Category: Baseball

Tacoma Rainiers

The Rainiers dropped the series 4-2 this week, unfortunately unable to land the knockout punch in several close games this series. They stand at 16-17 on the season, good for fourth in their division.

The Colt report this week is a tough one, unfortunately. Three walks, three hits, ten punchouts. He did hit a homer and a triple, but there’s not nearly enough production outside of that to spin this week positively. Hopefully a quick bounce back is inbound.

AquaSox alum Colt Emerson launched his fourth homer of the 2026 season for Triple-A Tacoma last night! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/JA3Zq60onR

— Everett AquaSox (@EverettAquaSox) May 1, 2026

With the major league bullpen in rough shape right now, there’s a few names in Tacoma that might end up becoming pertinent in the coming weeks. Robinson Ortiz, a lefty, has decent stuff, but walks a lot of people. Domingo Gonzalez is kind of the opposite, with lesser raw stuff but much better command. Yosver Zulueta, probably the best of the three, has major velocity on his sinker and big league experience in the past. All three are already on the 40 man roster and could be options should the big leagues come calling.

Arkansas Travelers

The Travs are hot right now! Securing a 5-1 series win over Wichita, the Travs have dug themselves out of the basement and now find themselves with a 15-12 record, a mark good for 3rd in their division. The offense has really picked things up as of late, and the stars they’ve needed desperately all season are beginning to look like their usual selves. It’s been a treat to watch.

Kade Anderson great again. Final line: 5.2IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 8K, 16 whiffs, 74 pitches, 56 strikes.

In first 5 professional starts:
0.37ERA, 24.1IP, 13H, 1R, 4BB, 38K pic.twitter.com/zvXuG8YZYM

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 2, 2026

Kade Anderson continues to dazzle, working another 5.2 innings of shutout ball in a Wichita stadium that’s one of the least pitcher-friendly in the Texas League. Allowing just four hits and no walks, Anderson struck out eight batters in Friday night’s contest, pushing his season total to 38 across just 24.1 innings. Whether the M’s see merit in sending him to Triple-A or not seems like the final frontier in his development track; it’s not something they typically do with their premium starting pitching prospects, but Double-A is posing little challenge to Anderson at present and may ultimately force the M’s to make him an exception. Still just 21 years old, here’s where he stands amongst other Texas League arms thus far:

ERA: 0.37 (1st)

K: 38 (1st)

BB: 4 (2nd)

WHIP: 0.70 (2nd)

BAA: .157 (2nd)

Not too bad for your first taste of professional baseball.

I encourage you to check out the article we put out about Lazaro Montes this past weekend. Since then, he managed yet another homer and raised his season OPS to .928. He’s hotter than the sun right now.

Laz wasn’t the only hitter seeing the ball well this week; Caleb Cali lit up Wichita pitching all week and is thrilled to get out of the cavernous confines of Dickey-Stephens Park. With roughly a 50/50 split between home and away thus far, Cali lays claim to a paltry OPS of .405 inside of DSP. The half that came on the road? An OPS north of 1.000. Cali has one of the starkest discrepancies of Home/Away splits I can remember seeing and should be someone to monitor; there’s a chance he gets a call up to Tacoma and is finally able to unleash the major pop he’s got with some consistency.

Everett AquaSox

The Frogs lost this week’s slate 4-2, squandering some late leads and missing plenty of opportunities to take a convincing series win. The bullpen, usually a strong suit, was shaky this week, and the uptick in offense wasn’t enough to offset the lack of pitching.

Felnin Celesten rockets a double to extend hitting streak to 11 games. pic.twitter.com/7YQgC2Pwmj

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 3, 2026

¡El Fénix está en fuego! Felnin Celesten continues to light it up at the plate and looks like the player we saw dominate the Complex League just a few years ago, spraying the ball with authority all over the ballpark. The young shortstop is slashing .457/.556/.600 over the past two weeks and has upped his stolen base count to six on the young season. Celesten has all the talent in the world and could easily be one of the best prospects in this system if he’s playing to his fullest potential. The whiffs are down, the walks are up, and he’s hitting the ball hard with consistency. It’s been a fantastic few weeks of watching him play.

Brock Moore continues to overpower Hi-A hitters. He logged three more innings this week, punching out four and walking one. He currently sits at 24 K’s through 11.1 IP this season and has just two walks, a truly unfathomable mark if you were to look at his walk totals from just a season ago. Get this man to Arkansas ASAP.

Shoutout to Brandon Eike. He was having a brutal go of things at the plate to start the season, but he’s started to really heat up as of late. He’s pushed his OPS just north of .900 and has launched five homers in his past seven contests. The K% is still untenable and will need to come down before a trip to Arkansas is on the table, but the progress has been great to see nonetheless.

Inland Empire 66ers

IE lost yet another series this week, dropping to 10-16 on the year. The pitching has had a tough time keeping games close, and though the offense is starting to pick up a bit, it hasn’t been enough to secure many wins. This team is going to benefit greatly from the draft’s injection of talent.

Mason Peters was dealing again. Final line: 4IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 6K, 11 whiffs, 57 pitches, 35 strikes.

In his first 5 professional starts:
2.25ERA, 20IP, 12H, 5BB, 31K pic.twitter.com/hdijqt9bQo

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 2, 2026

The Mason Peters agenda continues forward. Similarly to Anderson in Double-A, Peters has arguably been the best pitcher in the California League to start the season:

ERA: 2.25 (2nd)

K: 31 (1st)

BB: 5 (5th)

WHIP: 0.85 (2nd)

BAA: .176 (2nd)

Spinning a gem of a game on Friday night, the southpaw starter logged four innings of shutout ball, surrendering just one hit on the night and punching out six. He’s obviously been off to an incredible start thus far, but with as much room as there is to add strength to his frame, a future velocity spike that elevates his arsenal a tick or two seems more than possible, making him that much more exciting as a prospect to follow over the coming years.

Cesar Quintas goes oppo off Alek Manoah for a 3-run HR! 5-2 66ers. pic.twitter.com/VM7y5scyrN

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 3, 2026

Cesar Quintas is a far less heralded prospect than most names featured on our prospect roundups, but after the week he just had, it’s impossible to keep him off. A 2024 minor league Rule 5 draftee from the Giants system, Quintas played last season with the Nuts and had a good, if unremarkable season at the plate. This year, however, has been a different story. His 15 hits this week brought his season OPS up to .957, comfortably giving him the team lead and breathing new life into a player that lacked pedigree. It’s his third go of A ball, but should he maintain this level of production throughout the year, he’ll have transformed his future and firmly made himself a name to know.

The ACL Mariners have logged just one game so far, but they managed 24 runs on an astounding 21 walks. Nick Becker, Yorger Bautista, and Leandro Romero, arguably the three biggest name prospects on the roster, all were strong contributors in the win and will look to power this potent lineup all season.

The biggest series of the season so far is on the horizon and it’s not just big for both the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although it won’t be nationally televised, you can bet that the rest of the baseball world will be keeping an eye on this series to see if the Braves can send a serious message of intent with another series win this season in a stadium that has historically been a house of horrors — and one that is the home of the two-time defending World Series Champions, mind you.

Before we can get to the Showdown at Dodger Stadium, the Braves will have to continue their Western road trip with a visit to Seattle to take on the Mariners. Seattle has been a little better at home than on the road and their poor road form has been the difference between them being at .500 and being where they’re currently at. I’m saying that to say that the Braves can’t find themselves looking forward to the massive series in Los Angeles without taking care of business in Seattle first. That’s what’s on the horizon for what could be a really big week ahead for the Atlanta Braves.

---

May 4-6: Seattle Mariners

Current Record: 16-19 Projected Record (via FanGraphs): 85-77

Seattle’s rotation has been pretty solid so far and the Braves will have to deal with three of the better hurlers for Seattle so far. It’ll all get started against Logan Gilbert on Monday. While Gilbert hasn’t been super imposing so far, he’s done a good job of avoiding walks and generating whiffs and chases so the plate discipline for Atlanta will have to be on point if they want to be effective against him.

George Kirby will get the ball on Tuesday and that’ll likely be tough sledding for the Braves since his underlying metrics suggest that he’s been a lot better than his ERA (4.03 with an ERA- of 102) and FIP (3.33 with a FIP- of 82) suggest. He’s been even better than Gilbert when it comes to inducing chase and just as good in every other category (if not a bit better) as well. Bryan Woo will start on Thursday and that does seem like Atlanta’s best chance to pick up a win (and hopefully a series win if the first two games go well). Woo has also done a good job of limiting walks but he hasn’t been great doing much else, so there’s that.

Meanwhile, Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes and JR Ritchie will have to contend with a Mariners lineup that has hit their way into a Top-10 offense according to wRC+. Heading into Sunday’s action, they had produced a team wRC+ of 103 with a team slash line of .232/.320/.382 with a .317 wOBA. The good news is that the Braves clear the Mariners in every offensive category so far (aside from walk rate) so the Braves could do well enough to out-slug yet another opponent.

Still, Randy Arozarena figures to be a problem and guys like Cole Young, Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley have to be taken seriously as well. Plus, there’s the looming specter of either Julio Rodríguez taking a game over or Cal Raleigh waking up from his current slumber at any given moment as well. On top of that, Brendan Donovan could be activated from the IL in time for this series as well, so there’s certainly a lot to keep an eye on when it comes to threats coming from the Mariners.

Monday, May 4 at 9:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Tuesday, May 5 at 9:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Wednesday, May 6 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

May 8-10: Los Angeles Dodgers

Current Record: 21-13 Projected Record: 98-64

Assuming the Braves don’t get swept and end up limping into Dodger Stadium, the Braves will enter this series with fewer losses than their hosts in Los Angeles. Heading into this season, you probably would’ve figured that that meant either one or both teams had been disappointing to start out, but nope! The Dodgers are in first place and as of right now they’re either at or near the top of the leaderboards in any given statistic that you can think of. This is the type of start you’d expect for a team that is this loaded with talent and experience so that’s really another indicator of just how good of a start that the Braves are on, themselves.

The “good” news is that the Braves won’t have to deal with Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher, at least. He’s currently scheduled to start on Tuesday against the Astros and he’s usually gone up to a week in between starts so they won’t have to figure out a way to wrangle him. Still, it’s likely that they’ll have to deal with 2026 World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto and an impressive 25-year-old hurler in the form of Justin Wrobleski. If we’re going on form then Emmet Sheehan should get the ball for Los Angeles in this series. If not then it’s also possible that Roki Sasaki could get a start, though I’m sure that the Dodgers would much rather see Sheehan take a crack at keeping Atlanta’s lineup quiet.

When it comes to this Dodgers lineup, well, it’s the same ol’ stuff. They’re nine-deep and the easy outs will be few and far in between with this crew. With that being said, they did suffer through a bit of a power drought as the team’s ability to hit the long ball escaped them for a bit. Hopefully, that trend continues through this week once the Braves get a hold of them. They also had to recently suffer through the ignominy of a four-game losing streak. In typical Dodgers fashion, though, even the losing streak seemed to go LA’s way because everybody else in the division had just as long of a losing streak or an even longer one so the streak didn’t even hurt them in the NL West. That’s just how it seems to go for this team!

Current streaks in the NL West:

Giants: lost 5
Dodgers: lost 4
Padres: lost 4
Diamondbacks: lost 3
Rockies: lost 3

This is the first time in MLB history every team in a division was on a 3+ game losing streak at the end of a given day.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 3, 2026

With that being said, you know this team isn’t going to stay down for long. Ohtani is just too good at the plate and he’s surrounded by guys like Max Muncy, Andy Pages, Hyeseong Kim, Miguel Rojas and Freddie Freeman. Then they’ve got guys like Dalton Rushing, Alex Call, Teoscar Hernández and Will Smith who can deliver when called upon as well. The fact that the offense is still clicking this well without Mookie Betts is a testament to how deep and talented this crew is.

The Braves are going to have their work cut out for them and it’ll truly be an auspicious occasion if Atlanta’s streak of not losing a series is still on the line once they get to Dodger Stadium. I’m personally very excited to see how this series goes and hopefully the Braves will have taken care of business in Seattle beforehand in order to give this early-season showdown the level of hype that it deserves. Let’s see what happens!

Friday, May 8 at 10:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Saturday, May 9 at 9:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Sunday, May 10 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)

There’s almost all positive news about the Cubs this week, as they took five of six from the Padres and Diamondbacks, the last five all in a row. Winning 15 of their last 18 games, the Cubs enter this week’s series against the second-place Reds two games in the lead of the NL Central.

Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Ian Happ continues his solid, consistent season

Happ batted .316/.519/.684 (6-for-19) over the week with two doubles, a triple, a home run and seven walks. That .519 OBP is very impressive and Happ is now riding a career-high 24-game on-base streak. For the season, Happ leads the Cubs with eight home runs, 24 walks and 25 runs scored.

Here’s his home run, hit on Saturday [VIDEO].

Shōta Imanaga is also having an excellent year

Imanaga pitched just once this past week, but it was another excellent outing. He held the Diamondbacks scoreless for seven innings Saturday, allowing four hits with just one walk, and striking out five. Best of all this year, Imanaga has allowed just three home runs in 41.1 innings, and not more than one in any of his seven starts. His 0.847 WHIP ranks second in the National League (Tyler Glasnow, 0.824).

Here are the five K’s he registered on Saturday [VIDEO].

Ben Brown appears to have finally found his role

Brown is being used by Craig Counsell in high-leverage multi-inning relief and he has taken to it very, very well. Over this past week: 5.2 innings, 19 batters faced, one unearned run. Only three of the 19 batters he faced reached base, and on Wednesday in San Diego, he recorded five outs on just 11 pitches, including this key double-play ball [VIDEO].

H/T to Carson Kelly, who is quietly putting together a fine season.

Here’s the weird pop fly RBI single he had on Friday. That turned out to be a very important run [VIDEO].

Also a H/T to Michael Busch, who has shown signs of coming out of his early-season slump.

Three down

What is up with Alex Bregman?

Bregman did have a two-hit game last week — a game he didn’t start, he went 2-for-2 after entering in the seventh inning.

But overall, he batted just .190/.320/.238 (4-for-21) over the week, and hasn’t shown much power this year (four doubles, a triple, three home runs in 136 at-bats). He’s drawn 18 walks so his .333 OBP is decent.

Then he had a brain fart on a bunt on Friday that wound up going for a double.

The Cubs are winning without production from Bregman, so if he ever does get going, that’ll be a nice bonus.

Ryan Rolison and Corbin Martin have struggled

These guys are the back end of the bullpen and both have had good games this year — but not this past week. Martin walked the bases loaded Wednesday in San Diego and got bailed out by Brown. Then he had a two-run inning in garbage time Sunday. Rolison had been pretty good early on, then got hit hard by the D-backs Friday.

Both of these guys will probably not be on the roster once the Cubs’ injured relievers begin to return. It’s possible Ethan Roberts might replace Martin within the next couple of days.

Moisés Ballesteros had a rough week — until Sunday

Ballesteros went 1-for-20 in the first five games against the Padres and D-backs, though the one hit was a home run in San Diego. There were some thoughts that maybe the league was adjusting to him.

Then Moisés homered and singled on Sunday and in a key play, beat a throw to second base that wound up being very, very important [VIDEO].

Here’s why Ballesteros was able to beat that throw:

Cubs designated hitter Moisés Ballesteros, who is in the bottom four percent of sprint speed, per Statcast, took a big secondary lead on the play and beat out Arenado’s throw to second, giving the Cubs an extra out.

“It doesn’t matter how fast a runner you are; you can still take a great secondary and get there as fast as you can,” Counsell said. “I think we’ve stressed that to (Ballesteros). I think that’s important to (Ballesteros), and (he’s) had some pretty good examples of it and that’s another one.”

This is what good management and coaching can do. Good stuff.

TUESDAY

Bo Bichette became the first Met to homer on the first pitch the Mets saw since Brandon Nimmo off Adam Wainwright on June 17, 2023

Craig Kimbrel struck out three batters swinging in an outing for the 63rd time in his career, but only the fifth time since the start of 2022. One of those came against the Mets in the second-to-last game of the 2023 season, when he fanned Tim Locastro, DJ Stewart, and Tuesday’s catcher Francisco Alvarez swinging.

The Mets had a shutout victory while scoring eight runs or more at Citi Field. They’ve done that five times in the past five seasons, and four of those five have come against the Nationals; a 10-1 win on May 31, 2022, an 8-0 win October 4, 2022, a 10-0 win on September 18, 2024, and Tuesday. Speaking of that second one…

WEDNESDAY 

The homer Curtis Mead hit off Carl Edwards Jr. was the third homer Edwards has allowed at Citi Field. The first was hit by someone of the same first name as Mead – Curtis Granderson, on  June 14, 2017. The second was hit by the man behind the plate for Mead’s homer – Francisco Alvarez, who hit his first big league homer off Edwards on October 4, 2022.

The Mets tallied 15 K’s but lost by 12 runs. It’s only the third time in the modern era that a team has recorded that many strikeouts while losing by that great a margin. The Twins did it in a 15-2 loss against the Orioles on July 9, 2023, and the Padres did it in a 13-1 loss in Washington on July 25, 2009.

The Mets lost by 12 runs for the first time since July 5, 2024, when they lost by an identical score of 14-2 in Pittsburgh.

THURSDAY

Freddy Peralta’s 1-0, 98-mph fastball to Jorbit Vivas in the top of the sixth inning was the fastest pitch he’s thrown as a Met, and the fastest he’s thrown since a 98.5-mph fastball to Nico Hoerner on August 18, 2025.

CJ Abrams hit only the second go-ahead home run against the Mets in the eighth inning or later at Citi Field since the arrival of Grimace in June 2024. The other also came off the bat of a Nat, when Daylen Lile hit a two-run, inside-the-park homer in the top of the 11th on September 20, 2025.

FRIDAY

Since debuting in 2023, Ronny Mauricio has now had 6 extra-base hits with an exit velocity of 110 mph or higher out of 19 total XBH (31.6%). It’s a small sample size, but of players with at least 10 XBH since 2023, that percent ranks ninth behind Munetaka Murakami, Giancarlo Stanton, Oneil Cruz, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Carter Jensen, James Wood, and Ronald Acuña Jr.

SATURDAY

Nolan McLean’s four-inning start snapped a streak of 14 straight outings with five or more innings pitched to begin his career. The last MLB pitcher to do that was Matt Harvey, who began his career with 44 straight outings of five or more innings pitched until only lasting four on May 23, 2015 in Pittsburgh.

The Angels handed the Mets their third walk-off loss of the season, with New York having also lost in walk-off fashion to the Cardinals on April 1 and the Cubs on April 19. The only team that has endured more walk-off losses this season is the Angels themselves.

The Mets lost in walk-off fashion to the Angels for the second time in franchise history, with the other coming on a hit-by-pitch on April 11, 2014. Though the two games were 12 years apart, Mike Trout had exactly two hits, one walk, and two strikeouts in both contests.

SUNDAY

Mark Vientos’ 427-foot homer off the rocks at Angel Stadium was the farthest ball hit by a Met since…Mark Vientos’ 434-foot homer at Wrigley Field on April 18.

Vientos notched his sixth career multi-homer game. At 26 years and 143 days old, Vientos is one of only six Mets with six multi-homer games by his age, joining: Darryl Strawberry (17), David Wright (12), Pete Alonso (7), Ike Davis (6), and teammate Francisco Alvarez (6).

Clay Holmes turned in his seventh consecutive outing of at least five innings pitched and no more than two earned runs allowed to begin the season. That’s now tied for the third-longest streak to open a season in Mets history, behind only a pair of Jacob deGrom streaks (10 straight in 2021 and 9 straight in 2020).

Holmes now has three starts this season where he’s recorded an out in the seventh inning. That’s already more than any Mets right-hander had last season (the only 2025 Met with more such starts was David Peterson, who had seven).

Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:
Howard Johnson is the Mets’ all-time leader with 30 homers in the ninth inning or later. During Johnson’s Mets tenure (1985-1993), those 30 homers were the most in baseball in the ninth inning or later.

Suzyn Waldman spent decades sitting next to John Sterling in broadcast booths around the world and she offered a very simple explanation of why a whole sport is mourning the Yankees broadcaster who died Monday at age 87.  

“That kind of love for a team and that kind of love for his fan base, there will never be another person like that,” Waldman said on WFAN hours after Sterling’s death was announced.  

Waldman said her favorite Sterling moment was not one of his historic “It is high! It is far! It is gone!” and unique home run calls like “Bern, baby, Bern” for Bernie Williams. It is a simple call of a big moment that she cherishes: Derek Jeter’s 3,000^th hit on July 9, 2011, when Jeter homered off David Price to reach that milestone.  

“He had tears coming down his face. He was crying. I was crying,” Waldman said. “When you see someone’s whole career – we met Derek Jeter when he was just 18 years old. That call was absolutely perfect. And he did it perfectly while he was really emotional.” 

Waldman said Sterling never wrote down any of his iconic calls. What came out of him, she said, came from his heart.  

She pointed to his call of the final out of the 1996 World Series. Charlie Hayes caught a popup in foul territory for the Yankees’ first championship in 18 years.  

“Go back and listen to what he said. He never wrote anything down. So, what came out of him, came out of his heart,” Waldman said. “And it was perfect, just perfect.” 

Sterling called 5,631 games for the Yankees over 36 seasons, beginning in 1989. He never missed a game for the first 30 years, a streak of 5,060. He retired abruptly early in the 2024 season but came back to call the World Series one final time.  

“Every day was a unique, funny, strange, wonderful experience,” Waldman said. “One of a kind” 

Born John Sloss in Manhattan, Sterling started his play-by-play career with the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets in 1970-71. He came back to New York in 1971, calling Islanders hockey and Nets basketball. He spent nine years in Atlanta calling Braves and Hawks games for Turner Sports before returning to New York in 1989 to take the Yankees job. Sterling won 12 Emmy Awards and was nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame twice.  

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman on John Sterling's Death

Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani has six player of the month honors in his career, but on Monday he won his first career pitcher of the month award, taking home top National League honors for his excellent mound work in March and April.

Ohtani allowed only four total runs, two of them earned in his 30 innings of work, with 34 strikeouts and nine walks to go with his 0.60 ERA and 2.24 xERA in five starts. Among NL pitchers with at least 30 innings, Ohtani led the league in ERA, xERA, and FIP (1.98), and ranked sixth in strikeout rate (28.6 percent) and ninth in strikeout-minus-walk rate (21 percent).

In Dodgers history, Ohtani’s 0.60 ERA is third-best in the live-ball era through the end of April in at least five starts, trailing only Fernando Valenzuela in both 1981 (0.20 ERA) and 1985 (0.21 ERA).

Dominance from Shohei. pic.twitter.com/tZ6CmQ6DQn

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 16, 2026

Ohtani has led the National League in ERA after each of his five starts, but only intermittently so as his innings total has at times lagged behind the total number of Dodgers games played. He’s completed exactly six innings in each of his starts thus far, and will need to do so again to qualify for the leaderboard on Tuesday, pitching in the Dodgers’ 36th game of the season, in Houston.

Ohtani has won player of the month six times in his career — June 2021, July 2021, June 2023, July 2023 with the Angels; then September 2024 and May 2025 with the Dodgers.

Tyler Glasnow was among the other National League pitchers receiving votes for the monthly honor, with his 2.56 ERA, 3.07 xERA and 23.6-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate with 47 strikeouts and 13 walks in 38 2/3 innings over six starts.

The Dodgers won two pitcher of the month awards last season, both by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in March/April and in September.

The latest news on the Houston Astros and from around MLB:

Is Astros Manager Joe Espada’s job hanging by a thread? MLB Insider Bob Nightengale addressed that and more with our Craig Larson Jr. in Four Big Questions:

Is #Astros manager Joe Espada one losing streak away from being fired?#MLB Insider @bnightengale addresses that and more w/ Craig Larson Jr. in #FourBigQuestions on @CrawfishBoxeshttps://t.co/DXgDiw1e5Y

— Patrick Creighton (@PCreighton1) May 4, 2026

Yordan Alvarez named AL Player of the Month:

Are you shocked?

Congratulations to Yordan Alvarez on being named the AL Player of the Month! pic.twitter.com/Kfx0CGWzeB

— Houston Astros (@astros) May 4, 2026

Astros will go the opener route Monday against the Dodgers:

Steven Okert will open for the Astros tomorrow against the Dodgers.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 3, 2026

It only took about 2 and a half weeks:

The Astros have won consecutive games for the first time since April 14-15. They finish this road trip 3-3.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 3, 2026

AJ Blubaugh, who has not been pitching in longer outings recently, gave the Astros a very important 11 outs Sunday:

AJ Blubaugh has thrown 3 2/3 innings on 59 pitches. His previous season high was 44 pitches. Steven Okert was warming through the sixth, apparently in case Jarren Duran came up again. Blubaugh prevented that by getting Caleb Durbin to pop out with two on. Still 1-1.

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 3, 2026

AJ Blubaugh with a big game out of the @astros bullpen.

After the win he spoke with the media. pic.twitter.com/q55bxjre9J

— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) May 3, 2026

Its a commandment: Thou shalt not steal on Christian Vazquez:

Si un equipo en MLB debería conocer las habilidades de Christian Vázquez para sacar corredores son precisamente los #MediasRojas .

El boricua fusila a Monasterio con este certero disparo a la 2B y garantiza la entrada en cero. pic.twitter.com/vAgE8eBXdf

— Javier Gonzalez (@Astros_Coverage) May 3, 2026

The Astros have mostly gotten vintage Carlos Correa since acquiring him:

Carlos Correa in 80 games since returning to the #Astros.

.296 avg
.368 obp
.441 slg
.808 ops

To go along with excellent defense and outstanding leadership. Continues to do his part.

— Don Dougan (@don_dougan) May 2, 2026

Brice Matthews and Mauricio Dubon text each other to talk trash. This is awesome.

Brice Matthews said Mauricio Dubón texted him to "catch the ball" on Thursday after Matthews couldn't haul in Adley Rutschman's grand slam in Baltimore. After catching Willson Contreras' deep fly ball today, Matthews said he plans to text Dubón that "and some other choice words"

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 2, 2026

😂 pic.twitter.com/92Xpe8pKH1

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 3, 2026

Bryan Abreu pitched 2 innings without giving up a run for the win Sunday. Yes, this is real life.

The Astros “didn’t have a ton of options” to navigate a bullpen game Sunday. Extending AJ Blubaugh and an encouraging day for Bryan Abreu helped them escape Boston with a series win, while highlighting a staff stretched thin:https://t.co/8ZquYAYugV

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 4, 2026

Espada calls on Abreu, and embattled reliever delivers big-time

"Hopefully this is a trampoline that gets him going. I’m really proud of him for those two innings.”https://t.co/MdZht71xYR

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 4, 2026

Houston’s much-maligned defense performed better this weekend at Fenway:

What two defensive moments – one ground ball, one fly ball – reflected for Spencer Arrighetti and Brice Matthews in an Astros win Saturday at Fenway Park:https://t.co/Tf81xk1XmQ

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 3, 2026

The Astros are playing some terrific defense today pic.twitter.com/fIkDhGh9bE

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 2, 2026

Braden Shewmake con una volada épica para cerrar la 8va entrada. pic.twitter.com/WHVR9zVJk4

— Javier Gonzalez (@Astros_Coverage) May 3, 2026

Astros dodged a major bullet with Christian Walker avoiding injury after getting beaned:

Christian Walker said he cleared concussion testing and feels "OK, luckily" after being hit in the helmet by a pitch in Saturday's ninth inning: https://t.co/xNAwHxx7lI

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 3, 2026

Spencer Arrighetti continued to give the Astros innings and got his 4th straight win to start the season:

Spencer Arrighetti didn't allow a run until the fifth inning while the Astros scored six runs to set the stage for a win over the Red Sox. https://t.co/7sfCtZyMGBpic.twitter.com/szybD2No5e

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) May 2, 2026

Zach Dezenzo is starting to find his rhythm at the plate on his rehab assignment:

Zach Dezenzo homered for the first time this season. He’s on a rehab assignment with the Hooks and is on a 4-game hitting streak. pic.twitter.com/vMp64yOfv2

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) May 3, 2026

Xavier Neyens. Boss Tendencies:

Xavier Neyens leads all of qualified minor league hitters with an average exit velocity of 98 MPH, per Astros Player Development.

That’s absolutely smoking the ball. https://t.co/K7VJ1h9yqi

— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) May 3, 2026

Change for change sake doesn’t always work:

First home series since firing the manager, the hitting coach and various other coaches. Red Sox hit .107 with a .492 OPS with runners in scoring position. 7 runs scored. 29 runners left on base.

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 3, 2026

Laz Diaz is still an awful umpire:

Umpire Laz Diaz was the lowest rated umpire of the day and missed 21 calls in the Astros Red Sox game.

He had 6 calls overturned by ABS challenge and now has the 2nd most calls overturned this season. pic.twitter.com/tiNmphNtmQ

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) May 4, 2026

Baseball mourns the passing of legendary broadcaster John Sterling:

John Sterling, longtime radio voice of the New York Yankees, has died at 87 after a 36-season career.

The New York native called 5,420 regular-season games and 211 postseason games before retiring in April 2024. pic.twitter.com/8nAT09vbBC

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 4, 2026

Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras thinks the Boston clubhouse has been a little more at ease without Alex Cora on the bench:

Willson Contreras said the guys "got loose a little more" after Alex Cora was fired, adding that he felt the tension was gone.

"That's what I felt. That's my opinion. When Alex wasn't in the dugout, the team, was like [exhales] loose."

(Via: @TimBHealey) pic.twitter.com/kOwdjQK9UT

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 3, 2026

Contreras also managed to tick off his young teammates:

Willson Contreras told the media today that it probably doesn’t help that the Red Sox lineup has many young players not used to slumping.

Marcelo Mayer minutes later:

“To me, that’s kind of an excuse: blame the young guys. But at the end of the day, we’re all playing baseball,… pic.twitter.com/exV30gmS4Y

— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) May 4, 2026

The Braves have done something the franchise hasn’t done in over 130 years. Thankfully they don’t play in the AL West.

The #Braves have won 25 of their first 35 games for the first time in modern franchise history (since 1900).

Last time it happened was 1892, when the Boston Beaneaters started 28-10. pic.twitter.com/RZbDny4KJX

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) May 3, 2026

Things that should not happen, but somehow did:

The Royals tonight were the first team in major league history to:

1) walk zero times
2) strike out 17+ times
3) hit zero home runs
4) win

— Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) May 3, 2026

Maybe not the mother of all backfires, but that did not look like it went as planned:

Video has surfaced

(via @Linda_Pizzuti) https://t.co/GHGfuqEed8pic.twitter.com/QejUrB17Ol

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 4, 2026

Deals like this are probably why the Red Sox aren’t doing so well:

The Atlanta Braves pulled off one of the biggest thefts in baseball history, courtesy of the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox sent Chris Sale + $17,000,000 cash to Atlanta in exchange for a prospect that hasn't panned out.

In the 2+ years in Atlanta Chris Sale is 31-9, won a Cy… pic.twitter.com/HyZCY86BOa

— The Voice Of Reason (@SportsAndStock1) May 3, 2026

Chris Sale is pitching his way into Cooperstown:
7 innings
3 hits
1 run
11 strikeouts
He is about to go 6-1 with a 2.16 ERA and 46 strikeouts with Atlanta leading 8-1 over the Rockies at Coors Field.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 3, 2026

Shohei Ohtani was the victim of a vicious plunking:

This 75 MPH pitch almost ended Shohei Ohtani pic.twitter.com/gGTRvg5C4D

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 3, 2026

Full list of MLB award winners for April:

MLB award winners for April pic.twitter.com/nPSDwYkmw7

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 4, 2026

Bob Nightengale’s best and worst of the first month of the season – and the Astros didn’t land on any worsts:

MLB awards 2026 for wacky first month: Best player, biggest flop https://t.co/yM2PTLhooE

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 4, 2026

All or nothing:

White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has 13 HRs and 0 doubles:
Players with 40+ and 15 or fewer 2B in a season:
Babe Ruth, Yankees
1932: 41 HR, 13 2B
Harmon Killebrew, Twins
1964: 49 HR, 11 2B
Frank Howard, Senators
1970: 44 HR, 15 2B
Hank Aaron. Atlanta, 1973: 40 HR, 12 2B

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 2, 2026

Our Yankees birthday series has covered players from every era of Yankees history, from the legends immortalized in Monument Park to virtually unknown characters of franchise lore. If those are the two extremes of the sliding scale of fame, Miguel Cairo can probably be found directly down the middle. Cairo was your prototypical dependable reserve—a 17-year big leaguer who played over 1500 games between the regular season and playoffs for nearly a third of all teams in the league, but never played a starring role. Cairo was, above all, the kind of guy you remember during idle conversations with friends years after he took the field.

One of Cairo’s best MLB seasons came in 2004, during the first of two different stints in the Bronx. He filled the keystone position admirably that year as the direct predecessor to franchise cornerstone Robinson Canó. Two years later he returned to the Yankees and stayed through August of 2007 before his winding journey through the league resumed for another five seasons.

Miguel Jesus Cairo
Born: May 4, 1975 (Anaco, Venezuela)
Yankees Tenure: 2004, 2006-07

Cairo was born in Anaco, a city in northern Venezuela further inland and east of the capital Caracas. (For those curious, Anaco is roughly 6,200 miles away from the capital of Egypt—Cairo, New York is about 4,000 miles closer.) Cairo signed at the age of 15 with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1990, and began a slow and steady climb through the Minor Leagues in 1992. He left his first organization, for whom he never played a game, in a trade to the Mariners, a team he wouldn’t play for until the back-nine of his career in 2008. He was shipped to Seattle in a November 1995 deal for third baseman and clairvoyant Mike Blowers—then flipped by the M’s to Toronto in another trade the following month.

It was with the Blue Jays in 1996 that Cairo first had a cup of coffee in the Show—and we do mean a cup of coffee, as he played just nine games and logged 30 plate appearances for a fourth-place team. In the offseason, the Cubs acquired Cairo in a prospect swap, and afforded him 16 games of Major League action for an even less impressive team. Then came the 1998 expansion draft, in which the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays entered the league. Cairo was selected by the latter club and at last planted roots in the Cairo of America: St. Petersburg, Florida..

Cairo’s official rookie season, which came in the Devil Rays’ rookie season of 1998, was by bWAR the best of his career. While he only managed a 74 OPS+ at the plate as their everyday second baseman—a mark well in line with career norms—he quickly proved to be a strong defensive player. Cairo stayed in Tampa for three seasons before being released at the end of 2000. He signed with Oakland, then returned to the Cubs in a preseason trade for Eric Hinske. Chicago waived him in the summer, so he caught on with St. Louis at the end of 2001, hitting .333 down the stretch for a playoff team.

Cairo couldn’t replicate that success at the dish in two subsequent seasons with the Redbirds, but had at last reached free agency ahead of 2004. Enter: the big bad Yankees. In a move seen as highly unfair to the rest of baseball, the Yankees signed Cairo in their most publicized deal of the offseason to form a new star double-play combo with captain Derek Jeter—the kind of co-star capable of hitting clutch home runs like this go-ahead grand slam in Texas on August 12.

…Okay, fine. Maybe A-Rod was a bit more important to the Yankees’ success that season than our hero, but Cairo was quite valuable for them! Incumbent second-sacker Enrique Wilson wasn’t cutting the mustard at the plate, so Joe Torre made the move to Cairo about two months into the season. Miguel rewarded his skipper with one of the best offensive seasons of his career, hitting .292/.346/.417 (good for an OPS+ of exactly 100), giving the Yankees a perfectly pesky ninth-place hitter that opponents couldn’t overlook.

Enough ink has been spilled on the Yanks’ 2004 postseason that we won’t belabor it here, but Cairo continued to play well for New York throughout the run—posting a .383 OBP across 11 postseason games. He was particularly effective against Boston, grabbing seven of his ten hits in the ALCS.

Cairo became a free agent again in the offseason, so he simply moved across town to Queens to spend 2005 with the Mets before the Yankees welcomed him back to their neighborhood in 2006. Of course, the Bombers had a new everyday second baseman in town: the smooth-swinging, sweet-smiling Robinson Canó. So Cairo wasn’t about to get his starting role back, but plied his trade as a dependable utilityman for the Yankees throughout 2006 and the better part of 2007. By August, however, the 33-year old appeared to be running out of steam, so the Yanks cut him to give more looks to young players like Wilson Betemit and Shelley Duncan—two more excellent Remember-Some-Guys guys.

Cairo’s journey was far from over. After sojourning in St. Louis in September (say that five times fast), he had a few more destinations to check off his bucket list. In 2008, he finally played for the Mariners, who had dealt him away 13 years earlier. A season later at age 35, Cairo joined the defending champion Phillies, and made a few appearances off the bench throughout their NL pennant run—though he never appeared in that year’s Fall Classic against the Yanks.

Cairo spent the final three years of his playing career in the Queen City, hitting to a highly respectable .751 OPS with the Reds across 193 contests in 2010 and 2011. But in yet another win for sports’ greatest dynasty, Father Time, Cairo’s numbers plummeted to subterranean depths in 2012. The vet made three more appearances in the playoffs for the Redlegs in their NLDS loss to the Giants before finally calling it quits.

Unsurprisingly, Cairo has stuck around baseball since retiring as a player. His MLB coaching career began in 2021 with the White Sox, and he served as interim manager for Chicago in 2022 after Tony La Russa stepped away for good. He did the same for the Nationals last season after the dismissal of skipper Dave Martinez.

This season, Cairo joined the Orioles’ staff as an infield coach—meaning he’ll be celebrating his 52nd birthday tonight at Yankee Stadium. Welcome back, Miguel! ¡Y feliz cumpleaños!

I’ve often said to friends that the Guy We Remember is one of the most universally respected kinds of people in American life; players who weren’t good enough or prominent enough for public opinion to tilt one direction or the other, but whose mention elicits a hearty “oh yeah, that dude!” Cairo is the perfect example of a guy we fans love to remind ourselves of—but owing to his longevity in the league and success as a coach, it’s clear he was more than just a great pull on Immaculate Grid. It wouldn’t be surprising if Cairo gets an opportunity as a full-time manager in MLB someday soon. After all, it’s hard to imagine there’s anything he hasn’t seen throughout a full life spent on the diamond.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

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It's the first full week of May, and that dinger weather is knocking on the door. There are some great spots today with a lot of +EV home run props and MLB player props. Let's dig out our favorites today on a board with some bad starters and good wind. 

Michael Busch is in a great spot to break out of a home run drought with the wind blowing to right field at Wrigley today. I'll also circle some big-time power possibilities for Cal Raleigh and William Contreras.

These are my favorite home run props for Monday, May 4. 

Best MLB home run props today

Home run pick: William Contreras (+650)

The St. Louis Cardinals could be giving up runs from start to finish today, with Kyle Leahy sporting some of the worst BlastContact numbers and HR/FB rates among MLB starters. He’s a groundball pitcher, but when the ball gets elevated, it’s leaving the yard — and that has William Contreras written all over it.

Contreras has the best BlastContact% on the Milwaukee Brewers over the last two weeks and an elite Ideal Attack Angle, ranking second in baseball at 81.4% over that span.

The right-handed bat also benefits from a double-digit wind blowing out to left. Once he’s through with Leahy, he’ll get a crack at the Cardinals' bullpen, which has one of the worst ERAs in baseball lately.

• Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Cardinals.TV, Brewers.TV

Home run pick: Cal Raleigh (+390)

It’s not every day we get +EV on a stick like Cal Raleigh, but today is the day to back a big name at value. This is the top +EV home-run play on the board, per Covers projections, and has a fair price of +290. 

Raleigh draws a strong matchup vs. JR Ritchie, who has been fortunate with a .227 BABIP and carries shaky HR/FB numbers in a small sample. His ground-ball rate won’t bail him out much, and Atlanta Braves starters tend to be pushed into the 90–95 pitch range even with subpar stuff.

Ritchie has been tougher on righties, but all three homers he’s allowed have come off left-handed bats — and the switch-hitting Raleigh has six of his seven homers vs. RHPs.

There’s some risk after Raleigh sat out yesterday with right-side soreness, but a recent MRI came back clean. He took BP on Sunday and said he’s feeling better. The bat wasn’t slowing down anyway, with five homers over his last 11 games.  

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Mariners.TV, BravesVision

Home run pick: Michael Busch (+378)

You’re looking at one of the best HR environments on the board at Wrigley Field. With ~16 mph winds blowing out to right field, and temps around 70°F, the carry is significantly boosted — ideal for left-handed power.

Michael Busch gets a great matchup vs. Chase Petty, who is making his season debut for the big club after being just average at Triple-A. He logged six innings last year with the Cincinnati Reds and gave up three home runs on 14 hits. He also threw just 2 1/3 innings in his last outing and will likely hand things off early to a bullpen primed for regression.

Busch hasn’t gone deep in nine straight games, but he had an extra-base hit in every game vs. Arizona and finished that series 5-for-10 with 10 total bases.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Reds.TV, Marquee

Today’s HR parlay

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 Dodgers offense reached its nadir to date in 2026 last week, failing to hit a home run in any of their six games, losing four — two each to the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. It’s the longest home run drought for Los Angeles in a dozen years.

Batter of the week

The choices on offense were sparse here, but we’ll go with Max Muncy with his two doubles, four singles, and three walks, narrowly over Teoscar Hernández with his five singles and five walks. No Dodgers regular had an OPS of at least .800 last week.

Honorable mention to Alex Call, who had three hits in six at-bats.

Pitcher of the week

Justin Wrobleski did not strike any Cardinals out on Sunday but still pitched six scoreless innings, something not done by a Dodgers pitcher in 35 years. Wrobleski since joining the rotation has 29 scoreless innings in his 31 frames.

A close call over Shohei Ohtani, who struck out nine in his six innings on Tuesday, while allowing two runs (one earned) against the Marlins.

Week 6 results

2-4 record
16 runs scored (2.67 per game)
20 runs allowed (3.33 per game)
.399 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

21-13 record
175 runs scored (5.15 per game)
112 runs allowed (3.29 per game)
.694 pythagorean win percentage (24-10)

Transactions

Tuesday: Oklahoma City got another Fitzgerald, which the Dodgers acquiring infielder Tyler from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. Landon Knack was moved to the 60-day injured list to make roster room.

Game results

• Monday: Dodgers 5, Marlins 4
• Tuesday: Marlins 2, Dodgers 1
• Wednesday: Marlins 3, Dodgers 2
• Friday: Cardinals 7, Dodgers 2
• Saturday: Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2
• Sunday: Dodgers 4, Cardinals 1

Player	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	BA/OBP/SLG
Call	7	0	3	0	0	2	1	.500/.571/.500
Muncy	23	2	6	2	0	2	3	.300/.391/.400
Hernández	21	1	5	0	0	2	5	.313/.476/.313
Kim	17	1	4	1	0	1	1	.267/.353/.333
Freeman	27	2	7	1	0	1	2	.280/.333/.320
Tucker	26	3	5	2	0	3	3	.227/.308/.318
Smith	18	0	4	0	0	1	2	.250/.333/.250
Pages	24	3	5	1	0	2	2	.227/.292/.273
Ohtani	24	2	3	1	0	1	4	.158/.333/.211
Rushing	12	2	2	0	0	1	1	.182/.250/.182
Freeland	15	0	3	0	0	0	0	.214/.214/.214
Rojas	10	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000/.100/.000
Espinal	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000/.000/.000
Offense	226	16	47	8	0	16	25	.239/.329/.279

Pitcher	Record	IP	H	R/ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
Wrobleski	1-0	6.0	6	0/0	1	0	0.00	1.167
Ohtani	0-1	6.0	5	2/1	3	9	1.50	1.333
Glasnow	0-0	5.7	3	2/2	6	9	3.18	1.588
Sasaki	0-1	6.0	5	3/3	2	4	4.50	1.167
Yamamoto	0-0	5.0	5	43	4	4	5.40	1.800
Sheehan	0-1	4.7	8	4/4	0	8	7.71	1.714
Starters	1-3	33.3	32	15/13	16	34	3.51	1.440
Scott	0-0, Sv	3.0	1	0/0	1	6	0.00	0.667
Vesia	0-0	2.3	0	0/0	2	4	0.00	0.857
Dreyer	0-0	2.3	3	0/0	0	3	0.00	1.286
Hurt	0-0	2.0	0	0/0	0	3	0.00	0.000
Eder	1-0	2.0	2	0/0	0	0	0.00	1.000
Treinen	0-0	1.3	1	0/0	0	1	0.00	0.750
Klein	0-1	3.7	4	2/2	2	3	4.91	1.636
Henriquez	0-0	2.0	2	3/2	1	1	9.00	1.500
Bullpen	1-1, Sv	18.7	13	4/3	6	21	1.93	1.018
Totals	2-4	52.0	45	20/17	22	55	2.94	1.288

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

Up next

The Dodgers run the Sonny Jackson gauntlet this week, finishing up the road trip with three games against the Astros in Houston, then return home to host the first-place Atlanta Braves in Los Angeles.

Mon, 5/4	Tue, 5/5	Wed, 5/6	Thu, 5/7	Fri, 5/8	Sat, 5/9	Sun, 5/10
at Astros	at Astros	at Astros		Braves	Braves	Braves
5:10	5:10	11:10		7:10	6:10	1:10
Yamamoto	Ohtani	Glasnow		Sheehan	Sasaki	Wrobleski
Okert^	Lambert	McCullers Jr.		Sale*	Strider	Ritchie
SNLA	SNLA/TBS	SNLA/MLB		SNLA	SNLA	SNLA/MLB

Well now, that feels much, much better, doesn’t it? After getting their manager fired with their poor play on the field, the Phillies turned around and swept the inept Giants, then took two of three in Miami before wrapping that series up today. It’s pretty impressive what good play will do for a team.

Three up

Zack Wheeler – Boy, it’s just nice having him back in the rotation. I know I wrote about him last week and how he looked good in the first start he made even if the results were so-so, but this week, he looked good and had good results to go with it. I think it was Tom McCarthy who talked about how when Wheeler is on the mound, it’s similar to when Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee in 2011 were on the mound: you just kind of expected to win the game they were pitching in. That’s a nice feeling to have.

Chase Shugart – Listen, let’s give credit where it’s due. Shugart has been a nice story this season. His fastball/sweeper combination has kept batters off the bases and he has missed barrels so far in the batter’s box. His being able to come on in a doubleheader and pitching in and win both games is commendable as they can be pitching staff crushers. Shugart ghostbusted the runner in the second game (hat tip, Phillies Therapy), which is a huge lift to a team that has to equal or better what is done in the top half of the tenth inning in an extra inning affair. Can he keep it up? Maybe! The team is likely just thankful he’s been competent so far.

Jesus Luzardo – Maybe it was Rob Thomson’s fault that Luzardo had been off at the beginning of the season. Because in two starts since Don Mattingly took over, Luzardo threw 13 1/3 innings and struck out 18, walking nobody. Coincidence? I think not.

Three down

Rafael Marchan – Marchan is not a major league hitter and should not be thought of as such. The idea that he and Garrett Stubbs and J.T. Realmuto should exist on the same roster is patently absurd, but this is the path that Don Mattingly and Dave Dombrowski have chosen. However, Marchan has been absolutely dreadful at the plate and should not have his defensive prowess behind the plate outweigh the fact that major league pitching is vexing to him.

Felix Reyes – Yeah, it’s probably time to send Reyes back to Lehigh Valley to get him some more playing time. If an outfielder is needed, best to bring back Bryan de la Cruz and let him twist in the 40-man roster limbo wind for a bit. Reyes is just proving he isn’t major league ready just yet (and that’s ok!).

The Phillies’ front office – First, the news came out that they were trying to hire Alex Cora before firing Thomson, then they just went ahead and fired Thomson anyway. Seems a bit bumbling if you asked me. Then, they had fans come to a game on Tuesday that was eventually rained out, but not before people were already there and in their seats. Maybe “bumbling” would be being kind with this one. Just not a couple of days of good looks here for the front office.

Worcester: L, 3-6 (BOX SCORE)

Jack Anderson got taken for a ride in that middle relief spot as the Red Wings (Nationals AAA) put this one out of reach for the WooSox. While Worcester didn’t have the same luck the Red Sox did with runners in scoring position, going 3-for-8, the lack of baserunners to drive in – eight on the day including just two doubles – was the difference on Sunday. Vinny Capra and Anthony Seigler continue to bolster the offense of the folks playing infield. But, outside of those two, the WooSox only had two guys get hits in the lineup, which wouldn’t have gotten it done.

Portland: W, 11-4 (BOX SCORE)

The Sea Dogs didn’t truly run away with this game in Somerset (Yankees AA) until the middle innings, behind the bat of Johanfran Garcia. Password’s brother – and a solid catcher in his own right – belted his third home run of the season and had four RBIs. Nelly Taylor, who’s been stably climbing the organizational ladder, pulled the game further into Portland’s sights. But this game wouldn’t be as decisive if not for six innings from Hayden Mullins in which he got ten strikeouts and allowed just two hits. And this was after Sunday afternoon’s starter… Justin Slaten! Slaten rehabbing is huge for the pitching staff; but it doesn’t help the injured rotation if not to simply eat some relief innings.

Greenville: L, 1-7 (BOX SCORE)

Some troubles in the Greenville rotation – Marcus Phillips couldn’t make it out of the fifth but the offense kept up until it simply couldn’t. The bats were there when they had to be, scoring all of their runs in the fifth and sixth innings, including a three-run shot by Mason White that put this thing within reach, but the Spartanburgers (Astros High-A) scored another couple runs in the seventh innings and the Drive couldn’t even it back up.

Salem: : L, 3-4 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)

This game was tied up at two going into extras, and the pitching kept the Warbirds (Brewers A) in check, but Salem was unable to take advantage of this, going 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. This was despite nine-hole hitter Ilan Fernandez going 4-for-4 with three doubles. Ultimately, the RidgeYaks got walked off in the tenth off of a home run after scoring just the Manfred runner in the top of the inning.

May the fourth be with you this Monday.

The FCL Braves are the lowest United States based affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, and they opened their 2026 season on Saturday. This is our chance to take a look at their Opening Day roster, which is filled with a bunch of teenagers, as well as some well known injured names.

Injured Guys

This is where you will find Raudy Reyes, Rayven Antonio, and also Marcos Pol. Those three are presently the only three guys listed on the IL. Reyes will miss the year thanks to a spring Tommy John, while Antonio and Pol’s statuses are less known. You will also see Luke Sinnard on this roster, but since he is listed as active you can find him with the pitchers.

Pitchers

There are two big names here on the active roster, Luke Sinnard and Briggs McKenzie. Briggs McKenzie was the team’s fourth round pick last year, but received the highest signing bonus at $3M. The North Carolina prep arm is still waiting to make his professional debut, but it will be highly anticipated. Luke Sinnard was the team’s third round pick in 2024, and injuries have slowed his career slightly – but he made 16 strong starts between Augusta and Rome last year in his pro debut, followed by five more starts in the Arizona Fall League. Sinnard has not yet appeared in a game this year after opening his season in extended spring training, but his stay here is expected to be short as they build him back up. Cristobal Abreu is a big armed reliever who opened the season in Augusta, but was sent down after walking eight in his first three innings of work. That was his first time appearing since getting injured in 2024, so they have decided to slow him down a little bit – not surprising since he just turned 20.

Among the players acquired via the draft and undrafted free agents, Cayman Goode was a slightly overslot 12th rounder out of high school in 2024. Goode was considered a bit raw, and his results here last year indicated that as he pitched to a 3.57 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with 25 strikeouts and 16 walks over 35.1 innings in his pro debut. Ryan Heppner was the 19th round pick out of a Canadian college last year, and he too opened this year in Augusta, but was sent down after giving up 10 runs over his 4.1 innings – though he did throw two and a third scoreless frames in on Opening Day.. Brody Fowler was the 17th rounder out of North Greenville last year, and is still waiting to make his pro debut, as is 16th round pick from last year Nico Wagner out of West Valley College. Daniel Brooks is a larger framed undrafted free agent out of College of Charleston waiting to make his pro debut, while Will Eldridge was an undrafted free agent out of Indiana, who made his debut on Opening Day in a save opportunity.

Among the international signees on the roster Luisberth Valdez is an 18-year-old who pitched to a 4.91 ERA with 34 strikeouts over 29.1 innings in his DSL debut last season. Gensi Angeles, the Opening Day starter this year, is also 18 and pitched to a 3.57 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but with just 24 strikeouts over 35.1 innings in his DSL debut last year. Wuilinyer Tovar is an 18-year-old who made his pro debut in the DSL last year, pitching to a 6.83 ERA. Jorge Nunez is an 18-year-old who repeated in the DSL last year, and dropped his ERA from 4.02 to 2.57. Yander Pinero is an 18-year-old who also repeated in the DSL, dropping his ERA from 6.75 to 3.57. Melvin Hidalgo is a 20-year-old who made his pro debut last year as an older DSL player, as did the 22-year-old Dayner Matos, 21-year-old Robinson Narciso, and 21-year-old Cesar Rodriguez. Edward Cedano is repeating the FCL this year, after also repeating the DSL previously, but he is still just 20-years-old, and did show growth last time he repeated a level. Juan Olmos is a 21-year-old former catcher in the Royals organization who only converted to pitching last year for the first time.

Catchers

Yoelvis Betancourt is a 17-year-old making his stateside debut after slashing .260/.393/.344 in 122 plate appearances in the DSL last season. Arlenn Manzanillo is 18, but also made his debut in the DSL last year and is coming to the US for the first time this year. Manzanillo posted a .540 OPS last year, though he did have a .319 on base percentage giving him some silver lining. Johan Rodriguez is also 18 and coming to the US for the first time this year. He slashed .225/.309/.271 in the DSL over 149 plate appearances, but he posted an OPS of at least .662 in both June and July, before a rough month of August made his stat line look worse. He brings some defensive versatility, playing mostly at first base last year too. Luis Parababire is a 20-year-old in his third season here. He posted a .900 OPS in 24 games in 2024, but just .600 in 15 games last year.

Infielders

The biggest name in the infield has to be Manuel Campos. The 18-year-old infielder signed for basically $150k last year and went to the DSL and slashed .291/.395/.380 with six doubles, two triples, two homers, and 13 steals with 20 walks to 31 strikeouts in 218 plate appearances. Campos split last year between second base and shortstop, but played short almost twice as often and got the Opening Day start there. Malvin Fernandez is a 17-year-old who played second, third, and short last year, slashing .195/.340/230 in 141 plate appearances in his professional debut in the DSL. Juan Elejandro played mostly at second, but got some time at third last year, and the now 18-year-old is coming off slashing .248/.369/.301 in 141 plate appearances in his pro debut in the DSL last year. Mario Baez is in his third straight year in the FCL, but is still just in his age-19 season. After posting a promising .815 OPS in the DSL in 2023, Baez has only posted .515 and .604 marks in his two seasons in the FCL, spanning 95 games combined.

Outfielders

The star that most people are eager to see is Diego Tornes, the Braves big money international signee from last winter. Tornes sat out Opening Day, but he has lived up to the hype so far, slashing .279/.395/.402 with 10 extra base hits and 24 steals in 32 DSL games last season. Michael Martinez is also a familiar name to some, as he slashed .316/.435/.649 with three homers in 16 DSL games last year, before getting into 11 FCL games and slashing .237/.310/.474 with two more homers. Tornes is just 17, while Martinez is now 19, and those two will be among the biggest names to watch on this FCL club. Juan Espinal is here for the first time. Espinal repeated the DSL last year, seeing his OPS jump from .587 to .845, though he still had 63 strikeouts in 190 plate appearances. He has big power, but the 19-year-old will need to continue developing his hit tool. Gabriel Cesa is also a 19-year-old making his US debut. Cesa repeated the DSL last year and saw his OPS jump from .477 to .833 with seven extra base hits in 118 plate appearances.

The Kansas City Royals are putting a terrible losing streak far behind them, and a winning West Coast stint solidifies their positive trajectory.

Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco open recapping of the Royals’ series victory against the Seattle Mariners, examining what that win reveals about the team’s trajectory while also putting their West Coast struggles in honest perspective. One of the brightest storylines right now is both the bullpen’s performance and the outfield’s improvements at the plate — breaking down what’s made them effective and what their continued development could mean for the roster.

Injury updates await for Jonathan India, Ryan Bergert, Ben Kudrna, and others, offering context on roster depth and how the coaching staff might manage those absences heading into a critical stretch of divisional play. In one of the episode’s more thought-provoking segments, the conversation ventures into the science of pitching injuries and what future medical advancements might mean for pitcher health and roster management league-wide.

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– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
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