CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 07: Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals reacts during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 07, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the second inning, Rookie of the Year candidate Carter Jensen crushed a belt-high cutter to the empty right field bleachers for a line drive home run. The homer was Jensen’s third of the year, and put the Royals ahead 1-0 against their divisional rivals, the Guardians.
But that hit turned out to be the only Royals hit all afternoon. When you only get one hit, you’re gonna lose the game, and lose the game the Royals did in a 2-1 final score.
Granted, today’s game was a little odd. The Royals are speedrunning weird weather games, with their 13-run rainfest victory against the Twins last Wednesday an unusually wet and foggy contest as one example. Today’s contest was another example, and Nick Kappel—the Royals’ Director of Media Relations—pointed out that this was the third-coldest first pitch temperature at a balmy 33 degrees. Cleveland, baby!
Coldest 1st-pitch temperatures in @Royals history:
29° April 7, 2007 vs. DET 32° April 8, 2018 at CLE 33° April 7, 2026 (TODAY!) at CLE
Royals batters weren’t totally barred from the experience of running the bases. Kansas City actually drew eight walks, with seven different batters netting their free pass to first base. But no one could get a hit. A little of this was bad luck, as other than Jensen’s home run the Royals had four batted balls with an expected batting average of .570 or better and all of them turned into outs. Of course, the Guardians—miserable little luck merchant gremlins that they are—got hits on all six of their batted balls with an expected average of .570 or better.
Kansas City had their best chance in the eighth inning with one out, Bobby Witt Jr. walked and stole second base. Vinnie Pasquantino walked, and then Witt and pinch runner Lane Thomas executed a double steal. But Salvador Perez had popped up just before, and Jensen struck out immediately after.
And with Matt Strahm and Lucas Erceg unavailable today, and with Carlos Estevez on the injured list, manager Matt Quatraro was forced to turn to his fourth-best reliever in the ninth inning. Predictably, Cleveland was able to do damage against John Shcreiber, effortlessly sandwiching a walk between a pair of singles to squeeze a runner across and excite all 16 remaining fans in attendance.
Hey, Noah Cameron was really good! He threw 5.2 innings, striking out five against one walk and one run. Unfortunately, the Kansas City offense seems intent on forcing their starters to throw near-perfect games for a chance at winning; they came into today with a .653 OPS with runners in scoring position and a .589 OPS in high-leverage situations. Sooner or later, they’ll need to do some damage.
Also, whoever replaced Bobby Witt Jr. with Alcides Escobar, please put them back. It’s getting a little old.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - APRIL 1: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers gets set to throw a pitch in the fifth inning during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 1, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for April 7, 2026 against the Seattle Mariners: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and George Kirby for the M’s.
Texas faces Seattle in game two of their series in Arlington. Ezequiel Duran is starting at third base in place of Josh Jung. Duran also pinch ran for Jung last night in the eighth inning after Jung singled to lead off the inning, and I’m guessing Jung is dealing with some sort of leg issue.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Langford — LF
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
Pederson — DH
Carter — CF
Higashioka — C
Josh Smith — 2B
Duran — 3B
7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +105 underdogs.
WHERE ARE THE RUNS?: The Cubs have scored more than one run in only two of their last 41 innings: a two-run inning Sunday and another yesterday. They have had only one other crooked-number inning in their last 54: five runs last Wednesday. That makes a total of three multi-run innings in their last six games. They had six in their first four games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
IT HAPPENED THEN, TOO: The 2007 Cubs started 4-6 and wound up as NL Central champions. Three other times, the team began 4-6 and won 90+ games: 1937 (93), 1912 (91) and 1904 (93).
THE NICO FILES: Nico Hoerner continues to lead the NL in doubles with five, but the team’s total of 12 doubles ranks tied for 26th in MLB.
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Mark Grace’s bases-loaded ninth-inning single gave the Cubs a 5-4 walkoff win over the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. It happened 30 years ago today, Sunday, April 7, 1996.
Today was supposed to be Matthew Boyd’s rotation turn, but as you likely know, he went in the injured list yesterday with a bicep strain. Hopefully he won’t be out too long.
With Javier Assad, you know what you’re getting — five, maybe six innings, not too many runs, not too many walks, a lot of ground balls. The latter is fine considering the Cubs’ excellent infield defense.
Jake Fraley, a new member of the Rays this year, is 5-for-13 (.385) vs. Assad with a home run.
The pitch chart below for Assad is from 2025, as today will be his first 2026 MLB appearance.
Like the Cubs, the Rays had to pivot from their original starter for today, Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen is with his wife, awaiting the birth of their first child.
Thus Mason Englert is going to start this game, and he’s likely a opener for a Rays bullpen day. Englert has never faced the Cubs; only a couple of Cubs have ever faced him, including Alex Bregman (2-for-2).
As you can see by the pitch chart below, Englert has a varied selection of pitches, though he doesn’t throw particularly hard. He has appeared three times this year, maxing out at 24 pitches.
Please visit our SB Nation Rays site Drays Bay. If you do go there to interact with Rays fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Oct 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering (50) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning during game one of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Phillies’ bullpen, which has been quite strong of late, is about to get another reinforcement to help shorten up games.
Prior to tonight’s game against SF, the Phillies returned RHP Orion Kerkering from his rehab assignment with LHV (AAA) and reinstated him from the 15-day IL. To make room for him on the 26-man roster, LHP Kyle Backhus was optioned to LHV following last night’s game.
We know the last time that Orion Kerkering set foot on a major league mound, bad things happened for him and for the Phillies. However, the way the bullpen is currently constructed, he shouldn’t have to worry about high leverage situations any time soon. There are others ahead of him in the pecking order and that’s alright.
Kyle Backhus, after a rough Opening Day appearance, has been better with each subsequent appearance, yet with his option remaining, was the odd man out.
On The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo break down this week in New York baseball, including the injury to Juan Soto and the offensive outburst from Bo Bichette and Mark Vientos.
The guys then take a look at the bullpen's success so far and put a spotlight on Clay Holmes' start to the season before going Down on the Farm to determine if it is too early to talk about Elian Peña.
Later, Connor and Joe update their scoreboard predictions and open the Mailbag to answer questions about Carson Benge and Nate Lavender.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Boston, MA - April 6: Boston Red Sox right fielder Roman Anthony fields the ball in the eighth inning. The Red Sox played the Milwaukee Brewers at Fenway Park on April 6, 2026. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Among all the disasters baked into the Red Sox’ cake of calamity that’s defined the early part of this season, there’s one reoccurring theme that has me shook. Granted, this level of concern should probably be reserved for things like the “give a damn about baseball” vs. “give a damn about what the private equity folks have to say” balance that runs from the top down in this organization. Or perhaps it should targeted towards the struggles of the starting rotation, which is supposed to be the strength of the team. Or maybe even the constant low IQ baseball plays we see from a seemingly new character on a daily basis.
But you know what horrifying development just won’t leave my mind after these first ten games? Roman Anthony’s anemic arm. Everything about this situation feels disquieting, and the somber reality is it has the potential to cut deep into both the present and future of the Red Sox if the issue isn’t fixable.
Simply put, Roman Anthony is the embodiment of where the Red Sox are going as a franchise. Fans already adore him, ownership hitched their wagon to the tantalizing upside and gave him an eight year extension, and he’s rapidly becoming a household name on a national level. Just last night, the Sox were giving out Roman Anthony bobbleheads, and they were gone almost two hours before first pitch.
The Red Sox game starts at 6:45PM and they ran out of Roman Anthony bobbleheads at 5PM.
So given who he is and what he already means to this organization, we need to take a closer look at what’s going on with Roman Anthony’s arm. To keep it bearable (because this is hard stuff to watch), we’ll look at one throw from each of the first four series of the year, starting with this one against the Reds when Cincinnati walked off game 2 of the season:
On one hand, this was a horrible throw. But at the same time, it didn’t raise any alarm bells. It would have taken an absolute cannon to get the speedy TJ Freidl, and Anthony probably had to rush it given the do-or-die nature of the situation. It was one bad throw in one bad game that wasn’t going to define the player or the season. Move on, right?
So this throw wasn’t nearly as bad as the weak, wobbly worm ball from the weekend, but something about it really bothered me. In the context of the game, it represented a missed opportunity to throw a guy out at the plate, and given the fact the Red Sox were on their way to losing their fourth straight, they really could have used a highlight reel play from their young superstar to change momentum. It would have been yet another version of “Wow! Roman Anthony saved Boston’s bacon again. This guy’s awesome!”
But in the grand scheme of things, it’s more than that. This throw still wasn’t even close, and it got me thinking “Roman Anthony just made two of the worst throws I’ve ever seen him make in the last four games. Something’s wrong here.” So since it’s Freak-Out season, I went to the most rationale place on Earth to share my thoughts: Twitter!
Roman Anthony's arm was way, way better last year compared to what we've seen on these first few plays of 2026. None of the possible reasons for this are good.
At first I thought the reason might be an injury. I spent A LOT of time watching Roman Anthony’s journey through the minors, and I can’t ever remember him making a pair of such poor defensive plays so close together. He never struck me as a gold glover, but he was always more than adequate regardless of where you put him in the outfield. Good Ol reliable Roman!
Hell, even now he has a +8 career Defensive Runs Saved number in just 58 big league games in the outfield. That’s great stuff!
Knowing that, something is clearly wrong here. And the Red Sox took notice, too, because in each of the next four games, Anthony didn’t start in the outfield. In the series finale against the Astros, he started the day on the bench, and despite a pinch hit homer in the late innings, he never took the field. Then against the Padres, he started all three days at DH, which is extremely noteworthy because, since being called up last June, this is the first time the Sox had ever done that with Anthony. In fact, they only even started him at DH in back to back games twice last season.
But of course, starting at DH doesn’t mean finishing at DH, and Anthony ended up in left field for one crucial frame during ninth inning after Andruw Monasterio pinch hit for Jarren Duran in the 8th. Right away, the baseball gods found his arm and inflicted more punishment:
If Anthony’s arm issues are a mental and mechanical thing, this could not have gone any worse! The Sox tried to work him out of the role for a few days to steady the ship behind the scenes, and instead he gets shuffled right back into the deck for one critical inning and immediately gets a throwing error attached to his name. Yikes!
To take this one step further, it doesn’t appear to be an injury thing. As Red Sox Stats pointed out on Monday, Anthony’s strongest throw of the season is right up there with Wilyer Abreu’s.
2026 max throw speed from the outfielders
91 mph – Wilyer Abreu 91 mph – Roman Anthony 87 mph – Ceddanne Rafaela 83 mph – Masataka Yoshida 81 mph – Jarren Duran
Instead, this appears to be a bug that’s crawled right inside Anthony’s head, and now, he can’t shake it. Even worse, other teams have noticed and are picking on him like a wounded animal, ready to drown the distressed star his own nightmare. All of this culminated in last night’s game against the Brewers when Anthony unleashed whatever this hideous thing was during a tied game in the eighth inning:
This is what a complete meltdown looks like. Anthony started fielding this ball when the runner was three steps from third, and the Brewers said we don’t think you can make that throw with whatever it is you’ve got going on right now — and boy were they right! This challenge rattled Roman Anthony to his core in a way I just can’t remember him ever getting rattled since he put on a Red Sox uniform. He just completely locked up and couldn’t make a remotely competitive thrown. His footwork fell apart, his body was pointed the wrong direction, and I’m sure his head was filled with demons.
If you’re able to take your eyes off the wayward ball on that reply in the second shot above, you can vaguely see Anthony put his hand in front of his mouth as the ball heads to the backstop as if to say “Huh? I can’t believe I just did that.”
So now the question is where do we go from here, and unfortunately, there’s no easy answers. If it’s the yips, and that’s clearly what this looks like given the wide variety of velocity on all of his throws, we just have to hope Roman can fight through it and beat this thing. If he can’t, it severely damages what he can become as a player, instantly sabotaging the above average jumps he gets and routes he takes on fly balls. You go from Anthony’s ceiling being an above average outfield defender as a top notch bat to a really, really good DH, and I don’t even want to think about all the ramifications that could have right now.
In fact, I’m still just trying to digest how sad he looked in the dugout after the game last night:
But man, sometimes these gremlins get guys. Remember how Jon Lester completely lost the ability to throw accurately to first base despite displaying pinpoint control when firing the ball 60 feet, six inches? He was at least able to battle through that by getting enough guys out at the plate, but for an outfielder, there’s really no way to deal with this thing besides facing it head on and beating it.
Worse yet, it’s something that’s incredibly difficult to prepare for. You can’t build up a routine leading into a high pressure moment like you would for a plate appearance when you’re 0-20 or something. You just need to be ready to fix it all of the time despite potentially going days without getting a chance to show off how you worked on the skill. When the monster is mental, it’s not easy!
And if this thing does get our golden boy, I’m going to be furious at this organization, even though there’s no way to definitely prove how the yips start. The Red Sox have anointed Roman Anthony the savior and put everything on him! They put him at the top of the lineup, they locked him up long-term on a team friendly deal, they gave him no real right handed protection to bat behind him, they’ve marketed him as “The guy!” and they just keep stacking more and more stuff on his plate like he’s this universal get out of jail free card for the way they’ve behaved as a franchise for the last handful of years.
So I can’t help but wonder, what if these throws are how all of the pressure is manifesting itself? What if Roman Anthony in working his tail off to balance his role as leadoff hitter at the plate and new leader in the clubhouse as a 21-year-old managed to hold it all together for that, but then cracked in this manner because they want him to be Mr. Everything? Could this just be the ridiculous load they’ve put on him finally being too much to bear?
Ideally, this Roman will find a way to fight off the soul sucking barbarian coming for his defensive career. He’ll even learn from the experience — like he does everything else, come back stronger, and put it so far in the past we’ll just laugh when we look back in the future. But at this point, I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t concerned. The Red Sox need Roman Anthony to be the best version of himself, and for the first time, there’s a legitimate and obvious obstacle in his way he’s struggling to negotiate.
So how concerned should we be about Roman Anthony’s throws? I honestly don’t know, and that’s kind of the scariest thing of all.
JERSEY CITY, NJ - MARCH 30: The sun rises behind the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City on March 30, 2026, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS
METS
Ketel Marte – 2B
Francisco Lindor – SS
Corbin Carroll – RF
Bo Bichette – 3B
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Jorge Polanco – DH
Gabriel Moreno – C
Luis Robert – CF
Adrian Del Castillo – DH
Brett Baty – RF
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Mark Vientos – 1B
Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Alek Thomas – CF
Carson Benge – LF
Jorge Barrosa – LF
Francisco Alvarez – C
Zac Gallen – RHP
Freddy Peralta – RHP
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
Selected from Triple-A Reno: INF Luken Baker (No. 21)
Placed on 10-day injured list: INF Carlos Santana (strained right adductor; retro to April 6)
Transferred to the 60-day injured list: INF/OF Jordan Lawlar (fractured right wrist)
As expected, Santana goes onto the IL, with Lawlar going to the 60-day IL due to his broken wrist. That now gives Arizona seven players on that. Baker was signed as a minor-league free-agent in January. He was originally a Cardinals draft pick, and appeared 73 times for them over the past three seasons. Baker was picked off waivers by the Dodgers in August, but didn’t play in Los Angeles and was released in November. With Tyler Locklear, Pavin Smith and Santana now all on the injured list, Baker gets his chance. He hasn’t impressed in the bigs to date, with a line of .206/.317/.338 for a .655 OPS (83 OPS+). The right-handed hitter turned 29 last month. Needs must.
According to the weather forecast, the temperature at first pitch this afternoon in New York is going to be 48F, although it will feel like 40F. Quite glad for the team that they moved this one up, because at 7 pm, the “feels like” temperature would be a disturbing 30F – and you can take a few degrees off that over the course of the evening. Definitely a shock to the system to fly from Phoenix, where the high on Sunday was a balmy 96F. I hope none of the Diamondbacks shatter when they get off the plane. Maybe they’ll end up setting fire to the dugout at Citi Field to keep warm.
Caleb Durbin (3B Red Sox): Rostered in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues
Durbin was a surprising trade target for the Red Sox after they failed to re-sign Alex Bregman and struck out on acquiring Isaac Paredes from the Astros. Coming off a surprisingly successful rookie season in Milwaukee, he figured to be a keeper for the thrifty Brewers. Probably the fact that they made him available in the first place should have been a red flag. Just two weeks in, getting Kyle Harrison and David Hamilton for him already looks like a bit of a heist.
⚾️ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
Admittedly, this isn’t reading as much of a recommendation so far. But while Durbin’s future as a major league regular should be in some doubt, the Red Sox are going to give him an extended opportunity here. Durbin’s big issue this year is that he’s been hitting too many grounders, something that hasn’t been a problem previously. Once he solves that, he and the Green Monster should become fast friends. Durbin can’t hit 400-foot flies with any regularity, but 340-360 foot shots to left should be pretty common. He was in the 68th percentile in pulled fly ball rate last year, and as rarely as he strikes out, getting back to that make for a bunch of doubles.
The Red Sox offense has been dreadful so far, but this still projects to be an above average group. While Durbin was dropped from sixth to seventh in the lineup on Monday, he might just wind up batting second once he heats up some; the Red Sox need a right-handed hitter there and he's certainly better suited than Trevor Story for the spot. He’ll have a decent enough average in the end and probably swipe 15-20 bases. He’s not someone who should be sitting on the waiver wire in standard leagues.
Garrett Mitchell (OF Brewers): Rostered in 15 percent of Yahoo leagues
The strikeout-prone Mitchell remains a flawed player, and it sounds like he might have been sent down this spring if it had been manager Pat Murphy’s choice (though he might have gotten his spot back anyway with Jackson Chourio hurt).
Pat Murphy with an honest take on Garrett Mitchell: "I was the first one to believe that Garrett wasn't ready. He had really poor results in spring training, but the front office was really adamant that this guy can be our best player and in a lot of ways I was skeptical."
Since the season started, however, Mitchell has been a beast, hitting .333 with a homer and three steals in nine games. He’s currently tied for first in the majors with 13 RBI. Mitchell has struck out 41 percent of the time, but eight of his 15 balls in play have been hard hit, with six of those topping 106 mph off the bat.
In the long run, Mitchell is going to strike out too often to hit for quality average. However, the power is certainly legit, as is his basestealing ability. He’s struggled mightily to stay healthy since first arriving in Milwaukee in 2022, but he has a career 116 OPS+ and is 26-for-32 stealing bases in 150 games. Even though he’ll probably need to be dropped at some point, there’s no way he should be unrostered in 85 percent of leagues right now. Pick him up and enjoy it while it lasts.
Caleb Kilian (RP Giants): Rostered in one percent of Yahoo leagues
Very little was made of Kilian returning to the Giants organization in December, 4 ½ years after he and Alexander Canario were traded to the Cubs for Kris Bryant in a deadline deal. Kilian was a fine rotation prospect at the time, but he never mastered Triple-A and then missed much of the last two seasons before showing some ability in a stint in the Iowa down the stretch. He was averaging 96 mph with his fastball then, up about one mph from his peak as a starter and 2.5 mph from his couple of appearances with the Cubs in 2024. When he arrived this spring, he was up to 97.5 mph, and he’s maintained that velocity in throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season.
With his fastball working so well, Kilian’s cutter has at least temporarily vanished from his arsenal. It was his most used pitch this year, and he was still throwing it regularly this spring. However, he’s taken to featuring his curve as his No. 2 pitch, and it’s easy to see why.
Kilian is probably a big injury risk, given his recent shoulder problems and the velocity spike. He also hasn’t actually pitched with a lead yet in his five appearances, though he got into his biggest situation yet in Monday’s loss and fared well. Still, he has the best stuff in a lousy Giants bullpen. Manager Tony Vitello has already showed he’s not married to Ryan Walker in the closer’s role, and that’s probably for the best, especially with Walker’s velocity down one mph from last year; he’s thus far gotten one whiff on 30 swings. If Kilian doesn't have to be snatched up in mixed leagues just yet, he’s well worth keeping an eye on. If he gets a chance and turns in a couple of scoreless eighth innings and Walker remains shaky, he might quickly become the man for the Giants.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- The White Sox didn't call up prospect Sam Antonacci to replace the injured Austin Hays on Tuesday, but maybe they would have had Hays waited another couple of weeks to strain his hammy. Antonacci is still learning left field after playing exclusively in the infield prior to this year, but he's opened up 9-for-26 with two homers and a 3/8 K/BB in seven games for Triple-A Charlotte. He's also 4-for-4 stealing bases after going 48-for-58 last year. The power probably isn't going to be there in the majors, but if he gets a chance to start regularly for the White Sox, he might steal enough bases to be pretty useful.
- Off to the hotter start in Triple-A, Juan Brito (.314/.405/.457) got the nod over Travis Bazzana (.212/.316/.394) to serve as Gabriel Arias's replacement in Cleveland. Neither are options at shortstop while Arias is out, so that wasn't a factor. With Bazzana locked in at second base for Columbus, Brito had started six games at third and two at first to begin the year. Brito, a switch-hitter, looked like he might be the Guardians' long-term second baseman before Bazzana was drafted first overall two years ago. He's an iffier prospect now after missing most of last year, but his great approach helps make up for his lack of power potential. He's probably not going to be much of a factor in fantasy leagues this time around.
It is a little early to be looking at underlying data for positives to take away but after the way these 1o games have gone I needed to look for my own sanity and figured I would put the positives out into the world to hopefully will the Jays bats into scoring some runs.
Below I have listed the first four Blue Jays hitters in this series looking at underlying data for positives, I will be looking at Blue Jays hitters in order of plate appearances from the most to the fewest.
some were a lot easier to find a positive for than others…..
George Springer 150/261/325 – 72 WRC+
Not a good sign that by starting with the leader in PAs also lead to one of the harder bats to find much positive underlying data, due to Springer’s age my immediate concern was bat speed as last season’s major bounce back also came along with a fairly large jump in bat speed increasing from an average of 71.9 during the 2024 season to 73.7 during the 2025 season.
The good news is Springer is still showing the improved bat speed averaging 73.4 so far this season but his main issue has been in squaring up the ball when he hits it ending up with far too many lazy flyballs and infield pop ups. Generally this could be good news for Springer as batted ball spray angles is an extremely noisy stat over a small sample so it is very possible even likely that this will improve and with him still showing the higher bat speed from last season once he gets his spray angle more in line the positive offensive numbers should follow.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 265/419/353 – 126 WRC+
I had already mentioned this in a comment yesterday but Guerrero has already looked to come out of his early season singles fest over the past few games in fact since April 1st he is tied for 2nd in MLB with 4 barrels and out of players with at least 20 PAs over that time he is 4th in Barrel%.
Unfortunately for Guerrero and the Jays he does not have a lot to show for it yet, this season the league as a whole is hitting 648/639/2,131 on balls in play classified as a Barrel.
Guerrero however is hitting 200/200/800 on his 5 barrels with a BABIP of 000, Guerrero’s only Barrel this season that didn’t find a glove was his HR against the White Sox.
With Guerrero barreling the ball a lot more often over the next week he is likely very close to an extended stretch where those balls fall in or land on the other side of the fence.
Kazuma Okamoto 263/349/421 -125 WRC+
Okamoto is 10 games into his MLB career so on the surface a 125 WRC+ is a pretty nice start!
Unfortunately it has come with an unsustainably high K rate of 41.9%….
Okamoto does deserve some time to get acclimated to MLB and the MLB ball as the pitchers in MLB are much stronger than average compared to the NPB and the baseball has some differences which affects the movement on pitches.
The good news is while is whiff rate is elevated based on his history I would expect this to come down as he gets more comfortable against MLB pitching and he could also cut down on the Ks by being more aggressive on in zone pitches.
Over in Japan it was probably much easier to get away with a low in zone swing rate because the pitchers there didn’t have the pitches to put Okamoto away but in MLB where the pitchers have better stuff he will likely need to adjust his approach a bit to be more aggressive on in zone pitches.
Currently Okamoto has a Called Strike% of 23.1% which last season would have ranked 143rd of 145 qualified batters, Okamoto’s contact quality in his brief MLB career has been well above average to elite so I believe once he gets the approach locked in and more experience he should be more than fine as an MLB hitter.
Ernie Clement 293/293/366 – 88 WRC+
Clement has actually been pretty close to what I would expect from him, he has been swinging often and putting the ball in play a ton without doing much damage which comes with major fluctuations in outcomes depending on his BABIP.
The good news is he has already hit a ball harder than any ball he did last season and his hard hit% is 4.8% higher than it has ever been in his career, if he keeps swinging it and making contact like he always has and can keep up the slightly higher hard hit rate he should be right back around the mid to high 90s for his WRC+ sooner than later.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - APRIL 1: Freddy Peralta #51 of the New York Mets delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on April 1, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mets lineup
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Jorge Polanco – DH
Luis Robert – CF
Brett Baty – RF
Mark Vientos – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Carson Benge – LF
Francisco Alvarez – C
SP: Freddy Peralta – RHP
Diamondbacks lineup
Ketel Marte – 2B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Gabriel Moreno – C
Adrian Del Castillo – DH
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
Alek Thomas – CF
Jorge Barrosa – LF
SP: Zac Gallen – RHP
Broadcast info
First pitch: 4:10 PM ET TV: SNY Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
Sep 7, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) walks to the pitcher's mound during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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We are almost two weeks into the Dodgers season, and to date the Dodgers have used eight relievers regularly. This does not include Justin Wrobleski’s lone four-inning relief appearance before he joined the six-man rotation, nor does it count position player Miguel Rojas pitching the final inning of Monday’s blowout win in Toronto.
Things have been mostly stable thus far in the bullpen. But, if you were to make a change in the bullpen, which reliever would you like to see come to Los Angeles from Oklahoma City?
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 6: Nick Castellanos #21 of the San Diego Padres hits an RBI double in the fourth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 6, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The last few days have made it feel good to be a San Diego Padres fan again.
The Friar Faithful have been rewarded after a floundering first week with a three-game win streak. After winning their first series of the year against the Boston Red Sox, they won their first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-0.
And although the offense has been producing much more consistently, by far, the greatest part of yesterday’s game was starter Germán Márquez pitching five shutout innings against a Pittsburgh lineup that has been hot.
After a difficult debut at Petco Park last week, Márquez gave the Friars exactly what they needed: some breathing room for the bullpen.
With Walker Buehler only going 2 2/3 innings in Sunday’s game, the relievers were leaned on heavily. There was a worry going into yesterday’s game that Márquez wouldn’t last long enough to give the relievers adequate rest.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and San Diego was able to ride the pitching staff’s shutout to a Padres’ victory.
Taking the mound
Paul Skenes (PIT) v. Nick Pivetta (SD)
Skenes had a rough go of it on Opening Day, surrendering five runs in only 2/3 innings pitched. In large part, that was due to Oneil Cruz’s terrible defense in center field. It was no surprise when he bounced back with five innings of one-run ball against the Cincinnati Reds in his last start.
San Diego will have a tough time solving him, especially since they’ve yet to face him since his 2024 debut.
He’s one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, but the Padres have had success against right-handers so they could get to him just enough to get into the ‘pen.
Pivetta had a similar start to the year with a difficult Opening Day followed by a bounceback start.
In his last start against the San Francisco Giants, he pitched five innings with eight strikeouts, only allowing one hit.
If he can stymie this Pirates lineup the same way Márquez did last night, the Padres won’t need to do too much against Skenes.
Batter up!
With Bubba Chandler being a remarkably similar pitcher to Skenes (they even look somewhat like each other), a similar lineup as yesterday’s will probably remain the game plan:
Ramón Laureano, LF
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Jackson Merrill, CF
Manny Machado, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Gavin Sheets, 1B
Nick Castellanos, DH
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Luis Campusano, C
It’s possible Miguel Andujar gets the tab at DH over Castellanos. But Castellanos went 2-for-4 with an RBI last night. Maybe this time manager Craig Stammen finally keeps the hot bats in the lineup.
Campusano will likely get the start, as him and Freddy Fermin seem to be mostly swapping back and forth in the backstop role.
San Diego has had more success against right-handers, so there’s hope they produce against Skenes today. If they do, it would go a long way to continuing to calm the worries about this offense from the beginning of the season.
Relief corps
With Márquez covering five scoreless innings yesterday, the Padres only needed to turn to two pitchers (Ron Marinaccio and David Morgan), neither of whom were used in Sunday’s 8-6 win over Boston.
Because of that, the bullpen will be well-rested for the pitcher’s duel between Skenes and Pivetta today. Should Pivetta stumble, the Padres will have plenty of high-leverage options to turn to.
Of those choices, the one who has struggled the most as of late is Wandy Peralta. Called upon to get one out in Friday’s loss, he failed to do so and gave up two runs (one earned). It was a lead that Boston wouldn’t relinquish. In Sunday’s win Peralta allowed the Sox to bring the tying run home before the Friars made up for it with one run apiece in the eighth and ninth innings.
If the Padres manage to produce against Skenes, and have a lead in the ninth, Mason Miller will come in to close. He would have yesterday if not for having pitched the last two games in Boston. With a five-run lead, San Diego made the choice to give him rest.
Behind those two remains Kyle Hart (though he pitched 2 1/3 innings on Sunday), Jeremiah Estrada, Bradgley Rodriguez and Adrian Morejon. Some combination of those four will likely be utilized against Pittsburgh today.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 02: Starter Reynaldo López #40 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning at Chase Field on April 02, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A three-game losing streak to carry isn’t the momentum the Atlanta Braves were hoping for as they continue their West Coast road trip against the Los Angeles Angels. Let’s hope today marks the turnaround point.
Reynaldo López is coming into this series with a 1.64 ERA and a 5.04 xFIP score. Only starting in two games since his return so far, he’s been displaying solid performances, allowing only one run in both of his past outings with three total strikeouts and less than five hits.
With the way the Angels performed yesterday, he’s going to need to focus on command as much as he can to start the momentum with pitch one to hold down the defense.
His go-to pitch this season has been his four-seamer, which has been clocked at an average of 94.1 mph. The slider, curveball and changeup have also been noted as reliable, but what it will all come down to is execution. And if the offense can follow suit, then we might have a ballgame worth staying up for.
On the opposing side, Yusei Kikuchi is taking the mound for the Angels. His ERA capped at 6.52 across his two-game starts is a drastic drop from how he ended his 2025 season (3.99 ERA). In his five-pitch arsenal, he splits his usage between the four-seamer, slider, and changeup, which seemingly finds no problem with landing in the zone…yet also is predictable on the batter’s side.
This game will determine the winner of this three-game series before the Braves head back home to take on Cleveland, but this matchup means more than just clinching a series win…they need to break this losing streak and get some runs on the board, without relying on Drake Baldwin to carry them.
Maybe yesterday was the wake-up call they needed to get back in the game and leave on a good note. Of course, before we get to that point, today’s game outcome must be determined.
Shane Smith looks to bring down his abysmal ERA in today’s matchup. | (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
After a recent reschedule to dodge the cold, the White Sox will get another look at the Orioles this afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t improved, and it’s actually colder than last night, so don’t expect many home runs or much offensive fireworks from either side.
The team announced a few moves today after Austin Hays left last night with a right hamstring strain. Dustin Harris has packed his bag and will head to Chicago to replace Hays. Mike Vasil, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery, has been moved to the 60-day injured list.
Per Brooke Fletcher, Brooks Baldwin elected to undergo a season-ending UCL internal brace procedure on his right elbow on April 1. Baldwin, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on March 26, is expected to be ready by Spring Training 2027.
Chase Meidroth is back in the leadoff spot today, and Shane Smith will be on the mound. With two losses under his belt already, and only 4 2/3 innings pitched, Smith will try to bring down his elevated 19.29 ERA. Miguel Vargas will get the afternoon off, with Tanner Murray playing third base instead.
Trevor Rogers will take the hill for the Orioles. Rogers has won both games he’s pitched in, with a 1.38 ERA over 13 innings. Adley Rutschman also has the day off behind the plate, being replaced by Samuel Basallo. The Orioles also already sent their pitcher from last night back to Norfolk. Nick Raquet was acquired this morning in a trade with the Cardinals.
The game will be on CHSN or available to listen to on ESPN Chicago 1000 at 2:10 p.m. CT.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - APRIL 1: Trevor Rogers #28 of the Baltimore Orioles throws a pitch in the third inning during a game against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 1, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
No one who is directly involved was interested in there being a baseball game in the cold Chicago night this evening, so here we are for a 3:10 Eastern start time instead of what would have been 7:40. Everyone else must bear the mild inconvenience of a baseball game starting four and a half hours early on about 24 hours notice of this change.
It is Trevor Rogers day for the Orioles. This became something to celebrate last year and hopefully will be still as this season goes along. He’s certainly done well for himself over the first couple of games he’s pitched this year, and for today will be facing what seems like it should be a pretty easy White Sox lineup to get through. The expectation does not always match the reality, of course, but I think it’s fair to expect he should wreck these guys.
The Orioles batters, meanwhile, face a pitcher in Shane Smith who has a 19.29 ERA after two games started. That’s not a typo. He’s had a nightmare to begin his season, with literally half of the 30 batters he’s faced reaching base safely. Even if he is bad – which he wasn’t last year, when he had a 3.89 ERA – he’s not likely to stay in double-digit ERA territory over the long haul. Still, it would be nice to see the Orioles keeping his woes going for another day before things start to even out for Smith.
There is a new face on the Orioles for today’s game. The team acquired reliever Nick Raquet from the Cardinals last night. The 30-year-old lefty Raquet had been in DFA limbo, but the Orioles chose to trade an actual player, last year’s 13th round pick Brayden Smith, to get him. It’s weird. I don’t know how long he’ll hang around. I hope he does OK when he pitches. Brandon Young was rewarded for his spot start effort last night by being immediately sent down. It’s an unsentimental business. One other aspect of this roster move is that Zach Eflin’s long-term absence was confirmed. He was placed on the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.
Orioles lineup
Taylor Ward – LF
Gunnar Henderson – DH
Pete Alonso – 1B
Samuel Basallo – C
Dylan Beavers – RF
Jeremiah Jackson – 2B
Colton Cowser – CF
Coby Mayo – 3B
Blaze Alexander – SS
In terms of performance so far this season, this is a brutal lineup once you get below Alonso. This is bound to change eventually, though that is not guaranteed to happen at all and certainly not guaranteed today. I think that it is Bad that the Orioles have one player (Henderson) with more than one home run to date.
White Sox lineup
Chase Meidroth – 2B
Lenyn Sosa – 1B
Miguel Vargas – DH
Colton Montgomery – SS
Edgar Quero – C
Tanner Murray – 3B
Andrew Benintendi – LF
Luisangel Acuña – CF
Derek Hill – RF
**
It will feel much better if the Orioles win this game and give themselves a chance to sweep tomorrow than it will if they lose this game and need to win tomorrow to avoid another demoralizing series loss.
