Category: Baseball

The Cubs today announced that left-hander Jordan Wicks has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa. Wicks is replacing Edward Cabrera, who goes on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 21, with a blister on his middle finger.

The 26-year-old Wicks started this season on the injured list with left-elbow inflammation. He returned to the mound on April 18 as he started a 30-day rehab assignments with the Iowa Cubs. At the end of that rehab stint, Wicks was optioned back to Iowa.

With the I-Cubs this year, Wicks is 0-2 with a 4.44 ERA over 26.1 innings and seven starts. He struck out 20 and walked 12. However, over Wicks’ last three starts, he has an 0.60 ERA after allowing just one run over 15 innings. In that span, Wicks has struck out 12 and walked eight.

Cabrera was 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA in ten starts in his first season with Chicago. Over 54 innings, Cabrera had struck out 47, walked 20 and held opposing hitters to a .262 batting average.

The Kansas City Royals, who have been scuffling since the first week and a half of May, got a much-needed win yesterday against the Mariners, behind a complete game shutout from Stephen Kolek. The Royals evened the series, and clinched a season series win against Seattle.

Today, right-hander Seth Lugo takes the bump for the Royals. Lugo threw 6 innings of 2 run ball in his last start against the Red Sox, his only mistake was allowing a two-run homer. In his start against the Mariners earlier this year in Seattle, Lugo went 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and striking out 6 batters.

The Royals are running out the same lineup for the third straight day.

As for the Mariners, they are 25-28 on the season, and a game and a half behind the Athletics for the top spot in the American League West.

Bryan Woo takes the ball today. The right hander threw 6 scoreless innings in his last start against the White Sox, allowing just 3 hits, while striking out 8 batters. The Royals knocked him around in the Pacific Northwest, Woo allowed 6 runs on 7 hits over 6 innings of work, including a pair of homers.

The Mariners are deploying a similar lineup to what they’ve done all series as well.

This is the last time the Royals and Mariners will match up this season, barring a playoff series. The Royals will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, starting a three game home series against the Yankees at 2:40 p.m. CT. As for today’s game, it can be watched on Royals.TV, first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT.

In the first two games of this series, the Brewers jumped all over the Dodgers’ starting pitcher in the opening inning. Milwaukee scored four runs in the first inning of Friday’s series-opening win, while all three of their runs in yesterday’s 11-3 loss came in the first.

That’s especially important because Los Angeles will turn to right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto for today’s series finale. Yamamoto has been excellent again this year, posting a 3.32 ERA, 0.966 WHIP, and 0.7 WAR. However, he’s allowed one-third of his earned runs in the opening frame this season and has yet to record a scoreless first inning in two career starts (one in the postseason) against Milwaukee. If the Brewers can apply pressure out of the gate once again, they’ll put themselves in a good position to win today.

Opposite Yamamoto is Brandon Sproat (5.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP), who has flashed electric stuff throughout his rookie season. Consistency, however, has been harder to come by; Sproat has allowed at least three runs in six of his nine appearances and has only made it through five innings three times.

The top of today’s order is the same as the series opener, with Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras occupying the first three spots. With Christian Yelich sitting out, Pat Murphy was able to fit both Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn into the lineup. Bauers will serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup, while Vaughn hits fifth and starts at first base.

Garrett Mitchell, who missed the last two games due to back tightness, is hitting sixth and playing center field. Rounding out the lineup are Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz, and David Hamilton.

Also worth mentioning: last night’s starting pitcher, Robert Gasser, was optioned to Triple-A Nashville this morning. Replacing him on the active roster is righty Carlos Rodríguez, who’s allowed one run while striking out five in four innings with the Brewers this year. If Sproat exits early, Rodríguez could be called upon to cover a couple of innings.

Today’s game will be broadcast on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.

Go Rays!

The rainout on Saturday might have come at a perfect time for a Yankees team that has looked mentally defeated the last three days. They’ve scored just a trio of runs across their last 30 innings. The pitching has held up their end of the bargain, limiting Toronto and Tampa Bay to a combined eight runs over that same span. The Yankees must win this afternoon, or they will fall 6.5 games back of first before it is even Memorial Day.

Ryan Weathers actually pitched well last time out against the Blue Jays, Ernie Clement hitting an improbable three-run home run off a perfect changeup below the zone. It reflects the improvements he has made in his debut season in pinstripes, Weathers placing in the top-10 among starters in strikeout rate and K-BB%. In nine starts, Weathers is 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA (116 ERA+), 3.51 FIP, and 61 strikeouts in 50.1 innings.

The Yankees will not be thrilled to see Drew Rasmussen on the mound for the Rays after he held them to one hit in six shutout innings on April 12th. He’s been a Yankee killer his whole career, posting a 1.03 ERA, 2.04 FIP, .426 OPS allowed, and 51:9 strikeout to walk ratio in eight starts totaling 43.2 innings. In nine starts in 2026, Rasmussen is 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA (1331 ERA+), 3.74 FIP, and 45 strikeouts in 48 innings.

New York rolls out the exact same lineup as the one that got defeated, 4-2, in the series opener. Austin Wells hit his first home run since April 28th. Trent Grisham had three hits including a pair of doubles. José Caballero added a pair of singles in his first game back off the IL after suffering a fractured finger (though he did have a costly error during the Rays’ eighth-inning rally) while Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also had multi-hit nights.

The Rays meanwhile make a pair of changes to their lineup from Saturday. Ryan Vilade replaces the injured Jonny DeLuca in right field while Carson Williams subs in for Richie Palacios at second base. They also shake up the order a bit, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda moving up to leadoff and second, which drops Chandler Simpson to fifth and Junior Caminero to third.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Rays.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM (TB)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

The St. Louis Cardinals will have to finish their series with the Cincinnati Reds later this season as Sunday’s game has been postponed due to inclement weather in the area for the next several hours. Game has been postponed and will be made up August 17 as part of a doubleheader. Next up for St. Louis is a Monday, Memorial Day game against the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm in Milwaukee. Jacob Misiorowski is set to make the start for the Brewers. It’s unclear if the Cardinals will start Matthew Liberatore on Monday, but that appears to be the tentative plan as of now. Stay tuned.

Juan Soto is a late scratch for the Mets today due to illness. Soto came to the ballpark with a fever, body aches, and other flu-like symptoms. According to Carlos Mendoza, the entire clubhouse has been struggling with illness for the last week, and Soto himself has been experiencing symptoms for the last three days.

Soto had provided the only run that the Mets scored on Friday against the Marlins, one of only two runs they have scored in this series thus far. MJ Melendez will replace Soto in the lineup as the team’s designated hitter, and A.J. Ewing will move up to bat third.

Soto has been the Mets’ best hitter by a wide margin this season. Among hitters who’ve made at least 50 plate appearances this year, his .294/.390/.559 line, 10 home runs, and 163 wRC+ all lead the team. The injured Francisco Alvarez ranks second with a 106 wRC+, and Mark Vientos is second on the team with six home runs.

The Mets currently have 13 players on the injured list, but it seems at least a few of those players are on the right track to returning to the team.

Starting with Jared Young, who has been on the IL since April 13 with a torn meniscus in his left knee, the 30-year-old has already begun a rehab assignment and is currently with Triple-A Syracuse working on his timing at the plate.

Nearing a return in either late May or early June, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters before Sunday’s series finale against the Miami Marlins how he expects to utilize Young once he rejoins the team.

“Most likely going to play against righties. First base, DH, coming off the bench – we’ll use him for sure,” the skipper said.

Before landing on the IL, Young had been hitting well for New York, slashing .350/.391/.450 with two doubles in 11 games – all against right-handed pitching. 

After Young went down, Mark Vientos took over at first base and took on a more prominent role in the lineup, mostly hitting cleanup. MJ Melendez was also called up in Young’s absence but after he hit the ground running, Melendez has struggled at the plate with just one hit in his last 29 at-bats. 

Both Vientos and Melendez are in Sunday’s lineup with Melendez a late addition following Juan Soto’s late removal due to an illness. Mendoza said that the whole team has been “battling for the past week” with the “kind of like a flu going around,” although he wasn’t making excuses for the offense scoring just two runs in the first two games of the series.

Not in the lineup is Nick Morabito who has started just twice since his promotion to the big leagues on May 19. Morabito, who bats from the right side, is still searching for his first major league hit (0-for-7).

So, when Young and other injured Mets return, how will Mendoza be sure to give everybody enough at-bats to stay consistent?

“That’s the balance. That’s the balance here, trying to get all of them playing time, including Morabito,” Mendoza said. “We know how important playing time is going to be for him and we’ll continue to just treat it day-by-day.”

As for another injured player, Jorge Polanco had a positive development in his recovery from Achilles bursitis.

“Polanco is in Port St. Lucie today getting live at-bats,” Mendoza said. “So that’s a positive there. [We’ll] see how he comes out of that one and hopefully he can go on a rehab assignment here pretty soon.”

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Here’s the Phillies lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

First Chuck: 12:35 PM (new anthem each week!)

The Tube: Twins.TV

The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network

Spies ‘R Us: Over the Monster

This weekend, the Minnesota Twins are on the east coast for some Beantown baseball against the Boston Red Sox. About a week and a half ago, I was also on the east coast—seeing the Twins battle the Washington Nationals! Here are a few highlights of that jaunt (taken with my mom)…

Of course we had to hit the monuments, this being my first time in D.C.:

A few museums & tours were also on the docket:

Finally, of course, we have the baseball that brought us to D.C. in the first place:

As far as Nationals Park goes, I put it right about in the middle of my ballparks-seen so far. I’m not sure there is anything extraordinary about it visually—the paltry crowds & atmosphere for a Twins/Nats series probably didn’t help in that regard. But it is also perfectly serviceable and pleasant as an MLB receptacle. I especially enjoyed the food offerings and a little city block right outside the ballpark featuring some great eateries too!

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the whole experience was the Presidents Race! For my money, that’s the best mascot race in all of MLB! I love the creative ways they use to make sure Teddy Roosevelt does not win (hahaha).

All in all, it was a wonderful first foray into our Nation’s Capital! The games were fun, the monuments were a sight to behold, and the museums/tours were all unique. Someday, I’ll get to the site of today’s contest—Fenway Park—and I have a sneaking suspicion it’ll immediately vault to the top of my list.

Click here for Lineups!

The Red Sox are looking to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins today on a rainy s Sunday. They’ll give the ball to Sonny Gray, who probably hopes the game is postponed so he can pitch on a day that is better described by his first name rather than his last. Pitchers don’t like wet baseballs. Anywho, Marcelo Mayer makes his 2026 debut at shortstop exactly one year after making his major league debut. In an ideal world, he mans that spot nearly every day for the next ten years. 1:35 pm scheduled first pitch on NESN and WEEI.

Lineups

TODAY’S GAME: The Astros and Cubs will wrap up their 3-game series this afternoon at Wrigley Field. 

RHP Peter Lambert (2-4, 3.57 ERA) will start for the Astros vs. Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (4-4, 3.38 ERA).

SWEEPSTAKES: A win today would give the Astros their 2nd series sweep of the season and 1st on the road. Their other sweep in 2026 came March 30-April 1 vs. BOS at Daikin Park.

At Wrigley: The last time that the Astros swept the Cubs at Wrigley Field was in a 3-game series, May 30-June 1, 2011.

IN THE DAYTIME: Today is the 4th of 4 consecutive scheduled day games for the Astros.

Wednesday’s series finale at Minnesota had a 12:40 p.m. start and all 3 games this weekend at Wrigley Field had 1:20 p.m. start times.

The last time that the Astros played 4 consecutive day games was April 2-6 of last season (source: Elias).

ROADIES: Today is the 6th game (3-2 thus far) of a 10-game, 3-city road trip for Houston.

HOU went 1-2 at Minnesota on the 1st stop of the trip and are 2-0 with 1 game left to play in Chicago. 

After today’s game, they will travel back to Texas for a 4-game series vs. the Rangers at Globe Life Field (Mon.-Thurs).

VS. THE CUBS: Dating back to last season, the Astros have won 4 of their last 5 games vs. the Cubs.

They took 2 of 3 vs. Chicago, June 27-29 of 2025 at Daikin Park.

Prior to the current series, the Astros last visit to Wrigley Field was a 3-game series in April of 2024 (3-gm sweep by Chicago).

The Astros are 9-5 vs. the Cubs since 2019, and all-Time they are 387-338.

Their 387 wins vs. them are their 2nd-most vs. any opponent (404-455 vs. Cincinnati).

RARE VISIT TO WRIGLEY FIELD: The current series marks just the 2nd visit to Wrigley Field for the Astros since 2013 when the Astros moved to the American League.

THE LAMMA: RHP Peter Lambert will make his 7^th start of the season this afternoon.

In his 2 previous road starts, Lambert is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA (2ER/10.1 IP)

Vs. Cubs: Lambert is 2-0 in 3 career apps. (2 GS) vs. the Cubs with a 2.57 ERA (4ER/14IP) with 14 K’s.

Where It All Started: Lambert’s Major League debut came in a start at Wrigley Field on June 6, 2019 while with Colorado. In that start, he had a no-decision, but pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO) in a Rockies win.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Astros topped the Cubs yesterday, 3-0, behind the strong pitching of starter RHP Kai-Wei Teng and a 2-HR day from 1B Christian Walker.

Teng hurled 6.0 shutout innings to earn the win while Walker went 3×3 with 2 HR and 3 RBI. 

LHP Bryan King hurled a scoreless 9^th to earn his 6th save of the season.

BLANKINGS: Yesterday’s 3-0 win was the Astros 5th shutout of the season, which is T-3rd in the AL.

FOR STARTERS: Astros starters have a combined ERA of 2.56 (13ER/45.2IP) over the last 8 games.

Yesterday was the 3rd time in the last 4 games that an Astros starter did not allow a run in their start, and Astros starters have allowed no runs 4 times in the last 8 games.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker had his 17th career 2-HR game in yesterday’s 3-0 win.

For the season, he has been one of the top hitting 1st basemen in the AL. Overall, he currently ranks 4th the AL in RBI (34), 6th in TB (100), T-6^th in HR (13) and 7th in SLG (.521).

RECENT STROS: The Astros are 5-3 in their last 8 games and 6-4 in their last 10 games.

PEN PALS: As a group, the Astros bullpen has had a decent run of success recently.

Since May 8, they have a combined ERA of 3.35 (18ER/48.1IP).

Individually, several relievers are currently pitching well:
–RHP Bryan Abreu: 0.00 ERA in last 7 outings (6.2 IP, 0 R).
–RHP AJ Blubaugh: 2.18 ERA in last 8 outings (12.1 IP, 3 ER).
–LHP Bryan King: 1.42 ERA in last 10 outings (12.2 IP, 2 ER)
–LHP Steven Okert: 8 K’s in his last 4.2 IP (5 apps)

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, May 24, 1:20 p.m. CT

Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Mets lineup

Carson Benge – RF
Bo Bichette – SS
A.J. Ewing – CF
Mark Vientos – 1B
Brett Baty – 3B
Marcus Semien – 2B
MJ Melendez – DH
Tyrone Taylor – LF
Hayden Senger – C

SP: Christian Scott – RHP

Marlins lineup

Liam Hicks – C
Xavier Edwards – 2B
Owen Caissie – RF
Kyle Stowers – LF
Otto Lopez – SS
Jakob Marsee – CF
Connor Norby – 1B
Christopher Morel – DH
Javier Sanoja – 3B

SP: Tyler Phillips – RHP

Broadcast Info

First pitch: 1:40 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Sunday notes…

• LET’S KEEP IT THIS WAY: The Cubs have not been swept at home by the Astros since May 30-June 1, 2011, when they lost by 12-7, 7-3 and 2-1. This is the just the eighth series between the teams at Wrigley Field since then. In one, 2012, the Cubs lost the first two games, both by 3-0, then won the third, 5-4. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THE SALVAGE GAME: This is the fourth series of the season in which the Cubs lost the first two games. They avoided sweeps in the first two, at home vs. the Pirates on April 12 and at Atlanta on May 14. They lost the finale to the Brewers on Wednesday. The Cubs are 10-6 in all third games this season, better than their 9-8 in second games and 8-9 in first games. They are 2-0 in fourth games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• SCORING FIRST — AND NOT: In each of their last five losses, the Cubs’ opponent scored first. Earlier this year, the Cubs gave up the first run in six straight games, winning three. They also fell behind to begin four consecutive games and won them all. The Cubs are 11-18 when their opponent scores first, including 8-10 at home — where they are 10-0 when they have scored first. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TRY NOT TO SUCK: The Cubs’ last winless home stand of at least six games was Sept. 21-26, 2021, when they lost twice to the Twins and four times to the Cardinals. They were outscored in those games by 46-25. In their five losses this week, they have been outscored, 26-7. From Aug. 6-12, 2021, the Cubs dropped seven straight in a home stand, three to the White Sox and four to the Brewers. They were outscored, 58-18, including 10-0 and 17-4 in the final two games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Jon Lieber throws a one-hit, complete-game shutout over the Reds at Wrigley Field, the only hit a one-out single by Juan Castro in the sixth. He throws only 78 pitches and faces the minimum 27 batters, as the single and a one-out walk in the ninth were both erased by double plays. The Cubs won the game 3-0 in a game time of one hour, 48 minutes, though a rain delay of one hour, 37 minutes had the game ending about 4:45 p.m. It happened 25 years ago today, Thursday, May 24, 2001.

Cubs lineup:

Astros lineup:

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Peter Lambert, RHP

Shōta Imanaga’s last start was… not up to his previous efforts this year. The Brewers hit him hard.

Hopefully, that will not be the case this afternoon. He’s been better in day games (2.62 ERA, six starts, two HR in 34.1 innings) than night games (4.44 ERA, four starts, five HR in 24.1 innings), so maybe that will help.

He has never faced the Astros, and of current Astros, only Christian Vazquez (0-for-4) and Christian Walker (0-for-2) have faced him. Too bad the Astros don’t have any other guys named Christian.

Peter Lambert’s entire career was with the Rockies, until this year, when he signed with the Astros as a free agent. They released him at the end of Spring Training, then re-signed him, and he’s made six pretty decent starts (3.57 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, only two HR allowed in 35.1 innings), compared to a 6.28 ERA in 74 games (35 starts) with Colorado. Guess he just had to get out of Coors Field.

Lambert made his MLB debut against the Cubs at Wrigley Field June 6, 2019 and threw seven innings, allowing one run. Then his second start was also vs. the Cubs, five days later at Coors Field, where he allowed one run in five innings. Those, plus a two-inning relief outing in 2024, are his only career appearances against the Cubs. Alex Bregman and Michael Conforto have homered previously off him.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

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

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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The upstart Chicago White Sox play a series-deciding game against the San Francisco Giants this afternoon at Oracle Park. 

Two southpaws, Noah Schultz and Robbie Ray, take the hill. 

See why I’m siding with the home team and the Over wth my White Sox vs. Giants predictions and MLB picks for Sunday, May 24.

Who will win White Sox vs Giants today: Giants (-113)

Noah Schultz is a heralded prospect, but he’ll need to clean up a few things to become a reliable and effective big-league hurler. 

The massive 6-foot-10 Chicago White Sox starter runs a preposterous 14.2% walk rate, which will come back to bite him once his unsustainably low .233 BABIP and 63.1% left-on-base percentage regulate. 

That contrasts with San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray, an established vet with a 1.91 ERA across over 28 innings at Oracle Park this season.

That gives SF enough of a starting pitching advantage to take the finale.

COVERS INTEL: Opponents have hit .195 with a 20.4% swinging-strike rate against Ray's slider. He should find success against a White Sox team with a Bottom-10 mark against sliders.

White Sox vs Giants Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-117)

Schultz isn’t adept at striking batters out (21.6%) and has a 14th-percentile groundball rate, leading to plenty of loud contact (26th percentile barrel rate) in the air. The White Sox have played to the Over in six of his seven starts. 

The White Sox have the fifth-best wRC+ (117) against southpaws, so they may find ways to plate runs against Ray or the moribund bullpen behind him (league-worst 4.88 SIERA in relief this month). 

Both lineups have been humming, plating 26 combined runs through the first two games of the series.

White Sox vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: White Sox +108 | Giants -113
• Run line: White Sox +1.5 (-194) | Giants -1.5 (+196)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-117) | Under 7.5 (+113)

White Sox vs Giants trend

The Giants are 4-1 in Robbie Ray’s home starts. Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Giants.

How to watch White Sox vs Giants and game info

White Sox vs Giants latest injuries

White Sox vs Giants weather

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