins Myrtle Beach from the Development List.

Right-hander Jostin Florentino was assigned to the rookie ball ACL Cubs from Myrtle Beach. (That’s probably procedural as Florentino hadn’t pitched for the Pelicans yet this year.)

Catcher Haydn McGeary was released.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were sunk by the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 9-6.

Ty Blach took the loss after giving up six runs on ten hits over the first 3.2 innings. Blach walked one and struck out three.

DH BJ Murray connected for a three-run home run in the fifth inning, his fifth on the campaign. Murray was 1 for 5.

Center fielder Justin Dean doubled and tripled in a 2 for 5 night. Dean drove in two and scored once.

A double for Kevin Alcántara. He was 1 for 2 with two walks.

114 mph off the bat of The Jaguar! pic.twitter.com/8aKEHVhzrQ

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 6, 2026

Murray’s home run.

Fifth home run of the season for B.J. Murray! pic.twitter.com/prWbpURZLw

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 6, 2026

A two-run triple for Dean.

Right back in it! pic.twitter.com/rVXtSN6UeD

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 6, 2026

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies overthrew the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 10-4.

Yenrri Perez started and got his first win of the year after five scoreless innings. Perez allowed three hits and issued one walk while striking out four.

Jackson Kirkpatrick got a rude introduction to Double-A. In the one inning Kirkpatrick pitched, he gave up four runs on two hits and three walks. Only two of the four runs were earned, however. Kirkpatrick struck out one.

The Smokies jumped out to an early lead when shortstop Jefferson Rojas hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was his fourth of the year. Rojas went 2 for 4 with a walk and three overall runs batted in.

Third baseman Karson Simas made it 4-0 with a two-run home run in the second, his third this year. Simas went 1 for 4 and scored twice.

Center fielder Carter Trice had two doubles and one triple in a 3 for 4 night. He also walked once. Trice went 3 for 4. He had three RBI and scored once.

DH Owen Ayers was 2 for 3 with two walks and two runs scored. He also had one run batted in.

The Rojas home run.

Rojas with Homer number four on the year pic.twitter.com/NMZ0VSaOcc

— Todd ⚾️🐻🦌 (@CubsCentral08) May 5, 2026

An up-close look at the Simas HR.

Karson Simas sends a 2-run shot over the wall. Our second 2-run homer in the first two innings 🔥 Smokies up early, 4-0. pic.twitter.com/TVZC2XKJxK

— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) May 6, 2026

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs stripped the Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics), 9-1.

Starter Cole Reynolds retired the first nine batters of the game in order before leaving after three innings. Reynolds struck out five.

Adam Stone pitched the next three innings and got the win because Reynolds didn’t go five innings. Shaw surrendered one run on four hits. He walked one and did not strike anyone out.

Nate Williams threw two scoreless innings and Kenyi Perez one to close out the game.

Center fielder Kane Kepley showed the wheels with two triples tonight. Kepley went 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored three runs and drove in one.

Shortstop Ty Southisene is off to a great start to his High-A career. Tonight Southisene was 2 for 3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. He had two RBI and one run scored.

Third baseman Matt Halbach was 3 for 4 and scored once.

Kepley’s first triple led off the bottom of the first.

Not wasting any time!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/mPZF3jgMvr

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 5, 2026

Right-fielder Kade Snell just missed a home run. He settled for an RBI double. Snell was 1 for 5.

Raising Kane!#SBCubspic.twitter.com/ei8k3YyyfF

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 5, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans boiled the Hickory Crawdads (Rangers), 7-5.

David Bracho threw the first 3.1 innings and allowed three runs on two hits and three walks. One of the three runs was unearned. Bracho struck out four.

Bracho left the game in the fourth inning with two on. He was relieved by Victor Zarraga, who gave up a three-run home run to the first batter he faced to make it 4-2 Crawdads. But he stayed in the game and got the win when the Pelicans came back. Zarraga allowed one run on three hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out two and walked no one.

Jordan Henriquez pitched the final two innings and got the save, despite giving up a solo home run in the eighth. Henriquez allowed one run on two hits. He struck out one and walked no one.

The Pelicans re-took the lead in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run home run by second baseman Jose Escobar. It was his second home run this year. Escobar was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn was 3 for 5 with a double. Hartshorn had three RBI and one run batted in.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez also went 3 for 5 with a double. He scored three times.

RBI double in the first inning for Hartshorn.

Josiah’s got the fiesta started 🎉 pic.twitter.com/ATChil9LA9

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) May 5, 2026

Escobar’s home run.

“EL PRIME” has once again done the thing that he is very good at doing.💪 pic.twitter.com/f1W1claUEn

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) May 6, 2026

ACL Cubs

Beat the Rangers, 8-7.