BOSTON, MA - APRIL 21: Randal Grichuk #34 of the New York Yankees watches his RBI double against the Boston Red Sox during the eighth inning at Fenway Park on April 21, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Arguably the Phillies’ biggest weakness in the start to a season that’s been full of them is left-handed pitching. As a team, they’re dead last in batting average (.180), OPS (.567), and wRC+ (61) against lefties. They have yet to win a game against a non-opener left-handed starting pitcher. Clearly, the Phillies need all the help they can get against lefties.
Could Randal Grichuk be of some assistance? The 34-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment by the New York Yankees yesterday after hitting .194 with a .534 OPS in 16 games played. Grichuk, who signed a one year, $2.5M minor league deal with New York in the offseason, is a right-handed hitting platoon option who has had success against lefties in the past. For his career, Grichuk owns a .268/.318/.498 batting line against left-handed pitching over the course of his 13-year career in the majors.
Grichuk’s most recent success came in 2024 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in 106 games for Arizona and hit .291 with an .875 OPS and 12 home runs while being deployed in a platoon. Grichuk particularly mashed lefties, hitting .319 with a .913 OPS across 184 plate appearances. He re-signed with the D-Backs for 2025 but didn’t have the same level of success, hitting .240 with a .734 OPS in 70 games. His numbers against lefties drastically declined, with his average falling to .226 and his OPS dropping to .737. Grichuk was traded at the 2025 deadline to the Royals and cratered while in Kansas City, hitting .206 with a .566 OPS in 43 games. If you look at the sample size that dates back to his arrival in Kansas City and includes his time in New York this season, Grichuk is hitting .200 with a .556 OPS over his last 140 plate appearances with a 22.9% strikeout rate.
But the Phillies don’t currently have definitively better options. The team talked up Otto Kemp for the right-handed platoon role at every given opportunity over the offseason, but he has already been demoted to Triple-A after going 2 for 20 with 9 strikeouts in 10 games while playing brutal defense in the outfield. Felix Reyes is currently occupying Kemp’s role as Brandon Marsh’s platoon partner, but his results have not been much better. The surprising call-up hit a home run off of Chris Sale in his first at-bat, but has since collected just two hits, both of which were singles. Reyes’ tendency from his minor league career of chasing outside of the zone has carried over to the majors, as he’s swung at an alarming 58.1% of pitches thrown outside of the strike zone through his first five games in the big leagues.
So, should the Phillies be interested in Randal Grichuk? Is he worth the flier to see if the Phillies can alleviate some of their struggles against left-handed pitching?
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 27: General manager Dana Brown of the Houston Astros talks to Joe Espada #19 before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park on July 27, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At what point do the Houston Astros decide enough is enough?
This question isn’t just about the players on the field, it extends to leadership at every level, from the manager to the front office. Around Major League Baseball, we’ve already seen organizations take decisive action. The Boston Red Sox recently made sweeping changes, moving on from Alex Cora and much of his coaching staff due to a lack of results. The Philadelphia Phillies have also made headlines with similar decisions.
That raises a pressing question in Houston: will owner Jim Crane follow suit?
A Front Office Under Pressure
Both general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada are in the final year of their contracts. For Brown in particular, the scrutiny has intensified.
Throughout his tenure, there’s been a lingering sense of uncertainty surrounding his decision-making. While there have been occasional successes, the broader question remains: has he consistently done enough to improve the team?
That concern is magnified when looking at the offseason. The Astros’ need for pitching help was clear. With departures like Framber Valdez looming and multiple arms returning from injury, the expectation was that Houston would aggressively reinforce its rotation and bullpen.
Instead, Brown took a different approach, one that is now under heavy criticism.
Pitching Problems Mount
One of the most notable moves was the signing of Tatsuya Imai. So far, that decision has not paid off. His struggles have now extended to his rehab stint last night in Double-A Corpus Christi. He couldn’t even throw 3 innings, gave up 5 runs on 6 hits including a home run and only threw 31 strikes in 59 pitches. His inability to pitch deep into games or maintain control, as well as his documented struggles to adjust to Major League baseball and life in the United States. There is real reason to question whether he can figure things out and contribute at the major league level.
Meanwhile, injuries to key pitchers like Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier have left the rotation in flux. The constant shuffling has placed enormous strain on the bullpen, as they are being pressed into extended action and thus, taxing the arms that have actually been effective. As a whole, the staff has the worst ERA in baseball, allowing nearly six runs per game.
This is particularly troubling given Brown’s offseason confidence in the team’s pitching depth, a belief that now appears misplaced.
Missed Opportunities in the Lineup
Pitching isn’t the only issue. The Astros also entered the season with a clear need for a corner outfielder to balance a roster heavy on infield talent. Despite that, no significant addition was made.
This is where frustration deepens. Across sports, general managers on the hot seat often take bold risks to improve their teams in the short term. In Houston’s case, that urgency has been noticeably absent.
A Team Worth Saving
Ironically, the Astros’ offense has been one of the bright spots. They remain among the more productive lineups in baseball, good enough to keep the team within striking distance in the division. But at a certain point, you have to either go out and get what you need, or press the reset button and start to sell off what you have.
That’s what makes the current situation so frustrating. Even with their struggles, the Astros are still only a few games out of first place. There is time to turn things around, but only if meaningful changes are made.
Is Change Inevitable?
For Dana Brown, the message is clear: act now or risk being shown the door.
Joe Espada’s situation is more nuanced. As manager, he’s working with the roster he’s been given. However, in professional sports, managers often become the scapegoat when teams underperform. With his contract also expiring, he may not be immune to change.
One possible replacement already exists within the organization. Bench coach Omar Lopez, fresh off a World Baseball Classic victory and widely respected in the clubhouse, could be a logical candidate if Crane decides to make a move. Is it fair, no, but life isn’t fair and firing Espada may be Crane’s first move in an attempt to shake things up.
The Clock Is Ticking
Ultimately, the Astros find themselves at a crossroads. Between underperforming acquisitions, a struggling pitching staff, and expiring contracts in leadership, the pressure is building.
With a strong offense keeping them competitive, the opportunity to salvage the season still exists. But time is running out.
If improvements don’t come soon, it may only be a matter of time before Jim Crane makes sweeping changes in an effort to jumpstart the remainder of the 2026 campaign.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 25: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on April 25, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last year, the Braves randomly swept the Tigers late in the year, pulling down the relatively competitive team into their own 2025 muck for a bit. This year, the Braves are rocking and rolling and having a great time, and can sweep the Tigers again with a successful performance on Thursday afternoon.
The Braves largely cruised to a 5-2 victory in the series opener, and then won the series when Matt Olson hit a walkoff two-run homer off old pal Kenley Jansen to deliver a victory in a game started by reigning Cy Young awardee Tarik Skubal. Will they have more heroics in store for us today, or will it be another ho-hum, wire-to-wire win? Or, dare they actually lose a game? We’ll see.
On the hill for Atlanta will be Bryce Elder, who comes in with a 47/77/92 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-). That line is surprising in some ways, especially because his fWAR is a top-30 mark among starters in baseball right now due to his teeny-tiny HR/FB rate. Elder really turned heads during his first four starts of the year, where he was stellar in three of them, but he’s been more in line with expectations in the two since. He had a 6/2 K/BB ratio and gave up a homer against the Nationals, and then had a very weird game where he lasted seven frames but managed just a 2/1 K/BB ratio against the Phillies, which was the Braves’ most recent loss.
Opposing Elder and the Braves will be Framber Valdez, who is, in some ways, having a pretty unusual start to his year. Valdez signed a large, $115 million, three-year (ish, it’s a little complicated) deal with the Tigers relatively late in the offseason, after concerns about his personality cooled his market coming off another 4 fWAR year. Before free agency, Valdez was a model of consistency, between 3.7 and 4.4 fWAR over his past four seasons, with FIP- and xFIP- marks all tightly clustered between 75 and 82 in all four seasons. That’s kind of absurd when you think about it.
But, 2026 has been a different story so far as Valdez takes the ball in a uniform other than the one he wore for all eight prior seasons of his career: his strikeouts are down, his walks are up, hitters are finding it easier to elevate against him, and he’s getting by in part because of a low HR/FB. His line is 81/90/104, which vaguely resembles his 79/80/77 line over the past four seasons, but definitely not on the back of his pitching. In his six starts, three have been good, one has been so-so, and two have been problematic — including his most recent, where the Reds thrashed him and chased him after just 13 outs, while he posted a 4/5 K/BB ratio and gave up a homer. Even if the Braves battle Valdez to a relative standstill, they’ll still have a chance against a beleaguered and ineffective Detroit bullpen, so don’t count them out if Elder hangs in there, even if Valdez is lulling them to sleep with his sinker in the middle innings.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, April 30, 12:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: BravesVision
Streaming: MLB.tv (and Braves.tv if you’re in-market, etc.)
BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 30: A detailed view of a Hankook tyre in the Pitlane during previews ahead of the Berlin E-Prix at Tempelhof Airport Circuit on April 30, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images)
Hickory starter Aidan Deakins threw 5.1 shutout innings, striking out four and walking four.
Yolfram Castillo and Daniel Flames each had a hit. In 10 innings, the Crawdads hitters struck out 15 times.
Dalton Pence started for Hub City, allowing three runs on three solo homers while striking out six in five innings. Joey Danielson allowed two runs in an inning.
Malcolm Moore was 2 for 4 with a double, a homer and a walk. Maxton Martin had a double. Rafe Perich was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk.
Round Rock starter Josh Stephan struck out five and walked four in 4.1 IP, allowing one run. Emiliano Teodo went 0.2 IP, walking two, striking out one and allowing two runs. Thomas Ireland struck out two in a shutout inning. Alexis Diaz struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Cam Cauley had a double and a walk. Michael Helman was 2 for 5 with a homer and a stolen base. Justin Foscue had a hit and a walk.
Almost half of the MLB schedule today starts before 1:00 p.m. ET, so we're starting nice and early with our MLB best bets, based on prices available at Polymarket.
Read on to see why our expert MLB picks start by targeting early offense in the first leg of the Astros/Orioles doubleheader, then look at the Reds to roll over a so-so starting pitcher and Arizona to win in a spot it appears mispriced.
UPDATE: Added Jon Metler's MLB best bet for the day.
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The total in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader between the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles is 9.5, and the YRFI is trading at just -113 — I’m in. This is the best pitching matchup to target for early offense: Chris Bassitt has had issues with Yordan Alvarez, who has taken him deep five times in 22 at-bats. On the other side, Peter Lambert is likely punching above his weight early, and I’m not buying the turnaround after prior struggles. There are command concerns on both sides that point to traffic on the bases early — this sets up well for runs in the opening frame (and throughout the game).
Jon Metler's expert pick: Athletics moneyline
Price: 55¢ (-122) at Polymarket
The Athletics are trading as a 55-cent favorite, and that number is too low — I make them closer to a 61-cent favorite in this spot. Sutter Health Park is a hitter-friendly ballpark, where the ball really carries, and the A's lineup is built to take advantage of that. That’s a major concern for Noah Cameron, the Kansas City Royals’ starting pitcher, who profiles as an extreme fly-ball pitcher. When you have power right-handed bats in the middle of the lineup (such as Shea Langeliers) who thrive against lefties, allowing that many fly balls becomes a dangerous game, especially with the wind blowing out and conditions sitting at a sunny 74 degrees in Sacramento.
Neil Parker's expert pick: Reds -1.5
Price: 44¢ (+127) at Polymarket
The Colorado Rockies rank 22nd in wOBA with the second-highest strikeout percentage against southpaws — so I’m expecting Cincinnati Reds lefty Andrew Abbott to string together some scoreless innings this afternoon, as he's a better pitcher than his .351 BABIP and 63.9% strand rate indicate. Colorado counters with Michael Lorenzen, a run-of-the-mill righty with a 4.20 ERA across 551 1/3 innings since transitioning to a full-time starter in 2022.
Joe Osborne's expert pick: Diamondbacks ML
Price: 46¢ (+117) at Polymarket
Sign me up for the Arizona Diamondbacks as a small dog when they have a clear edge in both starting pitching and hitting. Mike Soroka is in the midst of a breakout season, after injuries stalled his career, and Arizona is 4-1 in his starts as he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of them. He's in a great spot to carve up a struggling Milwaukee Brewers lineup that ranks 28th in OPS over the past two weeks. Milwaukee SP Brandon Woodruff has been solid, but Arizona’s offense — fourth in OPS over the past two weeks — can give him trouble.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 29: Joc Pederson #3 of the Texas Rangers shakes hands with teammates following a victory over the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field on April 29, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rangers 3, Yankees 0
Good Nathan Eovaldi has entered the chat.
Nathan Eovaldi kicked much ass on Wednesday afternoon.
A much needed outing, given the bumpiness of recent performances.
And I mean, really, Nate wasn’t going to let himself get outdueled by some dude named Elmer, right?
Seven Ks, just one walk, seven innings. 20 swinging strikes on 102 pitches.
Eovaldi largely stayed away from his fastball (thrown 10 times out of 102 pitches) and his sinker (5 times), going with a splitter/cutter/curveball mix. 12 of his swings and misses came on the splitter, 6 on the cutter.
Eovaldi’s ERA on the year is now 4.76, with a 4.38 xERA.
Big ups to Jacob Latz for the two inning save. Woo Jakey L!!!!!!!!
This is the third shutout for the Rangers this year, and the first time they’ve shut out a team other than the Mariners.
Offensively, a day after the Rangers were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position, Texas went 4 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Not surprisingly, that led to more runs.
Only three, which isn’t ideal, but still.
Josh Jung continues to carry the team on his back, as a bases loaded single in the fifth brought home the Rangers’ first two runs, breaking a scoreless tie.
Jung is now slashing .317/.381/.545 on the season.
Brandon Nimmo had an infield single to load the bases right before the Jung single, and ended up leaving the game for Sam Haggerty due to a hamstring issue, so apparently we had to sacrifice Brandon Nimmo to get runs scored.
Nimmo, fortunately, is believed to be day-to-day, so hopefully he’ll be in the lineup at some point this weekend in Detroit.
Haggerty, meanwhile, singled home the third run of the game in the seventh, so good job, Sam!
Ezequiel Duran, getting the rare start against a righthander, was 2 for 2 with a double and a walk, raising his slash line on the season to .288/.354/.424.
Duran has been splitting time in left field with Alejandro Osuna during Wyatt Langford’s absence. Langford is expected to be activated this weekend at some point, however, which will result in Osuna going back to AAA and Langford taking over the left field role.
With Josh Smith’s current struggles, however, Duran could end up getting more playing time at second base.
Nathan Eovaldi topped out at 95.6 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.5 mph. Jacob Latz touched 96.6 mph with his fastball.
Joc Pederson had a 105.1 mph ground out and a 103.9 mph fly out. Corey Seager had a 102.8 mph GIDP. Jake Burger had a 100.8 mph ground out.
Heading into an off day with a victory is always a good thing.
This afternoon is loaded with ball games, and my top MLB player props have you covered for the action Thursday, April 30.
My two favorite MLB picks feature Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez, and Philadelphia Phillies favorite Bryce Harper in favorable pitching matchups today.
Best MLB player props today
Player
Pick
Odds
Yordan Alvarez
Over 1.5 total bases
-102
Bryce Harper
Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI
-105
Andrew Abbott
Over 4.5 strikeouts
-145
Yordan Alvarez Over 1.5 total bases (-102)
It’s been a rough start for Baltimore Orioles righty Chris Bassitt, with his 6.75 ERA reinforced by a 6.25 xFIP, a monster .472 wOBA, and .246 ISO to left-handed hitters. Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez has posted .463 wOBA and .338 ISO against right-handed arms this season, and he’s teed off on Bassitt for five home runs across 25 at-bats with a monster 1.598 OPS.
Time: 12:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: MASN, SCHN
Bryce Harper Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-105)
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper is heating up to go Over the number in this market in five of his past seven games with six runs, seven hits, and eight RBI, and he’s put up a rock-solid .407 wOBA against righties for the year.
This is also a soft pitching matchup with San Francisco Giants righty Logan Webb searching for answers on the mound. He’s surrendered a beefy 49.1% hard-hit rate, and left-handed hitters have squared off for a .372 wOBA. Harper has also launched a pair of home runs against Webb while going 4-for-8 at the dish.
Time: 12:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NBCSP, NBCSBA
Andrew Abbott Over 4.5 strikeouts (-145)
With the Colorado Rockies sporting a 22nd-ranked wOBA and striking out at the second-highest clip against lefties, this is a solid bounce-back opportunity for Cincinnati Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott.
There’s no sugarcoating Abbott's poor start, but he’s set to improve on his unsustainable .351 BABIP and 63.9% strand rate, and his 8.3 K/9 and 22.2 K% across his first 75 career starts are well above his respective 5.97 and 14.3% marks to start 2026. Simply put, the Reds' lefty has sunnier days ahead.
Time: 12:40 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CINR, COLR
Neil Parker's 2026 Transparency Record
Prop picks: 7-3, +3.65 units
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
TORONTO, CANADA - APRIL 29: Brayan Bello #66 of the Boston Red Sox leaves the mound as he's pulled from the game in the fourth inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 29, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I’ve always been fascinated by disasters: Hurricanes, tornadoes, the Hindenburg, Titanic, 9/11, wars, engineering failures, the list goes on. The bigger this disaster, the more I’m drawn to it. They’re compelling not only because of the long list of factors that usually have to line up to cause the catastrophe, but also because they provide a blueprint into how to prepare for the next one, or even outright prevent it.
So I guess it’s rather perfect that I’m a fan of the Boston Red Sox. Few organizations in sports do disaster quite like this one. Even after four World Series titles in the John Henry era, this team still has that thing in their DNA that when they start going bad, things explode in spectacular and catastrophic fashion.
This April has been a special level of disaster across the board, and one of the disasters within the disaster has been Brayan Bello. I mean, what the hell is going on with this guy? He was a competent starter just last summer, and now he’s a straight up arsonist on the mound.
Yesterday, he went into the game against the Blue Jays with a 9.00 ERA, and it went UP! And if that wasn’t enough to raise your blood pressure, he pouted all the way off the mound when Chad Tracy went to go get him in an attempt to keep the game in hand (although some would argue that with this offense the score was already insurmountable).
Very, very quick hook for Brayan Bello at just 63 pitches. Shook his head for several seconds as Tracy made his way out to take the ball. Yikes.
There have been so many hideous surprises with the Sox this year that I don’t think we’ve really gotten enough time to fully digest how insanely terrible Brayan Bello has been out of the gate. It’s been one gutless performance after the next, and it usually comes attached with an attitude that’s been almost as lousy as the pitching.
In six starts, he has the second highest ERA of any Red Sox starter through that many games in a season in franchise history. He’s failed to make it through the five innings in all but one outing, he completely lost track of the count in the game in Houston, and the team has a run differential of negative 20 in his starts.
If you want to go back even further, this garbage started in his outing in the postseason last October against the Yankees when he was bounced after just 2.1 innings in a sneaky bleak and borderline abysmal performance. As I wrote in January about that game when I wanted to trade him:
Bello faced just 11 batters, failed to get five of them out, didn’t strike out a soul, couldn’t keep Ben Rice in the ballpark, and was largely saved from complete disaster by an Anthony Volpe double play in the second inning, and Alex Cora’s quick hook in the third.
This is crazy to think about when you consider Bello had a 3.32 ERA last year and made it through at least five innings in 23 of his 28 starts. Now he’s so terrible and unreliable, the Sox need to find a way to get him out of the rotation as soon as possible before he can do any more damage. He’s not just losing games, he’s making them completely unwinnable even if most of the rest of the roster would happen to do their job.
But of course, because this is Red Sox baseball and they’re prone to disasters, they pretty much have to let Brayan Bello make his next start with Garrett Crochet going on IL. Since the rotation is also without Johan Oviedo, Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Tyler Uberstine and has to wait until May 6th before Sonny Gray is eligible to come off the IL, it creates this really annoying dynamic over the next five games if you want to get Brayan Bello out of the rotation.
If you assume Jake Bennett makes his major league debut on Friday at Fenway and then the other three healthy starters just follow suit, it leaves you one game short of getting back to Gray’s date. Here’s how it breaks down with Bello having to fill that May 5th game in Detroit.
This is really annoying because with the off day today, it feels like there should be some way to manipulate things and get Bello off the carousel, but short of a rainout, there’s just one too many games to cover.
So it would seem the only other option here would be to go with a bullpen game since Bello pretty much makes every game he starts a mini bullpen game anyway, right?
Well, not exactly. If you take a look at the how opposing starters are lining up for the next handful of games, the Red Sox are once again likely to catch reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on the Monday, May 4th game. This presents Boston with a unique opportunity to pull off an Art of War trick by using today’s off day to move up Brayan Bello’s next start to Monday where he’d still be on normal rest. (And really, rest should be no problem because he only lasted 63 pitches in Wednesday’s atrocious outing anyway.)
I mean, if you likely to lose any game of that Detroit series where Skubal or Bello starts, why not put them on the same day? If your opponent has an Ace of Spades on the table, you might as well throw out your two of clubs if you have that option. Wouldn’t you much rather lose that Monday game 13-1 and reset things for the rest of the series instead of losing 3-2 on Monday and then something like 12-5 on Tuesday?
Also, Brayan Bello kind of deserves to be fed to the lions — Or I guess Tigers in this case. You put your teammates in a horrible situation time and time again? How about we put you in a horrible situation and make you face Skubal?
After that, if he stinks again and Jake Bennett and Payton Tolle look decent (with both guys going on extra rest in this proposed pitching plan), you can use one of the two options Bello has left and send his unreliable butt down the Mass Pike to Worcester.
Apr 28, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Fernando Cruz (63) reacts after the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The Yankees picked up their fourth consecutive series win, taking the first two games from the Rangers at Globe Life Field. The offense may have gotten on the plane back to New York early as they got shut out by Nathan Eovaldi in the series finale, but they can still be proud of a 7-2 showing on the road trip. All three games in Arlington turned into tense affairs, including on Tuesday night with Fernando Cruz on in relief.
We join Cruz facing former Yankees farmhand Ezequiel Duran in a high leverage jam in the bottom of the eighth. There are runners on first and second after he surrendered a Josh Jung single and Corey Seager walk to open the frame. However, he’s gotten two outs on a force out by Joc Pederson followed by a strikeout of Jake Burger to put him three strikes away from escaping this sticky situation.
After giving up the Jung single on a first-pitch four-seamer, it appeared that Cruz resolved to only throw his splitter for the rest of the inning.
This one is a doozy, looking like a low strike out of Cruz’s hand before falling off the table. He makes Duran look silly on a pitch that bounces just beyond home plate, the hitter clearly not expecting something off-speed to start the AB.
After Cruz induces such a wild swing and miss, Austin Wells sets a target in the exact same location looking to see if they can extract the same result.
I’m not certain that Cruz intended to throw this pitch here for a called strike — in fact as the age-old mantra “see it low, let it go; see it high, let it fly,” tells us, you generally do not want to throw your splitter up in the zone because those pitches can get launched a mile. However, it achieved the desired result, Duran giving up early on a pitch that looks high above the zone only for the late downward tilt to nip the top edge of the zone for the strike looking. The added bonus of landing your offspeed in the zone for a called strike is changing the hitter’s eye level, opening a lot more opportunity later in the AB for chase out of the zone.
Cruz immediately has the count leverage firmly in his favor, 0-2, and is just a strike away from escaping the jam unscathed. Duran has already shown a willingness to chase the splitter below the zone — Cruz just needs to execute a similar pitch to the first one he threw.
Cruz executes his pitch to the spot he intends, Duran just does a good job to adjust his bat-path mid-swing to spoil the splitter foul. If we’re being nitpicky, Cruz would ideally like this pitch about six inches lower in a location where Duran cannot make contact, but there was no harm done as the count remains 0-2.
It must be obvious to Duran at this point that Cruz is going to keep spamming splitters until he gets the out or Duran gets on base. It’s one thing knowing what pitch is coming, but Cruz’s splitter is so nasty with such late and abrupt downward movement that you’d be hard-pressed to do damage even knowing that it is coming.
Cruz rips off an absolute beauty of a splitter to finish off the AB. The pitch is on the bottom edge of the zone so Duran has to swing, but he’s nowhere close to making contact, whiffing to strand the base runners at first and second.
While the approach of throwing 16 straight splitters after the Jung leadoff single worked for Cruz in this case, you’d feel a lot more comfortable if Cruz had at least one more pitch that he trusted. The four-seamer is getting clobbered so far this season so you would think Cruz is the ideal candidate to incorporate the sinker that is doing the rounds across almost the entire Yankees pitching room. He’s never really trusted his slider in his two seasons in pinstripes despite the pitch exhibiting the eighth-most horizontal break vs. average of any slider in MLB. I feel that establishing a comfort level with one or both of those pitches can give Cruz another weapon while also increasing the effectiveness of the splitter.
The Yankees bullpen outside of Tim Hill has not done much to inspire a ton of confidence through the first month of games. Jake Bird throws too many of his breaking balls down the middle, you can reliably pencil Camilo Doval to give up a homer every appearance, and even David Bednar is an exhausting, edge-of-disaster experience closing out games. Cruz walks entirely too many batters (almost 18-percent!) to feel comfortable as the designated setup man. But if he can find another pitch he can reliably throw for strikes without getting crushed to set up the splitter, I’d feel a lot better about him in the eighth inning.
After playing 13 straight games, the Dodgers off day couldn’t come at a better time. The offense specifically needs time to regroup. After scoring a total of 22 runs against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, the Dodgers manages just eight runs total against the Miami Marlins, in which the Fish won 2-of-3 games at Dodger Stadium for the first time since 2018.
“I don’t think we’re collectively swinging the bats the way we were early,” Roberts said. “Sort of started in Colorado, I think. It’s one of those things where hitting is definitely cyclical. In total, we we’re at the top, near the top. The last 10 days, it just hasn’t been synced up. We just haven’t got those hits when we needed them.”
Cyclical is one way to put it. The Dodgers seemed like maybe they got their bats going in the hour game series at Coors Field, only to have them go cold again in San Francisco. Then they erupted again against the Cubs, and went flat against the Marlins.
Taking into account the pitchers they were facing, the Dodgers just haven’t had consistent, patient at bats. That is one of the tactics the Marlins deployed against the Dodgers, patience and working their at bats.
Even as the Marlins did their best to styme the Dodgers pitching staff, they only scored nine runs total over the series. An offense as high powered as the Dodgers’ should have had no problem scoring more than them in at least two if not all of the games.
Doug Padilla of the OC Register covers many of the ways the Dodgers are currently slumping at the plate.
Freddie Freeman is one of the Dodgers currently most Going Through It. In his last seven games, Freeman has as many strikeouts as he has hits. He also owns a .138 BA over that same time span.
“I would have fixed it by now if I knew,” he said through gritted teeth when asked what the problem was. “I had pitches to hit. I just didn’t hit ’em. I mean, I had strikes, I swung at the strikes, I didn’t hit the strikes, so…”
Freeman’s at bat in the bottom of the ninth resulted in a bizarre double play which ended the game in the Marlins’ favor. Just another, albeit odd, example of the Dodgers leaving multiple men in scoring position.
Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times details other players that are also slumping, which unfortunately right now seems to be most of the lineup.
The Dodgers are hoping that the upcoming road trip to St. Louis and Houston will help their offense get back on track, and back up their pitching staff who has been holding up their end of the bargain.
The Mets got blown out by the Nationals behind duel stinkers by David Peterson and Sean Manaea. The loss drops them to 10-20, which is the worst record in all of baseball.
Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez exited the game early after getting hit by a pitch on the elbow and will undergo further testing to get it evaluated.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 29: Cade Smith #36 and Bo Naylor #23 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrate the team's 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field on April 29, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With yesterday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cleveland Guardians are back to a .500 record and back to the top of the AL Central. Gavin Williams pitched a phenomenal game yesterday in the 3-1 victory on 4 days of rest. The recap can be read here.
The Guardians are off today as the team travels out west to face off against the Oakland Athletics in a 3 game weekend series.
Nick and Quincy are exploring the questions we’ve all been asking; What’s wrong with Steven Kwan/Chase DeLauter.
Guardians beat reporter, Tim Stebbins, put out a piece looking at where the team is at in regards to the offense after a month of baseball.
Around the League:
The Braves walked it off against the Tigers. The Tigers are now 1 game under .500 and 0.5 games back in the AL Central.
CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 13: Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Ike Irish (97) and Infielder Wehiwa Aloy (95) walk back to the dugout before the spring training game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 13, 2026 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s almost impressive that the Tides lineup managed to go 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, largely squandering their nine hits and five walks. Jud Fabian drove in two of the runs with his sixth home run of the year. He also walked once and scored twice. Creed Willems and Jhonkensy Noel had one RBI apiece. Jonathan Rodríguez and Christian Encarnacion-Strand each had two hits. Encarancion-Strand added a walk and now has a .905 OPS on the year.
There was some good and some bad on the mound. Nestor German started and deliver four mixed innings. He only allowed one run on three hits and two strikeouts, but also issued six walks. Dietrich Enns coughed up a run over two innings while striking out three. Alex Pham also allowed one run in his two frames. But it was Josh Walker that really struggled, recording just two outs and allowing four runs, which included a walk-off three-run shot.
Chesapeake had just four hits. One of them was a home run by Aron Estrada, his third of the year. Adam Retzbach and Ethan Anderson contributed one double and one run apiece. Thomas Sosa had the team’s only other RBI.
Five different Baysox took the mound in this one. Luis De León started and went 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits, three walks, four strikeouts, and two home runs. His ERA is up to 6.52 on the year. Micah Ashman had the most impressive outing of the day, striking out three over 1.2 shutout innings. Yaqui Rivera followed with a perfect frame, setting down all three batters he faced on strikes. Eric Torres gave up two runs (one earned) over 1.2 innings before Carlos Tavera recorded the final out of the eighth inning.
High-A: Frederick Keys 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 0
All but one Frederick hitter reached based at least once in the winning effort. Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy both hit their four home runs of the season. Irish’s was a two-run shot while Aloy’s was just a solo. Colin Tuft had two hits, a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored. Victor Figueroa doubled and drove in a run. Braylin Tavera went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Leandro Arias walked twice and stole a bag.
The Keys pitchers had a great day. JT Quinn delivered five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out five. Michael Caldon worked 2.2 shutout innings in relief. Joe Glassey wrapped up the game by recording the final four outs, which included three strikeouts.
Low-A: Hill City Howlers (Guardians) 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 0
The Shorebirds’ tough season continued here. Their lineup collected just two hits, both of which were singles. Joshua Liranzo and Andrés Nolaya had one each. DJ Layton, the team’s lead-off hitter, did walk twice, but he was also picked off and caught stealing after one of them. The team went hitless in the five at-bats they had with a runner in scoring position.
Brayan Orrantia allowed four runs in his 4.2 innings of work, but only two of the runs were earned due to the three errors that the Delmarva defense made behind him. Orrantia made one of the errors himself. Adrian Heredia allowed one of the runners he inherited to score but then worked 1.1 shutout innings of his own. Riley Cooper struck out four over two perfect frames. Kenny Leiner came on in the ninth to pitch and allowed the two batters he faced to reach base before rain ended the game right there.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies in action during an at bat in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It hasn’t all been perfect, however. Tyler Freeman, TJ Rumfield, and Kyle Karros have shown some good signs amongst their overall mixed start, but the list of outright disappointments for this team so far is astonishingly small.
Given his track record the biggest underperformance so far for the 2026 Rockies is probably Ezequiel Tovar and the .193/.228/.294 triple slash line he had heading into Wednesday.
The obvious answer as to what is holding Tovar’s offensive potential back is easy to diagnose: He chases too many pitches outside the zone. So far this season, he leads the league in terms of swinging at pitches outside the zone with a mind boggling 48.7% chase rate.
That’s right, Tovar is swinging at just under half of the would-be balls he sees.
The thing is, that’s not really too different from his career averages.
Swinging at pitches he shouldn’t be has been Tovar’s most obvious flaw for his entire career. During his 3.7 fWAR season in 2024, he had a 44.1% Chase %, which was second in MLB behind only Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox. It has been worse in 2026, but not by a significant margin that would explain the stark difference in productivity between the two seasons.
What’s interesting is that Tovar is actually making contact with pitches outside the zone more than he ever has. His chase contact rate has ballooned from being in the 46-48% range each of the past three seasons all the way up to 57.9% so far this year.
That sounds like a good thing. However, simply making contact with the ball does not necessarily mean it’s just a matter of time before his BABIP luck evens out. That may be some of it — as his overall BABIP is noticeably lower than his career average — but the quality of the contact also needs to be addressed.
In 2026, he is fouling off 25.1% of all pitches he sees while all of his previous seasons were in the 22% range. To go along with that spike in foul balls, his hard hit % has dropped nearly 3%, his average exit velocity has decreased nearly 2 mph, and his line drive percentage has dropped nearly 7%.
The biggest year-over-year change in Tovar’s stat line is his first-pitch swing percentage. In 2024, Tovar began 68.2% of his plate appearances with a strike, in 2025 he did so on 66.4%, and so far in 2026, it has been a truly wild 77.2%. That is a substantial increase, and all of it is accounted for by his 12.9% increase in first-pitch swings up to 59.6%.
Essentially, Tovar seems to be firing at the first pitch, finding himself behind in the count, and quickly adopting a two-strike mentality where he tries to fight off all the borderline pitches. This is a recipe for lots of contact without any productive results to show for it.
The solution is clearly for him to get better plate discipline, see the ball better, and make better swing decisions.
That’s much easier said than done.
We’ve now got over three seasons worth of data on Tovar, and it’s safe to say his poor plate discipline is part of his game and here to stay. He’s not suddenly going to become a patient hitter.
With all of that being said, the place to start is probably trying to get him to agree to simply not swing at the first pitch unless it’s a meatball right down the middle. This would likely give him some breathing room later in the count and reduce the strikeout pressure on every pitch. That one simple change is likely not a magic bullet to solve all of his problems but it absolutely would help.
A close game in which the Isotopes fell just short of catching up to the early runs from the Chihuahuas. Parker Mushinkski did not perform well as the opener and was pulled after only two outs and three runs. Gabriel Hughes pitched the bulk of the innings and allowed another four runs alongside eight strikeouts. The offensive side was more favorable with both Sterlin Thompson and Cole Carrigg reaching base three times and Carrigg even stole three bags.
Pitching and the long ball was the story of the night in Reading. The Yard Goats scored six runs on only six hits and five walks thanks to home runs from all of Bryant Betancourt, Aidan Longwell, and Roc Riggio. On the mound Konnor Eaton, Carlos Torres, Austin Smith, and Sam Weatherly completed the nine inning relay race only allowing two runs while striking out twelve despite none of them pitching more than four innings.
Jeff Criswell made his first official appearance on a rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery early last year. Given that it was his first appearance back, the two runs allowed were less important a measure than simply the fact that he was able to get through a full inning. He was followed by six great innings from Jackson Cox who struck out nine and only allowed one more run. At the plate, the best performance was from Tevin Tucker who had a walk, double, and stolen base.
This wasn’t quite a pitchers duel. JB Middleton walked six in 2.2 innings to start off the game for the Yard Goats but Seth Clausen did record a perfect two inning save to preserve the lineup’s hard work. At the plate there were more good performances than not: Clayton Gray was on base four times, Clayton Fossum had two doubles, Roldy Brito had a couple hits including a double. The thing you really want to see, however, is Ethan Holliday at the plate with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Seth Dowdle takes a quick look at Edouard Julien’s career leading up to his trade to Colorado this offseason and how that has led into his hot start with the Rockies. Dowdle gives credit to the Paul DePodesta-led front office for identifying Julien as exactly the type of bat this team needed.
Mark Knudson, on the other hand, gives credit where it’s due to the Bill Schmidt-led front office for having taken a chance on Mickey Moniak after a poor start to his career. Knudson makes the case that Moniak could end up being the Rockies representative at the All-Star game this year, which is only really in question because of how many other players are also off to hot starts.
Thomas Harding talked with Ryan Feltner about being placed on the Injured List and his next steps. Feltner does not make his injury sound overly serious and appears to be attempting to follow in the footsteps of José Quintana and Kyle Freeland with a minimum stay on the IL.
Apr 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) does an interview with reporter Wiley Ballard after a walk-off two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
In case you weren’t watching, the NL East leading Braves won yet another baseball game last night. They will end April without losing a series. And Matt Olson won it in the ninth. In case you haven’t seen it, where have you been?
Let’s take it all in again. There aren’t a lot of pictures in the CMS for this, but the ones in there are great. I’ll add a few screengrabs. First, watch the usher/support staff guy. He was the second one to know it was gone.
These blurry images of the guy beside him in the Clemson/Auburn themed Braves hat.
This one goes straight into the Louvre.
Here’s Olson, about as animated as you will see him.
Yordan Alvarez
Bryce Harper
Andrew Abbott
