Category: Baseball

The Cubs are still having trouble scoring runs, as you likely saw in the team’s 2-0 win over the Braves Thursday evening in Atlanta.

But with Ben Brown’s second straight excellent start and solid work from the bullpen, two runs was enough to win the game and end the Cubs’ four-game losing streak.

The Cubs had their chances off Chris Sale in the early innings, with two singles in the first and second innings. But all that did was add to their RISP woes.

They had five hits over the first four innings, but nothing doing. Brown, though, was holding the Braves down even better than that — just one hit and one walk over four innings, with seven strikeouts. Brown threw 65 pitches (40 strikes) and just two runners got past first base.

Here are the seven K’s [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Brown’s outing [VIDEO].

And more from BCB’s JohnW53:

The last Cubs starter to depart after four scoreless innings was . . . Ben Brown, last week at Texas. He gave up no hits in that one; tonight, one.

Shōta Imanaga gave up no hits in a four-inning start on Opening Day of 2025 against the Dodgers at Tokyo.

Brown allowed one hit in 4.0 at home vs. the Braves on May 23, 2024, after Imanaga had yielded two at home vs. the Dodgers on April 7.

Javier Assad (four hits) and Marcus Stroman (two) turned the trick in 2022, for a total of seven such games in the last five seasons.

There had been 14 in all of 1901-2021.

The Cubs finally broke through against Sale in the sixth. Ian Happ led off with a walk. Seiya Suzuki hit a ground ball on which Ha-Seong Kim made an error, and the runners wound up on first and third.

Matt Shaw then grounded to short and beat a double-play relay, with Happ scoring [VIDEO].

Hoby Milner threw the fifth and sixth, allowing just one single. He had some help from Dansby Swanson on defense [VIDEO].

Phil Maton, who got hit pretty hard Wednesday evening, entered to throw the seventh, also allowing a single, but striking out two. In the top of the eighth, Happ gave the Cubs an insurance run with this long home run [VIDEO].

Just how long was that home run? Pretty darn long! [VIDEO]

Jacob Webb, who has been very good lately, threw the eighth, and like his predecessor relievers, allowed one hit, a single. Webb, last 10 games: 1.69 ERA, 12 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. He’s definitely going up in Craig Counsell’s circle of trust.

Thus Daniel Palencia got the save opportunity. He struck out the first two Braves in the ninth on six pitches, then allowed — you guessed it! — a single.

Palencia then retired Dominic Smith to end the game for his third save [VIDEO].

You can hear it on that clip — there were a LOT of Cubs fans in Atlanta. I think we’ll see that in most road series the rest of this year.

Here are some postgame remarks from Happ [VIDEO].

And here are Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

I concur with Counsell on his thoughts about Brown. As you know, I’ve been skeptical of Brown as a starter, but these two starts have certainly given Brown a lot of confidence, and adding new pitches has definitely helped him. It gives the Cubs the possibility of choosing Brown to do this again, and if they continue the rotation in order, his next turn would come up Tuesday against the Brewers at Wrigley Field.

One more note about Brown — check out these nasty curveballs, including the velocity and spin rate [VIDEO].

Everyone in the NL Central won on Thursday, so the Cubs’ lead remains 2.5 games over the Brewers and Cardinals. This was a solid team effort, especially from the bullpen. Here are some shutout notes from John:

This shutout, the Cubs’ third of the season, was their…

1,465th in the regular season since 1876
656th on the road in the regular season since then
183rd vs. the Braves
76th vs. the Braves on the road
34th vs. the Braves since 1966, their first year in Atlanta
13th at Atlanta, in 291 games there

The last had been July 18, 2015, by 4-0. Jon Lester gave up two hits in 7.1 innings, Hector Rondon retired two batters to end the eighth and Jason Motte walked one in the ninth.

Lastly, the Cubs pitchers did a pretty good job of holding down a really good Atlanta offense, giving them just nine runs in three games. The Cubs, though, scored just five runs in the three-game series. They’ll have to do better than that going forward.

The Cubs returned home to Chicago after this win and will take on the White Sox this weekend on the South Side in the first of two three-game series against their crosstown rivals (the other, at Wrigley Field, will be in August). The teams will open the three-game series Friday evening. Edward Cabrera will start for the Cubs and Sean Burke goes for the Sox. Game time is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and CHSN with the Sox announcers).

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The Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates begin a three-game set tonight, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET at PNC Park. 

My Phillies vs Pirates predictions are targeting Pittsburgh to continue their winning ways against Philly with Braxton Ashcraft on the mound. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Friday, May 16. 

Who will win Phillies vs Pirates today: -127 at Polymarket

The Pittsburgh Pirates have yet to face the Philadelphia Phillies in 2026, but they are riding a three-game winning streak against them dating back to last season. The Bucs also send one of their top arms to the hill in Braxton Ashcraft, who has been spectacular alongside Paul Skenes. 

Ashcraft owns a 2.77 ERA, and he's given up only one run across his last two starts. Ashcraft's last outing at PNC Park was 7.2 scoreless frames against the Cincinnati Reds. The righty has a 3.42 ERA at home, and he's throwing the baseball with a lot of confidence.

The Phils also have one of the worst offenses in the sport, and they didn't score more than three runs in any game in their most recent series against the Boston Red Sox. 

Aaron Nola, meanwhile, has a 5.48 ERA, and his ERA also sits at 4.94 on the road. The Pirates haven't had a ton of success against him, but Pittsburgh is sixth in runs scored, and they just scored seven runs on Thursday. 

COVERS INTEL: Nola has a career-worst .432 xSLG so far this season, and he's surrendered 11 earned runs across his last three road starts. 

Phillies vs Pirates Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 runs (-122 at Polymarket)

Three of the last four meetings between these two have cashed the Under in runs, and there are signs that Nola is trending in the right direction, which strengthens this play.

The righty has given up just three earned runs across his previous two appearances. I do expect the Bucs' impressive offense to give him some trouble, but he's shown more composure lately, which should help him limit serious damage. 

Philadelphia's bullpen has also been better lately, and they've hit the Under in four straight contests. As for Pittsburgh, Ashcraft's consistency is crystal clear, and he often brings his best each week.

While he hasn't faced this Phillies lineup a lot, he's only allowed more than two earned runs once this season.

With both starters in good form and Pittsburgh's pen also holding their own lately, this contest screams value with the Under.  

Phillies vs Pirates odds

• Moneyline: Phillies +122 | Pirates -127
• Run line: Phillies +1.5 (-178) | Pirates -1.5 (+170)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+117) | Under 8.5 (-122)

Phillies vs Pirates trend

Four of the last five meetings between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have cashed the Under. Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Pirates.

How to watch Phillies vs Pirates and game info

Phillies vs Pirates latest injuries

Phillies vs Pirates weather

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• Rangers have lost four consecutive league matches for only the second time in the club's history, after a run of five successive defeats from October to November 1983.
• Including the curtailed 2019-20 campaign, Rangers have only lost their final league game in one of the past 17 seasons (W9 D7), a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock in 2018-19.
• Falkirk have lost just one of their past five home league games against Rangers (W2 D2), although that was their most recent, a 6-3 defeat in April.
• Rangers have only lost one of their past 48 top-flight matches against Falkirk (W39 D8), a 1-0 defeat in December 2006 under Paul Le Guen.
• Falkirk have lost four of their past five league games (W1), including both of their latest two. They are yet to lose three in a row in the league this season, last doing so in the top flight in March 2010.

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Thursday, in case you missed it...

• Manager Carlos Mendozaprovided positive injury updates on Francisco Lindor and Francisco Alvarez
• A.J Ewinghit his first career major league home run
• The Mets smacked five home runs and Nolan McLean locked in for a series-sweeping win over Tigers
• Juan Soto shook off an injury scare and snapped out of a recent offensive funk with a go-ahead RBI single and solo homer
• McLean tossed seven strong innings in New York's comeback victory over Tigers
• The Mets showed resiliency, battling back in all three games against Tigers for first sweep of season
• Soto and the Mets are ready to renew their Subway Series rivalry with the Yankees starting on Friday night
• Jorge Polancoreceived a platelet-rich plasma injection a month ago
• The "Baby Mets" and McLean gave a glimpse of what the team can still be in 2026 — and beyond
• Jonah Tong continued his up-and-down season in Triple-A with a disastrous outing
• 5 things to watch and series predictions of Round 1 of the Subway Series at Citi Field

The Yankees have been sputtering a bit of late, losing five of their last six games while also dealing with injuries, including one to Max Fried that the extent of is not known yet. However, it almost always could be worse, and we just need to look at this weekend’s opponent for an example of that.

This weekend, the Yankees are headed across the city, as they go to Queens for a three-game set against the Mets. Not only do the Mets currently sit in last in the NL East with one of the worst records in baseball so far, they’ve also been dealing with a mess of injuries. Expected regulars Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco, and Kodai Senga are all currently on the IL. Juan Soto has been one of the only regularly good bats for them, but he’s already had an IL stint and recently had another scare after fouling a ball of his foot (though he did homer yesterday).

However even with those struggles, the Mets always seem to get up for Subway Series matchups, and both fanbases certainly do, too. Before the action gets going tonight, here’s a look at this weekend’s expected pitching matchups.

Friday: Cam Schlittler vs. Clay Holmes (7:15 pm ET)

In his last outing, Schlittler had a gem wasted, as the Yankees’ offense and bullpen couldn’t hang on after the young ace allowed just two hits and no runs. There’s not much more you can say about Schlittler other than that he’s been awesome, leading the league in a number of statistics (namely ERA, FIP, WHIP, and H/9 entering play yesterday). We’ve seen how he gets up for the rivalry against the Red Sox, so let’s see what he does for this cross-city matchup.

The second year of the Holmes as a starter experiment is going … pretty well. The former Yankees closer has a 1.86 ERA in 48.1 innings across eight starts. He has yet to allow more than two runs in any one start, which is especially solid considering he’s made it through at least five innings in every start he’s made. Anecdotally, the Yankees also sometimes seem to struggle against pitchers who had down notes while a member of the Yankees, so we’ll see what happens this time around.

Saturday: Carlos Rodón vs. TBD (7:15 pm ET)

On Saturday, Rodón will be making his second start back off the injured list. His 2026 debut definitely saw some rust despite some good velocity, as he walked five batters in 4.1 innings. That partially caused him to give up three runs to the Brewers despite only giving up two hits. At least, hopefully that was only rust. You still can’t judge much on only two outings, but we’ll get a better sense of how he looks after this game.

At time of writing, the Mets haven’t announced who will be going in the second game. As mentioned, they’re a bit injured, and previous times at this spot in their rotation, they’ve gone with Huascar Brazobán as an opener. 2025 All-Star David Peterson lost his spot in the rotation with an awful start to 2026, but he’s been getting some work as a “bulk guy,” so he could follow Brazobán.

Sunday: Ryan Weathers vs. Freddy Peralta (1:40 pm ET)

Last time out, Weathers flirted with a no-hitter at Camden Yards, only for things to go to pieces after he left the game, leading to a Yankees’ loss to the Orioles. After an up-and-down start to his Yankees career, Weathers has been very solid in recent weeks. Over his last four starts, he has a 1.88 ERA and a 2.77 FIP.

Peralta was one of the biggest name pitchers to move over the offseason, as the Mets acquired him in a trade with the Brewers. He’s been good so far, especially of late, posting a 3.10 ERA and a 3.67 FIP over his first nine starts as a Met. As was the case in Milwaukee, he’s not the type of guy to go 7-8 innings, as his longest outings of the season have been 6.0 innings flat, without ever starting the seventh. However, he can still go out there and strike a bunch of batters out in bunches.

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It's another busy slate across the majors tonight, which means tons of value in my MLB player props.

I'll start things off with Cam Schlittler, followed by Taylor Ward and Edward Cabrera. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Friday, May 15.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Cam Schlittler	Over 5.5 strikeouts	-138
Taylor Ward	Over 0.5 runs	-115
Edward Cabrera	Over 5.5 strikeouts	-104

Cam Schlittler Over 5.5 strikeouts (-138)

Cam Schlittler has been a dominant force for the New York Yankees this season, making up for the loss of two key arms and inserting himself in the AL Cy Young conversation in the process. The right-hander owns a 1.35 ERA while striking out 59 hitters in only 53 1/3 innings of work. 

Schlittler has cashed the Over in Ks in two of his last four outings. The youngster collected six punchouts against the Minnesota Twins in his most recent start, and he also had eight Ks in his last road appearance.

The Yankees visit the New York Mets tonight. The Mets are one of the worst teams in the big leagues, and Schlittler has a mind-boggling 0.98 road ERA, striking out 42 in 36 2/3 frames. 

• Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, SNY

Taylor Ward Over 0.5 runs (-115)

Taylor Ward has been a nice pickup for the Baltimore Orioles. In his first season with the team, Ward is hitting .265, coming across the plate 28 times in 43 games. The veteran has hit the Over in runs in back-to-back games, also registering three hits during that span.

The O's begin a series with the Washington Nationals tonight, and the matchup plays in Ward's favor. 

The Nats send the struggling Zack Littell to the hill, who has a 6.94 ERA. Ward is 4-for-8 lifetime against the right-hander with two home runs and three RBI. Ward also has 20 of his runs versus righties, and Littell allows a lot of runs. 

• Time: 6:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, Nationals.TV

Edward Cabrera Over 5.5 strikeouts (-104)

The Chicago Cubs' rotation is led by Edward Cabrera, who owns a 3.88 ERA. He's struck out 43 in 46 1/3 innings of work, and he's cleared tonight's number in three consecutive starts.

Cabrera has been hit around a bit lately, but he racked up six Ks in his most recent outing, and eight before that. 

The Cubbies take on the Chicago White Sox this evening, who struggle to make contact. They rank 28th in the MLB in strikeouts, and Cabrera is striking out more hitters than usual at the moment.

A matchup against a lineup who aren't swinging it well plays in the right-hander's favor. 

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marquee Sports Network, CHSN

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Hickory starter Aidan Deakins allowed two runs in 5.2 IP, striking out 5. Louis Marinaro struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings.

Yolfran Castillo was 2 for 5 with a homer and a sotlen base. Dewar Tovar was 2 for 4. Hector Osorio homered. Paulino Santana had a hit.

Hickory box score

J’Briell Easley started for Hub City, allowing four runs, including a pair of home runs, in three innings, striking out three and walking two. Brock Porter struck out four and walked three in four shutout innings.

Malcolm Moore doubled twice and drew a walk. Maxton Martin was 3 for 6 with a walk. Rafe Perich had a pair of hits and a walk. Paxton Kling homered and walked twice. Gleider Figuereo drew a pair of walks. Yeison Morrobel had three hits and a walk. Chandler Pollard was 4 for 5 with a double.

Hub City box score

2024 11th rounder Dalton Pence was promoted to Frisco and made his first start for the Roughriders, striking out three, walking two and allowing two runs. Bryan Magdaleno allowed a run in two innings, striking out two.

Frisco box score

Jose Corniell struck out four in five innings for Round Rock, allowing two runs. Michel Otanez allowed faced five batters, walked four of them, gave up a hit, threw a wild pitch, and allow four runs. Ryan Brasier struck out two in a shutout inning. Dane Acker allowed 6 runs in 0.2 IP. Emiliano Teodo needed 10 pitches (9 strikes) to retire four batters, including one via strikeout.

Round Rock box score

ACL Rangers box score

There are lofty expectations for anyone that gets signed to a contract with an annual average value of $60 million. In the case of Kyle Tucker, it appeared as though the expectations were too tough to reach throughout the beginning of the season.

Tucker was performing at a below league-average rate over his first 33 games of the season, as he slashed .236/.322/.362 while having dropped in the lineup considerably from second on opening day to hitting routinely in the cleanup and five spots in the lineup. Since the Dodgers went into Houston to face Tucker’s old team, the outfielder has found a new gear at the plate and has been one of the Dodgers’ hottest hitters over his last 10 games.

Tucker has a .323 batting average over his last 10 games since the series opener against the Astros, and while the home run power hasn’t broken through, he has five doubles and as many walks as strikeouts. Dave Roberts knows that is still more to come from Tucker at the plate, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“Yes, I think Kyle has looked better the last week. Still not right, for me – and for him,” Roberts said. “I think he is taking much better at-bats. I think he’s been much more consistent controlling the strike zone and not chasing as much which has led to a lot more contact and some hits.”

Links

Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup for a second straight game on Thursday, but it didn’t matter too much in the Dodgers’ 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants to split the four-game set. Ohtani gave Dave Roberts the “ok” to sit out on Thursday in an effort to keep him fresh for the team’s upcoming nine-game road trip, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

Said Ohtani, through interpreter Will Ireton: “I talked to the team, and I’m good with it. My last at-bat as a hitter [Tuesday] was really good, so I want to continue that momentum whenever I get to hit again. … Tomorrow’s a day for me to work on that and make sure that that’s really my body, and to make sure that I can do that during a game.”

Kiké Hernández is in the thick of his rehab assignment, and that included a series against the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes— the former Triple-A affiliate of the Dodgers. Expecting to receive boos, Hernández was thrown off by the amount of love he received from the Albuquerque fans, per Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.

“A little bit shocked. Slightly embarrassed, but good,” he told reporters, including Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal, before the Comets’ 8-2 loss on Wednesday.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are on the “road” this weekend (I use that word very loosely, because they will be in Sacramento) so I think it’s time for another temp-check to see how we’re feeling about the team right now.

Every time I have to take time off during the season, I always feel the overwhelming urge to burst in here like Daveed Diggs in the opening of the second act of Hamilton, with a “What did I miss?”

Thankfully for all of you, this is not an audio or visual medium. But the sentiment stands.

I have been completely off the grid for nearly two weeks, and I’m thoroughly confused about what is going on. It feels like the last time I was here, Patrick Bailey was being celebrated for home run heroics against the Dodgers. Now I’m back, and the team is still playing the Dodgers (as of the time this is being written), and Bailey is gone.

Okay, then. I didn’t see that one coming. But I guess I’ll trust Buster Posey’s judgement on catchers. Given the fact that he is, in fact, Buster Posey.

Let’s see, what else have I missed? I see that they are still doing their absolute best to avoid even a .500 record, so clearly my early season predictions were a little too optimistic. But I guess it’s still early, and as we’ve established, I’ve missed a couple of weeks.

So I want to hear from you guys. How are we feeling about the team/season at the moment?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants begin their three-game series against the Athletics tonight at 6:40 p.m. PT.

Triple-A:Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 4 Norfolk Tides 1

Trey Gibson started and limited Charlotte to one run over four innings. After a brief stint in the Orioles bullpen, the organization limited Gibson to 65 pitches. He threw 41 strikes. The 23-year-old allowed four hits, three walks, and struck out five.

Trace Bright piggybacked Gibson and ran into some trouble. The righty allowed three earned runs on seven hits. He struck out six, but was done in by three Charlotte homers.

The Tides failed to match the Knights power. The team loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, but Sam Huff grounded into a double play. The contact led to Norfolk’s only run, but the twin killing ended any attempt at a rally. The team finished 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Double-A: Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 3, Chesapeake Baysox 2

Thomas Sosa drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, but Chesapeake’s defense gave this one away at the end. The RubberDucks tied the game on a squeeze play. Akron got the winning run to second, and he came all the way around to score on an infield single to second base.

The outcome spoiled a solid outing by Juaron Watts-Brown. The former Blue Jays prospect limited Akron to only one hit over four scoreless innings. He struck out five and issued four free passes.

High-A: Frederick Keys 5, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees) 4

Yeiber Cartaya kept his season ERA below one with 4.1 solid innings. Cartaya actually allowed two runs, but only one was determined to be earned. He struck out three and walked three.

Keagan Gillies, Chandler Marsh and Joe Glassey teamed up to pitch 4.2 innings of scoreless relief. The trio combined to allow only one hit and struck out eight.

Elis Cuevas smacked his sixth home run of the year during a five-run seventh. The blast capped a 3-for-4 night with four RBIs and two runs scored. Wehiwa Aloy finished 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Leandro Arias doubled in four trips, and Braylin Tavera went 1-for-4 with a run scored from the leadoff spot. Ike Irish went 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.

Low-A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

Christian Rodriguez added to a strong night of starting pitching on the farm. Rodriguez held Fayetteville to only one hit over 4.2 innings. He struck out eight and walked three.

Unfortunately, the Woodpeckers managed six runs against Delmarva’s bullpen. The Shorebirds attempted to battle back with three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but a two-run single by Stiven Martinez and a throwing error were not enough to get Delmarva back in the game.

Box Scores

Friday’s Schedule

Norfolk: at Charlotte, 7:04 pm. Starter: Levi Wells (2-2, 3.94 ERA)

Chesapeake: at Akron, 7:17 pm. Starter: Evan Yates (1-1, 5.40 ERA)

Frederick: at Hudson Valley, 7:05 pm. Starter: Kiefer Lord (0-1, 9.64 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Fayetteville, 7:05 pm. Starter: Denton Biller (1-1, 5.68 ERA)

I’ll be the first to admit that I was excited about the Rockies signing Michael Lorenzen this offseason.

With the new front office being high on him and the 34-year-old’s affinity for problem-solving and a seven-pitch mix, I bought into the hype. I even predicted Lorenzen, who signed a one-year deal worth $8 million in January, would record a career-high 10 wins this season.

Ten appearances — including nine starts — into the season, my optimism has worn thin. Lorenzen is leading MLB in hits surrendered with 67. And it’s not even close, as Cincinnati’s Brady Singer is second with 58. Minnesota’s Simeon Woods Richardson recently edged out Lorenzen for most earned runs given up at 36, while the Colorado RHP has 32.

Lorenzen has a 6.55 ERA in 44 innings — which is the worst in baseball among qualified players — and is 2-5 on the season. Lorenzen has not come close to solving Coors Field as he has a 9.64 ERA in four appearances there (18.2 innings) vs. a 4.26 mark in six appearances (25.1 IP) on the road.

Overall, opponents are hitting .347 with him with an xBA of .314. The xBA, his 114.2 max exit velocity, the .415 xOBA and 14.7% strikeout rate are all career-worsts for Lorenzen.

What’s most worrying about Lorenzen’s numbers is his high batting average on balls in play (BABIP) at .385, a hard-hit % of 50.3 and a barrel % of 9.3. The league average is around .300 for BABIP, 35-40% for hard-hit percentage and 6-7% for barrels. BABIP takes out homers, strikeouts, walks, and HBP and favors bloopers, line drives, poor defense, and ballpark gaps.

A high BABIP can be a mark of bad luck on its own, but paired with batters hitting the ball hard (at 95 mph or higher) and squaring the baseball up for barrels, it reduces the odds of bad luck and is more of an indicator of bad pitching.

In Lorenzen’s defense, he’s had some solid outings this season. His best game was his lone Quality Start when he gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings in New York against the Mets. Despite giving up 12 hard-hit balls, which is a season-high mark, Lorenzen’s curveball, sinker and cutter were working well.

He walked zero, struck out three and gave up only one double (six singles).

Lorenzen has two starts where he’s given up two runs or fewer, including the May 12 performance against Pittsburgh, where he was outdueled by Paul Skenes. In his five-inning outing, Lorenzen gave up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks, limiting the Pirates to three hard-hit balls. A big reason for his success was the command of his changeup and the steady 95-mph velocity of his four-seam fastball.

After the game, Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer was pleased with Lorenzen’s start.

“Breaking balls were good. I thought he was attacking very good. His fastball maintained velocity all night,” Schaeffer said. “I thought he was really good. He matched [Skenes]. Michael was good for us. That’s what we expect from him.”

Earlier in May, MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa documented Lorenzen’s high BABIP, especially at Coors Field, blaming bad luck. Lorenzen explained that he believes he is pitching well and his BABIP is bound to shrink.

“It’s kind of just challeng[ing] them to put the ball in play, and just a lot of bloops that are hit over second base on changeups, sinkers in that are jammed,” Lorenzen said. “I’m making good pitches, I’m throwing the right pitches. Just things aren’t going my way.”

Considering the elevated hard-hit % and barrels, this might be wishful thinking. At the same time, Lorenzen does have a low walk rate (6.6%) and a good ground ball rate (46.3%), which shows he is doing some things right. He’s proven he can have success, but it comes when his changeup, curveball, sinker and cutter are working and the four-seam fastball isn’t the go-to pitch.

However, Lorenzen has only made it to the sixth inning three times and is consistently getting shelled. After discussing Lorenzen’s early tenure with the Rockies with the wonderful Broomfield Baseball Club this week, it’s clear to see I am not the only one who’s doubting Lorenzen. The group, which meets monthly at the Broomfield Public Library, had several thoughts. Lorenzen might not have the durability to stay in the Rockies rotation, or, if he does, he’ll require a long reliever more often than not. He may have to move to the bullpen. Perhaps the front office will decide the Lorenzen experiment didn’t work and he’ll be shipped out of town by the trade deadline (if a team will take him).

After giving up seven runs on 11 hits with three walks, two strikeouts and 10 hard-hit balls on May 6 at Coors Field against the Mets, Lorenzen remained confident his numbers would even out.

“You just have to keep doing it and trust that baseball’s going to change,” Lorenzen told Randhawa. “You can’t have a .450 BABIP all year. So you just have to kind of hope that at some point it changes. … I feel like I’m making progress. Today’s the best I’ve felt in a really long time, mechanically. I’m happy with how I feel. And the numbers aren’t supporting it.”

His start in Pittsburgh supported that, but it was on the road. The next test will be when the Rockies return to Coors Field when Lorenzen is scheduled to start against the Diamondbacks on May 17.

On the Farm

Triple-A: Oklahoma City Comets 12, Albuquerque Isotopes 10

The Isotopes scored nine runs in the last three innings, shrinking an 8-1 deficit, but the comeback still came up short on Thursday night. The late surge was powered by a three-run homer by Blaine Crim, who also doubled and scored another run. Vimael Machín hit a two-run double, while Cole Carrigg tripled and added an RBI single. Zac Veen and Braxton Fulford each chipped in RBI singles, and Drew Avans drove in a run with a sac fly.

Double-A: Portland Sea Dogs 5, Hartford Yard Goats 3

Cole Messina homered, Andy Perez went 4-for-5 and Bryant Betancourt added two hits as the Yard Goats out-hit the Sea Dogs 10-7, but it wasn’t enough for Hartford. Portland jumped out to a 3-0 in the second inning by getting three hits, including a homer, against Sam Weatherly (0-2). Blake Adams took over for the next five innings, but gave up two more runs that ended up deciding the game. Jimmy Obertop added a double for Hartford, Zach Kokoska singled and scored a run and GJ Hill scored a run for the Yard Goats.

High-A: Hillsboro Hops 6, Spokane Indians 2

Spokane jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but it didn’t last long. The Hops tied it up in the bottom of the frame and continued to add one-run tallies in the second, third, fifth and seventh on their way to victory. Caleb Hobson started the game with a single for the Indians, stole second and reached third on an error. He came around to score on a Royneir Hernandez single to put Spokane up 1-0. Max Belyeu doubled to move Hernandez to third and a wild pitch allowed Hernandez to score to make up the Indians runs. Belyeu finished with three hits, while Kelvin Hidalgo added two. Lebarron Johnson Jr. took the loss, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in four innings.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 10, Visalia Rawhide 3

Ethan Holliday hit his seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth inning, Carlos Renzullo hit a two-run triple in the seventh inning and Roldy Brito and Derek Bernard each recorded RBI doubles in Fresno’s 15-hit victory on Thursday night. Tanner Thach added three hits, drove in a run and scored a run and Clayton Gray went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Riley Kelly struck out eight batters, giving up two runs on two hits with five walks in 4.1 innings for the win. Jhon Medina allowed one run in 1.1 innings and Manuel Oliveras added 3.1 scoreless innings to help the Grizzlies win.

Chase Dollander leaves Rockies-Pirates game | Purple Row

The young pitcher left in the second inning with right arm tightness. Dollander and the Rockies coaching staff aren’t saying a lot about the seriousness of the injury. Dollander will likely undergo imaging before more information is released. Read more about the game here.

Top Early Standouts in the Colorado Rockies’ Farm System | Just Baseball

Cristian Crespo dives into some of the successes of Rockies prospects like Cole Carrigg, Roc Riggio, Andy Perez, Jacob Humphrey and more across all four levels.

Colorado Rockies Top Prospect Ethan Holliday Is on Another Level Right Now | SI.com

In more good news from the farm, here’s a spotlight on Ethan Holliday and how he’s tearing it up for the Fresno Grizzlies.

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

The Red Sox are starting to pitch like the rotation they were built to be over the offseason. That’s even with Garrett Crochet still on the shelf as he strengthens his way back from left shoulder inflammation.

A big part of better turns through the rotation lately comes from a solid run of starts from Sonny Gray. His ERA didn’t jump off the page from his final years in St. Louis, but his metrics were encouraging to the point that the Red Sox made the move to trade for him this winter.

He didn’t have his rhythm immediately in April and spent some time on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Gray clearly found something in his return as he’s allowed just one earned run in 11 innings since his activation off the injured list. 

The veteran right-hander is 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA through his first seven starts in a Red Sox uniform. He’s settled into a role without the pressure to lead a return. Crochet will be back and Ranger Suarez also started to throw the ball exceptionally well in recent weeks. As a result, Gray can be himself and go to work on the mound.

All the recent signs are encouraging for Gray as of late and nobody in the Red Sox community wants him to succeed more than the person who still plays his 2013 ALDS highlights on loop (wonder who that might be). With that said, two metrics for Gray are worth keeping an eye on if his production slips this summer. 

Gray’s K/9 sits at 5.8 after his most recent start. For reference, he struck out at least 10 per nine innings in each of his final two seasons with the Cardinals. The Boston starter also holds an ERA-FIP gap of 1.01 (4.19 FIP). No need for real concern yet, just something to monitor as the season develops closer to hitter-friendly environments. 

Obviously, none of the rotation growth matters if the Red Sox don’t start scoring more runs. In the meantime, the Gray trade looks strong for the health of the pitching staff in 2026.

Happy Friday, everyone! Hopefully, it’s been a good week, and you’re set to enjoy your weekend. To ease you into the final day of the week, we’ve got an assortment of baseball news for you to enjoy. We’re taking a look at the early discussions regarding the CBA and a potential salary cap, the new tentative Rays stadium deal, bad luck injury news for Cal Raleigh (who just busted his slump in the strangest way), and a surprising turn for the White Sox who… are playing winning baseball?

We’ve got all that and more in today’s news, so grab a coffee and enjoy!

• Where does MLB stand with the CBA, and the potential salary cap? (ESPN)
• The Rays have a tentative deal in place for their new stadium. (AP)
• Ben Clemens thinks we’re all underrating Dylan Lee.
• On the topic of the Braves, Jay Jaffe writes a joint memorial for Ted Turner and Bobby Cox.
• Some injury updates from around baseball. (MLB)
• More May trades as the Mariners send Jose Suarez to the A’s. Story by Martin Gallegos.
• Kyle Koster wants us to believe the impossible: the White Sox are a .500 club.
• Matt Gelb looks at how the Mattingly father-son duo in Philadelphia is embracing their unexpected season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Can’t say I would have predicted some of these at the start of the season.

• Enjoy this silly little quiz to help you pick your ideal MLB team. If you take it, we want to know if you actually ended up with the Cubs.
• Michael Baumann wants us to know how right he was about Xavier Edwards and Liam Hicks.
• What is the “Tito speedo” and how did it help push the Reds to victory? Story by Mike Petraglia.
• Sonja Chen shares that Shohei Ohtani’s insane ERA is sparking plenty of Cy Young chatter.
• Who are the best third basemen in baseball right now? (SI)
• Corey Seager is trying to “figure it out” amid a rough slump. (AP)
• Ken Rosenthal looks at the results-focused mentality that has turned Elly De La Cruz into one of baseball’s best players. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• A scary update from a recent White Sox game. Stay safe out there, friends!

• David Laurila thinks Yandy Diaz is one of the most underappreciated hitters in baseball.
• Ryan Blake goes on a tangent about arm strength.
• Are things looking up for the Mets? They just had their first sweep of the season. Story by Anthony DiComo.
• Nick Selbe ranks all 30 MLB teams into “watchability” tiers and let’s just say it’s a great year to be a Cubs fan.
• Former MLBer Yasiel Puig may face jail time on federal charges. Story by Ryan Phillips.
• The Twins are sending struggling outfielder Matt Wallner to Triple-A. (ESPN)
• Before his injury, Cal Raleigh took an unusual approach to busting his slump: he showered in his uniform. Story by Rustin Dodd. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• This is tremendous. Just give me crowd noise and the crack of a bat.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.