Category: Baseball

After a well-earned day off, the Yankees have their final series of May in front of them with a trip to Sacramento to visit the Athletics. The not-yet-Vegas A’s were the first team to take a series against New York way back in the first week of April, as they took two of three in the Bronx, but now they’ll get a chance to return the favor and kick the A’s while they’re down — after leading the AL West for a good amount of time, Seattle just leapfrogged them with a sweep.

To start us off today, Matt will give us the series preview of the pitching matchups we’ll see against the A’s. Sam has the Rivalry Roundup on a pretty quiet day across the American League, Jeff gives some love to a Yankee that only put on the pinstripes late in his career but was around the organization for a long time in George McQuinn, and Andrés looks into what’s going wrong with Austin Wells this year. Michael ponders who could be the next big Yankees prospects to break out, and finally I’ll be back to answer your latest mailbag questions.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Athletics

Time: 9:40 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, NBCSCA

Venue: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA

Questions/Prompts:

1. The Yankees are 14-11 this month. After the highs and lows of May, if they could walk away with a 16-12 or 17-11 record on the month would you call it a success?

2. Is Carolina going to lock up a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals tonight, or can Montreal keep their season alive?

Columbus Clippers 10, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)

The Hens pitching staff was shelled on Thursday, while the offense couldn’t capitalize much on six walks given up by the Clippers.

Troy Watson got the start and was clobbered for four runs and knocked out of the game with one out in the second inning. Yoniel Curet took over and settled things down through the third inning in a nice performance. Curet arguably has the best stuff on the staff and is still actually a prospect still 23 years old, so outings without walks are a step in the right direction for him.

The Hens got on the board in the bottom of the third when Ben Malgeri drew a two-out walk and stole second base. Max Clark pulled a grounder through Clippers’ first baseman Ralphy Velazquez to drive in Malgeri and make it a 4-1 game.

Woo-Suk Go took over from Curet and kept the Clippers off the board in the fourth. In the bottom half, Eduardo Valenica led off with a single. Jace Jung struck out, but Corey Julks walked and Tyler Gentry singled to load the bases. Cal Stevenson grounded out, scoring Valencia, and Andrew Navigato smoked a line drive single to center field to make it 4-3 Clippers, but that was all they’d get.

Go cruised through the fifth, but they tried to squeeze a third inning out of him and he immediately gave up back-to-back doubles and a walk before Jack Little took over. Little allowed two more of Go’s runners to score for a 7-3 Clippers lead.

Little and then Luke Ritter gave up three more runs in the late innings while the Hens offense missed a few opportunities.

Clark: 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, K, SB

Malgeri: 1-4, R, BB, K, SB

Watson (L, 1-1): 1.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, K

Go: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Friday night in Toledo.

Chesapeake Baysox 12, Erie SeaWolves 3 (box)

Kenny Serwa and Tanner Kohlhepp were the Baysox’s main victims in this one as Michigan State grad and Orioles’ second rounder last year, Joseph Dzierwa, punched out nine SeaWolves in his start.

Serwa gave up five runs, three earned through three innings of work. Kohlhepp couldnt’ miss a bat, giving up four runs in the fifth.

It was already 9-0 when the SeaWolves got on the board. Izaac Pacheco led off the fifth with a double and E.J. Exposito drew a walk. Bennett Lee and Brett Callahan struck out, but Peyton Graham lined a single that was misplayed into a double to center field to plate both runs. Callahan would later double in the seventh, and an error on the play scored Exposito to make it 9-3.

First baseman Andrew Jenkins tossed the ninth. Enough said. One of the few bright spots was reliever Moises Rodriguez, who tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless ball to keep his ERA at 2.22 on the year. Rodriguez high-powered sinker makes him the next Jason Foley, but he’s still got to improve his command to get there.

Graham: 1-5, 2 RBI, 2B, K

Callahan: 1-4, 2B, BBf, K

Serwa (L, 1-6): 3.0 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Friday with the Baysox up 2-1 in the series.

Lansing Lugnuts 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (box)

Carlos Lequerica was rocked in relief, while Andrew Sears made another rehab start with the Whitecaps in yet another loss.

The Whitecaps’ offense got speedy infielder Woody Hadeen back from the injured list, and they churned out 10 hits and drew four walks, but couldn’t come through with runners in scoring position. At least that’s a change from watching their bullpen blow leads.

Things were promising early on. Samuel Gil tripled with two outs in the first and Bryce Rainer pulled a ground ball through the right side for a 1-0 lead. In the second, Cristian Santana walked but was cut down at the plate trying to score on a Junior Tilien double.

Sears wasn’t real sharp in terms of command, but he didn’t have much trouble with the Lugnuts until giving up an RBI double in the third that tied the game 1-1.

Carlos Lequerica took over to get the final out of the third, but walked the first two hitters in the fourth and went on to give up five runs, capped by an Ali Camarillo three-run shot.

The Whitecaps had plenty of baserunners the rest of the way but just could not buy an RBI knock.

Lucas Elissalt’s usual start day accomodated Sears rehab outing, and the right-hander was really good, throwing four scoreless frames without a walk, striking out four.

Rainer: 3-4, RBI

Hadeen: 1-3, 2 BB

Sears: 2.2 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K

Elissalt: 4.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start in Lansing on Friday. The Lugnuts lead the series 2-1.

Palm Beach Cardinals 9, Lakeland Flying Tigers 3 (box)

Malachi Witherspoon was crusining early on but ran out of gas and was rocked by a pair of homers as his outing ended in this one.

Carson Rucker opened the scoring in the top of the second with a missile to center field for his sixth home run.

Witherspoon leaked a run in the third, and gave up a Trevor Haskins solo shot in the fourth. Still, he was racking up plenty of strikeouts and routine ground balls until the fifth. He gave up a solo shot, and then a single before Andrew Pogue took over. Pogue allowed the inherited runner to score and then gave up two more runs to make it a 6-1 Palm Beach lead.

In the sixth, Sergio Tapia drew a leadoff walk, and a Jude Warwick sac bunt and then a Jesus Pinto single got Tapia to third. A Beau Ankeney sacrifice fly scored Tapia to make it 6-2. Anibal Salas added a solo shot in the seventh. The bullpen leaked three more runs in the late innings.

Rucker: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 2 K

Salas: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 3 K

Witherspoon (L, 2-1): 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: The Cardinals are up 2-1 in the series going into a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Friday.

FCL Yankees 2, FCL Tigers 1 (box)

Jhonan Coba made an excellent, though curiously short outing, but the Tigers didn’t swing the bats well in this one. They got an early lead when Maikol Orozco was hit by pitch, and a rehabbing Jack Penney drew a walk. Cris Rodriguez singled in Orozco for a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Jake Bushnell allowed a pair of runs in his 3.1 innings of work and the Tigers couldn’t answer back.

Penney: 1-2, 2B, BB

Rodriguez: 1-4, RBI, 3 K

Hrustich: 1-1, BB

Coba: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, 3 K

Bushell (L, 0-1): 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Imagine if they held a National League Cy Young Award race, and Paul Skenes didn’t even crack the top five.

That’s the current reality right now in the senior circuit, though conceiving of a “Cy Young race” before the calendar hits June and no more than one third of the season has elapsed is some kind of folly.

By September, we’ll have a better idea who encountered injury problems, who got figured out the second or third time around by opposing hitters and who hit the figurative wall as the weather heats up and batters exact revenge.

At the same time, what a handful of hurlers are doing in the NL defies all logic and modern convention.

In an era in which the average starting pitcher has gone from “five-and-dive” to “four-and-no-more,” Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez is averaging nearly seven innings per start – and riding a club-record 44 ⅔-inning scoreless streak that’s nearing the neighborhood of Orel Hershiser’s all-time mark of 59.

At a time when your garden variety redlining starting pitcher lives north of 95 mph yet never sticks around to figure in the decision, Cincinnati’s Chase Burns is on pace for 21 wins and 193 innings pitched – all with an average fastball of 98.1 mph.

After nearly a decade of disbelieving what we’re seeing from Shohei Ohtani, the most talented player in baseball history has a 0.73 ERA in eight starts and more than backed up his oh-by-the-way suggestion that he’d like to win the Cy Young one day.

And rather than associating the phrase “Most fastballs above 100 mph in the pitch-tracking era” with a flash-in-the-pan reliever or a guy soon bound for his orthopedist, Milwaukee’s 6-foot-7 wunderkind, Jacob Misiorowski, is both upright and unhittable, with 100 strikeouts in 64 innings and a 1.83 ERA.

So who’s the best of the bunch? And who figures to sit atop the heap at season's end?

No. 1: Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies

Beyond dislodging Grover Cleveland Alexander from the Phillies’ record book (don’t worry kids – an iteration still lives on in your history lessons) with 44 ⅔ consecutive shutout innings, Sánchez is leading in every important precinct of this race right now.

OK, maybe not strikeouts. He’s five behind The Miz.

Yet he’s tops among qualified starters with a 1.47 ERA across a majors-leading 79 ⅓ innings pitched. It’s that latter stat that may separate him from the flamethrowers as the season goes on: Sánchez already has 30 more innings pitched than Ohtani, essentially providing four more starts worth of coverage to the pitching staff.

Sánchez features perhaps inarguably the best changeup in the game, a pitch he throws more and more each year – now at 37.8% usage - as his conviction in it grows. Opponents are batting .153 against it, with no homers and just two doubles in 141 plate appearances.

ESPN | Jesse Rogers: One day after the MLB Players’ Association offered a soft cap and a substantial increase of the minimum salary, among other things, the owners came up with the first firm cap offer since the 1994 strike. Per the league’s offer, each organization would need to keep a minimum payroll of $171.2 million, with a maximum of $245.3 million. “Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 as we grow the game together,” league spokesperson Glen Caplin said in a statement.

MLB.com | Bill Ladson: Ladson caught up with Yankees legend Reggie Jackson. Mr. October discussed many subjects, including his excellent shape, cutting down on sugar, his love for the Steinbrenner family, the development of Aaron Judge, his favorite ballplayers around the league, his stance on the ABS challenge system, and many more. It’s definitely worth a read if you admire the always interesting Jackson.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: Yankees backup catcher J.C. Escarra, who hits from the left side of the plate, is reportedly exploring the possibility of becoming a switch-hitter in the offseason. Per Miller, he is taking five swings righty every day in batting practice and is not opposed to the idea of eventually hitting from both sides. “I’m not committed yet, but it’s been on my mind some. We’ll see where it goes. All things are possible,” he said. Escarra is hitting .200/.250/.291 with a 51 wRC+ in 60 plate appearances this year.

NY Post | Ryan Giancola: It’s not a secret to anybody that followed the Yankees in the eighties that Dave Winfield and George Steinbrenner had a complicated relationship. The former outfielder, who spent nine seasons in the Bronx, criticized the “toxic work environment” in New York while talking on the All The Smoke Baseball podcast.

“Those nine-plus years that I was there, there wasn’t one day that I felt the organization was on my side trying to help me promote me, move me forward,” Winfield said on Wednesday. “You got to go to work every day, a toxic work environment.”

He added: “One of the best things that happened for my career is when I left New York.”

Steinbrenner infamously hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on Winfield, and also leaked made-up stories about him to the press, among other things.

SNY | John Flanigan: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has already returned from the injured list, making two starts so far. Both of them resulted in at least six scoreless innings, with the most recent one, on Wednesday, also including 10 strikeouts in 6.2 frames. His velocity and command both seem all the way back, and manager Aaron Boone had nothing but good things to say about the frontline starter. “If the first start was the appetizer, this was the main course,” he said. “He had everything going.” A healthy, locked-in Cole takes the Yanks’ rotation to a whole new level.

The Astros best starter this season has been a guy not deemed good enough to make the Opening Day roster.

Spencer Arrighetti (W, 7-1) picked up his 7th win in 8 starts with another terrific performance, limiting the Texas Rangers (25-31) to one run over 6 innings as the Houston Astros (26-32) took 3 of 4 games in Arlington with a 5-1 victory at Globe Life Field.

Arrighetti allowed just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. His lone blemish was a solo HR allowed to Josh Jung.

Houston gave Arrighetti all the run support he would need before he even took the mound.

Jeremy Pena led off the game with a HR, his 2nd of the season, off Rangers SP Nathan Eovaldi (L, 5-6). Eovaldi then walked Yordan Alvarez before surrendering a 2-run HR to Isaac Paredes. Houston led 3-0 going into the bottom of the first. The 3 runs in the first off Eovaldi by Houston was more runs than they had scored off him in his last 4 starts against them (2 runs in 27.1 IP).

After Jung homered in the bottom of the 2nd, the Astros answered right back in the top of the third.

Paredes drew a 2-out walk, then took second on a wild pitch. Taylor Trammell then ripped an RBI double, scoring Paredes to make it a 4-1 lead. Cam Smith then drove in Trammell with a single to center to make it a 5-1 game. Eovaldi was charged with 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks and 2 HR allowed in 7 innings. He struck out 6.

Houston used 4 relievers to get the final 9 outs, with Bryan Abreu working a 1-2-3 9th with a pair of strikeouts.

Pearson, Okert, De Los Santos and Abreu allowed only 1 hit and 2 walks in 3 innings, while striking out 5 as the bullpen got the job done again for Houston.

Houston has now won 9 of its last 13 games, and only allowed 13 total runs in those 9 wins. They went 7-3 on the road trip, and have won consecutive series for the first time this season.

Houston took 3 of 4 from the Rangers in this series, and now has a 5-2 edge in the Silver Boot Series.

The Astros will now come back to Daikin Park and open a 3-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pitching probables:

Fri: RHP Kai-Wei Teng vs. RHP Coleman Crow (Fri, 7:10 pm)

Sat: RHP Peter Lambert vs. RHP Brandon Sproat (Sat, 3:10 pm)

Sun: RHP Tatsuya Imai vs. RHP Jacob Misiorowski (Sun, 1:10 pm)

Game 1: (1) Auburn vs (4) Milwaukee | Fri, May 29 @ 1:00pm | ESPN+ | Stats

Game 2: (2) UCF vs (3) NC State | Fri, May 29 @ 6:00pm | ESPN2 | Stats

Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs Game 2 Loser | Sat, May 30 @ 3:00pm | ESPN+ | Stats

Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs Game 2 Winner | Sat, May 30 @ 8:00pm | ESPN+ | Stats

Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs Game 4 Loser | Sun, May 31 @ 3:00pm | ESPN+ | Stats

Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs Game 5 Winner | Sun, May 31 @ 8:00pm | ESPN+ | Stats

Game 7: Repeat of Game 6 (if necessary) | Mon, Jun 1 @ TBD | ESPN+ | Stats

Welcome to the 2026 Auburn Regional, hosted by – you guessed it – the #4 overall seed Auburn Tigers. Let’s get to know the participants.

Opponent: Auburn | Seed: 1

Mascot: Generic Create-a-School Selection | Location: The Original Clemson, AL | Conference: SEC

2026 Record: 38-19 (17-13) | RPI Rank: 3 | KPI Rank: 3 | DSR Rank: 5 | SOS Rank: 1 | Q1+Q2 Record: 26-19

Offense: .297/.390/.468, 97 2B, 73 HR, 10.8 BB%, 19.6 K%, 76-94 SB

Pitching: 38-19, 11 SV, 3.45 ERA, 485.0 IP, 7.4 BB%, 27.8 K%

The consistent thing you’ll hear about Auburn is that they’re battle-tested, and it’s not hyperbole. This Tigers team played the most Q1 games in the country this year and played not only the overall toughest schedule in the country, but also the toughest one in the SEC, playing fellow Regional hosts Texas, Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and Georgia. Four of those series were on the road, plus they played a non-conference series against Regional host Nebraska, plus three total games against Regional hosts Florida State and Georgia Tech.

We’ll get the pitching staff here momentarily, but the lineup is vastly undervalued. Of the eight lineup mainstays, seven have OBPs over .400, the most of any team in the Auburn Regional. It’s a young core, too, with six of those eight mainstays being freshman or sophomores. SO 2B Chris Rembert (.345/.402/.478, 13 2B, 4 HR, 7.4 BB%, 16.0 K%, 11-16 SB) was the only 1st Team All-SEC honoree on the squad this year, but he’s far from the only deserving one. FR 1B Ethin Bingaman (.323/.415/.538, 7 2B, 11 HR, 12.0 BB%, 15.2 K%, 4-6 SB) earned 2nd Team honors while SO C Chase Fralick (.311/.415/.594, 16 2B, 14 HR, 11.4 BB%, 17.3 K%, 1-1 SB) has been invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp and JR 3B Eric Guevara (.335/.403/.555, 12 2B, 12 HR, 6.4 BB%, 18.5 K%, 3-3 SB) is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. JR CF Bristol Carter (.299/.432/.388, 7 2B, 2 HR, 15.1 BB%, 12.0 K%, 30-31 SB) and rFR SS Brandon McCraine (.347/.428/.432, 11 2B, 1 HR, 11.2 BB%, 17.9 K%, 16-19 SB) provide the wheels to the lineup. Oh, and that one lineup mainstay with a sub-.400 OBP? That’s leading home run hitter SO LF Bub Terrell (.303/.383/.588, 12 2B, 16 HR, 10.0 BB%, 29.6 K%, 3-5 SB).

The pitching staff is what gets the most attention for the Tigers, and rightfully so as it’s as good of a group as you’ll find the country, and the reason why so many are high on this team to be playing in Omaha in two weeks. The starting rotation has been not only consistent but consistently dominant, with SO LHP Jake Marciano (5-5, 2.64 ERA, 81.2 IP, 5.1 BB%, 30.1 K%), SO RHP Andreas Alvarez (9-3, 3.30 ERA, 73.2 IP, 9.1 BB%, 33.0 K%), and rSO RHP Alex Petrovic (9-2, 3.21 ERA, 81.1 IP, 5.8 BB%, 24.8 K%) forming a fearsome three-headed beast. Somehow, none of the three earned All-SEC honors. Like Guevara, Petrovic is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. Getting one of those three out of the game early does you no real favors as the bullpen is just a lethal. SO LHP Jackson Sanders (4-1, 4 SV, 2.66 ERA, 61.0 IP, 8.7 BB%, 32.5 K%), a 2nd Team All-SEC pick, was the main midweek starter for Auburn, but also led the team in saves. FR RHP L.J. Cormier (1-0, 2 SV, 2.06 ERA, 39.1 IP, 7.3 BB%, 29.7 K%), JR RHP Ryan Hetzler (4-2, 2 SV, 2.76 ERA, 29.1 IP, 4.2 BB%, 22.9 K%), and JR LHP Garrett Brewer (1-2, 3 SV, 5.00 ERA, 18.0 IP, 10.7 BB%, 31.0 K%) also notched multiple saves each on the year. Cormier is the son of long-time MLB pitcher Lance Cormier. JR RHP Jett Johnston (0-1, 5.64 ERA, 22.1 IP, 4.0 BB%, 28.0 K%) doesn’t have a pretty ERA, but good luck against him with those walk and strikeout numbers. It’s worth noting that Brewer hasn’t pitched since May 12th and Johnston since May 5th.

This Auburn team is built for postseason play with talent and depth in both the starting rotation and bullpen, a talented lineup with a high ceiling, and a solid fielding team that controls the running game. That’s a College World Series contender recipe right there.

Opponent: Central Florida (UCF) | Seed: 2

Mascot: Medieval Times | Location: Strip Mall Central, FL | Conference: Big 12

2026 Record: 31-21 (19-11) | RPI Rank: 36 | KPI Rank: 33 | DSR Rank: 28 | SOS Rank: 21 | Q1+Q2 Record: 15-14

Offense: .292/.381/.436, 87 2B, 51 HR, 10.7 BB%, 17.5 K%, 49-61 SB

Pitching: 31-21, 11 SV, 4.37 ERA, 459.1 IP, 9.8 BB%, 20.1 K%

Around these parts we consistently hound on NC State’s dreadful non-conference scheduling, but it’s kind of wild to see that the Wolfpack had the 2nd “hardest” non-conference schedule among Auburn Regional teams. The Knights surprisingly had a worse non-conference schedule than the Wolfpack, checking in at #109 compared to NC State’s #96. UCF struggled against that OOC portion of their schedule, though, sweeping Murray State and Siena but going 6-9 against the rest. The Knights still started out hot in Big 12 play, getting out to a 10-2 start through their first four series, including a sweep over Regional team Oklahoma State and series wins against Regional host West Virginia. A rough two-week stretch being swept at Kansas (Regional host and Big 12 regular season and tournament champs) and losing a series to Cincinnati (another Regional team) removed UCF from the conference drivers seat, but they finished strong going 10-5 down the regular season stretch before getting bounced by Oklahoma State in their lone conference tournament game.

The lineup isn’t going to blow your socks off in any one area, but they handle the stick well and put up tough at-bats from 1-to-9. JR RF Andrew Williamson (.320/.440/.601, 13 2B, 12 HR, 15.5 BB%, 17.5 K%, 8-13 SB) and SR LF John Smith III (.328/.393/.582, 12 2B, 12 HR, 7.9 BB%, 14.0 K%, 2-4 SB) both earned 2nd Team All-Big 12 honors, but rSR C Zak Skinner (.365/.438/.503, 8 2B, 5 HR, 9.7 BB%, 13.7 K%, 2-2 SB) and rSR 3B Javier Crespo (.335/.429/.486, 9 2B, 5 HR, 9.7 BB%, 12.1 K%, 1-1 SB) also deserve some love. FR SS Jordan Lodise (.241/.338/.391, 14 2B, 4 HR, 12.4 BB%, 17.1 K%, 4-4 SB), the younger brother of former Georgia Tech SS Kyle Lodise (3rd round pick in last year’s MLB Draft) and cousin of former Florida State SS Alex Lodise (2nd round pick in the same draft), earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors.

Injuries have hurt the pitching staff, losing JR RHP Matt Sauser (2-3, 3.06 ERA, 35.1 IP, 7.7 BB%, 20.3 K%) and JR RHP Braden Smith (3-1, 6.21 ERA, 33.1 IP, 6.0 BB%, 15.3 K%) each after 8 starts. That put a serious hurt on the pitching staff, but JR RHP Camden Wicker (5-3, 4.00 ERA, 72.0 IP, 9.0 BB%, 20.3 K%) has been a steadying presence in the starting rotation for the Knights. The 6’7 Wicker has only hit 90+ pitches in two of his 15 starts this year, but has worked into the 7th inning on five occasions this year, an indication to his ability to be efficient on the bump. The injuries to Sauser and Smith have moved SO RHP Mateo Gray (5-1, 1 SV, 4.87 ERA, 57.1 IP, 6.2 BB%, 18.1 K%) into the starting rotation, with mixed results. Despite the shifting to fill holes in the rotation, the bullpen is solid with rJR RHP Evan Jones (1-3, 4 SV, 4.10 ERA, 41.2 IP, 8.0 BB%, 26.7 K%), rSR Kris Sosnowski (1-0, 4 SV, 2.10 ERA, 25.2 IP, 5.5 BB%, 14.7 K%), and FR RHP Max Murray (5-2, 3.62 ERA, 32.1 IP, 11.1 BB%, 25.7 K%) all earning some level of Big 12 honors this year. Add to that group rFR RHP Anthony Lariz (4-0, 4.39 ERA, 26.2 IP, 12.1 BB%, 24.1 K%), who finished the season strong (9.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K over his last five appearances).

The lack of starting pitching depth is going to hamstring UCF in the postseason, with the team needing the lineup to produce over what it’s done to date and hoping the bullpen can keep up.

Opponent: NC State | Seed: 3

Mascot: The Best Mascot Ever | Location: Home of the Future Stanley Cup Champs, NC | Conference: ACC

2026 Record: 32-22 (14-16) | RPI Rank: 51 | KPI Rank: 40 | DSR Rank: 36 | SOS Rank: 34 | Q1+Q2 Record: 13-16

Offense: .307/.414/.503, 100 2B, 77 HR, 13.8 BB%, 16.1 K%, 98-118 SB

Pitching: 32-22, 9 SV, 5.63 ERA, 450.2 IP, 12.0 BB%, 26.1 K%

The Wolfpack’s season has revolved around two themes: injuries and inconsistency. A third theme will dominant their postseason: the retirement of long-time head coach Elliott Avent.

Injuries hit the starting rotation the hardest, with NC State losing JR RHP Jacob Dudan (4-1, 3.60 ERA, 50.0 IP, 5.9 BB%, 30.4 K%) after eight starts and being without JR LHP Ryan Marohn (6-1, 3.18 ERA, 45.1 IP, 11.9 BB%, 33.5 K%) for the last five weeks of the regular season plus the ACC Tournament. There’s a chance Marohn will return for the Auburn Regional, but to what extent and at what effectiveness will be the real question. Those two injuries forced shuffling for the rest of the pitching staff, with JR LHP Cooper Consiglio (3-4, 3 SV, 5.73 ERA, 59.2 IP, 10.5 BB%, 26.6 K%) being forced into a starting role and keeping JR RHP Heath Andrews (3-4, 7.24 ERA, 59.2 IP, 11.2 BB%, 19.3 K%) in the starting rotation despite his struggles. That caused its own chaos in an already thin bullpen, and stud reliever SO RHP Anderson Nance (4-2, 3 SV, 3.78 ERA, 47.2 IP, 11.3 BB%, 26.4 K%) has now joined the starting rotation – he’s slated for the start against UCF on Friday.

Despite the overall numbers being the most potent among the four teams in Auburn this weekend, the Wolfpack have struggled at times with plating runs, being held to two or fewer runs on eight occasions, including four shutouts. Despite not having a true power guy or a blazing speedster, the lineup both packs a punch and can push the issue on the bases, but it really thrives when it can work pitchers into delivering pitches with which damage can be done. FR LF Rett Johnson (.392/.498/.460, 10 2B, 1 HR, 16.9 BB%, 6.3 K%, 14-16 SB) has been a revelation from the leadoff spot, JR 2B Luke Nixon (.361/.450/.600, 16 2B, 9 HR, 12.6 BB%, 14.6 K%, 11-16 SB) has been arguably the best two-hole hitter in the ACC, and SO CF Ty Head (.294/.467/.572, 8 2B, 14 HR, 22.8 BB%, 8.9 K%, 26-29 SB) has lived up to his MLB Draft hype both at the dish and with his defense. The lineup suffered for a while when SO SS Mikey Ryan (.336/.427/.599, 11 2B, 9 HR, 12.2 BB%, 17.1 K%, 11-13 SB) was forced to miss time with an ankle injury, but he’s back. JR 3B Sherman Johnson (.335/.438/.555, 7 2B, 9 HR, 11.8 BB%, 15.2 K%, 11-14 SB) might be the most undervalued bat in the conference.

Like the Knights, pitching depth is going to be the Wolfpack’s Achilles heel in the postseason, although Elliott Avent has proven to be able to make a run to Omaha before with essentially just five pitchers. Expecting him to something similar again might be asking a bit much. NC State’s going to need the lineup to carry this team in Auburn.

Opponent: Milwaukee | Seed: 4

Mascot: Tim “The Toolman” Taylor | Location: PBRtown, WI | Conference: Horizon

2026 Record: 25-31 (14-10) | RPI Rank: 238 | KPI Rank: 246 | DSR Rank: 232 | SOS Rank: 278 | Q1+Q2 Record: 1-13

Offense: .275/.379/.438, 108 2B, 59 HR, 11.9 BB%, 21.1 K%, 122-148 SB

Pitching: 25-31, 8 SV, 6.99 ERA, 466.0 IP, 11.4 BB%, 16.7 K%

What a ride 2026 has been for the Panthers. Milwaukee started the year as straight trash, with a 5-23 record when the sun came up on April 4th. They’ve been hot since, albeit suffering through a 10-game stretch in late April to mid-May where they went just 3-7. But they got right at the right time, winning their last four games of the regular season and then going unbeaten through the Horizon League Tournament, defeating perennial Horizon power Wright State (and their head coach, former NC State player Alex Sogard) twice, including via a walk-off home run in the title game.

Milwaukee’s lineup has some exciting pieces to it, led by JR CF Dylan O’Connell (.338/.435/.566, 17 2B, 8 HR, 11.9 BB%, 14.4 K%, 40-44 SB), the team’s three-hole hitter and a 1st Team All-Horizon pick. It is a top-heavy group, though, and despite former Notre Dame player Joey Spence coming through with the heroics to capture the league trophy, 6-to-9 in the order have struggled to consistently contribute. JR C/DH Dom Kibler (.317/.466/.571, 13 2B, 11 HR, 16.9 BB%, 11.3 K%, 13-17 SB) and SR RF Charlie Marion (.310/.387/.580, 16 2B, 12 HR, 8.7 BB%, 19.9 K%, 8-9 SB) each bopped double-digit bombs while joining O’Connell on the All-Horizon 1st Team.

The pitching staff doesn’t offer a ton to get excited about, but does have JR RHP Camden Kuhnke (4-1, 6 SV, 3.38 ERA, 32.0 IP, 10.5 BB%, 23.1 K%), a 1st Team All-Horizon honoree and the Horizon Reliever-of-the-Year. The starting rotation has been consistent with 1st Team All-Horizon rSR RHP Gavin Theis (2-3, 4.91 ERA, 69.2 IP, 9.6 BB%, 17.3 K%), Aric Ehmke (5-6, 4.50 ERA, 70.0 IP, 6.1 BB%, 14.5 K%), and LHP Riley Peterson (5-4, 7.18 ERA, 62.2 IP, 8.6 BB%, 23.7 K%) toeing the rubber every weekend. The issue has really been anything past Kuhnke in the bullpen.

While it wouldn’t be the biggest upset in this year’s field thanks to South Dakota State (4-seed in the Lincoln Regional) also being in a Regional, Milwaukee moving on to a Super Regional would be the most shocking 4-seed Regional champion in recent memory. The bullpen is too light for Regional play, but this is a team capable of pulling off a win in Auburn.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were blanked by Indianapolis (Pirates), 3-0.

Javier Assad started and left the game after issuing a one-out walk in the fifth. But Luis Peralta then let that run score and two more of his own, so technically Assad got the loss. The final line on Assad was one run on four hits over 4.1 innings. Assad struck out five and only walked that one. He left after 78 pitches.

Iowa had seven hits tonight, all singles, and went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position.

DH BJ Murray was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were ratted out by the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 3-2.

Connor Schultz was activated off the injured list and and got the start tonight. He allowed two runs in the first inning, but settled down after that and finished with two runs on five hits over five innings. Schultz struck out eight and walked no one, so that’s awfully nice.

Nick Dean pitched the next two innings, gave up one run on two hits and took the loss. Dean walked two and struck out two.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 3 for 5 with a double. He also stole two bases.

Both Smokies runs scored on errors in the first inning. Shortstop Jefferson Rojas hit an infield single and Ramírez scored on a throwing error in the play. Then Rojas got picked off second base, ran to third and scored when the throw to third went wild. Rojas was 1 for 3 with a steal.

This is Rojas stealing third and scoring. We don’t know what happened. It’s possible that Rojas thought that it was strike three and he was just walking off the field. But why he’d be walking towards the home dugout is unclear.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs scalded the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 6-3. It was South Bend’s eighth-straight win.

Cole Reynolds started and got the win after allowing two runs on four hits over five innings. Both runs scored on solo home runs. Reynolds struck out five and walked just one.

Adam Stone pitched the next three innings, allowing just one run on just one hit, a solo home run. Stone struck out three and walked no one.

Ethan Bell pitched the ninth and got the save. He gave up one base runner, a one-out double, but no runs. Bell struck out one.

Left fielder Miguel Useche hit a solo home run in the eighth inning for some insurance. It was his third home run of the year. Useche went 2 for 4 with two runs scored.

DH Kane Kepley was 2 for 3 with a triple and a walk. Kepley also had his 28th steal of the season already, which leads the Midwest League. Kepley scored one run and drove in one.

Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 2 with three walks. He scored once and drove in one with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.

Here is an RBI double for Matt Halbach and Kepley’s RBI triple.

Useche’s home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were grounded by the Wilson Warbirds (Brewers), 4-3.

Starter Kaleb Wing gave the Pelicans three scoreless innings, permitting just three hits. Wing walked two and struck out four.

Jordan Henriquez gave up a run in the eighth and a run in the ninth and got the loss. Henriquez’s final line was two runs, one earned, on three hits over two innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Right fielder Eli Lovich connected on a solo home run in the second inning. It was his sixth of the season. Lovich was 1 for 4.

Catcher Logan Poteet got the Birds to within a run with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was his seventh of the season and second in as many games. Poteet was 1 for 4.

Shortstop Deniche Valdez went 2 for 4 and he scored one run.

The Lovich home run.

ACL Cubs

Losing to the Rockies 5-4 in the sixth.

Juan Soto’s bat has an extra charge in it lately.

Soto, who has become more of a power hitter in New York than he was in Washington or San Diego, has six home runs in his past seven games (27 plate appearances) and eight in his past 12.

“It’s not much of a difference — I keep thinking to do damage every time,” Soto said Wednesday night after his first-inning solo home run gave the Mets a lead they never relinquished in a 4-2 win against the Reds. “The difference is the result. Sometimes I get the result, sometimes I don’t. I feel good. I’ve been seeing the ball well. I’ve been swinging the bat well.”

Soto missed two games — Sunday against the Marlins and Monday against the Reds — with a fever in the middle of his power surge. No big deal.

“He’s locked in,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s one of the best — if not the best — at what he does. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lefty or righty [pitcher]. We saw it on a breaking ball against a lefty. The compete, he’s just in the at-bat. The takes, the swings. He’s just a special player doing his thing.”

Soto only swings and misses 21.5 percent of the time — well above the major league average.

And that’s a good thing because Mendoza said he still feels some lingering wrist pain when he whiffs — but not on contact.

“He gets a little scared when he swings and misses, but it goes away,” Mendoza said.

“You see him hitting off the machine here before the game and he’s taking a lot of swings. It’s just when he swings and misses that he feels it. And he takes his time. We’ve seen it the past few days, and then it goes away.”

Soto is coming off back-to-back 40-home run seasons (84 total), with the Yankees in 2024 and Mets in 2025. He reached 30 twice in his first six seasons.

“I can’t control if it’s going over the wall or not,” Soto said. “But definitely I’m trying to put the ball in the gap and get on base any way so I can help the team.”

Three of Soto’s 12 home runs this season have come in the first inning.

“Whoever punches first,” Soto said, “is always punching twice.”

The Texas Rangers scored one run but the Houston Astros scored five runs.

Just about the only thing that ultimately went well for the Rangers tonight was Yordan Alvarez didn’t hit what surely would have been his 47th homer in this series if my count is correct. Instead, both Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes went deep in, you guessed it, the first inning.

Those were the 17th and 18th dongs that Texas has allowed in the first frame already this season. No other team has allowed more than 12.

Ironically, tonight’s starter Nathan Eovaldi wasn’t even terrible outside of the cursed first. Eovaldi allowed only four hits all night in seven innings of work and somehow that was enough for Houston to score five runs which proved to be more than enough.

Obviously the runs in the first inning count just as much and Eovaldi didn’t help Texas’ chances with his worst inning putting the team in an early hole but following that the 3-0 first inning deficit, the Rangers managed just four hits of their own all night and scored just once.

Then again, that’s three more hits and one more run than the last time they faced Spencer Arrighetti so, hey, progress!

The loss sealed a second series loss to Houston in two tries. Those Astros, as routinely discussed as being among the worst teams in the American League West each time they took on Texas, are now tied with the Rangers in the standings as Texas drops to a season-worst six games below .500.

Player of the Game: Josh Jung hit a solo home run that prevented the Rangers from getting shut out.

Up Next: The Rangers will open up a series against the Royals on Friday night with LHP MacKenzie Gore expected to make the start for Texas against RHP Stephen Kolek for Kansas City.

First pitch in the series opener is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can feast your eyes on the City Connects via the Rangers Sports Network or CW33 locally.

MLB proposed a hard salary cap to the MLB Players' Association in New York on Thursday, May 28. It was the first by the league owners since 1994. 

The proposed $245.3 million salary cap, which would include benefits, is lower than nine current MLB clubs’ payroll and would require a total reduction in payroll of $578 million.

Among those nine teams is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have a payroll of $420,146,940 for the 2026 season, according to Spotrac. That's the highest in the league, and they're followed by the New York Mets ($381.85 million) and New York Yankees ($336.56 million).

More: MLB fans should brace for lockout as owners throw down the gauntlet in labor war

Los Angeles will pay just over $169.1 million in luxury tax (competitive balance tax) for the 2026 season. The team paid a record-breaking $169.4 million in taxes for 2025 after constructing the most expensive roster in sports history.

MLB insists the newly proposed salary cap would increase competitive balance in the sport.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players’ Association (MLBPA) have begun the process of negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that will take effect with the next baseball season.

The current CBA runs out on Dec. 1 of this year. The two sides began their preliminary groundwork for negotiations earlier this month. The MLBPA submitted its first proposal on Wednesday, with its lead negotiator, Bruce Meyer, releasing a statement outlining the goal for their efforts.

“Today, the MLBPA presented a comprehensive set of economic proposals designed to advance the rights and benefits of players at all levels,” MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer said in a statement. “Our goal is to preserve and improve baseball’s market system, rewarding competition on and off the field.”

MLBPA proposal

Following is a synopsis of the major proposals for the MLBPA’s initial effort:

• A boost in the minimum salary from $780,000 to $1.5 million beginning in 2027.
• A Competitive Integrity Tax that penalizes a team that fails to reach a minimum $150 million payroll.
• Luxury Tax changes that would increase the Competitive Balance Tax threshold from $244 million to $300 million for 2027 and then incrementally increase to $360 million by 2031.
• Free Agency changes that would give a player who is 30-years-old and has a minimum of 5 years of service, the ability to become a free agent instead of the current required 6 years of service time.
• Revenue-sharing changes that would increase the amount shared from locally based revenues among all teams, but less sharing from local revenue generated from stadium-based revenues. Teams share the first $50 million in local revenue and then two-thirds of every dollar beyond that.
• Each team would get a certain amount from the central revenue each season, starting at $240 million the first year, and paired with a provision that requires spending the revenue on payroll.
• Increased revenue sharing to low-revenue teams that make the postseason or have winning records.
• Penalties to teams that don’t spend their revenue-sharing income on team payroll. 
• Draft picks and incentives for low-revenue teams that are active in signing free agents.
• Expand the draft lottery from 6 teams to 8 teams for first pick in the draft.
• Expand the Prospect Promotion Incentive program.
• Eliminate the Qualifying Offer for free agents and eliminate the non-financial CBT penalties.
• Increase the compensation to lower-revenue teams losing a player to free agency.
• Enlarge the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $50 million to $180 million. There would be annual increases added to that amount.

MLB made an official response to the MLBPA proposal.

“We appreciate the union making a set of proposals and we look forward to continuing the bargaining process and working towards solving the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us needs to be addressed,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. “We understand their proposals are designed to benefit players. Unfortunately, they do not address and in fact exacerbate the competitive balance problem our fans are telling us we must address.”

MLB counterproposal

Today, MLB released the highlights of its proposal and Glen Caplin, MLB spokesperson, made the following statement.

“Fans overwhelmingly support a salary cap and floor like in the other leagues because they don’t believe a $446 million spending gap from top to bottom is a fair fight,” league spokesperson Glen Caplin said in a statement. “Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 as we grow the game together.”

Here are the major proposal highlights for the MLB:

• Payroll floor of $171.2 million and a payroll cap of $245.3 million for every team, starting in 2027. That includes player benefits, just like the current contract.
• 50-50 split of league revenues with the players. As the revenues increase, the salary cap and salary floor would also increase.
• Centralized fund for all local media revenues, with the money distributed equally among all the teams.

The issues of free agency, draft lottery, and arbitration were not addressed in their initial proposal. The league is proposing a seven-year term for the contract.

What’s at stake

This process promises to be a drawn-out battle with both sides determined to hold the course with their bottom lines. The players have repeatedly stated they will never agree to a salary cap, and the owners have repeatedly said the organizational revenue and payroll disparities are not good for baseball, and they are representing the demands of the fans with their proposals.

Some points that both sides will undoubtedly bring out during the course of this negotiation

1. A top 10 payroll team has won six of the last seven World Series.
2. A bottom 15 payroll team hasn’t won a World Series since the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
3. The payroll disparity from the top five teams to the bottom five is almost five times (4.7 exactly), the most on record. The Dodgers’ payroll, including luxury tax, is $407 million in 2026. The Miami Marlins payroll is $74 million in 2026.
4. MLB formed a Fan Council in 2025, requesting the input of fans regarding issues important to them. Competitive balance was reported as the most important topic discussed. 
5. Baseball is at its most popular and financially lucrative status in history. Both sides should be motivated to reach an agreement to maintain this momentum. The fans were alienated significantly with the labor dispute of 1994, when the World Series and a lot of the season were cancelled. It is everyone’s best interest not to have that happen again. 

How this affects the Padres

Under the current proposal, the Padres would be one of the teams required to reduce payroll. It is not likely that this proposal will resemble the final proposal. These are the ideal terms the two sides would want to have for their contract. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement it is likely a owner “lock out” will ensue and the season could be compromised significantly.  

For any given baseball game, there are dozens or hundreds of little things that could have gone just a little differently to change a win to a loss or a loss to a win. Nearly every time, one of those things looms larger than the rest. On Thursday night as the Orioles opened up their series against the Blue Jays, the one that looms largest was this: Rookie reliever Anthony Nunez couldn’t stop walking guys in the eighth inning and he walked in what turned into the game-losing run as the O’s went on to lose, 2-1.

After impressing with some early-season outings, Nunez played himself into a late-inning high-leverage role. Things have not gone well for him in that capacity through May, with this blown game just the latest problem. If you turn to a guy with a 5 ERA in a tie game in late innings, is it really a surprise if it goes badly? On the other hand, it’s not like the Orioles are flush with better bullpen options, especially with Yennier Cano having hurt his hamstring yesterday.

Nunez’s outing began with a leadoff double given up to George Springer. After the Jays risked a sacrifice bunt to move Springer to third base, the Orioles intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to set up a possible ground ball double play. Nunez instead walked the next guy, Daulton Varsho, loading the bases. Nunez picked up a strikeout for the second out and he just needed one more out to escape this situation.

He could not do it. Facing a fellow rookie, Yohendrick Piñango, Nunez tried to get the Jays pinch hitter to bite on pitches outside of the strike zone. Two of them were nowhere near. Two were much closer, close enough that when they were called balls, Adley Rutschman challenged to try to get them overturned. He was wrong both times, including on ball four outside to force in the second Jays run.

There were chances to come back even after this. In classic 2026 Orioles fashion, they managed to find failure in the most inexplicably stupid ways. Right after the deflating bases-loaded walk, Taylor Ward led off the bottom of the eighth for the Orioles by hitting a single. Two batters later, Gunnar Henderson had struck out and Rutschman replaced Ward at first base.

This brought up Pete Alonso, who smashed a ball along the ground that deflected off of Jays pitcher Tyler Rogers. The ball bounced high up into the air before being fielded at second base by Ernie Clement, who threw to first to try to get the Polar Bear. Alonso is not a fast man. He did, however, beat this throw. The first base umpire somehow missed this call even with a great view of the situation. These injustices are why replay is important, even if it is often stupid.

Speaking of stupid: Alonso got picked off first base to end the inning. What else can you even say about it? That’s the one thing that can’t happen and the team’s $31 million veteran leader went and did it. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference. Weston Wilson was the batter. He hasn’t hit much in May. Fine, sure. Let him be the one who fails, so the response is, “Well, that’s what happens when Weston Wilson comes up in clutch situations because you already used Samuel Basallo to pinch hit earlier on.” Instead, the response is, come on, man.

In the ninth inning, Leody Taveras hit a one-out single to get the tying run on base. Recently-heroic Colton Cowser could not continue his streak of dramatic positive outcomes. Jackson Holliday could do nothing, either. The game was over and so was the winning streak the Orioles built up in sweeping the Rays.

Much earlier in the game, there was a starting pitching matchup that was, according to the MASN broadcast, the one with the oldest combined age of any game so far in the 2026 MLB season. 37-year-old Chris Bassitt has been good or at least okay for the past several years and has been bad so far this year. 36-year-old Patrick Corbin has been terrible for the past several years and has been decent so far this year.

These veteran guys were fine on Thursday night. Bassitt gave up a run in six innings, allowing only a third inning solo homer to Andrés Giménez. Corbin gave up a run in five innings, allowing only a fourth inning game-tying homer to Coby Mayo. Neither factored in the game’s decision.

The Orioles did threaten Corbin in the first inning. Ward led off the game with a single. Henderson hit a grounder that might have been a double play ball except it was bungled by Okamoto at third base. Because you can’t assume the double play, this was merely a fielder’s choice – at least until Ward kept racing around second base with the ball loose and Okamoto compounded the mistake by being slow to retreat back to third base. He was not in position to catch the ball and tag Ward, and in fact he did not catch the ball.

Somehow, even though the ball was never at any point in time in Okamoto’s glove, the third base umpire called Ward out on the play. MLB’s replay center took an embarrassingly long time to arrive at the obvious correction. Replay is great when it’s not stupid. The Orioles had second and third with no one out in the first inning.

Nothing happened. Rutschman lined out, then Alonso and Mayo struck out. One of these guys scoring would have been awfully nice. The Orioles couldn’t do it. Good games from Bassitt have been rare in his tenure so far and they just couldn’t capitalize on that.

This was game one of a four-game series. The season is not heading back into the toilet just because they lost one game. The Orioles just have to play better and do this until they’re back where we want them to be. They could even do it for the remainder of this series. At least, assuming they’re able to overcome the handicap of a 2026 vintage Trevor Rogers start as the set continues on Friday at 7:05. The Blue Jays, as of this writing, do not have a starting pitcher listed. Perhaps they’re trying to unearth any lefty they can find. Not a bad strategy when facing this Orioles team.

With just a few days left in May, the Colorado Rockies find themselves in a bit of a conundrum. With a record of 6-19 for the month and a run differential of -70, the Rockies are looking much more like the bad and rebuilding team we expected them to be compared to a relatively successful April.

On top of that, the team’s depth has started to be tested. The Rockies have lost multiple pitchers and position players to injury this month. Jordan Beck, Mickey Moniak, and Brenton Doyle, Chase Dollander, Victor Vodnik, José Quintana, and Jimmy Herget have all landed on the injured list in May. While there have been a few call-ups like Sterlin Thompson, Chad Stevens, and Welinton Herrera, the Rockies seem unlikely to call up any of their top prospects like Charlie Condon or Cole Carrigg.

With that being said, the team might need some reinforcements from outside the organization to help find their footing. Here are some options that might be worth considering:

Andrew McCutchen

They say Father Time is undefeated, and the beginning of Andrew McCutchen’s age 39 season hasn’t been a great one. After playing fairly well with his Pittsburgh Pirates last season, McCutchen was allowed to walk as the Pirates aimed to get younger. McCutchen signed on with the Texas Rangers and made their Opening Day Roster, but has struggled in limited playing time. In 83 plate appearances he has hit just .192/.277/.260 with one home run and a 62 OPS+ before being designated for assignment earlier this week.

McCutchen is by no means a permanent or long-term solution, but if the storied veteran has any gas left in the tank, he could be a low-risk move for a right-handed designated hitter on a team that has been struggling to score runs.

Bailey Falter

No matter how you feel about Kyle Freeland, I think everyone can agree that something isn’t right with the veteran lefty since he returned from the injured list. Since being activated from the 15-day IL with a sore left shoulder, Freeland has struggled immensely in 26.2 innings of work. He has an ERA of 11.48, a FIP of 7.73—which indicates that although his ERA is inflated during that time, he is still pitching poorly.

Freeland is struggling to get velocity in his four-seam fastball and struggling to place his other offerings. While he does have 26 strikeouts since returning, he also has ten walks and has given up 11 home runs. Before his injury he had a 2.30 ERA and had given up just one home run.

I would argue Freeland needs to return to the injured list, and with José Quintana out of commission with an elbow injury, the Rockies suddenly find themselves lacking for left-handed starting pitchers.

Enter Baily Falter, who was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals.

Falter, a lefty, started last season strong with a 3.73 ERA over 22 starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded to the Royals. Since landing in Kansas City he has struggled as the Royals have used him both as a starter and reliever. In nine appearances with the Royals since last season he has a 12.46 ERA over 21.2 innings.

While certainly a reclamation project for Alon Leichman and the Rockies coaching staff, Falter fits into a similar mold as Freeland. A deceptive left-handed pitcher with a low 90s four-seam fastball and a handful of breaking pitches. If the Rockies could help Falter find his form from Pittsburgh, he could be a valuable piece of depth.

Final Thoughts

Who, if anyone, do you think the Rockies should pursue as reinforcement options from outside the organization? Let us know in the comments!

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

Blue Jays 2 Orioles 1

I guess we scored some runs yesterday, so it was too much to ask for us to get more than two today.

We scored:

• One in the third: Andrés Giménez homered.
• And one in the eighth: George Springer doubled. Nathan Lukes bunted him to third. I hate bunts when the runner is already in scoring position. And Nathan had already had a hit tonight. Oh well. Then the Orioles intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero. Daulton Varsho also walked, loading the bases. Kazuma Okamoto struck out, he chased strike three, but the other pitches were strikes. Yohendrick Piñango, pinch-hitting for Myles Straw, took a walk to drive in the run. A couple of the pinches were close, but Yohendrick showed a good eye. Unfortunately, Ernie Clement struck out, swinging at a pitch well off the plate. Ernie’s going to Ernie.

We had 6 hits and 5 walks, so you would have hoped for more runs. But such is life. No one had two hits. Okamoto was the only one in the starting lineup not to reach base.

Patrict Corbin threw an excellent five innings, with four hits, one earned (a Coby Mayo home run. I’ve never liked Mayo, it’s white stuff that tastes like white stuff.), He’s been nice in what I would have called a fifth starter role, if we had four other starters.

And the bullpen did well:

• Braydon Fisher had a clean sixth, with a strikeout.
• Jeff Hoffman allowed a hit, but had two strikeouts. He got the win.
• Tyler Rogers had a tough time, giving up a couple of hits, with a strikeout and came out with two on.
• Louis Varland got out of the inning, though he had little to do with it, Brandon Valenzuela made a great throw to first, to pick off the runner. Vlad played well off the line but ran to first on the pitch, and made a nice tag. He did give up a ground ball single in the ninth, but got out of the inning.

Jays of the Day: Varland (0.31 WPA, but some of that is owed to Valenzuela and Vlad), Piñango (0.24 WPA, all for the RBI walk), Fisher (0.12), Corbin (0.09) and Hoffman (0.09)

The Other Award: Okamoto (-.017, for his 0 for 3).

Tomorrow, is a 7:00 start. I thought today’s would be at 7, so I was a little late with the GameThread. Someone will start for the Jays. Connor Seabold? Someone from Buffalo? You? Me? Trevor Rogers (2-6, 6.96 ERA).

The Jays are 28-29. It would be nice to get back to .500 tomorrow.