It’s even tougher when you have to do it on a cold, windy night.
Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta knew exactly what he’d be facing going in, though, and he tired to stay as prepared and loose as possible throughout Wednesday’s outing.
“It was crazy weather,” he said postgame. “I knew what I was facing, though. I knew it was going to be a little crazy so between innings I was riding a bike to keep myself warm and ready to go.”
That resulted in Peralta gutting his way through five scoreless innings of work.
The Rockies did do a good job of making him battle, as he threw a total of 91 pitches on the night, but he held their offense in check and left with a big-advantage still in place.
Peralta only struck out one, but limited Colorado to four hits and a pair of walks.
“I think it was good,” he said. “I was hoping to get into the sixth inning, but it was crazy -- my pitch count was a little high, but other than that I thought it was pretty good.”
“He found a way,” Carlos Mendoza added. “On a day where they put fouled off tough pitches and put together good at-bats, he gave us five and kept us in the game -- he attacked even when he got behind, so it was a good outing.”
Peralta pitched well enough to earn his second Mets win, and his first since Opening Day against the Pirates.
“It feels really good,” he said. “It’s funny because [Luis] Torrens was just asking me like ‘how long have you been pitching without a win?’ And I told him it was Opening Day and he was surprised -- me too.”
New York has suddenly found its footing a bit following the brutal stretch of play, going home victorious in three straight games and locking up back-to-back series to open the road trip.
“This is what I expected,” Peralta said. “This is who we are, we have to keep it that way.”
Let’s run the table on a short slate with action throughout the day, starting in the afternoon. There are a few clear pitcher fades and favorable winds blowing out, making MLB player props ripe for the taking.
After initially targeting Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bobby Witt Jr. on the matinee slate, I'm capping things off with Miami Marlins infielder Otto Lopez in a favorable matchup against a flailing Orioles pitching staff.
Here are my favorite MLB home run predictions for Thursday, May 7.
UPDATE: Added another HR pick + parlay.
Best MLB home run props today
Player to hit a HR
Odds
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
+760
Bobby Witt Jr.
+452
Otto Lopez
+670
💲Today's HR parlay
+29283
Home run pick: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (+760)
I want a left-handed New York Yankees bat this afternoon with 9-mph winds blowing out to right field at Yankee Stadium. MacKenzie Gore is a lefty, but left-handed hitters are actually taking him deep at a higher rate than righties. He also carries the third-highest HR/FB rate among all starters on today’s slate.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has already taken Gore deep in a small nine-at-bat sample. He homered Tuesday, and three of his 11 hits over the last 12 games have left the yard. His bat-tracking metrics are checking every box as well, ranking among the top Yankee hitters in BlastContact% while posting strong marks in swing speed, SqUpContact%, and Ideal Attack Angle.
There’s also a useful stat that measures attack direction — the horizontal angle the ball comes off the bat, essentially tracking pull vs. late contact — and Chisholm’s +8-degree mark points to heavy pull-side barrel contact that plays perfectly with the short porch and the wind.
The fair price for this +EV homer is around +580.
Time: 12:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: YES, Rangers Sports Network
Home run pick: Bobby Witt Jr. (+452)
The wind is howling out to center at Kauffman Stadium at 15 mph, and Slade Cecconi is a great pitcher fade. The Cleveland Guardians starter has allowed five HRs over the last three starts and a whopping 26 hits over those 16 innings. His Ks are down, and the walks are up, leading to an increase in HR/9.
Bobby Witt Jr's fair price to go yard this afternoon is around +390. It's tough to go wrong with any of the big Kansas City bats today with this setting and matchup.
This is also a great spot to stack some HRRBI for the Royals, and there could be runs as KC starter Seth Lugo is coming off a season-high 103 pitches, and there might be three arms unavailable in the Royals' bullpen.
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Royals.TV, Guardians.TV
Home run pick: Otto Lopez (+670)
The Miami Marlins have a circled matchup today against lefty Cade Povich and an overworked Baltimore Orioles bullpen. I have Povich rated as a Bottom-5 starter on the slate, and his spot with the Orioles could disappear once Trevor Rogers returns.
Povich lasted just 12 outs in his last start while allowing two home runs, and if he can’t cover innings again, Baltimore will have to lean on a bullpen that may be without three arms, including closer Rico Garcia. That entire relief group owns a 7.84 ERA over the last two weeks, and 47 innings is more than enough sample size to take seriously.
This Baltimore bullpen is bad.
I’m going back to Otto Lopez, who sat yesterday but will likely lead off against the southpaw. He’s been crushing lefties this year with a 1.004 OPS.
Lopez has a hit in nine straight games with five extra-base hits during that stretch and is playing some of his best baseball of the season with 20-HR potential. He could get five plate appearances today and multiple cracks at that Baltimore bullpen.
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Where to watch: MASN, Marlins.TV
Josh Inglis' 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 10-61, -9.41 units
Today’s HR parlay
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Bet Now +29283
Bobby Witt Jr.
Otto Lopez
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
I keep telling you that there’s something special about this Cubs team.
Maybe if they keep pulling out wins like the one Wednesday night against the Reds, you’ll believe me. I almost have no words… oh, wait, I’ve got about 1,700 words to describe Wednesday’s amazing comeback win.
After the team had one of their worst innings of the entire season, blowing a two-run ninth-inning lead and … well, I’ll get to the rest of that… the Cubs tied the game up, got a solid scoreless inning from a pitcher who had just arrived and was only there because of yet another injury, then won the game on a walk-off walk issued to Michael Busch. The Cubs’ 7-6, 10-inning win was their eighth in a row and their 14th straight at Wrigley Field.
Caught your breath yet? Let’s rewind to the beginning of this bonkers game.
Colin Rea walked the first batter of the game, TJ Friedl. That almost never winds up being a good thing, and it wasn’t in this case, as Friedl moved to second when Rea threw a pickoff attempt away and scored on a single by JJ Bleday.
The Cubs wasted no time in taking the lead back. The first two Cubs in the first grounded out, then Alex Bregman singled.
Perspective: This was the Cubs’ 37th game of the year. Last year — when Happ hit 23 home runs — he hit his ninth in the team’s 75th game. The homer was the 182nd of his career, moving Happ ahead of Alfonso Soriano into 12th place on the franchise home run list. Next up: Hack Wilson, 190.
The Reds threatened in the third. Two singles put runners on first and third with nobody out. Rea struck out Bleday, then with the infield in, Busch made this good play [VIDEO].
Rea served up a home run ball to Matt McLain in the fifth to make the score 4-2. Rea was finally lifted with one out in the sixth after putting runners on by a walk and a single. He got one out on a ground ball, then Jacob Webb was summoned. Webb’s been pretty good lately and he got out of the inning with a pair of ground outs — the second, though, required this slick grab from Bregman [VIDEO].
The Cubs had a chance to extend the lead in the seventh. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Swanson began the inning with singles, but Nico Hoerner hit into a double play. Craig Counsell sent Matt Shaw up to bat against left-hander Sam Moll, but Terry Francona countered with Pierce Johnson, so Counsell sent Michael Conforto up to bat for Shaw. That’s something you used to see a lot, but not now with three-batter minimums and four-man benches.
Anyway, Conforto could not replicate his heroics of Monday; he grounded out to end the inning.
Phil Maton threw a 1-2-3 eighth. That’s good because, well, the Cubs need good relievers they can trust right now, what with all the injuries.
Tip o’ the cap there — that could have been a double or triple, instead it was a 402-foot out.
Then, the ninth. If I can be permitted to second-guess Counsell a bit, Webb had thrown only 14 pitches to record five outs. Perhaps he could have thrown the eighth and Maton the ninth. I agree with Counsell on not using Daniel Palencia on back-to-back days, yet, coming off his injury.
So it was Corbin Martin to try to save this game. Friends, you know he did not do that. He served up a leadoff homer to Spencer Steer, then allowed singles to Will Benson and pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson. That was it for Martin, and Hoby Milner came on to protect what was now a one-run lead.
McLain attempted a bunt. Milner thought he had a play at third, and he might have, only he hesitated just for the tiniest moment and Benson was safe. Milner then struck out pinch-hitter Dane Myers, only to see Bleday hit a single, tying the game.
Suzuki made a nice grab, then fell down. What you can’t see on the clip is that he flipped the ball to PCA, whose throw was too late to prevent two runs from scoring on Elly De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly.
The four-run ninth was a disaster, one of the Cubs’ worst innings of 2026, as noted above.
Did that matter? No, it did not!
Busch led off and was called out on strikes on a pitch overturned on a challenge. Then Kelly singled.
With one out, the Cubs had a chance to walk it off in regulation, but Swanson popped up and Hoerner grounded out.
On to the 10th and Milner walked the first Reds hitter he faced. Now there are runners on first and second with nobody out. Trent Thornton was summoned. Raise your hand if you knew, when this day started, that Thornton would be pitching for the Cubs in this very high-leverage situation. (No, no you did not, he’s only there due to the injury to Matthew Boyd.)
Thornton did his job exceptionally well. He got Steer to hit into a double play. Pinch-runner Blake Dunn wound up on third, where he was stranded when Thornton got Benson to ground out. Thornton is 32 and signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in January. He’s had some decent years in the past in Toronto and Seattle, and this outing, well, the Cubs need that “next man up” theory to hold and it did in this inning.
In the bottom of the 10th, Miguel Amaya was sent up to bat in the DH spot, for Conforto. Remember that Shaw had already been used, the only other bench bat was Nicky Lopez. Amaya was being sent up to sacrifice the placed runner (Nico), and he did so successfully. So now Hoerner’s on third with one out. The Reds chose to intentionally pass Bregman. Happ, though, struck out for the second out in the inning. The Reds then decided to intentionally pass Suzuki. You don’t see this sort of thing often in walk-off situations anymore; teams think it’s too big of a risk when, as was the case here, a walk ends the game.
Busch, who was the wak-off hero Tuesday, was the hitter. He ran a 3-0 count. One more ball and the Cubs win. The fourth pitch was close, and it appeared Busch had challenged — but the umpires didn’t allow it. Counsell came out for a discussion, but the game continued. As it turned out, the pitch was a strike, so the challenge wouldn’t have done anything. A very close pitch, but a strike:
Just can’t say enough about this team. Even with that awful ninth, you had the feeling that somehow, this Cubs team would come back and win, and so they did. From BCB’s JohnW53:
Last night’s win made Monday-Wednesday just the fourth time since 1901 that Cubs have had three straight walk-offs vs. the same team:
Aug. 16-18, 1932, vs Braves Aug. 28, 30 and 31, 1932 vs Giants Sept. 27-28, 1943 vs Giants (doubleheader on 28th).
They have had three straight walk-offs vs. different teams since then, most recently in 2009.
The injury to Boyd, noted above, will have some ripple effects, obviously. Javier Assad likely slots back into the rotation, and for now, Thornton takes his bullpen place. We’ll discuss over the next days and weeks where Jed Hoyer might go for starting pitching help. As for the pen, I’d think this game might be the end of Corbin Martin’s Cubs career — after starting out this year reasonably well (including a save against the Dodgers!), Martin’s last three outings have resulted in one total inning pitched, six hits, four walks, two home runs and six runs allowed for a 54.00 ERA. I’m not sure who the Cubs could add today to replace Martin — Ethan Roberts, currently on rehab assignment, threw an inning for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday.
There will be more on WPA in Heroes and Goats at 10 a.m. CT, but check out this game’s chart (Bluesky link):
17 total wins 10 comeback wins 9 wins after allowing the first run 6 one-run wins 4 walkoff wins 4 wins after trailing in 8th or later 3 extra-inning wins
No other MLB team in the modern era has done all of that over any 20-game span. pic.twitter.com/65oRrdidb5
The Cubs now lead the NL Central by 3.5 games over the second-place Cardinals and five games over the Brewers, Reds and Pirates.
The Cubs will go for nine in a row, 15 straight at Wrigley, and a four-game sweep Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and Rhett Lowder goes for the Reds. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Reds market territories).
Apr 25, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford (2) steals second base against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Despite their recent winning ways, the Phillies offense is still struggling to produce runs on a consistent basis. There hasn’t been much power to be found outside of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and Brandon Marsh is still the only other hitter who has been anything close to consistent.
Perhaps the Phillies should look to alternative methods to help boost their offense. In Rob Thomson’s time as manager, the Phillies stole the ninth most bases in baseball with 503. Bryson Stott had the most on the team over that span with 103. Trea Turner is second despite joining the team in 2023 with 88 steals. The team was mostly efficient at stealing too, only being caught 102 times, good for a success rate of around 80%.
However, the Phillies entering Wednesday were 19th in stolen bases this year with 21. Stott and Turner haven’t run often so far, combining for just nine steal attempts, but neither have been caught yet either. In addition to those two major threats from previous years, the Phillies also now employ another major stolen base threat in Justin Crawford. Crawford stole 46 bases last year while only being caught 11 times at Lehigh Valley, but so far in the majors he’s only swiped three bags and has already been caught twice. He has not quite found his footing yet as a base stealer in the majors.
Outside of those three, Brandon Marsh would be the next logical candidate. He’s swiped all three bags he’s attempted this season after swiping seven on eight attempts in 2025. J.T. Realmuto has been an underrated base stealing threat in years past and he totaled eight on ten attempts last year, but it’s likely the Phillies will not ask him to steal as often in order to preserve the 35-year-old catcher’s legs. Bryce Harper stole 12 bags last year while being thrown out twice but has already been thrown out once on three attempts this season.
So, should the Phillies attempt to steal mores bases? Is it a good way to try and find some offense? Or are they better off not running into outs with the few baserunners they actually have?
Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez (3) pours gatorade onto Miami Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2) after sweeping the Atlanta Braves in the series on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, at loanDepot Park in Miami. (Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Well, they got the series loss out of the way. Not surprisingly, it came in a series where the games weren’t really managed with urgency on the pitching side. Now, the season standings are what they are, so I can get soft-pedaling things, though it’s not actually any more enjoyable to watch in the moment than if the standings were more dire. But, it’s not like the team’s first series loss was some kind of devastating blow.
Right now, getting swept also wouldn’t be a devastating blow. But, we also don’t know that the Braves will get swept any time soon. Do you think they will? If so, when? Who’s gonna achieve it?
The 2024 Braves didn’t get swept until early May… by the Dodgers… on a road trip to Seattle and Los Angeles… after losing a series to the Mariners.
The 2023 Braves actually got swept in late April by the Astros.
The 2022 Braves were never swept.
The 2021 Braves were swept in their first series of the year… as were the 2019 Braves. Both happened in Philadelphia.
The 2020 Braves were only swept in a two-game set in Games 19 and 20 of that shortened season. A funny thing there was that they were swept at Yankee Stadium, and then later that month, swept the Yankees in two games at home. The team only participated in one other sweep the rest of the way.
The 2018 team also lasted until early May, where they were swept at home by the Giants.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 06: Starting pitcher Cole Ragans #55 of the Kansas City Royals throws a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium on May 06, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Cole Ragans exited after just 3 innings, in last night’s 3-1 loss.
After just 58 pitches thrown across three innings, starter Cole Ragans exited the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday with left triceps and elbow soreness. He’ll undergo further testing and evaluation on Thursday to determine the severity and next steps.
Ragans said he felt tightness creep into the back of his left triceps and just above the elbow throughout the third inning. He got out of a jam that had runners on first and third with two outs with a popup to get him through his third scoreless frame, but when he got back in the dugout, he alerted the Royals’ coaching and training staff of the tightness.
“It got to a point where I didn’t feel like I needed to push it anymore,” Ragans said. “Talked to [pitching coach Brian] Sweeney and all of them, and figured that was the best decision.”
Carlos Estevez made his first rehab outing yesterday in Omaha… it didn’t go well.
Three batters into the outing with Triple-A Omaha, Estévez was exiting with shoulder discomfort, motioning to his right arm as a trainer came out for a mound visit.
Estévez was traveling back from Indianapolis, where the Storm Chasers were playing, on Wednesday. He’ll undergo further testing and evaluation on Thursday, manager Matt Quatraro said after the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday night.
He averaged 90 mph with his four-seam fastball on Wednesday – a pitch he averaged 95.9 mph with last season. His changeup registered at 81.2 mph, while his slider clocked in at an 81.4 mph on average.
Eric Cerantola, who made his MLB debut last night, was tabbed as a prospect with future closer potential.
Cerantola spent all of 2025 with Triple-A Omaha and found some success, posting a 4.04 ERA and 29.6 percent strikeout rate over 49 innings. He’s returned to the International League for this season and been even more dominant (1.42 ERA, 33.3 K%) and a big reason is that he took his slider — which was already his primary pitch, and a dominant one — and improved it by adding about five inches more drop and cutting some of the gloveside break. He’s thrown the slide piece 56.8 percent of the time, and opponents have a .069 average and 59.2 percent whiff rate against it. He also shows a mid-90s four-seamer.
“In high school, Hammond was a standout, two-way talent. As a pro, he’s hitting only—but he’s really hitting. He jumped straight to Low-A and has been one of the most productive players on his team and in the Carolina League overall. If he develops the way the Royals hope, he could be a true five-tool talent.”
Kevin O’Brien of Royals Keep talked about how the Royals have won the Isaac Collins/Nick Mears trade.
O’Brien also talks about the Royals starting rotation.
The Yankees (25-12) and Rangers (17-19) meet this afternoon in the Bronx to close out their four-game series.
Nathan Eovaldi was the story last night. The veteran shut down the Yankees’ bats, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out eight over eight innings as Texas rolled to a 6-1 win. Corey Seager and Evan Carter each drove in a pair of runs to pace the attack for the Rangers. Aaron Judge mashed his 15th home run of the young season to account for New York’s run.
First pitch today is 12:35 p.m. EDT. One the bump for New York will be Paul Blackburn (1–1, 3.21 ERA) while the Rangers will send out MacKenzie Gore (2–2, 4.67 ERA). As far as hitters to watch, of course keep an eye on Judge who has launched six home runs in his last ten games. Josh Jung was 0-5 yesterday to snap his 13-game hitting streak. The third baseman is hitting .323 for the season.
The Yankees hold a 3–2 edge in the season series.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Yankees vs. Rangers
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Yankees vs. Rangers
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: New York Yankees (-149), Texas Rangers (+123)
Spread: Yankees -1.5 (+135), Rangers +1.5 (-163)
Total: 8.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers: Yankees vs. Rangers
Pitching matchup for May 7:
Yankees: Paul Blackburn Season Totals: 14.0 IP, 1-1, 3.21 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 9K, 4 BB
Rangers: MacKenzie Gore Season Totals: 34.2 IP, 2-2, 4.67 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 45K, 18 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Yankees vs. Rangers
MacKenzie Gore has not pitched into the sixth inning in any of his last 5 starts
Trent Grisham is 5-31 (.161) over his last 8 games and 6-39 (.154) over his last 10
Cody Bellinger is enjoying an 8-game hitting streak (13-30)
Jasson Dominguez is 0-8 in his last 2 games
Cory Seager is 5-20 (.250) in May
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Yankees vs. Rangers
The Rangers are 10-11 on the road this season
The Yankees are 13-6 at home this season
The Yankees are 22-15 on the Run Line this season
The Rangers are 19-17 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed an MLB-low 14 times for Texas this season (14-20-2)
The OVER has cashed 17 times for the Yankees this season (17-18-2)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions: Yankees vs. Rangers
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s game between the Yankees and the Rangers:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Yankees on the Moneyline.
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The New York Yankees will look to win a series this afternoon when they face the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers grabbed a bit of a surprising blowout win last night, giving them their first win of this series. That won’t repeat here.
Read all about it in my Rangers vs. Yankees predictions and MLB picks for Thursday, May 7.
Who will win Rangers vs Yankees today: Yankees moneyline (-135)
There’s a pretty big matchup problem for MacKenzie Gore here. He’s posted a 90th-percentile strikeout rate in the early season, showing his ability to miss bats. That will give him success against parts of this New York Yankees lineup.
The rest, though, will be a problem.
He pairs his strikeout prowess with a walk rate in the Bottom 25% of the sport and a 12th-percentile barrel rate. That combo will punish him sooner or later when facing a lineup that is bottom in chase rate and Top 3 in both barrel plus hard-hit rate.
On the other side, I’m always a fan of backing Paul Blackburn — filling in for Ryan Weathers — as I view him as one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball over the last two seasons. Why? Contact suppression. He doesn’t give up many barrels, which should play well here. I’d take this to -155.
Rangers vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-105)
Despite scoring 10 runs over the last two games, this isn’t a Rangers lineup that puts up crooked numbers by design. Blackburn’s breaking ball and offspeed pitch both grade above the 80th percentile by run value, which should provide dividends against this weak offense.
As mentioned, Gore’s strikeout ability will keep a large portion of this Yankees offense from stringing stuff together too often as well.
Texas and New York also feature two of the strongest run-suppressing bullpens in MLB, ranking 1st and 3rd, respectively, in reliever ERA.
I’d play this to -120.
Chris Hatfield's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 13-12, +1.6 units
Over/Under bets: 16-10, +7.72 units
Rangers vs Yankees odds
Moneyline: Rangers +123 | Yankees -149
Run line: Rangers +1.5 (-163) | Yankees -1.5 (+135)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-115) | Under 8.5 (-105)
Rangers vs Yankees trend
The New York Yankees have hit the Moneyline in 12 of their last 15 games (+7.85 Units / 33% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rangers vs. Yankees.
How to watch Rangers vs Yankees and game info
Location
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Date
Thursday, May 7, 2026
First pitch
12:35 p.m. ET
TV
RSN, YES
Rangers starting pitcher
MacKenzie Gore (2-2, 4.67 ERA)
Yankees starting pitcher
Paul Blackburn (1-1, 3.21 ERA)
Rangers vs Yankees latest injuries
Rangers vs Yankees weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
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May 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Members of the New York Mets celebrate defeating the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
The offense showed up in a big way in the Mets’ 10-5 win over the Rockies. Marcus Semien led the offensive charge with a four-hit night that included a home run. Juan Soto also went deep leading off the game to set the tone early on. The pitching struggled a bit, but the Mets have now taken the first two games in the series with a snow day in between.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 06: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Urakami/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Rangers 6, Yankees 1
The Rangers have won a game! Huzzah!
Not only did the Rangers win a game, they won it against one of the two teams in the American League with a record better than .500.
That’s right, its mediocrity as far as the eye can see in the A.L. right now.
Outstanding work by Nathan Eovaldi. Really top notch.
Eight innings, eight Ks, which is some nice symmetry. 101 pitches, of which almost two-thirds were either splitters or curveballs.
And even when Eovaldi did go fastball, he primarily used his cutter, which he threw 23 times. He only went with the fastball nine times, and threw four sinkers.
19 whiffs for Eovaldi, eight of them coming on the curveball. He threw it a lot more often than usual on Wednesday, and you can see why.
The only damper was a home run by Aaron Judge, but I’m pretty sure Aaron Judge homers every game so we can let that go.
Plus the Rangers actually scored some runs.
Novel concept, that.
Evan Carter homered and Corey Seager homered. We like that, right?
The Rangers are two games below .500 now, but still just a game back of the A’s, and tied with the Mariners. That mediocrity I was talking about earlier, you know.
I mentioned that the Yankees are one of two teams in the American League above .500. They are 25-12, tied with the Cubs for the second-best record in baseball, behind the 26-12 Atlanta Braves.
The other team in the A.L. above .500? The Tampa Bay Rays. They are 24-12.
Yeah, that surprised me, too.
Tampa has won 6 in a row and 12 of their last 13. In fact, Tampa has three six game winning streaks so far this year. Its weird.
So there are four teams with 12 losses currently. There are also four teams with 23 losses — the Astros, the Angels, the Giants, and the Rockies.
And there are six — count ‘em, six — teams with exactly 20 losses. That seems like a lot.
Nathan Eovaldi touched 96.8 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.0 mph. Jacob Latz’s fastball reached 95.5 mph.
Jake Burger had a 109.1 mph single and a 103.0 mph ground out. Ezequiel Duran had a 107.6 mph double and a 102.3 mph sacrifice fly. Evan Carter had a 106.2 mph ground out, and his home run was 99.6 mph. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.2 mph ground out. Corey Seager’s homer was 101.7 mph.
Juan Soto had only hit in the leadoff spot two times in his big-league career prior to this week.
But when Carlos Mendoza approached him with the idea of moving him there in an effort to create more traffic for the Mets' shorthanded offense, he was all-in.
"I told him right away, whatever he wants," Soto said. "Wherever he wants me I'll be there -- anything I can do to help the team out, I'm going to be open to it."
Soto went hitless in his return to the spot during Monday's series opener, but he was able to do some damage against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen to open the ballgame Wednesday night.
Just three pitches into the ballgame, he jumped all over a low-and-away curveball, crushing it 435 feet to left-center for his fourth homer of the season and the first leading off in his career.
"It's great," Soto said. "To be able to punch first in the first inning with the team is always great -- it gets the guys going and helps the starter sit and breathe a little starting the game with the lead, it's definitely great."
That ended up being Soto's only hit in the ballgame, but he did drive in another run with a sacrifice fly as the bottom of the Mets' order got things going again during the middle innings.
New York struck three times in the fourth, four in the sixth, and two in the ninth in a much-needed 10-run outburst.
Brett Baty, Carson Benge, Marcus Semien, and Francisco Alvarez combined to account for 10 of the team's 15 hits while scoring eight runs and driving in five out of the five-through-nine spots in the lineup.
Semien spearheaded the effort by delivering the team's first four-hit game of the season.
"It's always great to have the bottom of the lineup producing and helping the top part of the order have some breathing room," Soto said. "It was great to see those guys come through like that."
Soto did appear to have a bit of an injury scare, but he told Carlos Mendoza that he was fine.
The Mets will look to complete their first series sweep since the beginning of April with Christian Scott taking the ball for the third time this season on Thursday afternoon.
"It's important to continue winning series," Mendoza said. "It's important to come back and get the third one tomorrow -- but it is good to see the guys playing loose, playing with confidence, and not trying to do too much."
The Los Angeles Dodgers finished their road trip at .500, and are exhaling in a multitude of ways.
The most immediate concern was for their starting pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, who exited Wednesday’s matinee game against the Houston Astros just after taking the mound to warm up for the second inning. Initial news was that it was Glasnow’s lower back that was bothering him.
Back pain is nothing new to Glasnow, who has dealt with it most of his major league career. Most recently the 6’8” pitcher skipped a start last September dealing with what he called “tall guy back”. In 2024 he also dealt with it but avoided the IL.
Glasnow did not put up too much of a fight when the trainer came out to talk to him. He had thrown 19 pitches in the first inning, and that would be all he would throw. After the game, Manager Dave Roberts said that there would be a precautionary MRI when the team returned to Los Angeles, but Glasnow is not expected to land on the IL.
“I think today, given the situation with Tyler, it couldn’t have been a better outcome,” Roberts said.
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic has more info on Glasnow and the pitching staff as a whole here.
Another thing that led to a happy flight home was the offense continued to score against the Astros. The team scored eight in Monday’s game, only one in Tuesday’s game, but then erupted for 12 runs in Wednesday’s game.
They started the game by scoring on three different wild pitches off the arm of Lance McCullers Jr, but that triplet was overshadowed by Andy Pages’ three home runs. He had half of the RBI and made some great plays in center.
“Just having a lot of confidence in what I’m doing up there,” Pages said through interpreter Juan Dorado. “The bad streak really happened when I was hitting the ball well and hitting the ball hard, just not finding a lot of holes. But staying to my plan, staying confident in my approach, and the results are coming now.”
Courtney Hollman of MLB.com covers more of Roberts’ thoughts on the day.
The end of the exhale was over other certain players performances at the plate. Shohei Ohtani had a double to right center in his second at bat, and added a walk and an RBI single to his day. Kyle Tucker’s bat also seemed to come alive in Houston, going 7-for 21.
Bill Plunkett of the OC Register goes in depth with quotes from players here.
The Dodgers will need all cylinders firing together as they will begin a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves on Friday, who are owners of the best record in all of MLB.
The story of this game was the performance from Rorik Maltrud. He went 7 scoreless innings giving up just one hit with 8 strikeouts. He has had a really awesome season as his ERA is down to 2.08. He is a little older than you’d like to see for a prospect who is just now pitching well in AAA but he has been the Clippers best starter.
It wasn’t a huge day offensively for the Clippers but there were a couple nice performances. George Valera and Nolan Jones both went 2-5. Stuart Fairchild went 1-3 with a smoked double and a two walks. Kody Huff went 2-2 with 2 RBIs and a double. He has had a really nice season thus far.
Ralphy Velazquez continues to have a great season in AA. He went 1-3 with two walks last night and is now hitting .297 with an .893 OPS on the season. He should be promoted to AAA sooner rather than later in my personal opinion. Jacob Cozart went 2-4 with an RBI double. Nick Mitchell went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI double.
It has been a rough season for Dylan Delucia but he had an excellent outing today. He tossed 4 scoreless innings while striking out 6 batters and walking just 1. His ERA sits at 8.41 on the season. Carter Rustad also had two scorless innings of relief with two strikeouts and no walks. He has had a really nice season as his ERA is down to 1.10.
Is it just me or does it seem like Great Lakes(Dodgers affiliate) has owned the Captains for years now? It was a rough performance overall from the Captains. Jogly Garcia was someone with a bit of hype coming into this season and it has been rough for him. His ERA is up to 7.25 on the season after giving up 6 runs in just 4.1 innings. The Captains totaled just 3 hits in this one, two of those coming from Ryan Cesarini that included a HR.
The Howlers were the only affiliate to win today, and it was mostly due to their pitching performances. Nelson Keljo allowed 2 runs in his 3 innings pitched, and then the bullpen allowed just 1 more run in 6 innings with 9 strikeouts.
Robert Arias continues to be the most impressive young prospect on a team full of young impressive prospects. He went 0-1 with 3 walks tonight. He is hitting .323 with an OPS of .933. Anthony Martinez went 2-4, Yeiferth Castillo went 1-4 with an RBI double, and Yerlin Luis walked it off with a solo HR in the bottom of the 9th.
May 6, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
A few weeks ago upon the news of Angels franchise icon Garret Anderson passing away, John wrote a tribute to him, saluting him as one of the great Yankee Killers of recent vintage. Although David Ortiz was far more famous, Yankees pitchers were also quite flummoxed by having to pitch to Garret.
Now today, we’re on the other side of the ball and on the heels of the Yankees once again getting rolled by the man we’ve taken to calling “an old frenemy,” Nathan Eovaldi. The Yanks have lost just twice in the last nine games, and both times were at Eovaldi’s hands. The former Yankee has pretty much always pitched well in such situtations, with a 2.82 career ERA in career 153 innings against New York (including his two playoff wins with Boston), and he’s been especially good of late. Since the start of 2025, he’s allowed a grand total of two runs in four starts across a span of 29 innings, a minuscule 0.63 ERA. Goodness.
With Eovaldi’s excellence in mind, who do you think is the best Yankees Killer on the mound? If you need a refresher, there are some good names to consider. Hall of Fame southpaw Randy Johnson was brutal for just about everyone to deal with, and he helped two separate teams send the Yankees home in October around a time when that wasn’t happening very often — first with the 1995 Mariners, just before the dynasty really got humming and then with the 2001 Diamondbacks, who effectively ended the championship run. He even pitched in relief during the win-or-go-home elimination games on both occasions!
There’s also Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Cliff Lee, Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander, and of course the originally-named “Yankee Killer,” midcentury All-Star Frank Lary. Knuckleballing Hall of Fame swingman Hoyt Wilhelm also had a 1.98 ERA in 209.1 career innings against New York around the same time as Lary, and he threw what still stands as the last complete-game no-hitter against the Yankees back in 1958. If you want obscure and random, I remember the Red Sox having a soft-tosser named Frank Castillo who absolutely gave the Yankees fits in the early 2000s. More recently, Cristian Javier and Brayan Bello have been tougher customers against the Yanks than most other teams.
So take your pick! I think Johnson probably has too much of a resume to ignore, but if we’re talking non-Hall of Famers, boy was it never, ever fun to face Cliff Lee. And like Johnson, he made the Yanks look awful in postseason play pretty much whenever he got a chance.
It’s not surprising that the Yankees’ front office wanted him so much, nearly trading for him in July 2010 and falling short in the 2011 free agent sweepstakes. If you prefer to be optimistic (in a way) though, maybe it would’ve just turned out like Johnson’s own up-and-down, abbreviated Yankees career.
Today on the site, Peter will focus in on an at-bat from David Bednar’s five-out save on May 5th for his Sequence of the Week feature, Madison will have the Rivalry Roundup, and Jonathan’s Yankees Birthday post discusses Tom Zachary, who won a World Series in pinstripes in 1928 but is most famous for something he did before ever joining the Yankees: surrendering Babe Ruth’s then-record 60th homer of the legendary 1927 campaign. Later, Estevão will ponder the extremely middling American League landscape, and after the matinee, Jeremy will pay his respects to the late John Sterling with a tribute from the perspective of an aspiring broadcaster in his own right.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Bobby Witt Jr.
Otto Lopez
COVERS INTEL: Blackburn’s contact suppression is best highlighted by 
