Category: Baseball

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Saturday’s MLB slate is one of the deepest of the week, with a full board and plenty of spots where the market hasn’t fully caught up.

Early in the season, pricing can still lag behind form, pitching matchups, and lineup trends — and that’s where value shows up. Rather than chasing big favorites, we’re targeting moneyline edges where the numbers and game scripts don’t quite align.

Find out more in my MLB picks for April 18.

MLB moneyline picks for April 18

Matchup	Pick
KC vs NYY	-161
CIN vs MIN	-143
NYM vs CHC	-116
SF vs WSH	-103
TB vs PIT	-152
CWS vs ATH	-161
DET vs BOS	-167
MIL vs MIA	-111
BAL vs CLE	-132
STL vs HOU	-149
TEX vs SEA	-137
ATL vs PHI	-127
LAD vs COL	-278
TOR vs AZ	+105
SD vs LAA	-116

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of 4-18.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for April 18

Royals vs Yankees: Yankees (-161)

Yankees win probability: 59%

The New York Yankees have the clear edge in both lineup and bullpen, and this is the kind of spot where they usually take care of business at home.

Reds vs Twins: Twins (-143)

Twins win probability: 54%

Minnesota is the more complete team right now, with the better pitching matchup and a lineup that’s been more consistent top to bottom.

Mets vs Cubs: Cubs (-116)

Cubs win probability: 51%

The Cubs are simply playing better baseball (not by much), while the Mets continue to shoot themselves in the foot early in the season. 

Giants vs Nationals: Nationals (-103)

Nationals win probability: 48%

Washington has been more competitive than expected, and getting the Nationals at near even money against a shaky Giants team is worth a shot, especially given their edge on offense. 

Rays vs Pirates: Pirates (-152)

Pirates win probability: 61%

See Paul Skenes.... bet Paul Skenes... and hope the Pirates bats show up for him.

White Sox vs Athletics: Athletics (-161)

A's win probability: 60%

Neither team provides much confidence, but the White Sox away from home are worse than they are in Chicago. 

Tigers vs Red Sox: Tigers (-167)

Tigers win probability: 62%

Detroit has the pitching advantage here, and the Tigers have been far more reliable at preventing runs than Boston.

Brewers vs Marlins: Marlins (-111)

Marlins win probability: 50%

This is a coin-flip type game, but Miami’s pitching gives the home side a slight edge in what should be a low-scoring matchup.

Orioles vs Guardians: Guardians (-132)

Guardians win probability: 54%

Cleveland’s pitching and ability to make hay at home should be enough here, especially against a volatile Orioles staff.

Cardinals vs Astros: Astros (-139)

Astros win probability: 55%

Houston is the more disciplined and explosive team at the plate and typically capitalizes in situations where St. Louis tends to let games slip away.

Rangers vs Mariners: Mariners (-137)

Mariners win probability: 54%

Most of the edge in the batter's box goes to Texas, but the Mariners pitching is top-notch, and I like Kirby a little bit more than Eovaldi in this spot. 

Braves vs Phillies: Phillies (-127)

Phillies win probability: 52%

Normally, I'd take the high-powered Braves, but the pitching matchup favors the Phillies, and I expect them to tag Chris Sale early and often. 

Dodgers vs Rockies: Dodgers (-278)

Dodgers win probability: 71%

The odds speak for themselves. 

Blue Jays vs Diamondbacks: Blue Jays (+105)

Blue Jays win probability: 46%

Call this the Mad Max bounce-back game. The Diamondbacks' offense is inconsistent, so I look for the veteran pitcher to come up big. 

Padres vs Angels: Angels (-116)

Angels win probability: 50%

The Angels have plenty of power in their lineup, and they are playing at home. German Marquez boasts a 5.54 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. That should be all they need to pick up the win. 

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.

Today I want to check in on several of Memphis Redbird hitters through the Statcast lens. Fortunately for prospect hounds, the International League is fully wired up with pitch and hit tracking machines so there is a wealth of data available for the prospects at the highest level. The only other minor league team with this data provided publicly is the Single-A Palm Beach Cardinals, so there is a bit of a gap as prospects advance through the middle two levels. The Memphis squad has played 18 games (as of Friday), so while the sample size is relatively small, we are starting to aggregate some real data to break down. Today, I will focus on hitters only, and with apologies to Cesar Prieto and Colton Ledbetter, the players I feel are the four best hitting prospects in Memphis: Joshua Baez, Leo Bernal, Jimmy Crooks, and Blaze Jordan. 

Blaze Jordan

Jordan’s 2025 was a mixed bag as he torched Double-A to the tune of a 167 wRC+ for 44 games in the Red Sox system. He was promoted to Triple-A at the beginning of June and held his own until being flipped for Steven Matz at the trade deadline. The narrative behind his breakout season was short-circuited by a dreadful stint in Memphis that led to him being left off the 40-man roster and unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Jordan has long been considered a plus power bat, but has struggled with plate discipline and elevating the ball, so how has he performed thus far in 2026? 
Jordan is off to a scalding start with a 179 wRC+ through 58 plate appearances in Memphis and there are certainly some changes to his underlying metrics.

Jordan is still swinging at everything and making good contact. The big jump has come in his exit velocity numbers. His max exit velocity of 113.3 MPH would rank 25th in the MLB just ahead of Jo Adell. His average exit velocity jump of 6 MPH takes him from being well below average to well above-average. Despite a high chase%, Jordan has made an above-average amount of contact thanks to an incredible 94.9% contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone. 

Jordan continues to have a fascinating profile. If you had told me he was off to an amazing start, I would have assumed he had cleaned up his plate discipline or started hitting more fly balls… Instead, he has doubled down on the two things he is great at, hitting the ball hard and making a ton of contact. It doesn’t seem like a profile that will play at the major league level where he will be exploited by pitchers with better command, but it is hard to argue with the results thus far. Jordan seems like the perfect candidate to get some at-bats for the Cardinals later this summer to give him a sense of the adjustments needed to hit major league pitching and an offseason to work on improving his approach. Despite the flaws, it has been a very encouraging start to the year, and Jordan’s stock is on the rise. 

Jimmy Crooks

Crooks had a solid, if unspectacular, 2025 season in Memphis. His contact rates backed up enough to create some doubt as to whether he could get to his solid power. So far, 2026 has been a mixed bag.

While Crooks is off to a great start from a results perspective having already hit 4 home runs and carrying a 156 wRC+, his contact and chase rates have both moved in the wrong direction. It is too early to worry, but you would feel a little more excited about the fast start if there were underlying changes to support the improved offense. Crooks’ elevated 33.3% strikeout rate is driven by nine strikeouts in 15 at-bats against southpaws. He has a slightly higher hard hit rate and barrel%, but despite the gaudy hitting line, Crooks has been generally the same hitter he was in 2025. 

I would really like to see Crooks improve his chase rate moving forward, which should elevate his borderline unplayable contact rate. Only ten major leaguers ran contact rates in the 60s last season and none as low as 65%. There is still plenty of volatility in the data this early, so we are definitely not in the panic zone yet. The average to slightly above-average power is already there, and Crooks has a knack for making high-quality contact when he does connect. Despite his lack of speed, ZiPS projects him to run above-average BABIPs as the foundation of his offensive profile. 

Leo Bernal

Unlike Jordan and Crooks, Bernal did not have prior Triple-A experience, so there is much less data in his baseline to compare to. 

Bernal is having a little trouble chasing too often, but is making contact at an above-average rate. While his average and 90th percentile exit velocities are not exciting, his max exit velocity is above-average, which is a great sign, especially in such a small sample size. Despite the underwhelming .236/.295/.327 slash line, Bernal’s start from an underlying metrics perspective may be the most encouraging. Unlike Crooks, he is maintaining a solid plate approach and contact rate in his first taste of Triple-A as a 22-year-old. FanGraphs has him rated as having average raw power (50 grade), but his max exit velocity of 112 MPH hints that there could be more in the tank. Switch hitters and catchers have the reputation of taking longer to develop offensively, and Bernal is both of these. He has plenty of time to solidify himself as a core piece of the future, but you would like to see more consistent power as he settles into the Triple-A environment. 

Joshua Baez

Baez was the player I was most excited to get data on coming into the year following his epic breakout in 2025. The big question we want to get answered is how his contact rates would hold as he faced more advanced pitching.

Baez is surviving, but he is showing why the Cardinals made the correct decision in letting him start the season in Triple-A despite the torrid Spring Training. His exit velocity numbers are just average so far and his contact rate has backed up significantly from the average rate he carried in 2025. After running a 59% contact rate in big league spring training, the continued low contact rate in Memphis at least warrants an eyebrow raise. We are still early enough to brush this off as an early-season adjustment period, but with Baez’s history, it is absolutely something to keep an eye on to see if he can right the ship. Triple-A pitchers have attacked Baez with over 40% breaking balls thus far (MLB average is roughly 30%) and Baez has only managed a 56% contact rate. He is doing most of his damage on fastballs with an 80% contact rate, and both of his home runs have come on heaters. 

I think Baez may be pressing a bit coming off of his electric spring training. He has a reputation for good swing decisions and may just be a tad overly aggressive in the early going. I would like to see if a more disciplined approach could unlock the power he displayed in 2025. 

All things considered, my opinion of these four has not changed in a meaningful way based on this small sample size. I am encouraged by Jordan and Bernal’s starts and would like to see some improved discipline from Baez and Crooks. All four could impact the Cardinals in 2026 and their performance has direct implications for the roster going forward. That matters not just for development, but for how the Cardinals approach roster decisions this season. Bernal and Crooks performing well could push one of Pedro Pages or Yohel Pozo out the door. If Baez looks ready, he could get a look in center field or make a Lars Nootbaar trade more attractive even if the Cardinals are in the playoff hunt this summer. Blaze Jordan is still getting reps at first base and third base where the Cardinals lack right-handed power. Whether they make it to St. Louis this year or not, the progress, or lack thereof, of this quartet will have a material impact on the shape of the roster moving forward.

There really isn’t much good around the Phillies right now. The best thing to say about today is that Cristopher Sanchez gets the start.

Too bad he’s been shakier than normal of late.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The team is off to a pretty rough start (to say the least). Which things are actually worth worrying about long term ($)?
• Honestly had no memory of Adolis Garcia making a baseball trek through Japan, but here we are, learning new things every day.

MLB news:

• The sale of the Padres is about complete with an agreement expected to be in place by the end of next week ($). It’s going to be expensive.
• Garret Anderson, longtime outfielder for the Angels, passed away suddenly at age 53. Always liked that guy.
• The Rockies are trying something new this year where their pitching coach is “suggesting” pitches from the dugout ($).
• Extensions for young players are all the rage at the moment. However, are we reaching a point where it’s not good?

The Atlanta Braves opened the road trip on a high note and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0. Martín Pérez got the start and threw a sharp six innings, where he allowed just four hits. He issued two walks and struck out four. José Suarez took over in the seventh and completed the shutout.

Things went well offensively, too, as Austin Riley launched two home runs and the lineup tallied 12 hits on the night. The Braves improve to 13-7 and now have a four-game lead in the NL East.

More Braves News:

Spencer Strider took the mound in High-A Rome on Thursday. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings. More in the minor league recap.

In the latest Braves Biweekly, we take a look at how hitters and pitchers are performing. 

MLB News:

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Richard Fitts underwent season-ending surgery to address a lat strain. 

Chicago Cubs righty Cade Horton underwent Tommy John surgery and will require at least a 15 month recovery period. 

The Chicago Cubs placed righty Daniel Palencia on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. The move is retroactive to April 14. 

From the Feed:

Former Brave Garret Anderson passed away at 53. Our condolences to the family.

Based on what you’ve seen so far this season, let’s hear your hottest Braves take.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L, 3-5 at Syracuse Mets

DH Jasson Domínguez 2-5, RBI, 2 K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera 1-4, HR, BB, RBI, 2 K — second dinger of 2026 for Waldo
CF Max Schuemann 0-4, K
LF Spencer Jones 1-2, HR, BB, RBI, HBP — and no. 4 for Jones, 419 feet
RF Yanquiel Fernández 0-3, BB
1B Seth Brown 0-3, BB, SB
3B Paul DeJong 0-4, 3 K
2B Braden Shewmake 2-4, 2B, K
C Payton Henry 1-4

Carlos Lagrange 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, HR, HBP (loss) — still finding way at Triple-A
Danny Watson 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
Kervin Castro 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Jake Bird 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 9-8 (10) vs. Reading Fightin Phils — won in walk-off fashion

3B-SS George Lombard Jr. 1-4, BB, K, SB — nice play behind Cole at third
SS Anthony Volpe 1-2, BB, SB — his second hit of the rehab assignment, and first steal
3B Tyler Hardman 0-2, K
RF Garrett Martin 2-5, K
LF Jace Avina 1-3, RBI, 2 K, SF — one of four sac flies that Somerset got
2B Marco Luciano 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, SF, GIDP
PR Owen Cobb 0-0 — scored game-tying run
1B Coby Morales 2-5, 2B, RBI, K — knotted game up in the 10th with his RBI double
DH DJ Gladney 1-3, 3 RBI, 2 K, SF — ended the night with a sac fly to plate Morales after a wild pitch
CF Kenedy Corona 2-3, RBI, K, SF, SB
C Manuel Palencia 1-4, K

Gerrit Cole 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, HR — threw 44 pitches in first rehab start, see below for his always-appreciated thoughts
Andrew Landry 2.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Chris Kean 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K
Kelly Austin 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (win)

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 1-6 at Frederick Keys — held to five hits and shut out until the penultimate batter

SS Kaeden Kent 1-4, 2 K
2B Core Jackson 0-2, 2 BB, K, SB
1B Kyle West 0-4, 3 K
C Eric Genther 2-3, K, HBP, throwing error
3B Roderick Arias 0-3, BB, 2 K
RF Tyler Wilson 0-4, K
CF Camden Troyer 2-4, 2B, 2 K — doubled with two down in the ninth to get ’Gades on the board
DH Josue Gonzalez 0-4, K
LF Connor McGinnis 0-3, K, HBP

Rory Fox 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, HR, throwing error (loss)
Baron Stuart 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, HR, HBP, WP
Hansel Rincon 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:L, 0-7 vs. Bradenton Marauders — a quiet two-hit shutout, no-hit into the eighth with 2025 sixth-overall pick Seth Hernandez striking out eight in his five innings of the effort

DH Jackson Lovich 0-3, BB, 2 K
RF Brando Mayea 0-4, K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-4, K — got Tampa’s second hit in the ninth
LF Logan Maxwell 0-4
CF JoJo Jackson 0-4, 2 K
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, 0-2, BB, K
C Edgleen Perez 0-2, BB, 2 K
2B Hans Montero 1-3, 2 K — broke up no-no with a ground-ball single one out into the eighth
1B Austin Green 0-3

Justin West 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 6 K (loss)
Pedro Rodriguez 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Thomas Balboni Jr. 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, HR
Jordarlin Mendoza 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Brian Arias 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

I can always appreciate when someone picks themselves off the schneid and comes up big in a timely moment. It’s how Aaron Boone himself hit that walk-off homer against the 2003 Red Sox after doing basically nothing all postseason. I also think about how lefty relievers Graeme Lloyd and Damaso Marte had poor reputations among the Yankees fanbase prior to the 1996 and 2009 postseasons respectively; now, they’ll always get a nice hand in the Bronx. Going back even further, Don Larsen was awful against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 2 of the 1956 World Series and didn’t expect Casey Stengel to ask him to start another game. But the Ol’ Perfesser gave him Game 5 and the rest is history.

In short: Hell yeah, Ryan McMahon. A game-winning home run in April against a team that is a confirmed long shot for October is not at the level of what all those other guys did. But you have to start somewhere! And his teammates’ reactions were very wholesome.

Today on the site, John will pay tribute to a fallen rival, as we salute the late Garret Anderson, a Yankee Killer who is gone too soon. Later, Matt will be on the Rivalry Roundup, Kento will celebrate the 67th birthday of the unlikely Dennis Rasmussen, and Sam will take the opportunity of recent extension news for young players around MLB to ponder pros and cons of a possible long-term deal for a particular Yankee.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, Royals.TV

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. Would you stick to the plan and have McMahon back on the bench today? Or would you start him even with the lefty Noah Cameron on the bump for KC?

2. Do you have any thoughts on the Padres being on the verge of reportedly selling for a record $3.9 billion?

MLB.com | Sarah Langs: While it was overshadowed by Mike Trout’s homer spree, Judge and Stanton both homered in Thursday’s 11-4 loss against the Angels, marking the 61st time that they homered in the same game as teammates. With that, they are now tied for sixth place on the all-time list, sharing a spot with the Braves’ Joneses (Andruw and Chipper) and Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison for the Twins and Senators. Depending on how well Judge and Stanton time their homers, they have a good shot at moving into fifth place by the end of this year, surpassing the Cubs duo of Billy Williams and Ron Santo (64 games). Unsurprisingly, the names get even more impressive at the top of the list; the all-time leading duo is Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews of the Braves with 76, followed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig with 75. Let’s see how high our beefy boys can rise through the ranks.

SNY | Phillip Martinez: Ryan McMahon’s struggles have been no secret, as the third baseman entered play yesterday hitting .119/.260/.119 with a 25 wRC+ and zero extra-base hits. Manager Aaron Boone elected to sit McMahon in favor of Amed Rosario for Friday night’s series opener against the Royals, even though there was a righty on the mound and McMahon’s a lefty. Boone told reporters that McMahon’s working on some batting tweaks behind the scenes and since they are likely facing four lefties during this series and the next one, there’s a good chance that McMahon might stay out of the lineup for a little bit. Now, this was all said before his surprising game-winning homer on Friday night—one that he said was preceded by “about a hundred” extra swings once he knew he wasn’t starting—after entering as a defensive replacement. But it’s still likely safe to say that Rosario will get a modest chunk of starts.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Last year, NJ.com reported on the near-nonstop noise at Yankee Stadium, which has frustrated fans but is apparenty in accordance with the Yankees and their players’ wishes. Phillips provided a follow-up on that piece, and the Yankees themselves remain insistent that they like it, desiring a Madison Square Garden NBA-esque feel. The Yankees apparently don’t hear it as loudly down on the field; it all seems like it could be resolved at some point with some repositioning of the many speakers in the stadium. In the meantime, folks of all ages let Phillips know of their irritation — even the younger fans who this is ostensibly directed toward. There is a fine line between an authentically loud stadium full of fan noise and an artificially loud stadium full of sound bites.

MLB.com | Max Ralph: As with Gerrit Cole, Anthony Volpe has also recently started his rehab assignment in Double-A Somerset, and Thursday marked an important step for him as he picked up his first hit of the year. All in all, he was 1-for-3 with a groundout and a strikeout at the plate, and in the field, he handled his only chance cleanly—a pop fly to short—before being substituted in the sixth. According to Brian Cashman, the plan is to have Volpe amass 55 or so plate appearances in the minors before he rejoins the big league squad. Volpe played with a partially torn labrum for most of 2025, which was the likely culprit of a down year on both sides of the ball. We know he can pick it when healthy. Can he hit? The jury’s still out on that one.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty ($): Speaking of possible reinforcements for the left side of the infield, George Lombard Jr. is having quite the start to his 2026 campaign. In 11 games so far with Double-A Somerset, he’s slashing .400/.471/.667 with two homers and six doubles. His glove was never the issue—Double-A manager James Cooper saw him as a major league-caliber defender already last year—so it’s more than encouraging that the bat has looked this good, even though (again) it’s only 11 games. Interestingly, Lombard Jr. has made three starts at third base so far, despite being primarily deployed as a shortstop over his minor league career. With McMahon struggling—Friday night notwithstanding—could the Yankees be eyeing an aggressive call-up for Lombard Jr. in the coming months? I think that would be pretty unlikely, but if he continues to torch minor-league pitching like he has, all bets are off.

DENVER –– After seven years of waiting for his shot, Ryan Ward is on the verge of his first big-league opportunity.

The Dodgers are bringing Ward to Denver on Saturday and are expected to officially activate him later in this weekend’s series against the Colorado Rockies, sources confirmed, marking what will be a first career call-up to the majors for the 28-year-old outfielder.

While it wasn’t immediately clear what the corresponding roster move will be, the choreographed nature of Ward’s promotion –– he will be on the taxi squad Saturday, a source said –– could suggest a non-injury-related maneuver, such as another player going on the paternity list.

The Athletic first reported the news of Ward’s call-up on Friday.

Ward was originally an eighth-round draft pick in 2019 who has slowly climbed up the Dodgers’ farm system. Last year, he was the Pacific Coast League MVP with triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .290 with 36 home runs and 122 RBIs.

This season, he was batting .324 in his first 18 triple-A games, adding four more home runs and 14 RBIs to a distinguished minor-league resume.

Despite those gaudy numbers, Ward has had to wait –– and wait, and wait –– for a chance at the MLB level.

He was added to the club’s 40-man roster at the end of last season, but did not make the big-league team after a poor spring training performance.

Still, over seven career seasons in the minors, the left-handed hitter has a .266 average, 154 home runs, 139 doubles and 520 RBIs.

The Massachusetts native and Bryant University product has received rave reviews from Dodgers personnel about his growth in recent seasons, specifically with the way he has improved his plate discipline.

Since the start of last year, he has 95 walks against 141 strikeouts.

He is a corner outfielder by trade, but can also contribute at first base.

“The thing I like about Ryan is he’s performed,” manager Dave Roberts said this spring. “We’ve asked him to do certain things, whether it’s positional versatility or cutting back on the strikeouts, hit for a little more power. He’s done all that.”

Roberts said then he expected Ward to get an opportunity in the majors at some point this year.

“For him to not get a shot (yet), I’m sure he’s frustrated and understandably so,” Roberts said. “But the message for him is to keep putting up numbers and knock the door down and hopefully the opportunity comes for him.”

That’s exactly what Ward has done, ranking seventh in the PCL so far this season in OPS. And now, his long wait is almost up, with a promotion to the majors having finally arrived.

I have to get this off my chest: the Mariners “fanny pack hat” promotional giveaway item tonight makes absolutely no sense. I get that they’re leaning into the 70s this weekend as part of their 50th anniversary season celebration, with future weekends leaning on the 80s, 90s, and so forth. But, look, the fanny pack is so called because it is worn on your fanny. When you remove the placement, it ceases to be a fanny pack. What the Mariners have created here instead is simply a hat with a bag on it. A hat sack. 

The only way this thing is a fanny pack is if you loop your belt through the snapback and wear it around your waist. But of course, at that point, it has ceased to be a hat, except as a hat for your fanny. You know, an asshat.

Speaking of asshats, the Mariners played nine innings of what can loosely be described as baseball tonight. It didn’t have to be so bad. With one out in the first, the Mariners loaded the bases on a four-pitch walk to Cal Raleigh, a scorched double from Julio Rodríguez, and a ten-pitch walk—the only thing better than a four-pitch walk—to Josh Naylor. But those runners would be left on those bases, a fact that would haunt the Mariners throughout the rest of the game.

The Mariners chased Rangers’ starter Jacob deGrom after just four innings, but then they had to face Gavin Collyer, who looks like he’s going to be a giant problem for the next half-decade, slinging 100-mph heaters out of a funky arm slot. Josh Naylor did manage to get a hit off of him (one of two hits to go with two walks). But he was later thrown out at the plate on the worst send since the Zimmermann Telegram. Wyatt Langford had the ball in shallow left field before Naylor had even touched third base. For getting hung out to dry despite finally having a good night at the plate, Naylor wins a second-consecutive Sun Hat Award. Cole Young might have won it for getting two four-pitch walks in the same game, but he gave it back with a miscommunication with Julio in the triangle that resulted in Julio ripping a divot in the field and scraping his hand.

I’d like to look at Logan Gilbert’s line of 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 7 K, and say at least Gilbert had another good performance. But it really wasn’t great. He was all over the place in his first three innings: fastball velocity up and down, over-relying on his worst pitches while the splitter and slider sat on the shelf. A fastball right down Broadway to Brandon Nimmo resulted in a leadoff home run and set the tone. In Logan’s defense, just like Ryon Healy in the booth, he did get better once he started being himself in the fourth inning. But the damage had been done—to his pitch count if not the score. After a 2024-esque start on Monday, tonight he looked a lot more like his 2025 self, with a bunch of strikeouts hiding his inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Although he left the game with a surmountable two-run deficit, the bats and bullpen only made it worse.

That marks 22 innings since the Mariners last scored against the Rangers. But don’t worry. They face Nathan Eovaldi tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

I don’t want to take ALL the credit, but the White Sox put on a show for their first game out west this season and my first game back with South Side Sox. Let’s break it down because the scoring, taking advantage of the Athletics mistakes and making the plays on defense started early and often.

The White Sox came out swinging and put the A’s on their heels early in the ballgame. Leading off the evening, Andrew Benintendi hit a bloop to center field that scooted by Denzel Clarke. As soon as I saw the ball roll deeper into center field, I couldn’t believe Benintendi was going to record his third triple of this early season. Alas, the ball lost its momentum, and Andrew held up at second. With two quick outs to follow, Colson Montgomery shot a ball down the right field line, bringing Andrew home to open up the night’s scoring, 1-0.

In the bottom half of the opening frame and against the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year, Chase Meidroth robbed Nick Kurtz of a two-out hit as he activated his inner Superman to stop the ball and laser it to Munetaka Murakami at first base. As Gordon Beckham said on the broadcast, “We have a man there!”

With back-to-back singles from Murakami and Miguel Vargas to begin the third inning, the third “M” for “Montgomery” brought home Mune for his second RBI of the game, and Vargas took to some aggressive baserunning to go first to third on Colson’s single. He would have been out too, if the ball hadn’t hit him and trickled away. Edgar Quero would later bring home Miguel with an RBI ground out for a 3-0 Sox lead.

While the offense broke out early, Davis Martin was dealing alongside it. Through three innings, Martin used just 20 pitches for the first nine outs in nine-up, nine-down fashion. As per his early trends of the season, he was mixing up his pitches: slider (six), sinker (five), changeup (four), 4-seamer (three), curveball (one) and cutter (one).

It would take until the fourth inning for the A’s to score, as they caught a break of their own. With one out, Luisangel Acuña lost what appeared to be a routine fly ball to the twilight sky, allowing Shea Langeliers a double. Kurtz would then step up to the plate and work a 12-pitch at-bat to rip a ball past Meidroth, who brought out the Superman dive once more but unsuccessful this go-around.

Luckily, it’s all about short-term memory in baseball. In the top of the fifth, with Meidroth on first with two outs, Acuña doubled to right-center to pick up a run for a net zero impact and a 4-1 Sox lead. At 103 pitches, Aaron Civale did not make it through the fifth inning, as predicted and hoped for in the game thread.

First out of the pen, Elvis Alvarado replaced Civale, and Benintendi immediately capitalized with a second-pitch RBI double, extending the Sox lead even further, 5-1.

Looking to put this game out of reach in the seventh and Alvarado still on the bump, Murakami stepped up to the plate with the sacks packed and two out. He worked the count full, and BOOM! He launched a 98.2 mph fastball 431 feet to straightaway center field with a 114.1 mph exit velocity for his first career MLB grand slam, and team-leading sixth home run. The ball cleared the tall batter’s eye in center field, eliciting more than a few gasps. That’ll do!

That was the Sox’s third grand slam on the year, and they lead MLB in that department.

Other than the one run allowed in the fourth, Davis kept dealing and was purely dominant tonight! In back-to-back starts, Martin has gone seven innings and has now notched three straight quality starts. Martin ended his night in the same way it began, mixing and matching all six of his pitches to ultimately keep the A’s off-balanced and guessing. Here’s how his economical 89 pitches this evening broke down: 4-seamer (22), sinker (20), slider (16), cutter (12), changeup (11) and curveball (eight). He struck out four, walked two and only allowed three hits. Skill > luck.

Doug Nikhazy, fresh from Charlotte, replaced Davis in the eighth. The southpaw allowed leadoff man Max Muncy to walk and eventually score on Andy Ibáñez’s RBI ground out to make the score just a smidge closer, 9-2. However, that would be it for the A’s and their quiet offense this evening, as Nikhazy remained in the game for the ninth and wrapped it up. Not too shabby to record the last six outs in your third career MLB game

The Good Guys improve to 7-13, and it’ll be a quick turnaround into a day game tomorrow afternoon! Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.38 ERA) and Luis Severino (0-2, 5.59 ERA) will clash on the mound as the Sox look to take the series at 3:10 p.m. CT on CHSN.

Before we all head off to sleep, one more thing:

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IYKYK!

The Texas Rangers scored five runs while the Seattle Mariners scored zero runs.

For the second time this season the Rangers and Mariners opened up a series with Jacob deGrom matching up against Logan Gilbert in a battle between former Stetson University right-handers turned AL rotation-toppers.

Like the game back in Arlington earlier this month, there was a first inning home run. This time, however, it was the Rangers getting out on top early with Brandon Nimmo homering to leadoff the game on the game’s third pitch. Little did we know, despite three hours of baseball to follow, that would be all the runs Texas would need.

In fact, the Rangers made a habit of getting on for extra bases in the early going against Gilbert as they led off with an extra base hit in each of the first three innings.

However, Texas had trouble bringing in runs throughout most of the game despite piling up base runners. On the night, the Rangers had 17 opportunities with runners in scoring position and though they collected five hits in those situations, only three of those hits brought in runs.

Wyatt Langford singled in a run in the top of the third. Jake Burger provided an insurance run with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. After a sac fly by Andrew McCutchen in the top of the ninth, Josh Jung doubled in Texas’ fifth and final run on their seventh extra base hit on the night.

Meanwhile, while the bats were doing everything but making this game a blowout for most of the night, the Mariners were doing anything but being particularly threatening despite the relatively close contest.

With deGrom lacking his usual swing-and-miss stuff, and still on a short leash in the season’s first month, the Mariners fouled off a ton of two-strike deGrom offerings and had him out of the game after four innings and 88 pitches.

Nevertheless, deGrom wasn’t especially hittable either as Seattle mustered four hits and worked two walks against deGrom with their best chance of the game coming with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the first when deGrom buckled down and collected two of his three Ks on the night to end the threat.

deGrom’s short outing meant the bullpen had to do a lot of the heavy lifting, certainly an early trend so far this season. Answering the call, a fivesome of Gavin Collyer, Tyler Alexander, Jalen Beeks, Cole Winn, and Jacob Latz combined to toss five innings of two-hit, scoreless relief.

The Mariners nearly broke through to get on the board in the bottom of the sixth in what was then still a 2-0 game when J.P. Crawford singled to shallow left with Josh Naylor at second base but an aggressive send had Naylor out by like ten feet at home thanks to a nice and easy throw from Langford.

Ultimately the Rangers were in charge of this game practically from pitch No. 1, even with the score close until late and with the Mariners opting for a gameplan of trying to get deGrom out as quickly as possible by working the count.

With the win, the Rangers are now 4-0 against the Mariners this season and have evened up their record on this current long road trip.

Player of the Game: Jung collected three of Texas’ seven extra base hits, all doubles, and drove in a run as the oft-maligned third baseman from a season ago continues to heat up on this road trip.

Also, congrats to Gavin Collyer for picking up his first big league win with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Up Next: The Rangers and Mariners will take to primetime for the second game of this weekend three-game set. RHP Nathan Eovaldi is next up for Texas opposite RHP George Kirby for Seattle.

The Saturday evening first pitch from T-Mobile Park is scheduled for scheduled for 6:15 pm CDT and will be aired nationally on FOX.

Rangers 5, Mariners 0

The miracle of pasteurization: Josh Naylor, +0.11 WPA
A jar full of farts: Randy Arozarena, -0.16 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were scuttled by the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 5-3.

Vince Velasquez gave the I-Cubs a solid start as he allowed just one run on five hits over 4.2 innings. Velasquez walked four and struck out seven.

Yacksel Rios pitched the bottom of the ninth, gave up a two-run home run and got the loss. Rios allowed one hit, one walk and struck out one in the one inning of work.

First baseman BJ Murray went 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Murray also scored on an Owen Miller sacrifice fly in the second inning. He was 0 for 3.

A great defensive play by shortstop Ben Cowles.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies made the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins) blue, 3-0.

Grant Kipp and Luis Martinez-Gomez combined on the shutout. Kipp was terrific, allowing just one walk over five innings. He struck out seven and walked no one,

Martinez-Gomez got the four-inning save after allowing four hits but walking no one and striking out four.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the second inning. He also stole two bases, including stealing home in the first inning as part of a double steal of second and home.

Left fielder Jordan Nwogu was 1 for 3 with two walks and an RBI single in the second inning.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs crashed out against the Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins), 6-5.

Starter Cole Reynolds gave up two runs on just one hit over four innings. Reynolds walked three and struck out three.

Kenton Egbert pitched the next three innings and took the loss. He surrendered two runs on two hits and a walk. Egbert struck out four.

South Bend trailed the Sky Carp 6-2 heading to the bottom of the ninth. They scored three times but were unable to get the fourth run home from second base when center fielder Kane Kepley grounded out. But Kepley scored the first run of the game when he walked to lead off the bottom of the first, stole second, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly. Kepley went 0 for 3 with two walks and the two steals.

Third baseman Reginald Preciado was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the fourth. Preciado also scored a run in the ninth on an error.

Here’s Kepley getting his uniform dirty in the first inning.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were shot down by the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 5-2 in ten innings.

The Birds got three strong innings from starter Edwardo Melendez, who allowed only one hit. Unfortunately, it was a solo home run to lead off the second inning. But the only other baserunner Melendez allowed was a hit batsman and he immediately removed that baserunner with a 4-6-3 double play. Melendez struck out five.

Jordan Henriquez pitched the top of the tenth and took the loss. Henriquez gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits. He struck out one and did not walk anyone.

Third baseman Derniche Valdez hit his first Pelicans home run with the bases empty in the second inning. Valdez went 1 for 4.

The Pelicans had just three hits in this game.

The Valdez home run.

Unbelievable!  

This Nebraska Cornhusker team has fought and scratched all season when they are down and have treated their fans to some incredible wins, including some walk-off wins that have made the drive home quite a bit happier.  None of them compare to what happened tonight!  

Total pandemonium broke out in the bottom of the tenth inning when Mac Moyer laid down a picture-perfect bunch that pitcher Sax Matson threw past first baseman Adrian Lopez toward the rightfield corner.  Rhett Stokes, who previously, reached on a walk, never slowed down once he saw the bunt down and charged all the way around the bases to score the winning run.  Oh, what a ballgame!  Nebraska 8, USC 7.

It didn’t start out that way.  In fact, casual fans may have left the game before Nebraska got back in the game on this chilly night.  Those who have followed the team all season knew they didn’t dare!

Southern Cal’s Mason Edwards is one of the premier pitchers in college baseball this season.  He had a 6-0 record and a 1.35 ERA coming into the game.  That went along with 95 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched.  He was every bit as good as advertised tonight against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Fortunately for the boys from Lincoln and their dedicated fans, his night was done after seven innings.

In fairness to the Cornhuskers, they roughed up Edwards more than he had been up to this point in the season.  The eight hits they got off him was the most he had given up all season, and they got a couple of runs in the sixth inning when Case Sanderson led off the inning with a single and scored two batters later on a Jett Buck double.  Drew Grego also doubled to score Buck and after six innings it was 5-2 SC.

The Trojans grabbed those two runs back quickly as scored twice off Kevin Mannell in the top of the seventh on a two RBI single by Kevin Takeuchi.

Edwards’ night was over after seven complete innings having struck out 12 Cornhuskers and throwing a total of 105 pitches.  Down 7-2, there was a window now for the Cornhuskers, but it was pretty narrow as it was just two innings.  Fortunately, Nebraska crashed through that window thanks to some timely hitting, some incredible bounces, and USC errors.

After Drew Carey struck out for the third straight time in the game to open the bottom of the eighth, Jett Buck smoked his second double of the game off freshman reliever Gavin Lauridsen.  The rookie seemed a little rattled and walked designated hitter Will Jesske.  Drew Grego then reached on a fielder’s choice to put two on with two out.  Up came a resurgent Joshua Overbeek who smashed a three-run homer to the right-centerfield berm.  That cut the lead to 7-5.

Ty Horn came on to pitch the top of the ninth and sat the Trojans down in order with a strikeout and two ground outs to Carey at shortstop.  His fire gave the fans, and his teammates hope for a big ninth inning.

Coach Andy Stankiewicz had gone to his closer, Adam Troy, to get the last out of the eighth inning striking out Jeter Worthley.  He was set to face the heart of the Nebraska lineup in the ninth, writing the perfect script for the drama that had unfolded.

For Case Sanderson and Drew Carey, it was time for the dudes to be dudes.  Both of them were 1-4 on the night and both of them had struck out three times.  Both of them are very capable of hitting balls to the gap or over the wall.  What happened over the course of the next nine pitches had to be seen to be believed.

Sanderson hit a hard grounder back up the middle that skipped off the mound and then hopped into centerfield as SC’s shortstop tried to field it.  He then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Troy.  Carey then hit one that the second baseman booted for an error, sending Sanderson to third.  They didn’t have big hits, but they put the bat on the ball and Carey represented the tying run.

With runners on the corners and no outs, Jett Buck muscled a fly ball to right field that was deep enough to allow Sanderson to tag and score.  7-6 Trojans.

Preston Freeman came in to hit in Jesske’s spot and walked.  Freeman, the winning run, was on first base and Carey stood on third.  Troy was definitely feeling the pressure at this point and threw yet another wild pitch.  Carey crossed the plate and the game was tied!  Freeman hustled all the way to third on the wild pitch and got around the tag to put the winning run 90-feet from the plate.  

That brought up Overbeek, who had homered the previous inning, to face Troy.  Stankiewicz saw his closer struggling and in the middle of the at-bat, and brought in a lefty to face Overbeek.  Overbeek switched to the other batter’s box, but Sax Matson got him looking on two pitches.  The damage was done though, and the game was tied 7-7.

In came J’Shawn Unger for the tenth inning.  He did not disappoint the raucous crowd as he struck out all three Trojans he faced and let out a roar on the last one to match the crowd! 

That set the table for the Stokes walk, Moyer bunt and Matson’s wild throw, resulting in the Nebraska dugout emptying to chase down Stokes and Moyer to celebrate in centerfield.  Ball game! 

While this year’s version of the Southern Cal Trojans is not known for its offense, they tried to put the game out of reach early on.  With the wind blowing out to leftfield, they took advantage of a struggling Cooper Katskee, making his first Friday appearance of the season.  With one out in the top of the first, catcher Isaac Cardena sent a blast over the wall near the party porch to put his team up 1-0.

Even though he’s a slow starter, Katskee was not himself tonight as he missed big and left pitches over the plate where the Trojans put the barrel on the ball.  They scored two in the second inning when they started off with three straight hits, a couple of singles wrapped around a double and increased their lead to 3-0 and sending seven batters to the plate.

Edwards used a successful recipe, throwing a first pitch strike and then moving breaking pitches around the strike zone.  In one stretch, he struck out six consecutive Cornhuskers, with none of the Cornhuskers taking a swing at the first strike.

He was good, but he didn’t go the distance and Nebraska made the bullpen pay.  What’s wild is that those relievers from Southern Cal are very good as well.  And, the coaching staff used their three best, so hopefully that bodes well for the Cornhuskers for the remainder of the weekend.

The job done by Jalen Worthley in the middle three innings cannot be lost in everything else that happened tonight.  He shut down the Trojan offense facing only ten batters and took the momentum away from the boys from SoCal to give the Cornhuskers a chance to get on course.  To see him pitching well in recent weeks is a good sign as the team continues the second half of the season.

It is yet to be seen how the teams will respond to the result tonight, but with the weather improving over the course of the next couple of days, Nebraska fans should pour into Haymarket Park to find out.  This is the second heavyweight bout for Nebraska in as many weekends and after tonight, they have picked themselves up off the mat.  You can bet that round two will be a battle as well.

Carson Jasa will take the mound for the Big Red at 2:00 tomorrow against Grant Govel.  Both pitchers are carrying a 7-0 record and both have a 2.13 ERA.   Looks like it will be another good one! 

Notes:

• It sounds like Ty Horn will be in the bullpen the rest of the season.  He may also be that guy that starts a game in a long tournament run if needed.  He has been very effective in this new role the last two games, and having only thrown 11 pitches tonight, he will be available again this weekend.
• Mac Moyer and Jett Buck both had three hits tonight against tough pitching.  Moyer’s bunt was a beauty in the tenth inning.  Buck also had a pair of doubles and two RBI.
• After getting six hits off Cooper Katskee, USC only got three more hits in the game.  Jalen Worthley, Ty Horn, and J’Shawn Unger did not give up a hit.
• While tonight’s win was huge, Nebraska has to win at least one more this weekend to keep hope alive to host a regional.  Nearly as important is to stay at toward the top of the conference standings as with a new tournament format there is a huge advantage to finish the season in the top four.

The Cubs injury list now includes their closer.

Daniel Palencia was added to the 15-day injured list with an oblique strain on Friday.

Palencia, who wasn’t needed in the Cubs’ 12-4 thrashing of the Mets, aided Venezuela to the World Baseball Classic championship before the regular season, and entered the 2026 campaign riding high.

The 26-year-old now joins a long Cubs IL that includes fellow pitchers Matthew Boyd, Phil Maton, Porter Hodge, Hunter Harvey, Jordan Wicks, Ethan Roberts, Justin Steele, Shelby Miller and Cade Horton, along with first baseman Tyler Austin.

Even the team’s No. 1 prospect, pitcher Jaxon Wiggins, is on the IL with right elbow inflammation.

“I felt something weird there,” Palencia said following a bullpen session early Friday. “It got a little tight. Just trying to be smart. Hopefully, I’ll be ready soon.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell hinted at further testing to determine the exact seriousness of the injury.

“If it lingers, yes, we will,” Counsell said of potential imaging for Palenica. “The fact that his bullpen went well, gives us some optimism. I don’t think he’d be able to do that with a high-grade strain, but we’ll know more in the coming days.”

Palencia became the team’s closer last season, logging 22 saves with 61 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings with a 2.91 ERA.

He began this season with similar ferocity, having yet to allow a run through five innings, recording one save and five strikeouts against two walks.

During the WBC, Palencia pitched five perfect innings with three saves and nine strikeouts to just one walk.