Category: Baseball

A busy day in the world of the Atlanta Braves culminated with the team getting rocked on the field Monday night by the Miami Marlins. Despite the Marlins having scored three runs total across the entire three-game series in Detroit, they eclipsed that mark in just five innings in Atlanta.

The offense did show signs of life as they plated another four runs but folks, it’s very difficult to win any type of ballgame when you give up ten runs. Eury Pérez also should probably feel fortunate that he got out of there with just three runs allowed as the Braves did have their chances to open it up against him. Instead, Grant Holmes and the rest of Atlanta’s pitching staff took the brunt of the punishment in this contest and the Braves ended up being doomed to defeat in this one and their series-winning streak is now in jeopardy.

Braves News

Dylan Dodd is now with the Gwinnett Stripers and Rolddy Muñoz took his place as a result. We were hoping that things would be better for Muñoz this go-around. The first pitch he threw got hit out. Blah.

Sean Murphy was going to do his rehab stint in Gwinnett. Plans changed due to personal circumstances on his part and now he’ll be starting his rehab assignment Tuesday night with the Rome Emperors.

Michael Harris II returned to the lineup following the birth of Michael Harris III. As a result, Luke Williams was designated for assignment. We’ll see if he ends up sticking around with the Braves organization.

Grant McAuley gave us all an inside look into the design process of the new City Connect uniforms. He spoke with Braves Creative Director Insung Kim and got all the details behind the design.

Following his actions last week during the donnybrook between the Braves and the Angels, manager Walt Weiss has developed a tough reputation. Bob Nightengale of USA Today went into detail about how unsurprising that was for the people who are around him every day.

MLB News

Aaron Judge and Mike Trout had a kaiju battle in the Bronx on Monday night. The Yankees may have won 11-10 but folks, is Trout finally back?

Elsewhere in the AL East, the Orioles made a furious comeback from down six runs to stun the Diamondbacks in dramatic fashion.

The Guardians bounced back in a win over the Cardinals but folks, Jordan Walker is on a tear.

Will Leitch of MLB.com ran down a list of candidates who could potentially be in line to win their first career MVP this season. Do you agree with what you see on this list?

From The Feed

Walt Weiss is a very, very popular guy in the Braves’ clubhouse right now.

Miracle of all miracles, the 37-year-old Chris Sale just keeps getting it done.

Are we looking at the best Braves bench for a considerable amount of time? People are asking!

The DH spot is looking pretty nice as well.

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There’s a fascinating starting pitching matchup in Chavez Ravine on Tuesday as Nolan McLean and the New York Mets face Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

See why I’m backing the underdog and the Under with my Mets vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks for Tuesday, April 14.

Who will win Mets vs Dodgers today: Mets (+178)

A team with Nolan McLean as their starting pitcher shouldn’t be priced at +186. 

The 24-year-old has a 2.23 ERA across 11 starts in the Big Leagues and has flashed elite stuff this season, ranking above the 90th percentile in xERA, xBA, and average exit velocity. 

The New York Mets are off to a disappointing start at the dish, but there’s still plenty of talent up and down the lineup. 

They could reasonably plate several runs against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has yet to ramp up to “elite mode” with a pedestrian 3.62 xERA and 20.9% K rate in three starts.

COVERS INTEL: The Mets have below-average surface-level numbers at the plate (.230 AVG, .341 SLG), but underlying metrics indicate that’s somewhat due to bad luck. Their xBA is 16 points higher (.246), and their xSLG is 51 points higher, so better days are ahead.

Mets vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-107)

The league experienced a rash of high-scoring games on Monday, when nine of the 10 games went Over the total. The lone Under? The series opener between the Mets and Dodgers, a 4-0 victory for L.A. 

There was favorable hitting weather in just about every other game, but L.A. was an exception then, and it is again on Tuesday with temps in the high 50s to low 60s. 

In a game with two tremendous starting pitchers, I’d rather have the Under. Both bullpens have SIERAs under 3.80 and are well rested after combining for just four innings in the opener.

Mets vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Mets XX | Dodgers XX
• Run line: Mets XX | Dodgers XX
• Over/Under: Over XXX | Under XXX

Mets vs Dodgers trend

The Mets have cashed the moneyline in three of their last five road games for a 15% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Mets vs Dodgers and game info

Mets vs Dodgers latest injuries

Mets vs Dodgers weather

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The San Diego Padres bullpen was expected to be the strength of the team coming into the 2026 season, the first season under new manager and former Padres reliever Craig Stammen. The San Diego bullpen has been good, but it has not been the shutdown game-determining juggernaut the Friar Faithful expected. In fact, one of those power arms at the back of the ‘pen, Jeremiah Estrada, landed on the IL following a slow start to the year. Estrada had some difficult outings where he did not look like the same dominant arm that struck out 13 batters in a row, but the greater concern was the drop in his velocity. Another electric arm in the San Diego bullpen, Adrian Morejon, has also struggled to start the season. Stammen said it himself in a recent postgame press conference, Morejon is not getting hit hard, but broken bat singles and flares to the outfield somehow keep finding grass.

The performances of Estrada and Morejon have really been the only negatives from the bullpen so far. Yuki Matsui has yet to return to the big-league roster, but Jason Adam was reinstated last week and looks like he never suffered a season-ending injury in 2025. David Morgan, Kyle Hart, Wandy Peralta, Ron Marinaccio and Bradgley Rodriguez have all had moments this season where fans could see what the potential the prognosticators saw before the season began when they were praising the Padres’ bullpen.

Of course, the crown jewel of the San Diego bullpen to this point in the season is closer Mason Miller. He has been talked about as the single most dominant player at any position in the MLB. That is high praise for one of the biggest points of contention from the 2025 season. Was it a mistake by general manager A.J. Preller to trade top-prospect Leodalis DeVries for Miller and JP Sears? Even without Sears, those in favor of the trade could claim a victory.

One thing is for sure, as the season progresses and players like Estrada, Morejon and eventually Matsui return to the bullpen, decisions for Stammen and Preller will become increasingly difficult. The benefit of those decisions should be the elite group that was so highly touted in the offseason.

Padres News:

• Fernando Tatis Jr. played back-to-back games at second base to allow Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth to get days off. The result was an improved performance at the plate and a double play throw that intended to put a hole in the glove of first baseman Gavin Sheets. No matter the reason for the (temporary) move the Platinum Glove winning right fielder looked happy to be back on the dirt.

• Tatis Jr. may not get many more chances to play second base if Sung-Mun Song continues his success in his rehab appearances with Triple-A El Paso. The infielder was 2-for-5 in the most recent action for the Chihuahuas.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels faced off against each other on Monday, but the real story was Aaron Judge versus Mike Trout. With the two combining for four home runs, they did not disappoint.

• Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals cannot stop hitting home runs – and the Cardinals do not want him to.

• Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes finally got some run support in one of his outings as the Pirates scored 10 runs in a single frame against the Washington Nationals.

• Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs against his former club and helped the Philadelphia Phillies start their series against the Chicago Cubs with a win.

• Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet got beat up by the Minnesota Twins and allowed 11 runs in 1.2 innings. Byron Buxton became the all-time home runs leader at Target Field as a result.

• Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte each hit two home runs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Baltimore Orioles, but it was Pete Alonso who helped Baltimore walk away with a win.

• Josh Naylor, who signed a free-agent deal with the Seattle Mariners in the offseason, had a breakout game at the plate with two home runs.

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A double-dose of Los Angeles vs. New York plays highlight our MLB best bets for Tuesday's slate, dipping into both the AL and NL versions of those matchups.

In addition to those MLB picks, we also have more best bets from the Covers staff — with all prices courtesy of Polymarket, which allows baseball fans all across the country to participate in the MLB action.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: LAA ML	+163
Jon Metler: NYM ML	+186
Joe Osborne: TEX/A's u8.5	+100

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Angels moneyline

Price: 38¢ (+163) at Polymarket

When I’m backing a big dog, I’ll happily take an offense like the Los Angeles Angels, which has been a Top-10 unit over the last week and is coming off a 10-run outing yesterday. They got to the Yankees bullpen early, tagging it for six runs and two home runs, which is key to their chances again today. Ryan Weathers is coming off a career-high 101 pitches in his last start, after relatively light workloads throughout his six MLB seasons, which adds some uncertainty to his leash. THE BAT projects a fair price closer to +125 for the Halos, making +163 a strong value spot.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Mets moneyline

Price: 35¢ (+186) at Polymarket

Nolan McLean vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto at Dodger Stadium — this is the game of the night, and I’m backing the Mets in a matchup that could easily be an NLCS preview. The Mets are trading at 35% on Polymarket, but I make them closer to 44%, which is why I’m hitting the button on this price. The Dodgers lineup — featuring LHBs Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker, and Max Muncy — typically benefits from facing right-handed pitching... unless it’s a high-end arm. McLean fits that description, with elite stuff and a high spin rate. He can bury back-foot sliders to left-handed power bats and mix in his curveball to keep them off balance, forcing weaker contact and limiting their power.

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Rangers/A's Under 8.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

Two left-handed starters are set to take the mound, matching up perfectly against two of the worst offenses against lefties this season, with the teams ranking 26th and 27th in OPS vs southpaws. MacKenzie Gore has been sharp with a 2.45 ERA, and is backed by a bullpen that ranks second in ERA, while Jeffrey Springs has posted a 0.69 ERA and 0.46 WHIP, including a one-hit gem at Yankee Stadium in his last outing. The Athletics are always a candidate for rock-bottom run production, already logging six games this season with one run or fewer.

More MLB best bets for today

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 Detroit Tigers enjoyed some home cooking this weekend, sweeping the Miami Marlins in three games to snap a five-game winning streak. Now, they open up the second half of the homestand with their American League Central rivals, the Kansas City Royals, coming into town.

The Royals are currently tied with the Tigers in the middle of the ALC pack, while the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians sit atop the division with 10-7 records. The Chicago White Sox take up the rear with a 6-10 mark heading into the series.

To kick things off, Detroit has lefty-hander Framber Valdez taking the mound on Tuesday night, while fellow southpaw Cole Ragans toes the rubber for the visitors. Here’s a quick look at how they match up.

Detroit Tigers (7-9) vs. Kansas City Royals (7-9)

Time (ET): 6:40 p.m. ET
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 17: LHP Framber Valdez (1-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Ragans (0-3, 5.91 ERA)

VALDEZ

RAGANS

In many ways, the main goal of the Orioles’ 2026 season was not to repeat the 2025 season. Through the first 16 games of the season, the O’s have certainly been more competitive than they were to begin last season. However, one unfortunate aspect of 2025 that has followed the Orioles into 2026 is the mountain of injuries.

The Orioles currently have a major-league-leading 13 players on the IL. After a weekend that saw Adley Rutschman land on the 10-day IL with an ankle injury and Ryan Mountcastle head to the 60-day IL with a broken foot, the offense is now especially reeling.

With the injuries piled on top of the early-season struggles of Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo, the offense has been in desperate need of unexpected heroes. That’s where Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras come in.

The fact that Ward is a big-time contributor is not exactly a surprise. Behind Alonso, Ward was seen as the second biggest offseason addition for the Orioles’ offense. However, when the O’s acquired the 32-year-old outfielder from the Angels, he was expected to be a power-first bat in the mold of Alonso. Instead, he’s turned into an on-base machine who’s wearing out the power alleys.

After last night’s matchup with the Diamondbacks, Ward is 11th in MLB with a .339 average, tied for 7th with 21 total hits and leads MLB with 10 doubles. After hitting a career-high 32 home runs last year, he’s yet to launch his first homer in black and orange. However, he’s more than made up for his lack of over the fence with a more disciplined approach at the plate and a willingness to spray the ball to all fields.

Unlike Alonso, Basallo and Gunnar Henderson, Ward is not blessed with elite bat speed and the ability to consistently generate high exit velocity. Even in hitting 32 long balls last year, his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate were right around league average, while his bat speed only ranked in the 15th percentile. What’s been elite throughout 2025 and 2026 is Ward’s ability to square up pitches and his unwillingness to chase pitches outside of the zone.

What’s helped transform Ward into a different offensive force is a focus on swinging for line drives instead of deep fly balls. The outfielder’s career line-drive percentage is around 26%; this year, that number has jumped up to 39.1%, the 5th-best mark in all of baseball. We’ve also seen his opposite-field hit percentage jump from 27.1% last year to a career-best 32.6% so far this year. Ward’s willingness to hit the ball to where he’s being pitched has led to a 47.8% Launch-Angle Sweet Spot rate, putting him in the 96th percentile this season.

Ward’s early-season breakout is reminiscent of the hot start we saw from former Oriole Ryan O’Hearn to begin last year. Through 16 games, Ward is currently slashing .333/.427/.492. Through 16 games last year, Turn and Burn was .296/.377/.519—which turned into a first-half OPS of .834 and an All-Star berth.

Coming into last season, most would’ve ranked O’Hearn behind the likes of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg in terms of expected offensive impact. Similarly, Ward was probably seen as the fourth most important Baltimore bat heading into this season, behind Henderson, Alonso and a healthy Rutschman. Instead, the newly acquired outfielder has catapulted himself to the top of the pecking order as the O’s most productive hitter so far.

However, the mountain of injuries has meant that Baltimore once again needed someone previously seen as a depth piece to rise to the occasion. Last year, that came in the form of Ramón Laureano; this year, we’re seeing that same level of contribution from Leody Taveras.

Taveras came to the Orioles this past offseason out of necessity. With Colton Cowser set to be the Opening Day CF, and no other natural CF on the roster, the front office brought in Taveras to provide a defensive insurance policy in the outfield. However, Cowser’s continued struggles against off-speed pitches and the recent injury to Tyler O’Neill have thrust the 27-year-old Dominican into more of an everyday role.

To say the former Texas Ranger has taken that opportunity and run with it would be an understatement. In 12 games this season, Taveras is 9-for-25 with three doubles, four runs scored and five walks. If he had enough at-bats to qualify, his .467 OBP would lead the Orioles and place fourth in all of baseball. In the last three games, we’ve seen manager Craig Albernaz stick Taveras in the sixth spot in the order, allowing him to serve as a secondary table setter for the bottom of the lineup.

Should Taveras continue to hit well, the uncertain nature of the Orioles outfield means he’ll have plenty of opportunities to lock down the CF role. Cowser’s inability to hit changeups may ultimately force him down the pecking order as the season goes on, and players get healthy (he was hitting .167 on off-speed pitches with a 46.4% whiff rate heading into Monday).

If Cowser can’t iron out the holes in his game (or if O’Neill continues to struggle to stay healthy), it would allow Taveras to make a Laureano-like jump from fourth outfielder to invaluable starter. And while Taveras and Laureano do not offer the same offensive profiles—with the former a switch-hitting line-drive machine and the latter a right-hander power bat—they both provide(d) a similar ability to outshine expectations and strengthen a shaky Orioles outfield.

Even with the injuries and slow starts, there’s still plenty of hope that this collection of Baltimore bats can produce an upper-echelon offense. And while Gunnar has been awesome so far, and the Polar Bear is getting back to his normal ways, the plus contributions from Ward and Taveras are a big part of why the O’s sit atop the AL East after the first 10% of the season.

For the most part, the Phillies bullpen has been a strength so far this season. There’s been some bad luck involved, but overall, the unit looks strong. One major exception however is José Alvarado. 

Following Sunday’s ineffective performance, Alvarado has now allowed 8 runs, 7 earned, in 5 innings pitched on 9 hits with 7 strikeouts to 3 walks. He too has run into some bad luck, as he’s sporting a whopping .563 BABIP, an impressive level of early batted ball misfortune. But, that doesn’t entirely erase the fact that Alvarado just hasn’t looked good so far. 

Alvarado’s velocity has been good, clocking in right around his career average at an average of 98 MPH. But he’s struggled to throw strikes, as only 40% of his pitches have been inside the zone. That is a far drop off from his abbreviated 2025 (50.3%) or even his 2024 (47.6%). In fact, that 40% zone rate is well below Alvarado’s already low 47.5% rate for his career. Of course, he’s only made eight appearances on the young 2026 season, but it is something to monitor. 

Curiously, despite the lack of pitches in the zone, Alvarado is actually getting a healthy dose of swings and misses. His 30.2% whiff rate is in line with his career average of 31.3% and is way up from 2025 where his swing and miss rate was a career low 24.3%. 

It is only eight appearances, so the book is far from written on Alvarado’s 2026, but the poor performance is a trend that dates back to his return from suspension last season. In 16 total appearances since being reinstated on August 19th, Alvarado has a 9.82 ERA in 11 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts to 6 walks. Opponents are hitting .340 with a .968 OPS against him over that span. The numbers are even worse in the eight appearances after Alvarado returned from the injured list on September 29th, with a 12.60 ERA and an opposing hitters batting line of .391/.481/.391

It’s still early in 2026, so there’s plenty of time for Alvarado to turn it around. But this is a trend of subpar performance that dates back to last season. The Phillies have two other effective lefties in the bullpen with Tanner Banks and the surprising Tim Mayza, but neither of them posses the raw stuff and strikeout ability that Alvarado has. The team needs him to be able to be an effective setup man and to be the top lefty reliever behind righties Jhoan Duran and Brad Keller. So, do the Phillies have a José Alvarado problem? 

What more can be said about a game where your starting pitcher has the worst start of his career and the bullpen made things worse?

The reasonable answer to that question is, “Not much,” but you come here for a game recap and so, you will get one for the Cubs’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad 13-7 loss to the Phillies Monday night in Philadelphia.

You kind of knew things weren’t going the Cubs’ way when Kyle Schwarber homered in the first inning. Another Phillies run crossed the plate in the second, and then Schwarber homered again in the third, this time with Trea Turner on base.

The Cubs actually made the game sort of close in the fourth. Carson Kelly led off with a single and Dansby Swanson followed that with a home run [VIDEO].

That was Swanson’s second homer in as many days and it does appear he’s coming out of his season-starting slump. Now it’s 4-2 and, well, teams have come back from two-run deficits in the fourth inning.

Not this time. The Phillies scored five times in the fifth off Assad, this time without a home run involved, before Craig Counsell had mercy and replaced him with Jacob Webb. Webb actually got out of the fifth with no further runs scoring.

Just in case you didn’t have enough bad news about Assad, here’s more from BCB’s JohnW53:

Javier Assad is the first Cubs pitcher to allow at least nine runs in a game since reliever Ryan Pressly’s nine-run, no-out meltdown at home against the Giants on May 6 of last year. The previous starter who did that was Hayden Wesneski, who gave up 11 runs in 4.0 innings at St. Louis on July 13, 2024. Shōta Imanaga had given up 10 in 3.0 at home against the Mets on June 21, 2024. Those were the only three before Monday’s game since June 3, 2022, when Marcus Stroman gave up 10 in 4.0 at home against the Cardinals.

Just-recalled Charlie Barnes entered the game in the sixth. I’ll spare you the details of the carnage, but when the inning was over the Phillies had three more runs and a 12-2 lead, and they plated another one off Barnes in the seventh.

The game was entering “position player pitcher” territory at that point, but the Cubs decided to get the bats out in the eighth. Ian Happ led off with a double and scored on this single by Moisés Ballesteros [VIDEO].

Swanson then walked and Miguel Amaya was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with nobody out. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled, with two runs scoring, one on an error [VIDEO].

Matt Shaw then reached on an error, with Amaya scoring [VIDEO].

Two outs later, Seiya Suzuki singled in PCA [VIDEO].

Well. Now it’s 13-7 and that forced the Phillies to call on one of their leverage relievers, Orion Kerkering. Ian Happ was the next batter. If, somehow, Happ could have gone deep, the game would actually have become close but… Happ looked at three pitches from Kerkering and struck out.

And that was basically it. Besides the pitching issues in this game, the Cubs once again had tons of baserunners who were stranded. They left 10 runners on base and went 4-for-16 with RISP. Not that this excuses the pitching, but now the Cubs have gone 7-for-51 (.137) with RISP over their last four games and left 47 runners on base, an average of 12 LOB per game. And that includes Kelly’s game-winning single on Sunday. Yikes.

So there are multiple issues that need to be addressed, and soon. Barnes wound up throwing the final three innings, so all the Cubs’ leverage relievers got the night off (save Webb, who threw only eight pitches). That’s about the only positive I can take out of this one.

The Cubs will look to even up the series Tuesday evening in Philadelphia. The original schedule had Colin Rea listed as Tuesday’s starter, but after Monday’s game the Cubs announced that Riley Martin would start, presumably as an opener, with Rea following. Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies. Game time is again 5:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Good morning.

Shawn McFarland writes that Brandon Nimmo’s hot April and Danny Jansen being unleashed to utilize ABS challenges are among the things we’ve recently learned about the Texas Rangers.

Evan Grant writes that this year’s anticipated updated hitting approach was on display for the Rangers in their win over the Athletics on Monday night.

Kennedi Landry writes that Nathan Eovaldi was back at his best in the victory that snapped a winning streak for the Not-Oaklands.

Grant ponders if Roki Sasaki was tipping his pitches in his start against the Rangers on Sunday and if an enhanced ability to read pitchers will be in Texas’ bag of tricks this season.

Grant has yet another update on Wyatt Langford, who could return to the lineup as early as tonight as the Rangers avoided putting him on the IL.

And, Nimmo’s successful beginnings with Texas has been noticed by Matt Snyder in the latest CBS Sports power rankings.

Have a nice day!

The Yankees nearly lost a prime candidate for dumbest game of the year on Monday, but they managed to flip the script and end up on the winning end thanks to a game-tying Trent Grisham two-run shot in the ninth (his second bomb of the night) and a wild pitch that brought José Caballero home to walk it off. Aaron Judge played his part, launching two home runs of his own, and Caballero completed their offensive surge with a homer to go with his timely baserunning. Their win snaps a five-game losing streak, and gives them their first chance in nearly a week to gain some ground on their rivals. Only a handful of other teams were playing on Monday, but they got some solid results nonetheless.

Minnesota Twins (10-7) 13, Boston Red Sox (6-10) 6

Garrett Crochet was on many people’s short lists for Cy Young winner entering this season, but he’s going to have an uphill battle to make it into those conversations after the slow start he’s gotten off to, and in particular after the night he had on Monday. He put up a uniquely-terrible line, giving up 11 runs (10 earned) in just 1.2 innings, getting battered around for nine hits and three walks without picking up a single strikeout.

Things got off to an immediately bad start for the Sox ace, as he recorded the first out on a flyout and then proceeded to give up back-to-back doubles and a single to go down 2-0. Crochet got the second out on another fly ball, but a walk and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Brooks Lee, who singled home two more runs and made it 4-0 after one.

If the first inning was bad, the second was an outright disaster. The first six batters all reached, culminating in Victor Caratini’s three-run blast to make it 10-0. Crochet miraculously recorded back-to-back outs to nearly escape the inning, but Ryan Kreidler ambushed him with another homer to push the score to 11-0 and chased him from the game at long last.

With a tremendous lead in hand, all the Twins needed was competent pitching to get them through the game, and they got that. Bailey Ober coasted through the first two innings, got into trouble in the third and allowed three runs on an RBI double and two-run homer, and then went back to coasting for a couple more innings. The sixth started off rocky, as the first three batters all singled to bring home a run, but a double-play ball and a strikeout got him to the end of his outing without further incident. Even with Eric Orze entering and coughing up two more runs in the seventh, the Twins were never in danger of blowing their massive advantage.

Seattle Mariners (8-9) 6, Houston Astros (6-11) 2

The Mariners may not have gotten off to the strongest start entering this series, but they did themselves a huge favor and got a leg up on their rivals by sweeping a four-game set. This time around they jumped on Mike Burrows from the get-go, as Josh Naylor launched his first home run of the year and made it a three-run shot for good measure. Naylor got to him again in the third inning, this time hitting a two-run homer to put the M’s up 5-0, and in the fifth Luke Raley poked an RBI single through to plate their sixth and final run against Burrows.

The Astros responded in the top half of the fifth, hitting three straight singles to get on the scoreboard. Nick Allen put a ball in play to score the second run of the inning, but it came via a double-play ball that halted the rally — sure enough, Jose Altuve grounded out to end it in the next at-bat. Houston wouldn’t get another batter past second base the rest of the way, stranding two in the eighth and one in the ninth as Seattle capped off the sweep. They’ve now won four in a row after having lost their previous five, something that New York would surely like to emulate. Meanwhile, Houston’s lost eight in a row as injuries have wrecked their pitching staff.

Other Games

Cleveland Guardians (10-7) 9, St. Louis Cardinals (8-8) 3: Both teams got on the board with a run in the first inning, but Cleveland broke out with a three-run fourth inning fueled by a pair of walks to lead off the frame. A pair of singles brought them both home, and a sacrifice fly wrapped up the inning and gave the Guardians their eventual winning run. They still tacked on plenty of insurance, getting a two-run blast from Brayan Rocchio in the sixth and a trio of runs in the eighth via singles from Rocchio and Steven Kwan. St. Louis scratched across a couple runs to shorten the gap, but they never got close to getting back in it.

Last night was blah. We haven’t seen a “total failure of run prevention” from this team yet, but that’s what it was nearly was last night: two homers, some poor defensive positioning that helped lead to a .452 Marlins BABIP, counterbalanced “only” by a 9/3 K/BB ratio where the strikeouts were mostly accrued when the game was getting progressively out of reach. The Braves’ wOBA-against was .425, their highest mark of the season so far, and the only time it’s gotten above .345. The xwOBA-against was .343 (third-highest of the season). Basically, the Braves have both pitched well this season and been fortunate to not have teams unload a massive wOBA-xwOBA gap on them, but the .081 gap for the Marlins last night was the biggest in a game against the Braves this season, more than double the prior high to date of .034. The Marlins came into this game with the league’s biggest positive wOBA-xwOBA gap, and it only got (notably) larger after last night.

While the Braves haven’t had to lean on their “main” relievers very much — Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias haven’t pitched in about a week — their backend is direly in need of reshuffle due to usage, once again. Dylan Dodd threw three innings in lieu of Martin Perez’ roster spot, but was promptly shuffled back down. Rolddy Munoz was a sacrificial lamb-ish guy last night, and Jose Suarez also pitched. My question is twofold: whether the Braves make another shuffle ahead of tonight’s game, and if so, whether it’s just Munoz, or perhaps whether Suarez goes too.

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The St. Louis Cardinals look to even their series when they host the Cleveland Guardians tonight at Busch Stadium.

Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo has command issues, and my Guardians vs. Cardinals predictions expect St. Louis to come out on top. 

Read on for my MLB picks for Tuesday, April 14. 

Who will win Guardians vs Cardinals today: Cardinals moneyline (+105)

Michael McGreevy's underlying metrics aren't pretty, but he doesn't need to be dominant tonight. 

He just needs to survive long enough for the St. Louis Cardinals to make Cleveland Guardians starter Joey Cantillo pay.

Cantillo walks over four batters per nine with a 45% fly ball rate, and that’s a dangerous combination for a lefty on a warm night with gusty winds blowing out to left. 

Cleveland's bullpen is surrendering 1.61 home runs per nine, and while their bats boomed last night, the Guardians average a shade under four runs per night.

Back the home dog tonight. 

COVERS INTEL:Joey Cantillo is surrendering a .361 slugging percentage and .342 wOBA against right-handed hitters this season. 

Guardians vs Cardinals Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (+100)

Neither bullpen can consistently get anyone out, and that's a problem against two lineups that rank seventh and eighth in expected offensive production despite sitting outside the Top 15 in actual results.

McGreevy's underlying metrics suggest Cleveland will score, while Cantillo's command issues against a right-handed heavy Cardinals lineup and gusty winds blowing out mean a few free passes could turn into a run explosion in a hurry.

Cleveland's bullpen is surrendering 1.61 home runs per nine. The Cardinals' pen can't miss bats. Play the Over. 

Guardians vs Cardinals odds

• Moneyline: Guardians -104 | Cardinals -104
• Run line: Guardians -1.5 (+133) | Cardinals +1.5 (-186)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-117) | Under 8.5 (-117)

Guardians vs Cardinals trend

The Over is 4-1 in Cleveland’s previous five games. Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Cardinals.

How to watch Guardians vs Cardinals and game info

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Rangers 8, A’s 1

• That was a good ‘un.
• Shades of 2023, in fact. Nathan Eovaldi doing work, the bats battering, the late innings being low stress because the Rangers’ lead is so large.
• After the first two games of the season, where Eovaldi failed to go five innings in either game and allowed 11 runs, rumblings began as to whether Eovaldi still had it, if age was catching up with the 36 year old. The five run outing in the season opener was an instance where he pitched better than the line score reflected, but his second outing was inherently unpleasant.
• Last time out, Eovaldi picked up a win and a Quality Start with a six inning, two run outing, quieting the criticism a bit.
• And then in this game, in a hitter friendly minor league park, against an OaklandSacramentoLas Vegas A’s team that has a number of potent bats, Eovaldi cruised. He didn’t allow a base runner until Max Muncy (that funky Muncy) singled to lead off the third, then promptly generated a GIDP to erase him. The A’s put runners on first and second in both the fifth and sixth, with a single and a reversed on replay HBP in the former and a pair of walks in the latter, but Eovaldi kept them off the board.
• Eovaldi looked early on like he might be in line for a complete game, given how efficient he was — he needed just 29 pitches through three — and probably could have gone back out for the eighth had the Rangers not put a bunch of runs on the board in the top of the inning and made it a blowout.
• 13 swings and misses generated by Eovaldi, seven of them on the splitter, which he, as per usual, leaned on heavily, throwing it 32 times.
• Luis Curvelo came into the game for the eighth did his job, which was to throw strikes, move things along, and keep things from getting interesting. Curvelo needed just 19 pitches to get through eight batters over two innings. Lawrence Butler homered off of him, spoiling the shutout, so we could get made about that if we were feeling churlish.
• Which we are not.
• Offensively, Jake Burger put the Rangers up four batters into the game, clubbing a three run homer off of Luis Severino after Severino had issued one out walks to Corey Seager and Evan Carter. It looked like the Rangers might be able to chase Severino early when Joc Pederson and Kyle Higashioka each singled after the Burger homer, but a Josh Smith backwards K and a Josh Jung 5-3 put those hopes on ice.
• Severino ended up going six and allowed just one more run, on another home run from Burger, who does not seem to have a lot in common with Jason Botts.
• Texas put up a four spot in the eighth to blow it open, all of the runs coming off of A’s reliever Jack Perkins, who sounds like the hero in a series of 1930s stories about a high schooler who excels in every sport and takes his girlfriend Mary Jane to the malt shop after his heroics are over. Josh Smith, trying to shake out of a season-opening slump, singled in a pair of runs, and Josh Jung, who is shaking off a season-opening slump, doubled in the other two.
• Ironically, Brandon Nimmo, who has been the Rangers’ best hitter so far in the young season, was the only Ranger not to get on base. Evan Carter was the only other Ranger who came to the plate not to get a hit, though he drew a walk.
• While the top three guys have been fueling the Rangers’ offense most of the season, it was the middle part of the lineup — which too often has been a soft underbelly of the lineup — that was especially productive. Aside from Burger’s two homer-one walk game, Joc Pederson had three hits — his first three hit game as a Ranger — and Kyle Higashioka, in the sixth spot, picked up a pair of singles and a walk.
• It was a very fine performance, one that makes staying up late on a week night well worth it.
• Nathan Eovaldi’s fastball maxed out at 96.1 mph, averaging 94.1 mph. Luis Curvelo topped out at 95.4 mph with his fastball.
• Jake Burger’s home runs were 113.6 mph and 104.2 mph. Joc Pederson had a 105.9 mph single and a 101.2 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 105.3 mph single. Kyle Higashioka hit into a GIDP that was 103.4 mph. Josh Jung and Corey Seager each had a 100.5 mph double.
• Texas is now .500 on the road trip, with six games to go.

Meet the Mets

Dodgers’ starter Justin Wrobleski set down the first 13 Mets hitters and faced the minimum through seven, as New York lost their sixth straight by a 4-0 score to the Dodgers. Wrobleski ended up hurling eight shutout frames. The Mets managed just three hits as their scoreless streak extended to 20 innings, with the team continuing to struggle to score runs without their best bat in the lineup. David Peterson allowed four runs over five innings of work in the loss.

Choose Your Recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, NY Post, Newsday, ESPN

The Mets called up Tommy Pham and optioned Ronny Mauricio to Triple-A.

Laura Albanese believes Tommy Pham’s fire can help the team against the Dodgers, though it did not help them much last night.

Chelsea Janes explained why the Mets must prove that this slow start is just an aberration, even if much of the roster is different from the one that collapsed last season.

This series between the Mets and Dodgers is a showcase of big money in MLB as the teams with the two largest payrolls in the sport collide.

Katie Woo and Will Sammon examined how the Dodgers swooped in and stole Edwin Díaz from the Mets.

Los Angeles seems to be concerned about their closer’s velocity, and Díaz may not pitch against his old club this series.

Between Díaz this week and Jeff McNeil last weekend, GM David Stearns has been getting visits from the ghosts of Mets past, writes David Lennon.

Scouts seem to believe Bo Bichette is not fully healthy and believe it’s related to the PCL sprain in his left knee that he suffered last September.

On the Juan Soto injury front, the team is still saying he will return in the 2-3 week timeframe, but he has not yet begun a running program. He will undergo an MRI if things don’t advance.

Clay Holmes, meanwhile, is good to go for his Wednesday start after throwing a bullpen with no issues.

The Mets say a turnaround is coming, but Anthony DiComo wondered if they can make it happen.

Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are bullpen buddies, explains Laura Albanese.

Mike Vaccaro wrote about how Darryl Strawberry helped save Lenny Dykstra from a drug-fueled rock bottom.

Around the National League East

Alec Bohm has fired Scott Boras and is seeking money from his parents in the amount of over $500K amid a legal battle.

Behind a pair of Kyle Schwarber home runs, the Phillies beat up the Cubs 13-7.

The Marlins toppled the Braves 10-4.

The Nationals were embarrassed 16-5 by the the Pirates.

Around Major League Baseball

There’s a surprise newcomer in the Top 5 of the MLB Power Rankings.

Will Leitch looked at some of the players who are most likely to win their first MVP award this year.

AJ Cassavell explained why Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base makes sense.

The Blue Jays acquired infielder Lenyn Sosa from the White Sox.

On Paul Skenes day, the Pirates put up a 10-run inning to give their ace some run support against Washington.

The slumping Astros have placed Jeremy Peña and Tatsuya Imai on the injured list and optioned Jayden Murray to Triple-A. J.P. France, Colton Gordon and Shay Whitcomb were recalled to take their place on the roster.

The Mariners handed the Astros their eighth straight loss with a 6-2 win. In the victory, Josh Naylor ended his home run draught as he hit dingers in back-to-back at-bats.

Despite Jordan Walker hitting his major league-leading eighth home run, the Cardinals fell 9-3 to the Guardians.

The Orioles rallied from down six to upend the Diamondbacks 9-7. Pete Alonso belted the go-ahead home run, his second as a member of the O’s. Baltimore’s skipper Craig Albernaz was hit in the head by a foul ball during the game. In defeat, Marte and Rojas led the way for Arizona’s offense with two home runs apiece.

The Yankees walked off the Angels 11-10 in a bonkers game that saw Judge and Grisham combined for four home runs and eight runs batted in.

The Twins beat up the Red Sox 13-6.

The Rangers did what neither New York team could do over the last five days, beating the A’s 8-1.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore previewed the team’s series against the Dodgers.

Linus Lawrence provided a Monday Stat Party.

This Date in Mets History

Jerry Koosman made his major league debut on this date in 1967, two days after Tom Seaver’s big league debut. One year later, Nolan Ryan picked up his first career win as a member of the Mets.