Category: Baseball

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The weather has cooled down across the board, so finding +EV dingers isn't as easy, but fading the worst starter on the slate and betting on indoor four-baggers is the best recipe for success today when looking at the MLB player props board.

German Marquez might not see the fourth inning, and Oneil Cruz has a good chance to hit his fifth long ball of the campaign. Meanwhile, we're looking at a pair of options from the Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series rematch, with Toronto outfielder George Springer in a fantastic spot to get his team's offense moving. 

These are my favorite home run props and MLB picks for Monday, April 6. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Oneil Cruz	+380
Andy Pages	+520
George Springer	+500
💲Today's HR parlay	+16107

Oneil Cruz (+380)

I’m willing to dip below +400 to fade Germán Márquez, who projects as the weakest starter on the slate and is expected to allow the most runs by a wide margin. He lasted just nine outs in his last start, giving up eight hits and two homers, and continues to profile as an extreme fly-ball pitcher with poor Pull Air% metrics over the past couple of seasons.

While conditions are cold in most parks, PNC Park at least has 14 mph winds blowing out to center, boosting the power environment. Oneil Cruz should see plenty of opportunities hitting leadoff, with a strong chance at five plate appearances. He went deep for his fourth home run yesterday and is looking like his best self, batting .314/.368/.657, and three of his long balls have come off right-handers.

And if Marquez gives way to a left-handed reliever, Cruz has actually hit southpaws well (albeit in a small sample) this season, boasting a 2.091 OPS in that split.

Cruz also ranks among the league leaders in barrels per plate appearance and average exit velocity, giving him legitimate Top-10 home run upside if this form continues.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet Pittsburgh, Padres.TV

Andy Pages (+540)

Rogers Centre is one of the better power environments on today’s slate, ranking among the top HR parks by THE BAT. With the Los Angeles Dodgers in town — a lineup leading MLB in home runs per game (1.78) — this is a strong spot to target the HR market.

Max Scherzer is still generating plenty of fly balls, and the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen has been heavily taxed, ranking near the top of the league in innings pitched. The Dodgers also bring familiarity against both Scherzer and this bullpen.

Andy Pages stands out as a value option, likely hitting seventh and entered Sunday on a five-game multi-hit streak. He’s slugging .794 and just went 7-for-13 with 14 total bases and two home runs in a series in Washington.

While bigger names will draw attention, the price is the difference. Rather than laying a short number on Shohei Ohtani, Pages at +450 or better is the preferred play in this matchup.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet LA, Sportsnet

George Springer (+500)

With 50-degree temperatures across the league, staying indoors at Rogers Centre is a smart way to target power. George Springer leading off at +500 stands out, with a fair price closer to +430 and a strong chance at five plate appearances.

This is the most favorable matchup of the series for the Blue Jays, as they face lefty Justin Wrobleski. He’s a regression candidate after overperforming out of the bullpen last year and allowed three runs over four innings in his season debut. With this being a series opener, he could be stretched further, potentially giving Toronto more opportunities early.

Springer’s profile supports the play — he owns one of the top fly-ball rates on the team, and while a .174 BABIP suggests some bad luck, he’s still accounted for 20% of the team’s home runs. Back at home in a controlled hitting environment, this is a strong bounce-back spot at a great number.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet LA, Sportsnet

Today’s HR parlay

Oneil Cruz	Bet Now +16107
Andy Pages
George Springer

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.

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The weather has cooled across the board, making +EV home runs harder to find—but targeting the weakest starters and focusing on indoor four-baggers remains the smartest strategy on today’s MLB player props board.

German Márquez could be out before the fourth inning, giving Oneil Cruz a strong shot at his fifth long ball of the season. Meanwhile, in the Dodgers–Blue Jays World Series rematch, Toronto outfielder George Springer finds himself in an ideal spot to ignite his team’s offense.

These are my favorite home run props and MLB picks for Monday, April 6. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Oneil Cruz	+380
Andy Pages	+520
George Springer	+500
💲Today's HR parlay	+16107

Oneil Cruz (+380)

I’m willing to dip below +400 to fade Germán Márquez, who projects as the weakest starter on the slate and is expected to allow the most runs by a wide margin. He lasted just nine outs in his last start, giving up eight hits and two homers, and continues to profile as an extreme fly-ball pitcher with poor Pull Air% metrics over the past couple of seasons.

While conditions are cold in most parks, PNC Park at least has 14 mph winds blowing out to center, boosting the power environment. Oneil Cruz should see plenty of opportunities hitting leadoff, with a strong chance at five plate appearances. He went deep for his fourth home run yesterday and is looking like his best self, batting .314/.368/.657, and three of his long balls have come off right-handers.

And if Marquez gives way to a left-handed reliever, Cruz has actually hit southpaws well (albeit in a small sample) this season, boasting a 2.091 OPS in that split.

Cruz also ranks among the league leaders in barrels per plate appearance and average exit velocity, giving him legitimate Top-10 home run upside if this form continues.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet Pittsburgh, Padres.TV

Andy Pages (+540)

Rogers Centre is one of the better power environments on today’s slate, ranking among the top HR parks by THE BAT. With the Los Angeles Dodgers in town — a lineup leading MLB in home runs per game (1.78) — this is a strong spot to target the HR market.

Max Scherzer is still generating plenty of fly balls, and the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen has been heavily taxed, ranking near the top of the league in innings pitched. The Dodgers also bring familiarity against both Scherzer and this bullpen.

Andy Pages stands out as a value option, likely hitting seventh and entered Sunday on a five-game multi-hit streak. He’s slugging .794 and just went 7-for-13 with 14 total bases and two home runs in a series in Washington.

While bigger names will draw attention, the price is the difference. Rather than laying a short number on Shohei Ohtani, Pages at +450 or better is the preferred play in this matchup.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet LA, Sportsnet

George Springer (+500)

With 50-degree temperatures across the league, staying indoors at Rogers Centre is a smart way to target power. George Springer leading off at +500 stands out, with a fair price closer to +430 and a strong chance at five plate appearances.

This is the most favorable matchup of the series for the Blue Jays, as they face lefty Justin Wrobleski. He’s a regression candidate after overperforming out of the bullpen last year and allowed three runs over four innings in his season debut. With this being a series opener, he could be stretched further, potentially giving Toronto more opportunities early.

Springer’s profile supports the play — he owns one of the top fly-ball rates on the team, and while a .174 BABIP suggests some bad luck, he’s still accounted for 20% of the team’s home runs. Back at home in a controlled hitting environment, this is a strong bounce-back spot at a great number.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SportsNet LA, Sportsnet

Today’s HR parlay

Oneil Cruz	Bet Now +16107
Andy Pages
George Springer

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.

In 2026, I am determined to pay more attention. The White Sox are a team full of exciting young guys who should be coming into their own. A club that signed a noteworthy slugger from Japan in the offseason. A team where Will Venable finally has the coaching staff he wants. By all means, this should be a year of improvement and more wins.

Which is why when the season began in Milwaukee, instead of being excited after three games, there was a collective sigh and feeling of, “here we go again.” This is where I remind myself and everyone reading this that there are indeed 162 games, and September is far away. Thankfully, the home opener was also a reminder of this.

You don’t have time to watch every game, nor do you want to remember every one. However, you want to be able to carry on a friendly conversation and sound like you know what you’re talking about. This is something I can provide to you with a simple recap of the week.

We are officially nine games into the season. The White Sox have to rank somewhere between one and 30 in hitting and pitching stats. I can promise you, they are not last for all of them.

HITTING

Home Runs
As my dad used to say growing up, I will give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. If you said the Los Angeles Dodgers had the most homers so far this season, you would be correct. They lead baseball with a whopping 16 long balls. The White Sox have a respectable 10, and are tied with four other teams for eighth. If you are a fan of math, this is an average of 1.11 round-trippers per game. This puts the South Siders on pace for 180 dingers this season. When you consider the New York Yankees hit 274 in 2025, this seems like chump change. However, that is 15 more than the White Sox hit last year. Improvement already! 

Strikeouts
The philosophy is very simple: Hits are good, strikeouts are bad. You know this, and the White Sox know this, yet they have already racked up 97 strikeouts in 292 at-bats, nearly 11 per game. That’s probably a category you don’t want to be at the top of, but one where the Pale Hose find themselves ranked fifth.

These stats are a double-edged sword because, often, where there are home runs, there are also quite a few Ks. No one knows this better than the South Side’s newest power hitter, Munetaka Murakami, leading both categories for the team with four home runs and 13 strikeouts. As if knowing eyes would be on him for the high number of strikeouts, he is attempting to balance this with walks, in which he also leads the team with six. Fun fact: This is roughly 20% of the entire team’s drawn walks (30) so far. 

PITCHING

ERA
I will preface this by saying that when the White Sox finished up in Miami on Wednesday, their team ERA was over 8.00. Turning around and winning three games in a row will help, but not enough. The pitching staff has posted a 6.19 ERA in nine contests and has firmly settled the team at 29th in baseball. This squad still has plenty of work to do there, to say the least.

All-Star representative last year Shane Smith definitely has some tweaks to make after just two starts. The Opening Day starter has served up 10 runs over 4 2/3 innings pitched. While skewed, his ERA sits at 19.50, ranking last on the team. 

On the opposite end of things, Grant Taylor and Davis Martin are looking good thus far. Taylor, who played the opener role on both Friday and Saturday in what is appearing to be a recurring role, has done exactly what was asked of him. He allowed just one run, striking out six, and walking two in his first four innings, setting his ERA at 2.25. Should he remain getting this job done, this leading stat will look great in mid-June. Martin is just behind Taylor in this category with an ERA of 2.45. This is even more impressive, given he has pitched 11 innings to Taylor’s four. Sunday’s start was the longest start for a South Sider this season, with six shutout innings against the Blue Jays.

Strikeouts and Walks
There is no good way to put this after you read the above stat. Our lovely team also ranks in the bottom third of strikeouts and issued walks. 

The Houston Astros have already punched out 109 batters. The White Sox have struck out just 69. That puts the White Sox 24th in baseball. Over in the NL East, the Atlanta Braves have issued 21 walks over 89 innings pitched. I did some math, so you didn’t have to: That is .24 walks per inning. White Sox pitchers have issued 42 walks in 77 innings. The walks per inning for them is .55. There is a big gap between first on the list and 26th.

There is a bright side to this, so please hang with me for just a moment. Starting pitching is something the White Sox have struggled with for the last few years (probably more, but who’s counting). That said, Martin and Sean Burke have each set down 12 batters over their two starts. Seeing as they have only tossed 11 and 10 innings, averaging just above one strikeout per inning would be a good trend to keep going. To Burke’s credit, he has also only surrendered one walk in two games. I again declare improvement!

While the overview of stats is all good and fun. What happened in the games this week?

• Milwaukee: 0-3
  • The Good: Three home runs in three games for Mune.
  • The Bad: Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 batters in five innings on Opening Day. This was a new franchise record, as were the 20 total strikeouts for the White Sox, a franchise record for a nine-inning game.
  • The Ugly: A 14-2 Opening Day loss, a blown lead in the eighth inning of the series finale, 29 total runs given up. 
• Miami: 1-2
  • The Good: The first win (9-4) of the season! Miguel Vargas and Austin Hays’ home runs. 
  • The Bad: A staggering 23 runs given up in the three-game set.
  • The Ugly: Sandy Alcantara threw a 93-pitch complete game shutout in Wednesday’s loss.
• Toronto: 3-0
  • The Good: A sweep of the reigning AL East Champions. The first shutout win of the season. A mere seven runs allowed over three games. Martin threw the first quality start of the season. Heads-up baserunning by Luisangel Acuña in Saturday’s game to ensure a second run crossed home in the eighth inning.
  • The Bad: An Andrés Giménez two-run homer in Friday’s home opener after leading for seven innings. 
  • The Ugly: The Blue Jays earn this one after the White Sox walked off Toronto in the home opener. Derek Hill tied the game with a two-out bunt, which led to him scoring on a single by Tristan Peters to win the game in the 10th.

In 2026, I am determined to pay more attention. The White Sox are a team full of exciting young guys who should be coming into their own. A club that signed a noteworthy slugger from Japan in the offseason. A team where Will Venable finally has the coaching staff he wants. By all means, this should be a year of improvement and more wins.

Which is why when the season began in Milwaukee, instead of being excited after three games, there was a collective sigh and feeling of, “here we go again.” This is where I remind myself and everyone reading this that there are indeed 162 games, and September is far away. Thankfully, the home opener was also a reminder of this.

You don’t have time to watch every game, nor do you want to remember every one. However, you want to be able to carry on a friendly conversation and sound like you know what you’re talking about. This is something I can provide to you with a simple recap of the week.

We are officially nine games into the season. The White Sox have to rank somewhere between one and 30 in hitting and pitching stats. I can promise you, they are not last for all of them.

HITTING

Home Runs
As my dad used to say growing up, I will give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. If you said the Los Angeles Dodgers had the most homers so far this season, you would be correct. They lead baseball with a whopping 16 long balls. The White Sox have a respectable 10, and are tied with four other teams for eighth. If you are a fan of math, this is an average of 1.11 round-trippers per game. This puts the South Siders on pace for 180 dingers this season. When you consider the New York Yankees hit 274 in 2025, this seems like chump change. However, that is 15 more than the White Sox hit last year. Improvement already! 

Strikeouts
The philosophy is very simple: Hits are good, strikeouts are bad. You know this, and the White Sox know this, yet they have already racked up 97 strikeouts in 292 at-bats, nearly 11 per game. That’s probably a category you don’t want to be at the top of, but one where the Pale Hose find themselves ranked fifth.

These stats are a double-edged sword because, often, where there are home runs, there are also quite a few Ks. No one knows this better than the South Side’s newest power hitter, Munetaka Murakami, leading both categories for the team with four home runs and 13 strikeouts. As if knowing eyes would be on him for the high number of strikeouts, he is attempting to balance this with walks, in which he also leads the team with six. Fun fact: This is roughly 20% of the entire team’s drawn walks (30) so far. 

PITCHING

ERA
I will preface this by saying that when the White Sox finished up in Miami on Wednesday, their team ERA was over 8.00. Turning around and winning three games in a row will help, but not enough. The pitching staff has posted a 6.19 ERA in nine contests and has firmly settled the team at 29th in baseball. This squad still has plenty of work to do there, to say the least.

All-Star representative last year Shane Smith definitely has some tweaks to make after just two starts. The Opening Day starter has served up 10 runs over 4 2/3 innings pitched. While skewed, his ERA sits at 19.50, ranking last on the team. 

On the opposite end of things, Grant Taylor and Davis Martin are looking good thus far. Taylor, who played the opener role on both Friday and Saturday in what is appearing to be a recurring role, has done exactly what was asked of him. He allowed just one run, striking out six, and walking two in his first four innings, setting his ERA at 2.25. Should he remain getting this job done, this leading stat will look great in mid-June. Martin is just behind Taylor in this category with an ERA of 2.45. This is even more impressive, given he has pitched 11 innings to Taylor’s four. Sunday’s start was the longest start for a South Sider this season, with six shutout innings against the Blue Jays.

Strikeouts and Walks
There is no good way to put this after you read the above stat. Our lovely team also ranks in the bottom third of strikeouts and issued walks. 

The Houston Astros have already punched out 109 batters. The White Sox have struck out just 69. That puts the White Sox 24th in baseball. Over in the NL East, the Atlanta Braves have issued 21 walks over 89 innings pitched. I did some math, so you didn’t have to: That is .24 walks per inning. White Sox pitchers have issued 42 walks in 77 innings. The walks per inning for them is .55. There is a big gap between first on the list and 26th.

There is a bright side to this, so please hang with me for just a moment. Starting pitching is something the White Sox have struggled with for the last few years (probably more, but who’s counting). That said, Martin and Sean Burke have each set down 12 batters over their two starts. Seeing as they have only tossed 11 and 10 innings, averaging just above one strikeout per inning would be a good trend to keep going. To Burke’s credit, he has also only surrendered one walk in two games. I again declare improvement!

While the overview of stats is all good and fun. What happened in the games this week?

• Milwaukee: 0-3
  • The Good: Three home runs in three games for Mune.
  • The Bad: Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 batters in five innings on Opening Day. This was a new franchise record, as were the 20 total strikeouts for the White Sox, a franchise record for a nine-inning game.
  • The Ugly: A 14-2 Opening Day loss, a blown lead in the eighth inning of the series finale, 29 total runs given up. 
• Miami: 1-2
  • The Good: The first win (9-4) of the season! Miguel Vargas and Austin Hays’ home runs. 
  • The Bad: A staggering 23 runs given up in the three-game set.
  • The Ugly: Sandy Alcantara threw a 93-pitch complete game shutout in Wednesday’s loss.
• Toronto: 3-0
  • The Good: A sweep of the reigning AL East Champions. The first shutout win of the season. A mere seven runs allowed over three games. Martin threw the first quality start of the season. Heads-up baserunning by Luisangel Acuña in Saturday’s game to ensure a second run crossed home in the eighth inning.
  • The Bad: An Andrés Giménez two-run homer in Friday’s home opener after leading for seven innings. 
  • The Ugly: The Blue Jays earn this one after the White Sox walked off Toronto in the home opener. Derek Hill tied the game with a two-out bunt, which led to him scoring on a single by Tristan Peters to win the game in the 10th.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off a series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and their fifth straight win. The team is looking complete and firing on all cylinders, but it’s the starting rotation that has shown a different kind of dominance to start the season.

While it was well known that the Pirates’ group of starting pitchers was going to be elite, very few could’ve predicted that they’d get off to such a hot start. Outside of the season opener against the New York Mets, this group has been hard to rattle. Pittsburgh is the only starting rotation in baseball that has not allowed a home run. As a franchise, the longest such streak was when the 1943 Pirates starters went 17 games without giving up a homer. The current nine game streak that the 2026 club is on is the longest to start a season since the 2018 San Francisco Giants went 10 straight games.

The incredible part is that from top to bottom this group has not shown much weakness. Paul Skenes is clearly the ace of this rotation and is coming off a 2025 Cy Young campaign where he proved he was the best pitcher in the National League. The opener against New York was ugly, but Skenes’ second start against the Cincinnati Reds was a nice rebound contest in which he had five strikeouts. There has been a very apparent hangover period for some of the players that participated in the World Baseball Classic, and Skenes may be a victim, but he is certainly trending in the right direction as one of the most feared pitchers in baseball.

Mitch Keller in recent history has been talked about more as a trade piece than as an ace, but the numbers don’t lie when it comes to how he’s started 2026. Considered an afterthought by many in Pittsburgh, Keller has arguably pitched the best to this point for the Pirates. Against the Mets he didn’t give up any earned runs and only allowed three hits, and then against Baltimore even when he ran into some trouble he still struck out four batters and earned his first win of the season. Although he’s no longer the future of Pittsburgh’s pitching staff, Keller is cemented as a crafty veteran who still has some tread on the tires.

While Carmen Mlodzinski is far from a polished starting pitcher he too is giving opposing batters plenty of issues. From the day Mlodzinski set foot in Pittsburgh it’s been a constant back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. He’s got great stuff, but at times is susceptible to giving up bunches of runs. So far he has a 4.15 ERA, but he also has 13 strikeouts. Mlodzinski will likely be relegated to the bullpen if and when Jared Jones returns, but he is off to the best start of his career and is continuing to impress.

The rollercoaster that has been the career of Braxton Ashcraft has been as shaky as the Thunderbolt at Kennywood, but when things are going smooth, it can be very exciting. Injuries have plagued Ashcraft since being drafted in 2018, but now that he’s finally at the major league level he’s showing why he was so highly touted eight years ago. It would take him seven years to make his debut, but it was well worth the wait. Through two starts in 2026 Ashcraft has a 2.25 ERA with a 1-1 record. He set a career high for strikeouts with eight in his win against Baltimore and has really blossomed into one of the most dangerous pitchers in Pittsburgh. Ashcraft has also shown to be a capable bullpen pitcher and has a rare athletic versatility from the mound.

Bubba Chandler has only had one start so far this season but is set to make his second against the San Diego Padres in his first home start of the year. Chandler was another Pirates’ pitcher that saw significant playing time in the minor leagues before finally making his MLB debut towards the end of the 2025 season. In his lone start to this point Chandler only pitched 4.1 innings, but he exited the contest with zero earned runs, zero hits allowed and eight strikeouts. The trio of Skenes, Ashcraft and now Chandler is straight power from the mound with each player specializing in high velocity pitches. With more time in the majors Chandler will continue to refine his approach and work on his control, but at just 23-years-old he is a very capable starter.

This Pittsburgh team is looking to go on a postseason run in 2026 as they finally have the offense to compliment their strong pitching staff. Make no mistake though, strong pitching is what wins championships in baseball and this core of Pirates’ starters is going to be what elevates this team to the next level.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off a series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and their fifth straight win. The team is looking complete and firing on all cylinders, but it’s the starting rotation that has shown a different kind of dominance to start the season.

While it was well known that the Pirates’ group of starting pitchers was going to be elite, very few could’ve predicted that they’d get off to such a hot start. Outside of the season opener against the New York Mets, this group has been hard to rattle. Pittsburgh is the only starting rotation in baseball that has not allowed a home run. As a franchise, the longest such streak was when the 1943 Pirates starters went 17 games without giving up a homer. The current nine game streak that the 2026 club is on is the longest to start a season since the 2018 San Francisco Giants went 10 straight games.

The incredible part is that from top to bottom this group has not shown much weakness. Paul Skenes is clearly the ace of this rotation and is coming off a 2025 Cy Young campaign where he proved he was the best pitcher in the National League. The opener against New York was ugly, but Skenes’ second start against the Cincinnati Reds was a nice rebound contest in which he had five strikeouts. There has been a very apparent hangover period for some of the players that participated in the World Baseball Classic, and Skenes may be a victim, but he is certainly trending in the right direction as one of the most feared pitchers in baseball.

Mitch Keller in recent history has been talked about more as a trade piece than as an ace, but the numbers don’t lie when it comes to how he’s started 2026. Considered an afterthought by many in Pittsburgh, Keller has arguably pitched the best to this point for the Pirates. Against the Mets he didn’t give up any earned runs and only allowed three hits, and then against Baltimore even when he ran into some trouble he still struck out four batters and earned his first win of the season. Although he’s no longer the future of Pittsburgh’s pitching staff, Keller is cemented as a crafty veteran who still has some tread on the tires.

While Carmen Mlodzinski is far from a polished starting pitcher he too is giving opposing batters plenty of issues. From the day Mlodzinski set foot in Pittsburgh it’s been a constant back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. He’s got great stuff, but at times is susceptible to giving up bunches of runs. So far he has a 4.15 ERA, but he also has 13 strikeouts. Mlodzinski will likely be relegated to the bullpen if and when Jared Jones returns, but he is off to the best start of his career and is continuing to impress.

The rollercoaster that has been the career of Braxton Ashcraft has been as shaky as the Thunderbolt at Kennywood, but when things are going smooth, it can be very exciting. Injuries have plagued Ashcraft since being drafted in 2018, but now that he’s finally at the major league level he’s showing why he was so highly touted eight years ago. It would take him seven years to make his debut, but it was well worth the wait. Through two starts in 2026 Ashcraft has a 2.25 ERA with a 1-1 record. He set a career high for strikeouts with eight in his win against Baltimore and has really blossomed into one of the most dangerous pitchers in Pittsburgh. Ashcraft has also shown to be a capable bullpen pitcher and has a rare athletic versatility from the mound.

Bubba Chandler has only had one start so far this season but is set to make his second against the San Diego Padres in his first home start of the year. Chandler was another Pirates’ pitcher that saw significant playing time in the minor leagues before finally making his MLB debut towards the end of the 2025 season. In his lone start to this point Chandler only pitched 4.1 innings, but he exited the contest with zero earned runs, zero hits allowed and eight strikeouts. The trio of Skenes, Ashcraft and now Chandler is straight power from the mound with each player specializing in high velocity pitches. With more time in the majors Chandler will continue to refine his approach and work on his control, but at just 23-years-old he is a very capable starter.

This Pittsburgh team is looking to go on a postseason run in 2026 as they finally have the offense to compliment their strong pitching staff. Make no mistake though, strong pitching is what wins championships in baseball and this core of Pirates’ starters is going to be what elevates this team to the next level.

Everything was going the Nationals’ way for most of yesterday’s game, as they had a 6-1 lead entering the 6th inning thanks to a 2-run Luis Garcia Jr. home run, a Keibert Ruiz single which ricocheted off the first base bag, allowing CJ Abrams to score, and a 3-run laser home run off the bat of James Wood.

The lead tightened after a 2-run homer by Dalton Rushing in the 6th inning off PJ Poulin, but the game came completely unraveled after Cionel Perez let the first 5 hitters in the 8th inning reach base, bringing in one run before he was pulled for Clayton Beeter, who got a force out, sacrifice fly, and strikeout to end the inning, but not without 2 more runs scoring to make it 7-6 Dodgers. They would tack on some insurance in the 9th inning with a Teoscar Hernandez solo shot, but it wouldn’t matter, as the Dodgers won 8-6 to secure the series sweep in DC.

The Nats have now lost 5 straight games, despite the offense scoring at least 5 runs in the last 4 games. Nats’ starters rank last in ERA at 6.69, and the bullpen ranks 26th at 5.85, resulting in the overall pitching unit ranking as the worst in baseball with a 6.27 ERA and -1.1 fWAR. Outside of a strong start for Foster Griffin in his return to MLB action and Cade Cavalli keeping 2 strong lineups at bay, there have been very few positives on the pitching side for the Nats.

The Nats will look to get back on course now during a 3-game homestand with the 5-4 St. Louis Cardinals, who are coming off their first series loss of the year to the Detroit Tigers. The record looks solid for the Cardinals, but the numbers suggest their success may not last, as they currently rank 24th in team OPS and 26th in team ERA. The offense is currently led by 23-year-old Jordan Walker, a once top prospect who may finally be realizing his true potential in year four. Matthew Liberatore is their ace on the mound, and the Nats will get a look at him during game two of the series.

Monday – 6:45 PM EST

STL: RHP Andre Pallante (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

WSH: RHP Zack Littell (0-1, 5.40 ERA)

Pallante was sharp in his first start of 2026, working 5 scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Mets, although he did walk 3 hitters and struck out just 3. Walks and the home run ball plagued Pallante in 2025, meaning patience will be key for Nats hitters tonight so they can get ahead in hitter counts.

Littell was just about as advertised in his 5 innings of work following an opener against the Phillies, giving up 3 runs and working his way out of trouble numerous times. He’ll now make his home debut against a struggling Cardinals lineup, where hopefully he can cut down on the hard contact he was giving up in Philly.

Tuesday – 6:45 PM EST

STL: LHP Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 1.64 ERA)

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (0-0, 2.79 ERA)

Liberatore has done everything he can to earn that first win of the year in his first two starts of 2026, giving up one run in 5 innings against the Rays on Opening Day and one run in 6 innings against the Mets, getting the no-decision both times. He’ll now have to face a Nats lineup that ranks top 5 in team OPS currently, and has had success against left-handed pitching to begin the year.

Like Liberatore, Cavalli has looked sharp in his first two starts of the year, but still doesn’t have a win to show for it, as he earned a no-decision after going 6 innings and allowing 1 run against the Phillies. He’s kept strong lineups in the Cubs and Phillies at bay, and now gets a weaker Cardinals lineup in his first home start of the year.

Wednesday – 4:05 PM EST

STL: RHP Michael McGreevy (0-1, 2.53 ERA)

WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (0-2, 14.46 ERA)

McGreevy was great in his first start of 2026, going 6 scoreless against the Rays, before getting roughed up a bit by the Tigers, giving up 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings of work, earning him the loss. The righty has struggled with left-handed hitters in the past, and he’ll face a Nats lineup packed with impressive left-handed hitters on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite how much it looks like a typo, Mikolas does, in fact, have a 14.46 ERA through his first 2 Nats starts, averaging a run and then some allowed per inning. Granted, he’s faced 2 very good lineups in the Cubs and Dodgers, but so has the rest of the rotation, and their ERA’s don’t have 2 numbers before the decimal. He’ll look to get back on track against a struggling Cardinals lineup, but if they also get to him early, it may already be time to swap him to the long relief role.

Unlucky scheduling, or a more serious issue?

3-6 is not the place the Nats wanted to be after a strong 3-1 start to the year, but they’ve also had to face a gauntlet of playoff-level teams to begin the season. For me, the real test of what to expect from these Nats going forward begins tonight, against a more middle to lower end of the pack NL team in the Cardinals. Can they show they belong and take the series to get back on track, or will they roll over and make matters worse?

Everything was going the Nationals’ way for most of yesterday’s game, as they had a 6-1 lead entering the 6th inning thanks to a 2-run Luis Garcia Jr. home run, a Keibert Ruiz single which ricocheted off the first base bag, allowing CJ Abrams to score, and a 3-run laser home run off the bat of James Wood.

The lead tightened after a 2-run homer by Dalton Rushing in the 6th inning off PJ Poulin, but the game came completely unraveled after Cionel Perez let the first 5 hitters in the 8th inning reach base, bringing in one run before he was pulled for Clayton Beeter, who got a force out, sacrifice fly, and strikeout to end the inning, but not without 2 more runs scoring to make it 7-6 Dodgers. They would tack on some insurance in the 9th inning with a Teoscar Hernandez solo shot, but it wouldn’t matter, as the Dodgers won 8-6 to secure the series sweep in DC.

The Nats have now lost 5 straight games, despite the offense scoring at least 5 runs in the last 4 games. Nats’ starters rank last in ERA at 6.69, and the bullpen ranks 26th at 5.85, resulting in the overall pitching unit ranking as the worst in baseball with a 6.27 ERA and -1.1 fWAR. Outside of a strong start for Foster Griffin in his return to MLB action and Cade Cavalli keeping 2 strong lineups at bay, there have been very few positives on the pitching side for the Nats.

The Nats will look to get back on course now during a 3-game homestand with the 5-4 St. Louis Cardinals, who are coming off their first series loss of the year to the Detroit Tigers. The record looks solid for the Cardinals, but the numbers suggest their success may not last, as they currently rank 24th in team OPS and 26th in team ERA. The offense is currently led by 23-year-old Jordan Walker, a once top prospect who may finally be realizing his true potential in year four. Matthew Liberatore is their ace on the mound, and the Nats will get a look at him during game two of the series.

Monday – 6:45 PM EST

STL: RHP Andre Pallante (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

WSH: RHP Zack Littell (0-1, 5.40 ERA)

Pallante was sharp in his first start of 2026, working 5 scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Mets, although he did walk 3 hitters and struck out just 3. Walks and the home run ball plagued Pallante in 2025, meaning patience will be key for Nats hitters tonight so they can get ahead in hitter counts.

Littell was just about as advertised in his 5 innings of work following an opener against the Phillies, giving up 3 runs and working his way out of trouble numerous times. He’ll now make his home debut against a struggling Cardinals lineup, where hopefully he can cut down on the hard contact he was giving up in Philly.

Tuesday – 6:45 PM EST

STL: LHP Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 1.64 ERA)

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (0-0, 2.79 ERA)

Liberatore has done everything he can to earn that first win of the year in his first two starts of 2026, giving up one run in 5 innings against the Rays on Opening Day and one run in 6 innings against the Mets, getting the no-decision both times. He’ll now have to face a Nats lineup that ranks top 5 in team OPS currently, and has had success against left-handed pitching to begin the year.

Like Liberatore, Cavalli has looked sharp in his first two starts of the year, but still doesn’t have a win to show for it, as he earned a no-decision after going 6 innings and allowing 1 run against the Phillies. He’s kept strong lineups in the Cubs and Phillies at bay, and now gets a weaker Cardinals lineup in his first home start of the year.

Wednesday – 4:05 PM EST

STL: RHP Michael McGreevy (0-1, 2.53 ERA)

WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (0-2, 14.46 ERA)

McGreevy was great in his first start of 2026, going 6 scoreless against the Rays, before getting roughed up a bit by the Tigers, giving up 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings of work, earning him the loss. The righty has struggled with left-handed hitters in the past, and he’ll face a Nats lineup packed with impressive left-handed hitters on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite how much it looks like a typo, Mikolas does, in fact, have a 14.46 ERA through his first 2 Nats starts, averaging a run and then some allowed per inning. Granted, he’s faced 2 very good lineups in the Cubs and Dodgers, but so has the rest of the rotation, and their ERA’s don’t have 2 numbers before the decimal. He’ll look to get back on track against a struggling Cardinals lineup, but if they also get to him early, it may already be time to swap him to the long relief role.

Unlucky scheduling, or a more serious issue?

3-6 is not the place the Nats wanted to be after a strong 3-1 start to the year, but they’ve also had to face a gauntlet of playoff-level teams to begin the season. For me, the real test of what to expect from these Nats going forward begins tonight, against a more middle to lower end of the pack NL team in the Cardinals. Can they show they belong and take the series to get back on track, or will they roll over and make matters worse?

Baseball is such a peculiar sport. The Chicago White Sox just swept the Toronto Blue Jays, and that’s indicative of exactly diddly squat about those two teams. What we know for a fact is that no matter the campaign the Blue Jays will have had at the end of the year, it’ll be possible to look back at this one series and see the dent it caused. Across short samples (specific series), a lot of wild stuff can happen, and over a period shorter than two full weeks, there are still major discrepancies about players’ productions and their expectations.

The Yankees will host the Athletics for a three-game set this week, a team that has won three of its first nine games, but that record doesn’t really matter for the purposes of this conversation. We’re focused on the individual production, or lack thereof — at least prior to Sunday’s games — of Brent Rooker and Nick Kurtz, two outstanding hitters who are supposed to anchor this lineup. Said anchoring has been left primarily to Shea Langelieres, one of the better-hitting catchers in the game, but not expected to be the star of the show for this team. The production of Rooker and Kurtz has been so poor that even with Rooker’s massive two-homer game that included a walk-off shot on Sunday, the A’s DH still has an OPS of .609.

As a fan, it’s a question each of us must ask ourselves: how do we feel when coming up against undeniably great players in the middle of a rut or a slow start or whatever else you want to call it? Sure, Nick Kurtz has some questions to answer about how much of that phenomenal rookie campaign he is set to match long-term — even for the skeptical side of the room regarding his skill set, a .120 average is a bit much. On the flip side, Brent Rooker may not be as spectacular as Kurtz was at his best, but his quality has been well-established over the past few seasons — and he happens to be the only other A’s regular to be matching Kurtz’s struggles at the plate.

In many respects, without diving too deep into the reasons why these players are struggling, if there are any — usually there aren’t — the question being asked here is, are you an inherently positive person, or do you find yourself more often than not landing on the negative side of things? For me, personally, the latter is more often true, and thus it can be an extra concern, the fear that those guys will burst through.

It’s possible to talk yourself into both sides of the argument. On one hand, the Yankees’ staff is as well-equipped as any to take advantage of these early scuffles and hold down Rooker and Kurtz for a bit longer. On the other hand, isn’t that initial burst more and more inevitable the longer it is put off? Rooker already stuck his head out above water on Sunday — is that a sign of things to come in the near future?

This being a two-way street, A’s fans are probably pondering similar questions regarding a player like Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has yet to provide any offensive juice this season. These are mainly theoretical questions without a right or wrong answer. The more tangible impact of these points and what evidently separates these two teams is that, through the struggles of Kurtz and Rooker — even with ungodly numbers from Langeliers — the A’s offense cannot flourish, hence their poor record. Yes, the A’s had a couple of big games against the Astros, but as a whole, their offense has underwhelmed more often than not in these first few games. Meanwhile, the Yankees have been on a roll, even with one of their key hitters yet to do anything.

Whatever Kurtz and Rooker end up doing or not doing, the Yankees have a reasonable path towards keeping that offense from exploding, particularly facing it outside of their home park, a hitter’s paradise.

Baseball is such a peculiar sport. The Chicago White Sox just swept the Toronto Blue Jays, and that’s indicative of exactly diddly squat about those two teams. What we know for a fact is that no matter the campaign the Blue Jays will have had at the end of the year, it’ll be possible to look back at this one series and see the dent it caused. Across short samples (specific series), a lot of wild stuff can happen, and over a period shorter than two full weeks, there are still major discrepancies about players’ productions and their expectations.

The Yankees will host the Athletics for a three-game set this week, a team that has won three of its first nine games, but that record doesn’t really matter for the purposes of this conversation. We’re focused on the individual production, or lack thereof — at least prior to Sunday’s games — of Brent Rooker and Nick Kurtz, two outstanding hitters who are supposed to anchor this lineup. Said anchoring has been left primarily to Shea Langelieres, one of the better-hitting catchers in the game, but not expected to be the star of the show for this team. The production of Rooker and Kurtz has been so poor that even with Rooker’s massive two-homer game that included a walk-off shot on Sunday, the A’s DH still has an OPS of .609.

As a fan, it’s a question each of us must ask ourselves: how do we feel when coming up against undeniably great players in the middle of a rut or a slow start or whatever else you want to call it? Sure, Nick Kurtz has some questions to answer about how much of that phenomenal rookie campaign he is set to match long-term — even for the skeptical side of the room regarding his skill set, a .120 average is a bit much. On the flip side, Brent Rooker may not be as spectacular as Kurtz was at his best, but his quality has been well-established over the past few seasons — and he happens to be the only other A’s regular to be matching Kurtz’s struggles at the plate.

In many respects, without diving too deep into the reasons why these players are struggling, if there are any — usually there aren’t — the question being asked here is, are you an inherently positive person, or do you find yourself more often than not landing on the negative side of things? For me, personally, the latter is more often true, and thus it can be an extra concern, the fear that those guys will burst through.

It’s possible to talk yourself into both sides of the argument. On one hand, the Yankees’ staff is as well-equipped as any to take advantage of these early scuffles and hold down Rooker and Kurtz for a bit longer. On the other hand, isn’t that initial burst more and more inevitable the longer it is put off? Rooker already stuck his head out above water on Sunday — is that a sign of things to come in the near future?

This being a two-way street, A’s fans are probably pondering similar questions regarding a player like Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has yet to provide any offensive juice this season. These are mainly theoretical questions without a right or wrong answer. The more tangible impact of these points and what evidently separates these two teams is that, through the struggles of Kurtz and Rooker — even with ungodly numbers from Langeliers — the A’s offense cannot flourish, hence their poor record. Yes, the A’s had a couple of big games against the Astros, but as a whole, their offense has underwhelmed more often than not in these first few games. Meanwhile, the Yankees have been on a roll, even with one of their key hitters yet to do anything.

Whatever Kurtz and Rooker end up doing or not doing, the Yankees have a reasonable path towards keeping that offense from exploding, particularly facing it outside of their home park, a hitter’s paradise.

The Phillies’ western swing started out well with the team scoring seven runs in the first inning of Friday’s game against the Rockies. Unfortunately, the offense largely dried up throughout the remainder of the series

The Phillies will try to get their bats going again when they travel to San Francisco for a three-game series against the Giants. The good news is that the Giants are off to a slow start to the 2026 season. The bad news is that no matter how good or bad the Giants are in a given season, the Phillies rarely win games in Oracle Park.

San Francisco Giants

Record: 3-7, Fifth place in National League West (4.5 games back)

The last time they met

The Phillies visited Oracle Park in July 2025, and as they usually do, they lost the series. However, they were able to win the finale by a score of 13-0, which feels like a special kind of triumph.

What’s the deal with the Giants?

After a mediocre 81-81 season that resulted in the firing of manager Bob Melvin, the Giants had a modest offseason, opting to stay away from the top of the market, and instead pursue second-level free agents like Harrison Bader, Adrian Houser, and Tyler Mahle.

Under new manager Tony Vitello, not much seems to have improved, and the offense has been putrid. They’ve scored the fewest runs of any team in baseball and have already been shut out three times. They haven’t hit for average, they haven’t walked much, and their four combined home runs rank last in the majors.

The pitching has been far more mediocre in the early going. The Phillies are scheduled to face three veteran starters in Adrian Houser, Tyler Mahle, and Robby Ray, so at least they won’t be surprised by anything they see. The Giants’ bullpen is largely unproven with players like Blade Tidwell and Ryan Walker in key roles.

Featured Giants player: Harrison Bader

After the Phillies acquired Harrison Bader at the trade deadline in 2025, the Phillies’ outfield situation became much better. He played solid defense in centerfield and put up one of the best offensive stretches of his career.

There was a strong sentiment that the Phillies should bring him back, but ultimately, they went in another direction. I liked Bader and certainly wouldn’t have minded having him on the team, but the team also seemed determined to play rookie Justin Crawford in centerfield. Since much of Bader’s value comes from defense, it was questionable how wise it would be to sign him to play a corner outfield spot.

Early in the 2026 season, Bader hasn’t done much to make the Phillies regret their choice. While he’s still playing strong defense, he hasn’t hit well, putting up an OPS of just .396.

Remembering a guy who used to play for the Giants

Barry Zito was a star pitcher for the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000’s, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2002. After the 2006 season, the A’s allowed him to leave as a free agent, but he didn’t go far, signing with the Giants.

For whatever reason, crossing the Bay didn’t agree with Zito, and he was largely a bust. The two-time All-Star’s most notable achievement was leading the NL in losses in 2008, and his ERA during his seven years in San Francisco was over a run higher than it had been in Oakland.

It should be noted that the Giants won two titles while Zito was there, although he didn’t even pitch in the 2010 playoffs. There’s been some debate about Zito’s worth among Giants fans. Because while he was not good overall, he did pitch well in the 2012 postseason, and flags fly forever.

What about the Phillies?

Oracle Park has not been kind to the Phillies in recent years. The Phillies haven’t won a series in San Francisco since 2013 (though they did split a four-game set in 2017). Really, the park was never all that friendly to the Phillies as they’re 25-58 since it opened in 2000.

Andrew Painter will get the first crack at reversing that luck as he will make his second career start in the season opener on Monday. Maybe the rookie can succeed where so many veterans have failed.

Normally, I’d say the Phillies were catching the struggling Giants at the right time, but it seems more likely that the Giants aren’t actually as bad on offense as they’ve looked, and they’re due to regress the heck out of the Phillies the next few days.

Pennant year song battle

Everybody Wants You defeated My Sister to become the first song to successfully defend the title.

The next contender comes from the year 2009 and describes what Oracle Park has done to the Phillies over the years. It’s Gives You Hell by All-American Rejects:

Vote for the winner now:

Closing thought

A good rule of thumb for the Phillies is that they are never as bad as they look when they play at either Oracle Park or Citi Field. And if the Phillies should happen to do the impossible and actually win this series, then maybe that’s a sign that this is their year!

The Phillies’ western swing started out well with the team scoring seven runs in the first inning of Friday’s game against the Rockies. Unfortunately, the offense largely dried up throughout the remainder of the series

The Phillies will try to get their bats going again when they travel to San Francisco for a three-game series against the Giants. The good news is that the Giants are off to a slow start to the 2026 season. The bad news is that no matter how good or bad the Giants are in a given season, the Phillies rarely win games in Oracle Park.

San Francisco Giants

Record: 3-7, Fifth place in National League West (4.5 games back)

The last time they met

The Phillies visited Oracle Park in July 2025, and as they usually do, they lost the series. However, they were able to win the finale by a score of 13-0, which feels like a special kind of triumph.

What’s the deal with the Giants?

After a mediocre 81-81 season that resulted in the firing of manager Bob Melvin, the Giants had a modest offseason, opting to stay away from the top of the market, and instead pursue second-level free agents like Harrison Bader, Adrian Houser, and Tyler Mahle.

Under new manager Tony Vitello, not much seems to have improved, and the offense has been putrid. They’ve scored the fewest runs of any team in baseball and have already been shut out three times. They haven’t hit for average, they haven’t walked much, and their four combined home runs rank last in the majors.

The pitching has been far more mediocre in the early going. The Phillies are scheduled to face three veteran starters in Adrian Houser, Tyler Mahle, and Robby Ray, so at least they won’t be surprised by anything they see. The Giants’ bullpen is largely unproven with players like Blade Tidwell and Ryan Walker in key roles.

Featured Giants player: Harrison Bader

After the Phillies acquired Harrison Bader at the trade deadline in 2025, the Phillies’ outfield situation became much better. He played solid defense in centerfield and put up one of the best offensive stretches of his career.

There was a strong sentiment that the Phillies should bring him back, but ultimately, they went in another direction. I liked Bader and certainly wouldn’t have minded having him on the team, but the team also seemed determined to play rookie Justin Crawford in centerfield. Since much of Bader’s value comes from defense, it was questionable how wise it would be to sign him to play a corner outfield spot.

Early in the 2026 season, Bader hasn’t done much to make the Phillies regret their choice. While he’s still playing strong defense, he hasn’t hit well, putting up an OPS of just .396.

Remembering a guy who used to play for the Giants

Barry Zito was a star pitcher for the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000’s, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2002. After the 2006 season, the A’s allowed him to leave as a free agent, but he didn’t go far, signing with the Giants.

For whatever reason, crossing the Bay didn’t agree with Zito, and he was largely a bust. The two-time All-Star’s most notable achievement was leading the NL in losses in 2008, and his ERA during his seven years in San Francisco was over a run higher than it had been in Oakland.

It should be noted that the Giants won two titles while Zito was there, although he didn’t even pitch in the 2010 playoffs. There’s been some debate about Zito’s worth among Giants fans. Because while he was not good overall, he did pitch well in the 2012 postseason, and flags fly forever.

What about the Phillies?

Oracle Park has not been kind to the Phillies in recent years. The Phillies haven’t won a series in San Francisco since 2013 (though they did split a four-game set in 2017). Really, the park was never all that friendly to the Phillies as they’re 25-58 since it opened in 2000.

Andrew Painter will get the first crack at reversing that luck as he will make his second career start in the season opener on Monday. Maybe the rookie can succeed where so many veterans have failed.

Normally, I’d say the Phillies were catching the struggling Giants at the right time, but it seems more likely that the Giants aren’t actually as bad on offense as they’ve looked, and they’re due to regress the heck out of the Phillies the next few days.

Pennant year song battle

Everybody Wants You defeated My Sister to become the first song to successfully defend the title.

The next contender comes from the year 2009 and describes what Oracle Park has done to the Phillies over the years. It’s Gives You Hell by All-American Rejects:

Vote for the winner now:

Closing thought

A good rule of thumb for the Phillies is that they are never as bad as they look when they play at either Oracle Park or Citi Field. And if the Phillies should happen to do the impossible and actually win this series, then maybe that’s a sign that this is their year!

It’s only 10 games, people! That’s just 6.2% of the season! The San Francisco Giants’ 3-7 start, then, shouldn’t be cause for a complete fandom meltdown. Seriously! Okay… honestly. Okay… maybe. Look, it’s not great. It’s reflective of all the downside risks that were apparent when the team was cobbled together in the offseason. But let’s take a look at the other times the franchise has started a season 3-7 and see if we can find solace in history.

The 2026 Giants are the 21st team in franchise history to start a season 3-7 or worse. The worse starts were the 1916 squad’s 1-9 and in 1983, 1950 & 1951 when those teams started 2-8. Let’s take a look at The 3-7 club:

Is it accurate to say the Giants are off to their worst start ever? The Giants have had 21 seasons of 3 or fewer wins in their first 10 games out of 144 seasons, so it depends on how you feel about 21 out of 144 (14.5%) being reflective of rarity. I think it is. It’s as bad as their sole 100-loss season. It’s worse than the execrable 2017 team, which started the season 4-6. With a rookie manager and questionable bullpen to go with a brutal schedule to start the year, sometimes it’s fine to just go with the obvious.

Does that mean a turnaround is impossible? Not necessarily.

Now, I’m just looking at this from the pitching side for the moment just to get this post up and running. As you can see, this isn’t the worst of the worst starts in team history. Their 4.65 ERA certainly isn’t all that great. Not seen on this chart are the 90 strikeouts through 89 IP — that’s the third-most strikeouts a Giants pitching staff has had through the team’s first 10 games in franchise history. Only the 2022 (95) and 2023 (91) teams have had more. Those squads got off to 7-3 and 4-6 starts, respectively. That 98-loss 2017 team struck out 87 through those first 10 games.

That 90 strikeout total is in a three-way tie with Texas and Miami for 10th in MLB. So, there are some positives. It’s when you get to the hitting side that the situation feels inescapably dire.

That’s right. The Giants’ 26 runs through their first 10 games of a season is a top 10-worst total in franchise history, tied with that 100-loss 1985 team, but also the 2015 team, which we’ll be talking about momentarily. Only four times have the Giants scored so few runs to start a season and wound up with a winning record, and two of those times were before prior to World War I and World War II.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that we don’t have to focus on the lineup’s fecklessness to find some tangible hope. Yes, it’s only 10 games. There’s a long way to go, and in recent memory (as in the 21st century), these Giants teams proved that. Let’s quickly go through them to see if we can find examples that make us feel better about the 2026 team.

2015 (84-78, 2nd in NL West)

Fresh off their third title in five seasons, the champs stumbled out of the gate to a 9-13 April with a -28 run differential (66 scored / 94 allowed). It was largely a run it back squad save two notable exceptions: outfielder Nori Aoki and Casey McGehee, one of the worst acquisitions in team history. The Giants had traded for the 2014 NL Comeback Player of the Year in the offseason to replace Pablo Sandoval, and he proceeded to ground into 8 double plays in April. According to Baseball Reference, he was a -1.684 Win Probably Added. Which means he cost the team probably two wins in one month. It prompted former FanGraphs writer and baseball exec Dave Cameron to propose he be moved to the leadoff hitter just to limit his damage.

After their 9-13 start, though, they went 21-9 in May but then hovered around .500 the rest of the season (54-56). Remarkably, after April, the team had a +97 run differential (630-533). They ended the season with the fifth-most runs in the NL and were the second best defense, too. Their Pythagorean record of 89-73 should point to how this team should’ve continued the dynasty in a more meaningful way than the 2016 team that wound up slamming that window of contention shut.

Matt Duffy emerged, Brandon Belt and Joe Panik hit like All-Stars, and Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford gave MVP-worthy performances. That helped makeup for what was a sort of ramshackle pitching staff. Madison Bumgarner was an ace-ace (he even hit 5 home runs), but outside of Chris Heston’s no hitter, it was replacement-level pitching from Ryan Vogelsong, Tim Hudson, Tim Lincecum, and Yusmeiro Petit and the end of the line for Matt Cain. The bullpen was pretty stellar, though, with the third-best ERA in the NL (3.33).

If the 2026 Giants got to 84-78, they’d be in a great position for a Wild Card spot. All they need is a couple of MVP-type performances and a couple of All-Star caliber performances from the lineup, absent stellar pitching.

2009 (88-74, 3rd in NL West)

All you need to know about this season is that it marked the end of the only time the current Giants ownership group allowed a rebuild to happen. From 2005-2008, the Giants were trying to ride out the end of Barry Bonds’ marquee status while figuring out how to retool for their ballpark. Brian Sabean saw the Padres’ pitching and defense style as the key to unlocking success since replacing Barry Bonds in the aggregate is impossible.

The 2009 team was a pitching force. The two-headed monster of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain picked up where it had left off. The bullpen was fantastic, too, with Jeremy Affeldt in particular a real standout.

They just couldn’t hit. They were so, so bad at hitting.

Such a bad hitting team.

A nightmare.

Their biggest offseason acquisition was Edgar Renteria, who won back a terrible line (.635 OPS in 510 PA) by grabbing the World Series for the Giants the following year. They also added Juan Uribe, which worked out great in part because Renteria struggled so much. The biggest trade deadline acquisitions where Freddy Sanchez and… Ryan Garko. Sanchez would, of course, pay off in 2010.

Their 657 runs scored is 106th of the 143 completed Giants seasons. So, not the worst, but among the worst. The 2011 team was actually worse at scoring runs (570), but most fans chalk that up to losing Buster Posey in May.

But this year’s team was proof of concept for 2010. Even after the gut punch of Ryan Spilborghs’ walk-off grand slam in August at Coors Field, the team was still in the playoff hunt come September. No Buster Posey yet, but Pablo Sandoval got some MVP votes and Uribe and Andres Torres emerged as great depth pieces.

So, all the 2026 Giants would have to do to compare to this team is get two MVP-level pitching performances from the rotation and be backed up by a stellar bullpen — oh, and at least one amazing performance from a hitter. In the past 10 years, only one Giant has matched or exceeded Pablo Sandoval’s 146 wRC+ performance from 2009: Mike Yastrzemski, who hit 58% better than the league average (158 wRC+) in… 2020. Rafael Devers has never had a season that good.

2000 (97-65 NL West champs)

Okay, this one ought to be pretty obvious. The Giants got off to a bad start because they struggled with the move from Candlestick to Pacific Bell Park. But at the end of the day, they had Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, and Ellis Burks and just enough pitching to muddle through until they ran into the Marlins’ postseason buzzsaw. Any comparisons with this team would be inadequate and unfair to both eras. There is no Barry Bonds for so many reasons. The pitching and fielding environment is not comparable.

The other two times this century where the Giants got off to such a bad start it worked out about as bad as you would’ve expected. 2019’s 77-85 was the planned demolition of Farhan Zaidi’s first season, and it was only from the genius use </s> of sound sabermetrics principles that the team won those 77 games. The 2007 team was the first year of Bochyball and a year of transition for the franchise as Barry Bonds would play his final games.

Do these Giants have any of the talent and management reflected in the instances where the team was able to shrug off a bad start? Just looking at the situation, it seems pretty obvious that the most analogous situation is 2015. That definitely ignores that there was a Hall of Famer in the lineup, though. With all due respect to the current Giants, I don’t think that’s the case right now.

Comparing eras is never based in wisdom, but neither is fandom. We have to hope that things turn around for the team. We have to hope that the “small sample size” thing holds true in this case and that the Giants become competitive this season and go on a sustained run. They’re certainly not competitive now, and the only evidence to suggest that conditions might change is history.

It’s only 10 games, people! That’s just 6.2% of the season! The San Francisco Giants’ 3-7 start, then, shouldn’t be cause for a complete fandom meltdown. Seriously! Okay… honestly. Okay… maybe. Look, it’s not great. It’s reflective of all the downside risks that were apparent when the team was cobbled together in the offseason. But let’s take a look at the other times the franchise has started a season 3-7 and see if we can find solace in history.

The 2026 Giants are the 21st team in franchise history to start a season 3-7 or worse. The worse starts were the 1916 squad’s 1-9 and in 1983, 1950 & 1951 when those teams started 2-8. Let’s take a look at The 3-7 club:

Is it accurate to say the Giants are off to their worst start ever? The Giants have had 21 seasons of 3 or fewer wins in their first 10 games out of 144 seasons, so it depends on how you feel about 21 out of 144 (14.5%) being reflective of rarity. I think it is. It’s as bad as their sole 100-loss season. It’s worse than the execrable 2017 team, which started the season 4-6. With a rookie manager and questionable bullpen to go with a brutal schedule to start the year, sometimes it’s fine to just go with the obvious.

Does that mean a turnaround is impossible? Not necessarily.

Now, I’m just looking at this from the pitching side for the moment just to get this post up and running. As you can see, this isn’t the worst of the worst starts in team history. Their 4.65 ERA certainly isn’t all that great. Not seen on this chart are the 90 strikeouts through 89 IP — that’s the third-most strikeouts a Giants pitching staff has had through the team’s first 10 games in franchise history. Only the 2022 (95) and 2023 (91) teams have had more. Those squads got off to 7-3 and 4-6 starts, respectively. That 98-loss 2017 team struck out 87 through those first 10 games.

That 90 strikeout total is in a three-way tie with Texas and Miami for 10th in MLB. So, there are some positives. It’s when you get to the hitting side that the situation feels inescapably dire.

That’s right. The Giants’ 26 runs through their first 10 games of a season is a top 10-worst total in franchise history, tied with that 100-loss 1985 team, but also the 2015 team, which we’ll be talking about momentarily. Only four times have the Giants scored so few runs to start a season and wound up with a winning record, and two of those times were before prior to World War I and World War II.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that we don’t have to focus on the lineup’s fecklessness to find some tangible hope. Yes, it’s only 10 games. There’s a long way to go, and in recent memory (as in the 21st century), these Giants teams proved that. Let’s quickly go through them to see if we can find examples that make us feel better about the 2026 team.

2015 (84-78, 2nd in NL West)

Fresh off their third title in five seasons, the champs stumbled out of the gate to a 9-13 April with a -28 run differential (66 scored / 94 allowed). It was largely a run it back squad save two notable exceptions: outfielder Nori Aoki and Casey McGehee, one of the worst acquisitions in team history. The Giants had traded for the 2014 NL Comeback Player of the Year in the offseason to replace Pablo Sandoval, and he proceeded to ground into 8 double plays in April. According to Baseball Reference, he was a -1.684 Win Probably Added. Which means he cost the team probably two wins in one month. It prompted former FanGraphs writer and baseball exec Dave Cameron to propose he be moved to the leadoff hitter just to limit his damage.

After their 9-13 start, though, they went 21-9 in May but then hovered around .500 the rest of the season (54-56). Remarkably, after April, the team had a +97 run differential (630-533). They ended the season with the fifth-most runs in the NL and were the second best defense, too. Their Pythagorean record of 89-73 should point to how this team should’ve continued the dynasty in a more meaningful way than the 2016 team that wound up slamming that window of contention shut.

Matt Duffy emerged, Brandon Belt and Joe Panik hit like All-Stars, and Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford gave MVP-worthy performances. That helped makeup for what was a sort of ramshackle pitching staff. Madison Bumgarner was an ace-ace (he even hit 5 home runs), but outside of Chris Heston’s no hitter, it was replacement-level pitching from Ryan Vogelsong, Tim Hudson, Tim Lincecum, and Yusmeiro Petit and the end of the line for Matt Cain. The bullpen was pretty stellar, though, with the third-best ERA in the NL (3.33).

If the 2026 Giants got to 84-78, they’d be in a great position for a Wild Card spot. All they need is a couple of MVP-type performances and a couple of All-Star caliber performances from the lineup, absent stellar pitching.

2009 (88-74, 3rd in NL West)

All you need to know about this season is that it marked the end of the only time the current Giants ownership group allowed a rebuild to happen. From 2005-2008, the Giants were trying to ride out the end of Barry Bonds’ marquee status while figuring out how to retool for their ballpark. Brian Sabean saw the Padres’ pitching and defense style as the key to unlocking success since replacing Barry Bonds in the aggregate is impossible.

The 2009 team was a pitching force. The two-headed monster of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain picked up where it had left off. The bullpen was fantastic, too, with Jeremy Affeldt in particular a real standout.

They just couldn’t hit. They were so, so bad at hitting.

Such a bad hitting team.

A nightmare.

Their biggest offseason acquisition was Edgar Renteria, who won back a terrible line (.635 OPS in 510 PA) by grabbing the World Series for the Giants the following year. They also added Juan Uribe, which worked out great in part because Renteria struggled so much. The biggest trade deadline acquisitions where Freddy Sanchez and… Ryan Garko. Sanchez would, of course, pay off in 2010.

Their 657 runs scored is 106th of the 143 completed Giants seasons. So, not the worst, but among the worst. The 2011 team was actually worse at scoring runs (570), but most fans chalk that up to losing Buster Posey in May.

But this year’s team was proof of concept for 2010. Even after the gut punch of Ryan Spilborghs’ walk-off grand slam in August at Coors Field, the team was still in the playoff hunt come September. No Buster Posey yet, but Pablo Sandoval got some MVP votes and Uribe and Andres Torres emerged as great depth pieces.

So, all the 2026 Giants would have to do to compare to this team is get two MVP-level pitching performances from the rotation and be backed up by a stellar bullpen — oh, and at least one amazing performance from a hitter. In the past 10 years, only one Giant has matched or exceeded Pablo Sandoval’s 146 wRC+ performance from 2009: Mike Yastrzemski, who hit 58% better than the league average (158 wRC+) in… 2020. Rafael Devers has never had a season that good.

2000 (97-65 NL West champs)

Okay, this one ought to be pretty obvious. The Giants got off to a bad start because they struggled with the move from Candlestick to Pacific Bell Park. But at the end of the day, they had Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, and Ellis Burks and just enough pitching to muddle through until they ran into the Marlins’ postseason buzzsaw. Any comparisons with this team would be inadequate and unfair to both eras. There is no Barry Bonds for so many reasons. The pitching and fielding environment is not comparable.

The other two times this century where the Giants got off to such a bad start it worked out about as bad as you would’ve expected. 2019’s 77-85 was the planned demolition of Farhan Zaidi’s first season, and it was only from the genius use </s> of sound sabermetrics principles that the team won those 77 games. The 2007 team was the first year of Bochyball and a year of transition for the franchise as Barry Bonds would play his final games.

Do these Giants have any of the talent and management reflected in the instances where the team was able to shrug off a bad start? Just looking at the situation, it seems pretty obvious that the most analogous situation is 2015. That definitely ignores that there was a Hall of Famer in the lineup, though. With all due respect to the current Giants, I don’t think that’s the case right now.

Comparing eras is never based in wisdom, but neither is fandom. We have to hope that things turn around for the team. We have to hope that the “small sample size” thing holds true in this case and that the Giants become competitive this season and go on a sustained run. They’re certainly not competitive now, and the only evidence to suggest that conditions might change is history.

When Mariners prospect Colt Emerson signed his (then) record-breaking extension before ever appearing in an MLB game, much of the conversation focused on the risk the Mariners were taking, allocating such a long-term, significant chunk of payroll to a player who has yet to take a big-league at-bat.

Considerably less attention was paid to the risk Emerson was taking on – an easy thing to do when minting generational wealth before one of is of legal drinking age. But if the financial risk is somewhat less impactful for Emerson (what is a slight contract valuation difference between friends, especially some of those friends are inveterate proles from whom $10M/year is as outlandish a figure as $20M/year), the cultural risk is significant. José Ramírez bet on the perpetually-pesky Guardians and has received years of playoff appearances; Mike Trout signed up to be an Angel for life in 2019, only to miss the playoffs for the past decade, see his fellow generational superstar leave for the “cross-town” “rival,” and for internal organizational failures to be documented in excruciating detail in the press.

It’s a heady decision to make as a player deep in a major-league career, but even more so for young players signing the peak years of their 20s away to an organization, like the high-dollar long-term deals signed by Corbin Carroll with the D-Backs, Roman Anthony with the Red Sox, or Ronald Acuña with the Braves. The organization might choose a player, but the player has to choose that organization back.

That’s a trust that touches every level of the organization: from trusting the team’s commitment to winning baseball as shown in things like investing in good development and allocating organizational resources to the on-field product; to trusting the team to share your values about how to treat people and the surrounding environment. Luckily for the Mariners, they have a current track record with signing young players to extensions – Julio Rodríguez, followed by Cal Raleigh – that allows them to demonstrate firsthand what it means on and off the field to be a long-term Seattle Mariner. Raleigh, especially, has emerged as a team leader whose voice helps shape organizational decisions. It’s an appraisal Raleigh has earned, first with his daily dedication to the team’s operations, but also a right he’s granted as a stakeholder in the team’s future when he signed his extension.

It’s not hard to see Emerson, who possesses Raleigh’s same drive and a similarly keen mind, following in those footsteps. Emerson has spoken glowingly of Raleigh as a player and a person, as someone whose minor-league career he has sought to emulate.

“You just go around and look at the clubhouse, look at the guys in the clubhouse, and they’re role models,” said Emerson ahead of a game in Tacoma on Saturday. “Cal Raleigh, I mean, he shows up to the field at spring training at 5:30 in the morning, every morning. That’s the example that he sets, and that’s the example I follow and want to set, too.”

Emerson’s work ethic did stand out this spring, as he found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with seasoned veterans like Rob Refsnyder, Brendan Donovan, and Josh Naylor, all of whom were happy to have the rookie in their midst, eagerly absorbing their wisdom – listening more than he spoke, but not without contributing his own thoughts. The image of Emerson enmeshed among players several years his senior wasn’t a surprising one to Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto.

“I think Colt is universally respected for how he goes about his business; for who he is as a person; the respect he has for his teammates; the way he prepares and his thoughtfulness,” said Dipoto in a meeting with the media after the contract was announced. “You can’t not appreciate that. And I know his teammates do. He got rave reviews from the veteran players in the spring.”

For Emerson, as is typical, he deflects the praise, makes it bigger than himself.

“There’s a lot of hard workers in the clubhouse,” he said. “Lot of hard workers in the minor leagues. And, that’s just a testament to the Mariners and how they pick guys. Everybody’s got the same goal. Everybody works really hard, and it’s cool to be able to do that. I don’t know too many organizations that have that type of culture.”

“The culture here is just so incredible.“

Emerson paused for a moment, the normally whip-quick shortstop at a rare loss for words.

”I can’t even describe it.” 

Emerson is young, but he’s not without experience in high-pressure environments. As a prep prospect, he played on the showcase circuit, and for Team USA. Shortly after Emerson was drafted, Scott Hunter, Mariners Director of Scouting, said the thing that stood out the most about Colt was a question not asked of Emerson himself but a boilerplate question asked of other prospects the Mariners were considering: which player from this process would you most want to be teammates with?

The answer, overwhelmingly: Colt Emerson.

Watching Emerson this spring, his leadership was obvious: certainly in high-profile moments, like watching him command the infield from the shortstop position; but in quieter moments, as well. How he took time to greet every person at the complex, from teammates to media members to custodial staff, by name if he knew it. How he held the curtain at the batting cages open for the next hitter to go through. A stray empty water bottle picked up and deposited in a nearby trashcan. The kind of leadership that’s still there when no one is looking.

The Mariners have had an opportunity to log these small moments of leadership by Emerson for years. They might not know exactly how Emerson performs on the field, but they absolutely know the person they are getting. That, along with the treasure trove of proprietary data to which they’re privy, might have given them the advantage in a deal that carries some degree of risk for both sides.

If anything, it’s Emerson who is taking a leap of faith, choosing to believe in the organization that has drafted him, developed him, and offered him stability – something that means a lot to the process-driven, routine-oriented infielder, who says he’s grateful for the opportunity to be able to focus on his singular goal when he’s on the field.

“For me, going out on the field every single day, I’m trying to do what the team needs to win. I like to say I’m a winning ball player every time I show up to the field,” says Emerson, invoking a favorite phrase. “So, given the security of being in the same city for the next eight years, just allows me to stay the same guy. I mean, I’m never planning to change as a person, so I’m just happy to go out there and be a winning ballplayer for the team and do whatever they need me to do.” 

It’s that stability and clarity of purpose that seems to matter to Emerson, even more so than the money – “I’m not a very materialistic person,” he said, noting that everything has “come so quickly” that he hasn’t had an opportunity to process it. Signing on with the Mariners at this stage in his career allows him to do the thing he most wants to do: focus on “being a winning ballplayer” without any outside distractions.

In a way, it’s something Emerson has been angling towards his whole career. Quick, deep cut Mariners trivia quiz: when the All-Star Game was in Seattle in 2023, who announced the Mariners’ first-round pick?

If you remember the adorable nine-year-old cancer survivor Tiago Viernes, good for you. Colt Emerson remembers Tiago, who is inextricably tied to the moment he knew he wanted to be a Seattle Mariner for a long time.

“When I got drafted in ‘23 and the All-Star game was in Seattle, and Tiago called my name, I knew it was special from that moment,” said Emerson.

“And from that moment on, I was just like: this is going to be my spot. You know? Or, I hoped so. And it ended up being [so], and that’s all part of God’s plan.“

“I’m just so thankful and grateful just for the opportunity, really.”