Category: Baseball

After a disappointing end to Monday’s game when the bullpen imploded, the St. Louis Cardinals will try again Tuesday night as Matthew Liberatore will start against the Washington Nationals who will send Cade Cavalli to the mound. Start time is 5:45pm central time as the game is scheduled to be viewable on Cardinals.tv. Here’s the starting lineup shared by the Cardinals.

The Dodgers finish off their six-game road trip with an afternoon start on getaway day against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Shohei Ohtani gets the ball in the series finale, the rotation maneuvered such that his next two pitching starts will come the day before a scheduled team off day. Since his last pitching start, last Tuesday against the Cleveland, Ohtani hit three home runs, through Monday’s series opener in Toronto.

Dylan Cease, who signed a $210 million, seven-year contract with the Blue Jays in the offseason, starts the series finale. He has 18 strikeouts in his first two starts for Toronto, with a 2.79 ERA in 9 2/3 innings.

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Blue Jays
• Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto
• Time: 12:07 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Here’s what that means for when fans may see him on a mound again.

Today, the Houston Astros announced SP Hunter Brown has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 shoulder strain.

pic.twitter.com/rhkNpySVkc

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 7, 2026

Here is what that likely means:

Often times, a Grade 2 shoulder strain involves partial tearing of a muscle/muscles in the “shoulder stabilizers” – usually the rotator cuff.

Grade 2 sprains typically involve the posterior rotator cuff – they are usually caused by the deceleration process after the release of the baseball. These muscles keep the ball joint of your shoulder in place while throwing.

It can also involve the muscles of the shoulder blade.

Grade 2 strains are usually treated with rest and anti-inflammatories early (First 2 weeks), followed by range of motion exercises and band work (next two weeks), then increasing to light weights and movements (next 2 weeks).

Next would be starting a light throwing progression around week 6. For a Starting Pitcher like Brown, this is a 6 week injury in a perfect world, 8-10 week injury in a more realistic world.

As long as he gets through all his stages with no pain, he should be able to fully recover without surgery.

If the first ten games of the season didn’t resemble a flaming trainwreck, the conversation going into tonight’s affair would be centered around everybody going gaga over the sensational pitching match up, and for good reason. Not only do we have Garrett Crochet taking on Jacob Misiorowski, but we’ve got a cold night at Fenway with the wind blowing in from the northwest threatening to further suppress any offense. It could almost disguise itself as a World Series Game 1 type slate if you completely ignored everything else going on.

And oh boy, is there other stuff going on. Roman Anthony is back at DH after another concerning throw from left field in the eighth inning yesterday, Jaren Duran reenters the lineup hitting second following a day off, and Willson Contreras, who was ready to fight the entire Brewers team last night (and threatened to do so tonight if he’s hit again) will bat third.

Missing from the lineup are Caleb Durbin and Masataka Yoshida, and as Over The Monster’s own Jacob Roy points out, that could be a mistake.

Here's how the Red Sox have fared against high-velo fastballs from RHP in 25-26. Durbin and Yoshida are on the bench against Misiorowski, who averages 98.6 mph with his FF pic.twitter.com/Q28kh7bSOs

— Jake Roy (@Jake3Roy) April 7, 2026

Here’s the full lineups for what could be yet another eventful evening at Fenway Park:

⚾️ First Pitch: 6:45 pm – Fenway Park

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

After snapping their losing streak with a comeback win last night, the Nats are looking to win their second series of the season tonight. The Nationals bats have been red hot to start the season, while the pitching staff has been hot garbage. Hopefully the Nats arms can put up more zeroes tonight.

With a lefty on the mound, the Nats have made a few lineup tweaks. March legend Joey Wiemer is back in the lineup and in right field. Curtis Mead will get the start at first base and hit second. Daylen Lile will move to DH, while Keibert Ruiz gets the start behind the plate. Despite his heroic play last night, James Wood will slide over to left field. Nats ace Cade Cavalli will look to give the Nats length in his third start of the season.

run it back

→ https://t.co/iUBDqlACVspic.twitter.com/b82MakDv8k

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 7, 2026

The Cardinals are rolling with a similar lineup, but with a couple tweaks. Pedro Pages will be behind the plate, which slides Ivan Herrera to DH. That means Nolan Gorman will be at third base, replacing Ramon Urias. Jordan Walker will be a man to watch. He looks like he may finally be figuring it out this year. Matthew Liberatore will be on the mound for the Red Birds.

Game 2 in Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/MnlnMlmrDF

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 7, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 6:45 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Last night was a ton of fun, and this offense is really rolling. The pitching is very much a work in progress, but it is great to see the boys mashing. This is the opposite of what we saw in Spring Training, which shows how little those results really matter. I can’t wait to watch CJ Abrams, James Wood, Brady House and the boys mash. Follow along in the comment section below and let’s go Nats!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Reds fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Entering play on Tuesday in Miami, the Cincinnati Reds have so far this season scored just 2 (two!) runs from their leadoff spot. That’s the lowest of any team in baseball this side of the Atlanta Braves.

It hasn’t been a product of bad luck, either. Reds leadoff men so far this season have posted just a .245 combined wOBA (4th worst), 48 wRC+ (tied for 4th worst), and a comical .000 ISO (in case you’re not into math, that’s the lowest it could possibly be). In other words, the setter of the Reds table so far this season has been just about as bad as you could imagine.

It’s not the only reason the Reds have scored the fewest runs (28) of any Major League Baseball team so far this season, but it’s certainly a big part of it. When you consider that the team is collectively hitting the ball harder this year than in a long time – among the hardest-hitting clubs in the league so far – it is a wonder why those smashes aren’t driving in the team’s leadoff man more often.

We all know TJ Friedl has been the team’s leadoff man almost every night this season. We also know he’s struggled mightily out of the gate in a way we’ve not really seen from him before – he’s only 10 games removed from a 2025 season in which he posted a damn near elite .364 OBP, after all.

But when you take a closer look at his current Statcast ranks, everything aside from coaxing a walk looks just about as bleak as it gets.

Courtesy of Baseball Savant

That begs the question…should Friedl, who’s just about to turn 31, still be counted on as the team’s everyday leadoff man? Or should manager Terry Francona turn the responsibilities over to someone else – Matt McLain has already had the opportunity up top once so far this season, though there are a couple other Reds who profile decently well there.

Who should be the Reds leadoff hitter going forward?

Let us know in this week’s MLB Reacts poll!

The Brewers and Red Sox kicked off their three-game series last night with a hectic back-and-forth game. The Brewers took the first game 8-6, but not without some extra drama. That will likely carry over into tonight as the two teams play their second game, with the Brewers going for the series win.

Both teams will send out their Opening Day starters for their third starts of the season. Jacob Misiorowski has picked up where he left off last season, allowing just three runs in his first 11 innings covering those two starts. In each start, it was a home run that caused the damage: a solo home run in his first game against the White Sox. and a two-run shot in his second against the Rays. He also has allowed six total hits and five walks in those starts, but has paired that with 18 strikeouts. The 100-pitch mark appears to be the upper limit for him, as he was pulled at 94 pitches in both of his starts.

For the Red Sox, Garrett Crochet gets the start. He opened up the season with six shutout innings against the Reds, then was roughed up for five runs (four earned) in his second start against the Astros. So far this season, he has 15 strikeouts compared to just two walks in 11 innings. In their last meeting, the Brewers scored two runs off of him in 6 2/3 innings.

Here are the lineups for tonight. Brice Turang is getting his first day off in the regular season, but it’s not just about the matchup. Before the game, manager Pat Murphy said that Turang is dealing with a foot/ankle injury. More information will be available later, but that likely means he will have the full day off. Christian Yelich is also not in the lineup, but will be available off the bench.

Murphy provided a couple of other injury updates before the game. Both Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn will have follow-ups on Thursday in their recoveries. Also, Rob Zastryzny was pulled back from his rehab at Triple-A. He was diagnosed with an intercostal muscle strain, and his estimated return has been pushed back to late April or early May.

With Turang and Yelich both out of the lineup, the Brewers have shuffled it a bit to face the lefty. Brandon Lockridge will lead off with William Contreras in his usual second spot. Luis Rengifo and Gary Sánchez are batting third and fourth, with Joey Ortiz jumping up to fifth. Luis Matos will serve as the designated hitter, and Sal Frelick and Blake Perkins will fill out the outfield. David Hamilton finishes up the lineup at second base.

First pitch is set for 5:45 p.m. The game will be on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

Game two from Fenway

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ#ThisIsMyCrew x @NicoletLawpic.twitter.com/aumTzXAL7y

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 7, 2026

1st Fenway Crochet Day of '26. pic.twitter.com/Gryb9s0KjS

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 7, 2026

This past weekend, the Athletics won their first series of the season, taking two of three at home. The A’s and Houston Astros traded blowout wins in the first two games of the weekend series before the hosts clinched the series with a win on Easter Sunday. Designated hitter Brent Rooker’s three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning won a game in which his team twice gave up leads. The A’s offense had to consistently rise to the occasion to overcome their pitchers allowing an MLB-high 24 walks in those three games.

The A’s schedule does not get any easier. Following those three home games, the team heads to New York City for a weeklong trip. Tonight marks the first of three games against the New York Yankees followed by three at the New York Mets. Both of these teams are off to strong starts this season and carry payrolls double the A’s. It will be difficult, but the team has the chance to make some early noise should they win at least one of these series.

Right-hander Aaron Civale is set to make his second start of the season this evening. The veteran right-hander picked up the win in his A’s debut, only allowing two runs in five innings pitched in the A’s first victory of the season March 31 against the Atlanta Braves. Having successfully navigated the tough Braves lineup, he looks to win his second straight start. However, the Yankees lineup led by reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge presents a major challenge for Civale to overcome.

Here’s the Athletics lineup for the opener in the Bronx:

Hellooooo New York 🗽 pic.twitter.com/77CcUdOayK

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 7, 2026

Today’s A’s lineup features all of the regular starters in their main spots in the batting order. Nick Kurtz, who is once again hitting leadoff, started to heat up in Sacramento, collecting two hits and three walks in Sunday’s game. It would be surprising if Kurtz does not hit his first home run this series as Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field is incredibly appealing to left-handed power hitters.

The Athletics offense seeks to keep rolling tonight, yet runs may be harder to come by against Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler. Last season, Schlittler recorded a 2.96 ERA in his first 14 MLB starts. He then threw eight shutout innings in game three of the Yankees wild card series against the Boston Red Sox. This season, Schlittler has raised his game to another level. The 25-year-old has won his first two starts, striking out 15 in 11 2/3 scoreless innings. The A’s will need to take advantage of the opportunities he gives them today. That means jumping on mistake pitches, not chasing pitches outside the strike zone and maybe playing some small ball rather than every batter swinging for the fences.

The Yankees starting lineup behind Schlittler shakes out like this:

Cam Comin' Through.#RepBXpic.twitter.com/iGzBdJkp8o

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 7, 2026

Civale must be careful pitching to this lineup. Judge and first baseman Ben Rice already have three home runs off him in their careers. Those two plus Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton will be poised to take advantage of any mistakes Civale makes in his outing.

Can the A’s make it two wins in a row and capture the first game of this series between two historic American League franchises? Let’s go A’s!

The Cleveland Guardians faced off in game 2 of the 3 game series against the Kansas City Royals. In what was meant to be a later game, the rescheduled day time affair saw great pitching and a walk off victory.

Gavin Williams continues to cement himself as the front runner for the role of Ace. Gavin threw 102 pitches, giving up the only Royals run and hit as a solo shot. In 5.2 innings of work, Williams allowed only one hit, five walks, and struck out eight.

Despite this all, the Guardians pitching staff did struggle with giving the Royals free bases. In total the Royals drew eight walks; 5 from Williams, 1 from Herrin, and 2 from Armstrong. Erik Sabrowski though, he continued to dominate with a clean 15 pitch seventh inning. He threw 10 strikes and faced 3 batters.

José had a nice defensive gem to nab the speedy Bobby Witt Jr. at first base.

Cleveland offense out hit the Royals 8-1 with the entire bench exhausted over the duration of the game. Steven Kwan went 1-for-4 with a two-out RBI single that scored a hustling Austin Hedges from second base.

Austin Hedges continued his version of a hot start, going 1-for-3 with a run and a single.

The two biggest hits of the game came in the second and the ninth innings. Juan Brito made his long awaited major league debut as Gabriel Arias was placed on the 10-day IL. Brito slapped a double in his first major league at bat.

In the bottom of the ninth, with the game tied, the Royals sent Nick Mears to the mound to face the 6-7-8 batters. CJ Kayfus started things with a one-out single to right field. Bo Naylor drew a walk, advancing Kayfus to scoring position. Brayan Rocchio, with an even count, knocked a low 80’s changeup to Lane Thomas in right field to walk it off for Cleveland.

San Diego Padres vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, April 7, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home hosting the San Diego Padres this evening at beautiful PNC Park for a three-game series in Pittsburgh.

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BD community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

San Diego Padres (5-5) at Pittsburgh Pirates (6-4), April 7, 2026, 3:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: PNC Park – Pittsburgh, Penn.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Piv takes the mound. pic.twitter.com/v4HRqU6i25

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 7, 2026

11/162.

📺 @SNPittsburgh
📻 @937theFanpic.twitter.com/Anyx9htfPd

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 7, 2026

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Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

• Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
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The Chicago Cubs, already off to an uneven start this season, will lose right-handed starter Cade Horton for the rest of the season due to elbow surgery, manager Craig Counsell announced on Tuesday, April 7.

Horton, 24, finished runner-up in 2025 Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 2.67 ERA over 22 starts, and likely has the most dominant repertoire of Cubs starters. He pitched into the seventh inning in defeating the Washington Nationals in his season debut March 31, but exited his second start against Cleveland after just one inning.

Now, a rotation that seemed plenty deep after the acquisition of Edward Cabrera from Miami in the off-season will be stretched to the limit.

Horton was preceded to the IL by lefty Matthew Boyd, a 2025 All-Star who suffered a biceps strain. Veteran right-hander Javier Assad was already recalled to take his roster spot.

Now, the club is counting significantly on the return of lefty Justin Steele from Tommy John surgery performed almost exactly a year ago. Steele eyed a May return, but the Cubs placed him on the 60-day IL to begin the year, making that goal a tad ambitious.

And it also puts a greater onus on lefty Shota Imanaga to return to his 2024 form. The Cubs acquired Cabrera in the hopes it would take some heat off Imanaga, who has faded badly each of the past two second halves.

Minus Horton, that margin for error has narrowed for the Cubs, who have lost six of their first 10 games this season.

Cade Horton stats

2025 stats:

• Record: 11-4
• ERA: 2.67
• Games (Starts): 23 (22)
• Innings: 118.0
• Strikeouts: 97
• WHIP: 1.08
• Opponent AVG: .219

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cade Horton injury update has Cubs ace heading for surgery news

As the remodeled Mets lineup coalesced during the first week and a half of the regular season, Juan Soto was the constant. He hit when others didn’t. He needed no adjustment or warm-up period. He provided identity for a lineup still discovering one. So being without him and his .355 average and .928 OPS for two to three weeks as he recovers from a calf strain will obviously test them.

It will test them, in part, because to the extent that there is ever a good time to be without Soto, this is not that time. After hosting the Diamondbacks and Athletics this week – neither of whom are built to be pushovers, whatever their early-season showings might suggest – the Mets will fly to Los Angeles to face the mighty Dodgers and Chicago to face the Cubs.

Plus, early in the season is one time of year when the Mets’ other superstar, Francisco Lindor, is often at his worst. He entered Tuesday’s game 2 for his last 20, swinging earlier and often than his manager would like in what Carlos Mendoza characterized as an attempt to swing out of his slump. Bo Bichette is not fully clicking yet, either.

Still, there are reasons to believe the Mets can tread water offensively while Soto heals.

Luis Robert Jr. has already shown flashes of his superstar potential with the Mets. He is hitting .333 with a .907 OPS and demonstrating improved patience, currently looking capable of realizing his potential as a lineup keystone.

Francisco Alvarez, too, looks more like the best version of himself early this year than he did early in 2025. He has a hit in each of his last three games, homered twice Friday in San Francisco, and looks confident at the plate. Production similar to what he sustained after returning from the minors last year (.276 average with a .921 OPS) would help offset the loss of Soto significantly – not to mention what it would do for the Mets when he returns.

More imminently, the Mets will also cross their fingers that Mark Vientos can extend his current torrid stretch into the next week or two. The man who seemed in danger of falling out of the Mets’ plans entirely when spring training ended has hit his way back into relevance. He has a hit in all but one game he has played this year, including seven in his last three games.

Vientos will not sustain a .476 average and 1.236 OPS all season, in part because when healthy, the Mets do not have an obvious position at which he could get regular at-bats. But with Soto injured and Jorge Polanco battling an Achilles issue, they have plenty of room for him now.

As a righty, Vientos also offers help replacing Soto when the Mets face left-handed starters, against whom Soto has a career .843 OPS. Vientos will be a natural fit for all Mendoza’s lineups against lefty starters, though he likely would have found his way into them even without Soto’s injury, too.

Tuesday, against right-hander Zac Gallen, rookie Carson Benge replaced Soto in left field defensively with Vientos at first base and Brett Baty starting in right. With Soto out, Baty will likely get more chances against left-handed starters than the three plate appearances he has taken against lefties this season. Baty is a career .202 hitter against lefties with a .553 OPS, but he took major steps forward against left-handed pitching last year when he hit .247 with a .678 OPS. He is 1 for 3 against lefties this season, and the one was an RBI double.

Against righties, Jared Young will likely continue to see more opportunities than the Mets anticipated when they named him to their Opening Day roster. Young, who went 3 for 3 playing in place of Soto in Sunday’s game in San Francisco, has a 1.005 OPS in 13 at-bats this year.

Even with reasons for optimism around hitters in the bottom of their lineup, the easiest way for the Mets to build sustainable offense without him is for Lindor and Bichette to carry them through it. And the Mets building sustainable offense without Soto is important so that neither he nor his team feels pressured to hurry and turn a small problem into a big one: After all, the best way to survive games without Soto is to avoid them as much as possible.

We’re ten games into the 2026 season, which is not nearly enough to look for things that are concrete. A new approach by one player may only be just a blip on their season long radar. Drawing a conclusion from a ten game sample isn’t really going to give us a lot of information, but it’s worth a try.

Out of all of the things that are happening with the team so far, which one feels the most “real” when it comes to something that might hold all season long?

Much of this offseason centered around the team’s signing of Adolis Garcia to replace Nick Castellanos in right field, a lot of that discussion not really understanding the move. Early on, Garcia has at the very least hit the ball hard, putting himself in the top 25 in average exit velocity, in the top 50 in barrels per plate appearance. He’s started to run into a little more batted ball luck, so it’s nice to see results go with the work.

Several other players are having a decent start to the season, so let’s figure out which one is the most “real”?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Phillies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In the second inning, Rookie of the Year candidate Carter Jensen crushed a belt-high cutter to the empty right field bleachers for a line drive home run. The homer was Jensen’s third of the year, and put the Royals ahead 1-0 against their divisional rivals, the Guardians.

But that hit turned out to be the only Royals hit all afternoon. When you only get one hit, you’re gonna lose the game, and lose the game the Royals did in a 2-1 final score.

Granted, today’s game was a little odd. The Royals are speedrunning weird weather games, with their 13-run rainfest victory against the Twins last Wednesday an unusually wet and foggy contest as one example. Today’s contest was another example, and Nick Kappel—the Royals’ Director of Media Relations—pointed out that this was the third-coldest first pitch temperature at a balmy 33 degrees. Cleveland, baby!

Coldest 1st-pitch temperatures in @Royals history:

29° April 7, 2007 vs. DET
32° April 8, 2018 at CLE
33° April 7, 2026 (TODAY!) at CLE

— Nick Kappel (@NickKappel) April 7, 2026

Royals batters weren’t totally barred from the experience of running the bases. Kansas City actually drew eight walks, with seven different batters netting their free pass to first base. But no one could get a hit. A little of this was bad luck, as other than Jensen’s home run the Royals had four batted balls with an expected batting average of .570 or better and all of them turned into outs. Of course, the Guardians—miserable little luck merchant gremlins that they are—got hits on all six of their batted balls with an expected average of .570 or better.

Kansas City had their best chance in the eighth inning with one out, Bobby Witt Jr. walked and stole second base. Vinnie Pasquantino walked, and then Witt and pinch runner Lane Thomas executed a double steal. But Salvador Perez had popped up just before, and Jensen struck out immediately after.

And with Matt Strahm and Lucas Erceg unavailable today, and with Carlos Estevez on the injured list, manager Matt Quatraro was forced to turn to his fourth-best reliever in the ninth inning. Predictably, Cleveland was able to do damage against John Shcreiber, effortlessly sandwiching a walk between a pair of singles to squeeze a runner across and excite all 16 remaining fans in attendance.

Hey, Noah Cameron was really good! He threw 5.2 innings, striking out five against one walk and one run. Unfortunately, the Kansas City offense seems intent on forcing their starters to throw near-perfect games for a chance at winning; they came into today with a .653 OPS with runners in scoring position and a .589 OPS in high-leverage situations. Sooner or later, they’ll need to do some damage.

Also, whoever replaced Bobby Witt Jr. with Alcides Escobar, please put them back. It’s getting a little old.