Category: Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, May 16, 2026, 4:05 p.m. ET

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet

Pitching Matchup: Cristopher Sanchez (4-2, 2.11 ERA) vs. Bubba Chandler (1-4, 4.62 ERA)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home hosting the Philadelphia Phillies today at beautiful PNC Park.

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

It’s hard to read too much into all of two games, but the Dodgers have scored 11 runs over their last two games, more than any three-game stretch of the previous six games. They’ve scored four, five, and six runs over the last three games, and you don’t need Disco Stu to see this is a positive trend.

The Dodgers scored at least five runs in consecutive games for the first time since April 25-27, while averaging only 3.43 runs in the 14 games in between, which included nine losses. And they did so while Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman each got rare nights off.

Three straight wins have also lined up with two shutouts by the pitching staff, sandwiching a two-run game during which the only runs came on a weird bounce and a misplay on what turned into an inside-the-park home run. Had the Dodgers lined up those three pitching performances over any of the previous four-game losing streak, they would have won at least two games, if not three. But of course, baseball doesn’t really work like that.

The Dodgers’ two longest streaks of scoring at least five runs this season are four games (April 3-6 at Washington and Toronto) and three games (April 25-27 at home vs. Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins). They go for a third straight game on Saturday while facing Angels right-hander José Soriano, who has allowed zero or one run in seven of his nine starts this season.

The day after a bullpen game is always a day in which a team could use a starting pitcher going deep into a game, and to that end that’s what Justin Wrobleski has been doing since joining the rotation, even in his one bad start out of six, when he went 8 2/3 innings. Wrobleski has lasted six innings in each of his last five starts, including starts of eight and seven innings in addition to last Sunday against the Atlanta Braves.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Angels
• Ballpark: Angel Stadium, Anaheim
• Time: 6:38 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, KCOP channel 13 (Angels broadcast), MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Welp, I’m glad I decided to check the baseball scores. For I was under the impression this was another evening game. But turns out it’s effectively a little after noon, so I am scurrying to assemble a quick GDT. Nice to see the bullpen get another day off. The past week has been largely a holiday for them. Jonathan Loaisiga hasn’t pitched at all since May 8th, while Brandyn Garcia and Juan Morillo have thrown only seven and ten pitches. Paul Sewald is the only guy with more than two appearances in that time, having taken the mound on three occasions. Not often any bullpen get an entire day off in Denver.

As noted yesterday, the D-backs’ bullpen ERA for May is currently the best in the majors at 1.99. If that is sustained for the rest of the month, it’ll be among the very best in franchise history. The only other times it has been below two for a calendar month, were in July 2015 (1.78 over 81 IP) and the start of 2018 (1.92 over 98.1 IP). The most recent “best” month was the last month of 2023, which you may remember as we rode the bullpen into the post-season, and on to the World Series. There, the Arizona bullpen posted an ERA of 2.31 over 117 innings, going 6-1. We’ll see what happens the rest of the month.

Unwilling, and rightfully so, to rush Gerrit Cole’s return date to a big-league mound, the Yankees will look to their Triple-A roster to help fill the absence of the recently injured Max Fried. With their ace hitting the shelf due to a left elbow bone bruise, the Yankees will bring up starter Elmer Rodríguez to fill out the rotation, temporarily.

This is hardly a surprising move, as Rodríguez has already been the go-to guy in emergencies for the Yankees on a staff that’s been reasonably healthy throughout the year. It wasn’t even two weeks ago that the rookie took the ball in a 7-4 win over the Rangers, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings of work in his second career start. The particular date of that start, May 5th, carries weight in this move, as it is the reason the Yankees didn’t first call a reliever to provide a bit more depth to the bullpen and then replace him with Rodríguez at the date of his start.

MLB rules required Rodríguez to spend at least 15 days in the minors prior to his return, unless there was an injury — in this case, Fried’s, whose IL placement allows for the quick return of Rodríguez. The general expectation based on Cole’s original timetable is that, much like in his last time with the big-league club, Rodríguez will make a pair of starts before heading back to Triple-A—the first of them early next week at home against the Blue Jays.

Last night was a rather unhappy affair, until suddenly it wasn’t. Let’s hope the Phillies pick up where they left off last night, and keep it rolling through the weekend.

Cristopher Sánchez will take the mound for the visitors, as he continues a typically excellent season (4-2, 2.11 ERA).

His cross-state counterpart is Bubba Chandler, struggling a bit in his sophomore campaign (1-4, 4.62 ERA).

The game will get underway at 4:05 PM, televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

1900
White Sox player-manager Dick Padden was clubbed over the head with a bat during a fight in the third inning at Detroit. The fracas started with the White Sox up, 4-2, after an uncalled balk by Chicago pitcher Chauncey Fisher that was then reversed under protest by the Tigers, scoring a run for Detroit. That in turn got the ire of Padden, to no avail.

After the arguments and consultation of the rule book, Padden returned to his position at second base as play resumed, but was getting cussed out by Detroit outfielder Ducky Holmes — who wasn’t playing in the game, and not even in uniform! Padden threw a punch at Holmes and missed, and in the ensuing melee a Detroit player crowned Padden with a blow from a bat.

Once things calmed again and play was to resume, Detroit manager George Stallings stormed onto the field with a policeman, demanding Padden be arrested; he was laughed off by all involved, and the White Sox prevailed in the game, 7-3.

1944
With a 10-4 win in the Bronx, the White Sox snapped pitcher Hank Borowy’s 11-game winning streak, which had dated back to Aug. 16, 1943. After a quiet first three frames, the White Sox exploded for seven runs over the next three frames. All of the runs were charged to Borowy, and the three earned runs were as many as he had given up all year to that point!

Thurman Tucker was a particular thorn in Borowy’s side, doubling twice off of the starter and having an overall afternoon of 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs.

1953
White Sox pitcher Tommy Byrne, who was knocked out of the game in an eventual win against the Yankees two days earlier, was sent up to pinch-hit for Vern Stephens in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing, 3-1. Byrne, with just one career grand slam to Stephens’ 10 at the time, slammed a 2-2 pitch from Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell into the lower deck in right field at Yankee Stadium, for the only pinch-hit grand slam by a pitcher in team history! The Sox won the game, 5-3, scoring all of their runs in the ninth inning.

That was the only home run Byrne hit that year for the White Sox, although he totalled 14 in his big-league career.

1965
A doubleheader sweep of California, 6-2 and 5-4, completed the first 7-0 homestand in White Sox history. Since then, the White Sox have had four other 7-0 homestands.

1978
With the White Sox a dismal 9-20 and owner Bill Veeck knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to re-sign him after the season, slugger Bobby Bonds was traded to the Texas Rangers for Claudell Washington and Rusty Torres. 

Bondsonly played in 26 games for the Sox, with two home runs and eight RBIs. Making matters worse was that Bonds was acquired the previous December for three players, including future All-Star Brian Downing. 

Washington would become the target of fan displeasure because of his tendency to take it easy on the field while with the team. One fan made up a banner, hung over the right field wall, expressing that sentiment: “Washington slept here.”  

1984
Carlton Fisk had one of his finest games, as he became the third player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in a game. It came against the Royals at Comiskey Park.

Despite Fisk’s efforts, the Sox lost, 7-6. Carlton went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs in the game.

Per Baseball-Reference, as Fisk hit his only triple of the season as part of this cycle, he joined Pittsburgh’s Bill Salkeld as the only catcher of the century to hit the only triple of his season as part of a cycle.

1996
After getting picked off of first base in a 3-2 White Sox loss to the Brewers, Tony Phillips gets word postgame that battery charges were filed against him for a incident the previous night in Milwaukee. A fan was yelling racial slurs at Phillips, who later sought out the fan and got into a skirmish with him. Both men would be fined and charged with disorderly conduct.

Height is a curious thing. Sure, all else being equal, it’s better to be taller if you’re a baseball player, but particularly for position players, this maxim ceases to apply after a certain point. More body mass means it’s harder to have precise control over your movement. Longer levers usually lead to more strikeouts. It’s harder to readjust your swing when it gets out of sync. There’s a reason why the list of baseball’s tallest players of all time isn’t quite a collection of greats. There are real drawbacks to being extremely tall.

It’s important, then, when extremely tall players do grace our team, that we recognize their rarity and celebrate their presence. And what better time for Yankees fans than now, when the newly promoted and impossibly large Spencer Jones has joined an outfield that already contained (barely) the gargantuan Aaron Judge? 

On May 9th, during a 4-3 loss against the Brewers, the Yankees deployed an outfield for the ages – the duo of Judge and Jones in right and center, flanked by the 6-foot-3 Cody Bellinger in left, with a combined height of 19 feet and 5 inches. Seeing that, I thought to myself, this must be the tallest Yankees outfield ever. Turns out I was selling them short. According to the incomparable Sarah Langs, it was the first time any team had multiple position players listed at 6-foot-7 or higher in MLB history, let alone play them simultaneously. I assume that seals the deal for Judge-Jones-Bellinger to go down as the tallest outfield of all time, unless there was an outfield of three Frank Howard clones during the 60s that I’m not aware of. 

While the question of the tallest outfield in Yankees history was settled, that got me thinking; what about the second-tallest one? 

This was a question that not even Sarah Langs had publicly answered – though I imagine if I asked her directly she would have an answer for me in mere minutes. In fact, I tried Googling variations on “tallest Yankees outfield” and the only thing of substance I could find was this Reddit thread asking the same question but for all of MLB. So, I took matters into my own hands. 

My methodology was intricately planned and foolproof (read: pretty haphazard and lacking rigor); try to come up with tall Yankees outfielders, check their teammates for any other tall outfielders, and search through game logs where they shared the field. Here’s what I found.

(Probably) 2nd Place: Joey Gallo (LF, 6-foot-4), Judge (CF, 6-foot-7), Stanton (RF, 6-foot-5)

Occasion: August 23, 2021, Yankees @ Braves

Combined height: 19 feet, 4 inches

As I embarked on this task, my first line of inquiry was, “Did Judge have any other tall teammates in the outfield?”. Two names immediately came to mind; Giancarlo Stanton, our second favorite beeftank, and Joey Gallo, who serves as a high-end comp for Spencer Jones. I thought finding a game where all three players shared an outfield would be an easy task. Oh, how I was mistaken.

My foray into the Yankees’ 2021 game logs quickly turned into a seemingly unending slog. Even within the relatively rare occasions where Stanton took up a glove, the stars didn’t quite line up. When Gallo and Stanton were patrolling the grass, Judge would often be DHing, leaving Brett Gardner to handle center field. When Judge and Stanton were in center and right, Tyler Wade would spoil things by standing in left instead of Gallo. Eventually, though, I hit the jackpot with this August game against the Braves. With a combined height just one inch shorter than the presumed all-time record, I’m quite comfortable declaring this outfield to be the runner-up. (Postscript: the folks at esteemed podcast Effectively Wild came to the same conclusion, so now I’m even more confident!)

However, something about both outfields featuring Aaron Judge didn’t quite sit right with me. It felt too easy, too obvious – of course playing the Tallest Dude would lead to having the Tallest Outfield. So I got curious; what was the tallest Yankees outfield, non-Judge division?

As far as I know, after Judge and Jones, these three players are tied for third place on the tallest Yankees outfielder rankings: Darryl Strawberry, Dave Winfield, and Dave Kingman, all listed at 6f-oot-6. Assuming that these three were my best bet to find a suitably tall outfield, I began my search by trying to find out whether they had any tall colleagues.

I started with Kingman, as his eight-game stint for the 1977 Yankees meant that I only had to pore over a limited sample of game logs. However, it turned out that Kingman was ineligible for this exercise in the first place – he never took the field during his time with the Yanks, appearing exclusively as a DH or pinch hitter. It makes sense, given Kingman’s notoriously porous glove.

Undeterred, I turned my eyes toward Winfield. Here, I quickly noticed that his outfield-mates were quite lacking in height. During the Hall of Famer’s 1981-1988 Yankees tenure, only three other Bronx outfielders reached even 6-foot-3 – Gary Roenicke, Hal Morris, and Jay Buhner. I knew that today’s MLB players were on average bigger than their predecessors, but this was still jarring to me – a 6-foot-3 outfielder would be relatively unremarkable in today’s game, but in the eighties they would have been notably tall! For my purposes, this meant that I had to abandon Winfield – just one Tall Dude does not a Tall Outfield make.

That left me with Strawberry. As the troubled slugger was largely limited to DH and bench bat duties by the time he arrived in the Bronx, it was relatively easy for me to zero in on the games where he was stationed in the outfield. Not before long, I had my answer.

Tallest Yankees Outfield, non-Aaron Judge division: Paul O’Neill (LF, 6-foot-4), Bernie Williams (CF, 6-foot-2), Darryl Strawberry (RF, 6-foot-6)

Occasion: A bunch of times from 1995-1999

Combined height: 19 feet

Full disclosure: I’d completely forgotten that Paulie was so tall. In retrospect, I should have zeroed in on Strawberry and O’Neill on those dynasty teams at the start, but then again, I guess that would have made for a brief and uneventful article. Also, some of you might look at Bernie and go, “But he’s not that tall!”. However, aside from O’Neill, I could find only three outfielders whose Yankees careers coincided with Straw’s who were taller than Bernie; Rubén Rivera, Clay Bellinger, and Mark Whiten. Of the three, only Rivera saw time in center, and perusing the game logs, I could not find a game where Rivera, O’Neill, and Strawberry were all in the outfield. So, to the best of my knowledge, Paulie-Bernie-Straw is the tallest Yankees outfield that does not include Aaron Judge.

If nothing else, I hope this gave you the opportunity to Remember Some Guys. And if you think I’m overlooking any tall Yankees – a distinct possibility – please sound off in the comments!

The Guardians lost a frustrating game 6-5 yesterday. You probably know that by now.

In lieu of much further news, I am going to offer some takes for you to react to in the comments below:

-The cheapness of Guardians’ ownership is not showing up in their offense. I believe their offense will be fine. It is showing up in the bullpen. Knowing that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz (who would have been either a serviceable back of the rotation starter or a good reliever) would not be with the team, a sensible ownership group would have spent to shore up that unit. I saw many people calling for Tyler Rogers – 19 innings, 1.86 ERA with Toronto, for a reunion with Jakob Junis – 1.89 ERA in 19 innings with Texas, with Brad Keller – 3.15 FIP in 18 innings with the Phillies, and, God forbid, they could have spent some actual money and got Ryan Helsley who landed a $28M 2-year deal with the Orioles and has put up a 2.53 ERA in 10 innings so far. Playing cheap and gambling they could shore things off of the Rule-5 and waiver wires was a silly way to cut corners. I am sure they will look to improve things at the deadline and we will all hope not to lose too many more games like yesterday.

-Peyton Pallette needs to go back to the White Sox when Sean Armstrong is healthy enough to return. Pallette is the perfect kind of player to carry on a rebuilding team or even a fringe playoff team. Cleveland needs to act like this is THEIR division to win to go on a playoff run and stop running an island for misfit relievers. Pallette throws the ball hard, yep. He has zero extension and can’t locate his secondaries. If he makes it through this season in Cleveland, they’ll immediately option him to Columbus next year, which should tell you all you need to know.

-Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz can kick rocks. Forever.

-I do not condemn Stephen Vogt for batting Steven Kwan leadoff. Managers across baseball will believe in their all-stars for at least 2-3 months of the season. He is not blind. He can see it is harming offensive production, and that’s why the move was made in the lineup tonight to put him in the sixth spot. I do wonder if it would be wise to let Kwan – still wearing a wrist brace – to see if some time on the IL would allow his wrist to regain some strength. This would allow the team to let Kahlil Watson get his first taste of the big leagues out of the way, and to move Travis Bazzana to the top of the lineup. For good. Because Kwan, except for 2024, has always been a #6 of #7 hitter in a good lineup.

-I am trying not to freak out about pushing Gavin Williams’ start back a day. I don’t think that happens unless he’s “feeling something.”

-I got a lot of pushback for tweeting about this, but the Guardians really need to do better in the fan experience at Progressive Field, especially for kids. Despite an entire offseason to work in an indoors, heated area, the lower level of the kids’ clubhouse is under construction. Until kids get off college, their wiffle ball tent is not set up. The place is barely staffed. And, the entire stadium feels… dirty. A significant portion of live concession workers have been replaced by automated machines, which feels icky, not that there were even enough concession workers. Even with all the renovations, much of the stadium feels like it is run by an entitled ownership group that just expects people to show up and makes no significant effort to make the ballpark THE place to be. But, they’ll surely remind you that attendance is the reason they couldn’t afford to sign Ryan Helsley.

-Jose Ramirez had a great night last night and Kyle Manzardo looks back to his old form. Travis Bazzana put up insanely good at-bats. Hopefully, this is all a good sign for days ahead.

Hopefully the Guardians win tonight to make me feel better. That’s what’s important, after all.

AROUND MLB:
The Tigers won, but the White Sox, Royals and Twins all lost.

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The Seattle Mariners look to even their series with the San Diego Padres when the teams meet at T-Mobile Park tonight.

My Padres vs. Mariners predictions and MLB picks key in on Seattle right-hander Logan Gilbert having a dominant outing on Saturday, May 16.

Who will win Padres vs Mariners tonight: Mariners -1.5 (+126)

Home runs seem to be the only way hitters can get to Logan Gilbert. The Seattle Mariners starter has allowed only five earned runs in his last three starts, all coming via solo bombs.

Since the start of April, Gilbert has posted the third-lowest walk rate of any qualified SP while stranding runners at the sixth-best rate. He will dominate a San Diego Padres lineup ranked 27th in xSLG, 29th in xwOBA, and 29th in K% over the past month.

Meanwhile, Walker Buehler has been a glorified BP pitcher for the Padres, owning a 10.13 ERA in three road starts. Seattle will punish him early and win easily.

COVERS INTEL: Although the Padres are 8-1 in Randy Vasquez’s nine starts this season, they have gone 18-17 in their other 35 games.

Padres vs Mariners Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-124)

Once Buehler is gone, the San Diego bullpen will take over and help keep the scoring low. Over the past month, their relievers lead the majors in xERA while ranking second in xFIP and GB%.

The Mariners' lineup also performs better outside of T-Mobile Park, posting a .347 wOBA on the road vs. just .320 at home the past month — and their bullpen has the fifth-best home in the majors the past two weeks, while ranking ninth in K%.

The Under is 7-2 in San Diego’s last nine and 8-2 in Seattle’s last 10, and that trend will continue.

Padres vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Padres +144 | Mariners -172
• Run line: Padres +1.5 (-152) | Mariners -1.5 (+126)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+102) | Under 7.5 (-124)

Padres vs Mariners trend

San Diego has hit the team total Under in 18 of its last 25 games (+10.45 Units / 36% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Padres vs. Mariners.

How to watch Padres vs Mariners and game info

Padres vs Mariners latest injuries

Padres vs Mariners weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Yankees have recalled right-hander Elmer Rodriguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced on Saturday.

The move came as the corresponding move as left-hander Max Fried officially landed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Thursday) with a left elbow bone bruise.

This will be Rodriguez's second stint with the big league club after making two starts earlier this year. The 22-year-old allowed two runs on four hits and four walks (plus a hit batter) over 4.0 innings in his MLB debut in an April 29 loss at Texas.

A few days later, against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium, he allowed three runs on three hits and four walks (plus a hit batter) in 4.2 innings in a win on May 5. The hard-thrower, who leans on a four-seam fastball that averages 95.4 mph and a sinker that averages 95 mph to complement a 79.8 mph slider, had five strikeouts in his first taste of big league action before he was optioned as Carlos Rodon returned from the IL.

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

He won’t have to wait very long for his next chance, as the righty told reporters on Saturday that he would start the series finale against the Mets on Sunday. RyanWeathers, who was in line for the start, will be pushed back to Tuesday against Toronto, with Will Warren making his start on normal rest to open the series against the Blue Jays in The Bronx.

Rodriguez made one start while back with the RailRiders on May 10, allowing one run on six hits and two walks (plus a hit batter) while striking out six over 4.2 innings. In 26 innings at Triple-A, Rodriguez has pitched to a 1.38 ERA and 1.038 WHIP with 26 strikeouts to nine walks.

Manager Aaron Boone said he is looking for the youngster to "get settled" at the big league level.
"I don't think he's commanded the ball like he will," the skipper said. "But I have a lot of confidence that he's handled things well, he's handled adversity early in outings well, and kinda held his own. 

"I have high expectations when he walks out there. It won't surprise me if he goes out there and pitches well."

Boone said there wasn't any thought to having Rodriguez avoid the Subway Series to pitch at home. "No, I mean, we're going home to play division rivals," he said. "We considered it both ways, but we're comfortable with him. We think he'll be fine."

Fried left Wednesday’s outing in Baltimore due to elbow soreness after allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while throwing just 61 pitches (34 strikes) across 3.0 innings of work.

In speaking with reporters before Friday's win, Fried added that the ligament "looks good," and they are going to let the elbow "calm down." 

Boone said MRI and CT scans were "in some ways good news" because of a lack of any ligament issues and that "long-term, feel like we're in an ok spot, so we'll just kinda listen to the body here over the next days and weeks and see what ultimately that timeline leads to."

There’s an alternate universe in which the Colorado Rockies had a very different Friday evening.

The first inning cost the Rockies the game last night. They almost escaped a tumultuous start, but instead the Arizona Diamondbacks successfully challenged the potential third out, loaded the bases, and piled six runs on Kyle Freeland to take the lead and never look back. The Rockies mustered a single run on a Hunter Goodman solo shot, but never threatened.

The Rockies will look to Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之 in their effort to bounce back and even the series. Sugano enters the Saturday afternoon showdown with a 3-3 record across eight starts, with a 4.07 ERA and 1.190 WHIP. Sugano got rocked in his last start, giving up five runs on seven hits and three homers in five innings of work. He’s had some good stretches of games throughout the season and will look to return to form.

For the other side, Arizona will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez hasn’t taken a loss, bringing a 4-0 record over eight starts into the game, with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.208 WHIP. Rodriguez has performed better at Chase Field than on the road, with a 1.65 ERA at home in four starts compared to a 3.05 ERA in the same number of games away.

Rodriguez has settled in as the season has gone on, giving up just one run in 8.1 innings pitched in his last start against the New York Mets, as well as a scoreless 7.0 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates before that. Another stat in Rodriguez’s favor: Colorado is 2-7 against left handed pitchers this season.

The Rockies will try to get more out of their offense after being outhit 13-4 on Friday. The Rox left just three runners on base, but only because they couldn’t get them there in the first place. The majority of the lineup went 0-fer as the team struggled to find any rhythm at the plate. Prospect Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) subbed in late to make his MLB debut, but couldn’t give the club a jump-start, grounding out on his first pitch faced in the majors. He’ll get his first big league start this afternoon.

The Rockies and Diamondbacks have both struggled against the NL West this year, with 3-9 and 2-4 records, respectively. The Saturday afternoon showdown represents a chance for both clubs to get right in their division matchups.

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Diamondbacks SB Nation Site:AZ Snake Pit

Lineups:

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Cubs drew six walks in Friday’s 10-5 win over the White Sox.

That’s the 18th time this year, in 45 games (or 40 percent of games) that the Cubs have drawn at least six walks. The season high is 10, in a 7-4 win over the Phillies April 21.

If you’re thinking that’s a lot of walks, you’re right. The Cubs have 210 walks so far this year, which is the most in MLB. Only one other team (Yankees, 204) has 200 or more bases on balls.

That’s 4.67 walks per game. If the Cubs could keep up that pace all season, that would make 756 walks for the year, which would demolish the franchise record. That’s exactly 100 fewer, 656 walks taken by the Cubs in 2016. You remember something else important that happened that year, I’m sure.

In fact, that would set a National League record, currently held by the 1947 Dodgers, who had 732 walks. The MLB record is an astonishing 835, set by the Red Sox in 1949. That Red Sox team had Ted Williams in his prime, with 162 walks, and two others (Johnny Pesky and Vern Stephens) who walked 100 times.

The Cubs haven’t had anyone walk 100 times in a season since Carlos Peña had 101 in 2011. And that was just the fourth 100-walk season by any Cub since 1960 (also Gary Matthews, 103 in 1984 and Sammy Sosa, 116 in 2001 and 103 in 2002).

Ian Happ currently leads the team with 34 walks, which is tied for sixth in MLB with Aaron Judge and Bryan Reynolds. If Happ keeps up that walk pace, he’ll have 122, which would be tied for second-most in team history, with Jimmy Sheckard, who did that in 1912.

Why am I writing about this and why is it important?

Well, for one thing, I hear a lot of criticism of Happ because his batting average is relatively low. For his career, Happ has a .247 BA and right now it’s at .241, right in that range.

But his .381 OBP ranks eighth in the National League and yes, that matters, because that has helped Happ score 35 runs so far this year, and that ranks tied for fourth in the league (with Oneil Cruz). And in the end, runs are what matter most in baseball. Score more runs than the other guy on a consistent basis and you will win a lot of games, which the Cubs are doing this year, as you have likely noticed. The Cubs have scored 230 runs, which ranks third in MLB (Braves, 240 and Nationals, 239). That’s 5.11 runs per game, which extrapolated to 162 games gives a possible 828 runs scored by the 2026 Cubs. The Cubs just missed scoring 800 runs last year (793) and 828 would be their third-most since 1935 (831 in 1998 and 855 in 2008 are the others).

Other current Cubs good at drawing walks are Michael Busch (24 walks, .352 OBP), Nico Hoerner (29 walks, .340 OBP) and Seiya Suzuki (19 walks in 31 games, .382 OBP). The Cubs have six bases-loaded walks this year, including one Friday by Matt Shaw. Only two teams (Rays, Angels) have more as of today.

One of those bases-loaded walks was Busch’s against the Reds May 6 [VIDEO].

Sometimes I think people turn their noses up at the humble walk. The old saying “a walk’s as good as a hit” is, in general, true — it’s got pretty much the same predictive run value as a single, if you’re leading off the inning. (Yes, I am aware that walks later in innings don’t have quite the same predictive run value as hits, though they are still valuable.)

So keep up the walks, Cubs. They’re producing value, even if the batting averages don’t seem that good, and they are producing runs — lots of them.

The Bryce Elder saga continues. At least it’s a happier one than in years past… though what about the MLB-best Braves isn’t, at this point?

Elder got things started on the right foot this year with an altered pitch mix and augmented slider, with three good outings in his first four tries. His collective line in that span (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) was 19/68/84. He then kinda-sorta regressed back to what he was before this season — not awful or anything, but this was the downside of the mechanical inconsistency that’s plagued him for two-and-a-half seasons now. In his next three outings, his line was 79/88/111, with his proverbial bacon getting saved by a low HR/FB rate. His last two starts, though, have been the positive end of being inconsistent: 38/78/76, with no HR/FB bacon-saving needed.

In those most recent two outings, Elder morphed into more of a three-true-outcomes guy; his combined strikeout and walk tally in each went into double digits, the first times that’s happened this season, and something that only happened twice last season. Elder is no longer a groundball guy, not really, as his grounder rate has dipped below league average at this point. That’s not surprising given that his four-seamer has actually jumped ahead of his sinker in usage at this point. Meanwhile, his slider’s now-exaggerated downward break has made it a more effective swing-and-miss pitch while shaving off some of the “just rolled over it” contact he used to get.

All in all, Elder’s line on the season is 44/78/92, which is certainly better than his career 101/103/100 line, but you can see that HR/FB is having a much bigger impact on his season than his improvements in and of themselves. He leads the Braves’ staff in fWAR (1.3, to Chris Sale’s 1.2). Among the 147 starters with the most innings in MLB this season, his fWAR ranks 20th, his ERA- ranks eighth, his FIP- ranks 29th, and his xFIP- ranks 50th. Quite a turnaround from his past performance in many ways.

The Atlanta attack in the midst of a brief lull, having scored just seven runs in their last three games, and things won’t necessarily get easier for them as they’ll face Payton Tolle today. (The lull is largely just an artifact of Matt Olson having three hits, all singles, and no walks in his last four games, and Ozzie Albies reaching base just five times in his past nine games, with no extra-base hits, and two of those five instances coming in the same game.) The 50th overall pick in the 2024th MLB draft, Tolle had an okay debut season marred by some terribly poor fortune (142/150/92) across three starts and four relief appearances, and then started 2026 dominating Triple-A hitters before getting the call-up. Since then, he’s dominated major league hitters too, with a 65/67/77 line in four outings. He was dominant in his season debut (11/1 K/BB ratio) but the Red Sox somehow lost the game; he then had a not-so-good outing in Toronto, bushwhacked the Tigers in Detroit, and then had an okay start against the Rays. Basically, he’s got the potential to dominate, but it’s not a fait accompli or anything.

Tolle is an odd duck pitch-wise, as he’s broadly four-seamer, sinker, cutter, curve, in that order. He throws hard (96 mph), gets basically best-in-class extension, and has enough fastball command that he hasn’t needed to sweat much else. His three fastballs (including his cutter) all vary enough in shape and velocity that his hard curve is largely an afterthought… and really, his four-seamer is scary enough that he might do okay by just throwing it and not much else. Hope the Braves bring their hitting shoes and their fastball timing to the park tonight!

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, May 16, 7:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.tv — it’s a free weekend, even if you don’t subscribe (though of course you’ll need to be out-of-market to benefit)

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

In 2021, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox played the MLB’s first Field of Dreams Game at the infamous movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.

This summer, the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins will take the stage for the third rendition of the Field of Dreams Game. They won’t be the only teams playing on the renovated field, either.

On Saturday, Joe Doyle of Over-Slot Baseball reported that the MLB High School All-American Game will be played on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at the Field of Dreams.

The prestigious event has previously rotated between MLB ballparks, but with an iconic venue available, some of the nation’s top high school baseball prospects in the 2027 class will get a chance to play in an unforgettable environment.

Last summer’s game featured a slew of prospects that are projected to be taken early in the upcoming 2026 MLB Draft. Shortstop Grady Emerson, SS Jacob Lombard, left-handed pitcher Gio Rojas, LHP Carson Boleman, SS Tyler Spangler, LHP Logan Schmidt and SS Aiden Ruiz are all top-40 overall prospects — per MLB.com — that played in the game last year.

Field of Dreams Game returns this summer

The Field of Dreams Game returns as a part of the MLB’s new partnership with Netflix. The Phillies and Twins will play on Aug. 13, one day after the High School All-American Game.

“Major League Baseball is excited to return to Iowa in 2026 and to deliver a unique experience to the Twins, the Phillies, their players, our two Minor League teams, and fans across the game. We look forward to working with Netflix and creating an event that all sports fans can enjoy,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in the November press release announcing the return of the beloved event.

About the MLB All-American Game

More on the vaunted prospect showcase via MLB.com:

“Showcasing the best high school prospects in the 2026 Draft class to the professional scouting community, the 2025 MLB All-American Game served as the premier kickoff event to the summer scouting season.

The inaugural MLB All-American Game took place in 2019 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 event, along with all other All-Star Game events, was canceled. The event returned in 2021, hosted at Coors Field in Denver, in 2022 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, in 2023 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle and in 2024 at Petco Park in San Diego.”

The I-70 series continues Saturday as it’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals playing host for the Kansas City Royals. Kyle Leahy (4-3, 4.31 PCL, 32 SO) will start the Saturday afternoon affair for the Cardinals while Noah Cameron (2-2, 5.55 PCL, 32 SO) will begin the game for the Royals. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm at Busch Stadium, but note that the team says the start will be delayed due to weather. The broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv. Notice that JJ Wetherholt is not in the lineup today.

UPDATE: Cardinals say expected start time is 2pm central time.