Category: Baseball

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The Padres have dropped three consecutive games for the first time this season.

With their offense heating up at home, my White Sox vs. Padres predictions see them getting back in the win column Saturday.

Let’s break down my daily MLB picks for May 2.

Who will win White Sox vs Padres today: Padres moneyline (-190)

The San Diego Padres have feasted on right-handed pitching at home over the past month, hitting .269 with a .814 OPS and .357 wOBA – all Top-7 marks.

They should cause problems for Sean Burke, whose ERA is nearly a full run below his FIP thus far. That’s a red flag.

While Burke has limited quality contact, he doesn’t miss many bats, which could get him into trouble against this lineup.

The Padres did real damage at home in April, finishing fifth in total hits and seventh in homers per at bat.

COVERS INTEL: Sean Burkes ranks in the 32nd percentile in expected batting average allowed.

White Sox vs Padres Over/Under pick: Over 8.0 (-104)

Burke has done a better job of limiting hard contact but his home run to fly ball rate is only ~62% of his career average, a sign some regression could be coming. 

The Padres rank 10th in HR/FB vs. righties over the last month and eighth at home, making them a real test for Burke.

On the other side, Padres starter Michael King ranks in the 32nd percentile in barrel suppression. The Chicago White Sox sit ninth in homers and fifth in ISO vs. righties on the road so they have the power to capitalize.

White Sox vs Padres odds

• Moneyline: Chicago (+160) | San Diego (-190)
• Run line: Chicago +1.5 (-125) | San Diego -1.5 (+105)
• Over/Under: Over 8.0 (-105) | Under 8.0 (-115)

White Sox vs Padres trend

The Chicago White Sox have hit the Game Total Over in 11 of their last 15 away games (+6.55 Units / 39% ROI).Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Padres.

How to watch White Sox vs. Padres and game info

White Sox vs Padres latest injuries

White Sox vs Padres weather

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The Yankees got a positive update on Saturday regarding slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who's currently on the 10-day injured list with a low-grade calf strain.

Stanton told YES Network's Meredith Marakovits that his right calf is improving as he took swings in the batting cage Friday and will again on Saturday. 

He will also be working out in the pool on Saturday and is encouraged by the progress he's made so far in his recovery, he told Marakovits.

Stanton was placed on the 10-day IL on April 27, as manager Aaron Boone expressed optimism that he wouldn't miss too much time.

"Doesn't look too serious, but enough to not want to wait a couple more days," Boone said. "We'll see what we have as the week unfolds -- hopefully not too long, but we'll see."

Over 24 games (90 at-bats) this season, Stanton is hitting .276 and owns a .724 OPS with three home runs, six doubles, and 14 RBI.

With Luis Gil back at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Elmer Rodríguez not exactly dealing in his MLB debut, some of the muddied water around returning Yankee starters has begun to clear. Still, after Will Warren’s excellent outing last night in the win over Baltimore, Ryan Weathers is tasked with holding serve in his own start today, and in fairness to him he’s putting together a nice little run.

Making his seventh start of the year, Weathers has made one truly bad outing against the Angels, but everything else has varied between serviceable to very good, including a combined 12.1 innings allowing two runs against the Astros and Royals since that debacle at the hands of the Halos. I feel like there’s still another level to Weathers though, and maybe that comes in the rotation, maybe it comes deployed as a five-out-reliever-type. The better each successive start goes, the more I’m going to believe in the former.

Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, meanwhile, is all about the walks. The righty is issuing free passes to 12.5 percent of batters faced, leading to a paltry 10.3 percent K-BB rate, my personal favorite pitching stat. The Yankees have the second-highest walk rate in the game, and there have been points this year where I’ve wondered if they’re actually too passive, but against a hurler like Bradish you can see why they’d be willing to work counts.

Offensively, the lineup reverts back to its normal form against righties. Paul Goldschmidt is back on the bench, Ben Rice is at first batting second, and Ryan McMahon gets the start at third base. Jasson Domínguez will be your DH today, back in the starting nine with a clean bill of health on his elbow after an injury scare in Texas.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES | MASN

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, 98 Rock 97.9 FM, WBAL 1090 AM

Online stream: MLB.tv

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J.T. Realmuto returns from IL, Garrett Stubbs survives as utility man originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

MIAMI – The Phillies reinstated catcher J.T. Realmuto from the injured list and made an adjustment to their bench before Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins.

Realmuto’s return meant someone had to be subtracted from the 26-man roster. The subtraction turned out to be seldom-used utility man Dylan Moore, who was designated for assignment. With Moore gone, Garrett Stubbs remains with the club in the role of utility man.

Stubbs, who had come up from Triple A to serve as the backup catcher when Realmuto was sidelined with back spasms on April 22, was immediately pressed into outfield duty Saturday. He started in left field when Justin Crawford was scratched with a migraine moments before first pitch. The Phils’ outfield had already been short with Brandon Marsh nursing a sore right elbow after being hit by a pitch Friday night. With Crawford out, manager Don Mattingly moved Adolis Garcia from right field to center field and Felix Reyes from left field to right.

Stubbs was the Phillies’ primary backup catcher from 2022 to 2024. He spent most of last season at Triple A Lehigh Valley and returned there again this season. In addition to catching, Stubbs played some third base and left field at Triple A. He also saw some time at those positions in spring training. Earlier in his career, he played some second base.

With a third catcher on the roster, Mattingly will feel comfortable using Realmuto as a pinch-hitter on days he’s not in the starting lineup.

“I like the thought of the three catchers,” Mattingly said. “It allows a little bit more freedom with pinch-hitting and pinch-running. Stubby’s not a traditional catcher that can’t do anything else. He can play second, he can play third, he can play left, he actually runs, he can steal a bag. He’s a good baserunner, a good bunter. All the things that role brings, we feel pretty good about Stubby doing it.”

Stubbs feared he’d be the one let go when Realmuto returned. He got a welcome surprise when he arrived at the ballpark Saturday.

“I had Saturday marked on my calendar, knowing that was the day J.T. would be back,” he said. “I was able to take a deep breath when Donnie told me and I knew I’d be on the roster.”

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The Seattle Mariners have piled up the runs at home lately, plating at least four runs in five of their last six games at T-Mobile Park. 

My Royals vs. Mariners predictions expect the offense to give Seth Lugo plenty of trouble as they pull out the win. 

Let’s dive deeper into my latest MLB picks for Saturday, May 2.

Who will win Royals vs Mariners today: Mariners (-140)

Although the Seattle Mariners have been inconsistent this season, their offense has been a clear strength at home, specifically against right-handed pitchers.

Seattle currently ranks second against righties in wRC+ at home, trailing only Detroit.  

Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo will struggle to slow Seattle’s offense. He is sitting in the 18th percentile in whiff rate and is struggling to miss bats, leading to a lot of contact. Lugo also ranks in the 26th percentile in expected batting average.

The M's offense is set up for a productive outing tonight.

COVERS INTEL: The Mariners rank second in line drive rate against righties at home, hitting them 22.1% of the time.

Royals vs Mariners Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-110)

Lugo’s underlying profile screams regression. He owns a 3.91 xFIP, 4.31 xERA, and has allowed homers on only 2.4% of his flyballs, not even a quarter of his career rate (11.7%).

On the other side, Emerson Hancock has stranded 95.4% of opposing baserunners. That has made his ERA more flattering than it should be. For reference, his previous marks were 71.2% as a rookie and 72.2% last season. 

With some red flags on both sides, this matchup sets up well for the offenses.

Royals vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Kansas City (+120) | Seattle (-140)
• Run line: Kansas City +1.5 (-170) | Seattle -1.5 (+145)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-110) | Under 7.5 (-110)

Royals vs Mariners trend

Seattle has cashed the moneyline in 34 of its last 50 home games (+11.80 Units / 14% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Royals vs. Mariners.

How to watch Royals vs Mariners and game info

Royals vs Mariners latest injuries

Royals vs Mariners weather

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Season is teetering on the precipice…

On the Mound

Saturday @ 1:00pm on SECN+

Vanderbilt #88 Fr. RHP Wyatt “Ice Town” Nadeau (1-2; 5.08 ERA)

vs. Gumps #11 Fr. RHP Myles “Kilometers Northcathedral” Upchurch (5-3; 3.30 ERA)

The Lineup

*Date afternoon, so won’t be able to update this before first pitch.

See you in the comments (eventually; possibly on replay).

First Pitch: 1:10 pm CDT
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN / WCCO 830 / The Wolf 102.9 FM / Audacy

This week, I had free tickets to my first two Target Field games of the year, the deflating Tuesday night loss against the Seattle Mariners, and the series-opening victory against these very same Toronto Blue Jays. I wish I could say that the in-person experience revitalized my faith in the team, but after enduring the loss in less-than-ideal weather conditions on Tuesday night, I opted to skip an even colder Thursday game. They wound up winning without me, which makes it feel like I went 0-for-2 anyway.

This series is split at a game apiece, with the Blue Jays earning a convincing win on Friday night, in a game that wanted for some cleaner defense by Minnesota. To tip the scales, the Jays are sending out Known Good Pitcher Dylan Cease; the Twins are sending Supposed Good Pitcher Connor Prielipp.

It’s the third big-league start for Prielipp, who’s been impressive so far against the Met and Mariner lineups. The Jays are yet another challenge; Prielipp has to be hoping for an Angels outing or something in the near future. Last time out, Prielipp threw five one-hit frames and walked three while en route to his first big-league win.

Cease is well-known to the Twins, although this will be their first matchup with the mustachioed right-hander donning a Toronto uniform. After two trips around the baseball calendar with the San Diego Padres, the former White Sox ace is in the first of seven seasons north of the border.

GO TWINS GO!

There has been a lot Andrew Painter has seen over their first month in the big leagues. He joined a contending team that got off to an uneven 8-8 start, then lost ten straight, and one of the greatest managers in the history of the franchise got sacked not even 30 games into the season. It’s a lot.

While all of this is happening around Painter, he has made five big league appearances, four of them starts and the other a relief appearance because he had a migraine. The results have been a bit mixed, and he probably shouldn’t have faced Michael Harris II in Atlanta. That decision from Rob Thomson might’ve gotten him fired. Again, it’s a lot.

Through all of that, here is what we know about how Caleb Cotham and the Phillies are trying to use Painter.

The arsenal

One of the biggest differences in how Painter pitched in AAA last season and what he is doing in the Majors this year is how he is platooning his arsenal.

The first big changes are actually how he’s attacking right handed hitters. His sinker against righties has jumped from roughly 6% to 31% in the majors and is his primary fastball against them. He has been exclusively throwing it on the inner-third of the plate to keep hitters honest.

This jump has sacrificed the four-seam usage to right-handed hitters and the hard slider. Painter did throw what was considered a cutter last year along with a hard slider, but some of this could be pitches bleeding into each other and the usage makes it seem that way. He threw those offerings roughly 32% of the time to righties and his four-seam 40% of the time.

He has cut his four-seam fastball down to 28% against right-handed hitters so far and the slider usage went down to 14%. He is working an east-west combination with the sinker in and using sliders and sweepers away for chase.

The approach to left handed hitters has surprisingly been similar but some of this could be how the Phillies want to use his arsenal.

There has been a lot of discussion about Andrew Painter’s four-seam fastball shape, even from our site. Look, it’s not the high back-spin whiff machine that was promised pre-Tommy John surgery and it’s generally getting hit hard, especially from right-handed hitters.

But there is still a way to use it effectively against lefties. His fastball only gets 3.2 inches of arm-side movement on average but compared to what hitters are used to seeing, he is sort of cutting the pitch. So, the Phillies have been asking him to throw it glove-side or inside to lefties.

He is also doing a good job of backdooring the slider for called strikes and working a tunnel with his split-change, which is getting a 36.8% whiff rate against left-handed hitters. He has flipped some curveballs for strikes and has shown the ability to get chase.

Adjustments moving forward

The general results for Painter’s first 24 big league innings have been fine. The ERA is high at 5.25 but his FIP is sitting at 3.34 because he isn’t walking a lot of hitters and other ERA estimators are hovering close to four. He is not getting a lot of whiffs or strikeouts but probably has the capacity to do so moving forward.

There have to be adjustments to how he attacks right-handed hitters because he is allowing a .343 average with a .929 OPS. It’s not good enough especially given some of his secondary pitches.

The first big change is to cut back on the four-seam fastball usage. It is working enough against lefties but righties are crushing it. They have an average exit velocity of 94.4 mph on the pitch and are hitting .400 on the offering. He has not allowed an extra-base hit in this sample, but the quality of his contact is concerning and he isn’t getting nearly enough whiffs to justify it.

Some of the usage will have to go into the sinker because he needs something to throw strikes with and that might be fine. His average exit velocity allowed on the sinker is down 10 mph against righties compared to the four-seam fastball. He could also try and steal more strikes with the curveball if there are some worries about not throwing enough strikes.

The slider and sweeper usage probably have to increase because he is not getting enough strikeouts against righties. His slider has a 57.1% whiff rate against righties and the sweeper is at 35.7%, throwing those pitches a bit more should help increase his strikeout rate.

There are issues with this, Painter has not shown amazing command of his arsenal yet, so things are tricky. Also, platooning down his arsenal might make him more predictable moving forward. It’s a tricky balance.

There are some good ideas for Painter but there is still a lot that the club has to figure out. There is a promising pitcher here, with some encouraging signs that should be in for a solid rookie campaign.

The Orioles filled up the transaction board as they prepared for today’s game against the Yankees. Baltimore added fresh arms to the bullpen by activating Dietrich Enns and Nick Raquet. To make room, the O’s optioned Tyler Wells and designated Albert Suárez for assignment.

Enns is back from the injured list after suffering a left-foot infection while in Pittsburgh. He last pitched on April 3. Raquet made two appearances for Baltimore earlier in the season and failed to make a strong first impression.

The Orioles also added top pitching prospect Trey Gibson to the taxi squad. MLB Pipeline’s Jake Rill recently reported that Gibson will make his MLB debut tomorrow.

Kyle Bradish will get the start today as the Orioles look to even the four-game series. This feels like a big game for early May. Baltimore currently sits two games below .500 (15-17) and six games below the first place Yankees.

Taylor Ward will leadoff and play left field. Gunnar Henderson will follow at shortstop, and Adley Rutschman will catch Bradish. Pete Alonso will slot into the DH spot, which will provide Coby Mayo a chance to play first base. Tyler O’Neill and will take the other outfield corner, and Blaze Alexander will play center field. Jeremiah Jackson (second base) and Weston Wilson (third) will round out the infield.

The O’s are sending seven righties and one switch hitter out to face Yankees lefty Ryan Weathers. Weathers is 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA.

Orioles lineup:

1. Taylor Ward LF
2. Gunnar Henderson SS
3. Adley Rutschman C
4. Pete Alonso DH
5. Tyler O’Neill RF
6. Coby Mayo 1B
7. Jeremiah Jackson 2B
8. Weston Wilson 3B
9. Blaze Alexander CF

Starter: RHP Kyle Bradish

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The Detroit Tigers have been very good at home this season, sporting a 10-3 record and yet to lose back-to-back games in their own park.

My Rangers vs. Tigers predictions expect the home side to bounce back after a series-opening defeat Friday night.

Let’s dive deeper into my daily MLB picks for May 2.

Who will win Rangers vs Tigers today: Tigers moneyline (-135)

The Detroit Tigers are 10-3 at home, powered by a remarkably productive offense against right-handed pitching. 

They’ve been especially productive in Detroit, ranking first in wOBA, OPS, SLG, and wRC+.

Texas Rangers starter Kumar Rocker relies heavily on the sinker-slider combination, one the Tigers have hit well.

Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kevin McGonigle are all hitting .290+ with wOBAs of at least .370 against that mix.

Expect the bats to do some damage against Rocker, whose results (3.38 ERA) are better than his process (4.11 xFIP, 4.17 SIERA).

COVERS INTEL: A lot of Rocker’s success has stemmed from keeping the ball down, which will be difficult against a Tigers offense that ranks fifth in flyball rate vs. righties at home.

Rangers vs Tigers Over/Under pick: Over 8.0 (-120)

This game sets up well for the offenses. The Tigers are in a favorable spot and the Rangers have quietly been productive away from home.

Texas ranks third in wOBA and fourth in OPS on the road this season, keeping company with teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.

While the Rangers have a higher strikeout tendency than those teams, they’re still dangerous.

Both teams squeezed only 3.2 innings out of their starting pitchers on Friday, which could make key bullpen arms fatigued or unavailable entirely. 

Rangers vs Tigers odds

• Moneyline: Texas (+115) | Detroit (-135)
• Run line: Texas +1.5 (-175) | Detroit -1.5 (+150)
• Over/Under: Over 8.0 (-120) | Under 8.0 (+100)

Rangers vs Tigers trend

The Detroit Tigers have hit the Moneyline in 10 of their last 13 games at home (+6.40 Units / 35% ROI).Find more MLB betting trends for Rangers vs. Tigers.

How to watch Rangers vs Tigers and game info

Rangers vs Tigers latest injuries

Rangers vs Tigers weather

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.

An MLB umpire might need to get his eyes checked — stat.

The automated ball-strike system (ABS) has granted baseball fans another hilarious gem on Thursday.

Braves righty Bryce Elder threw a clear strike down the middle when facing Tigers’ Matt Vierling, but home umpire Roberto Ortiz called it a ball.

Catcher Drake Baldwin quickly challenged the call, and ABS revealed it was undoubtedly a strike.

After watching how far inside the zone the pitch was, Tigers play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti had a funny one-word reaction.

“It is…yikes,” Benetti said.

"It is… Yikes"

Calls like this are why we have ABS pic.twitter.com/GqeOcl6XdH

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 30, 2026

“It is the reason for the challenge system,” he added.

The reversed call led to a Vierling strikeout in what went on to be a 5-2 Braves win.

It should be noted that the ABS challenge system isn’t just calling out umpires who are way off. It has also made an example of players.

The Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. has even said his challenges are so bad that “you gotta laugh.”

His assessment came after a horrible challenge on a 3-2 pitch in the ninth inning — which was not close to being outside the zone — in the Yankees’ 12-4 win over the Astros on April 24.

“You just gotta laugh, at that point,” Chisholm said. “We were winning, it’s a kid’s game. You got to laugh at some things. Sometimes you just got to laugh at yourself and walk off. Did get fined a thousand dollars, but it’s OK.”

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 6, Nashville (Brewers) 5

The Tides had to go with something of a patchwork pitching staff for this game, as the scheduled starter, Trey Gibson, was moved around to set up potentially joining the MLB team tomorrow. Norfolk jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, helped in part by Creed Willems hitting a two-run homer against rehabbing major leaguer Quinn Priester. This was a good one for the prospects in the Tides lineup, with Willems collecting a pair of hits, Jud Fabian having two hits, two walks, and two stolen bases, and even Peyton Eeles, the short king, picking up three hits and a walk. All of these guys are OPSing over .800 so far.

Substitute starting pitcher Christian Herberholz allowed eight hits across 4.1 innings. The two runs he gave up, both in the bottom of the first, were unearned, following after a missed catch error by Willems at first base. Both teams would have regretted losing this one – Norfolk left 11 men on base and Nashville stranded 10. A fourth inning home run by Christian Encarnacion-Strand – who’s also OPSing over .800 – provided the sixth and ultimately decisive Norfolk run.

Box score.

Double-A: Erie (Tigers) 7, Chesapeake Baysox 4

Largely a stinker as far as the prospects on this roster are concerned, starting with my honorary hyphenated cousin Juaron Watts-Brown getting blasted for six runs, with three home runs allowed, in only four innings. It’s tough to come back from that and the Baysox did not. This was Watts-Brown’s first start at his proper level after starting his year on an injury rehab assignment.

Chesapeake was efficient in its scoring, collecting its four runs on only four hits. Infielder Griff O’Ferrall hit a two-run homer, his second of the season, to bring things within save range in the ninth inning, but at that point Erie did not change pitchers to give anyone save opportunity.

Syrup heir Brandon Butterworth (note: not actually a syrup heir) took an 0-for out of the leadoff spot. Ethan Anderson was also hitless. My guy Aron Estrada added one hit. So did early strong performer Anderson De Los Santos, still OPSing over 1.000 after 21 games. He is 22 and if he breaks out here at that age, that’s worth taking note.

Box score.

High-A: Frederick Keys 5, Brooklyn (Mets) 2

Did Wehiwa Aloy homer again? He sure did! That’s his fifth for the season. This one expanded the Keys lead in the eighth. Aloy himself drove in the first Keys run with a sixth inning double, and he shortly scored when Victor Figueroa – one of the guys from last year’s Padres deal – also homered again, his seventh in 20 games played here. This Keys lineup has been strong. Nate George was 1-5, and Braylin Tavera added a hit and two walks.

Figueroa is OPSing over 1.100, which is great. The other guys are holding around .750, less exciting but also less depressing than tracking Aberdeen box scores last year.

The starter for Frederick was Twine Palmer. The modest trade return for Ramón Urías last July, Palmer was particularly terrible with his new organization after the deal, and he had a couple of tough games in April of this year. Still, after just one run allowed in 4.1 innings in this one, Palmer has the ERA down to 3.86 and High-A batters are only hitting .164 against him this year. It’s not nothing.

Box score.

Low-A: Hill City (Guardians) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

Although Delmarva outhit their opponent by an 8-6 margin and the Howlers committed four errors to the Shorebirds zero, the Orioles affiliate was not able to capitalize and turn this into a victory.

One standout effort at the plate came from outfielder Stiven Martinez, an 18-year-old who had three hits out of the leadoff spot to raise his season OPS to .722. As the Shorebirds roster has been for the past several years, it’s a group in search of somebody who might break out into something interesting; the ones who do so, such as George last year, tend not to remain for long.

Box score.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Nashville, 7:35. Starter: Cameron Weston
• Chesapeake: at Erie, 1:35. Starter: Juan Rojas
• Frederick: at Brooklyn, 2:00. Starter: Yeiber Cartaya
• Delmarva: vs. Hill City, 7:05. Starter: Kailen Hamson

In addition, today is the beginning of the Florida Complex League Orioles season. We may check in on those players in our weekly recaps but will not be updating those box scores in the daily posts.

Friday night’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t have gone much worse for the Cincinnati Reds. First, they sat out a lengthy rain delay in PNC Park and eventually waded into a drubbing at the hands of the Bucs in cool temperatures, their arms and bats looking as soggy as the 9-1 scoreline.

Brady Singer got rocked, again. Zach Maxwell was rudely welcomed back to the big league mound. The 2 through 5 spots in the Reds lineup combined to go 0 for 16 with nary a walk, with the entire Reds lineup mustering only a lone walk and trio of hits on the night.

It was perhaps the ugliest loss of the year, especially given the company.

Cincinnati will look to bounce back on Saturday, however, and will do so with rookie Rhett Lowder on the bump to start. Pittsburgh will counter with righty Carmen Mlodzinski, against whom previous Reds lineups have struggled mightily.

In 8 career starts against Mlodzinski, Cincinnati batters have posted a combined .214/.267/.321 line with nary a homer. Lucky for these Reds, though, they’ve now got both Sal Stewart and Nate Lowe anchoring the middle of their lineup.

The Reds will also welcome back bullpen anchor Graham Ashcraft, who was activated off the bereavement list prior to the start of this one. Maxwell was optioned back to AAA Louisville on the other side of that ledger, with the Reds noting that he’ll now be teammates with Nick Lodolo as the latter takes his rehab tour up to the AAA level.

First pitch on Saturday is slated for a 4:05 PM ET start.

Here’s how the Reds will line up for this one:

The Mets and backup catcher Luis Torrens have agreed to a two-year, $11.5 million contract extension that covers the 2027 and 2028 seasons, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. If he hadn’t agreed to a deal, the 30-year-old was slated to hit free agency following the 2026 season.

Torrens joined the Mets on May 31, 2024, when the team purchased him from the Yankees for a tiny sum by the standards of Major League Baseball. He’s been one of the best under-the-radar finds of the David Stearns era, as he’s been an excellent defender behind the plate while being a serviceable if unspectacular hitter.

Since joining the Mets, Torrens is the best catcher in the game at throwing out baserunners who attempt to steal bases against him. Statcast has rated him as +20 in catcher’s caught stealing above average. And while he doesn’t top the framing leaderboard over the same span, he still rates pretty well.

Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Torrens hit .227/.286/.354 with 8 home runs and an 82 wRC+ in 413 plate appearances. Like most of his teammates, he’s struggled mightily at the plate to start this season, as he has a .200/.200/.267 line and a 27 wRC+ in 31 plate appearances.

With starting catcher Francisco Alvarez under team control through the 2029 season, the Mets would appear to have locked in their catching situation for the foreseeable future.

Saturday notes…

• STREAKING AT HOME: The Cubs are trying today for a 10th consecutive victory at home. They have had 18 such double-digit streaks during the Modern Era, the last 14 at Wrigley Field, their home since 1916. Their most recent was 14 in a row, May 18-June 22, 2008. A 13-game streak in 2001 and a 10-game streak in 1998 are their only others of the kind since 1970. Their record is 18 straight, Sept. 4-22, 1935, during a surge that lifted them to the pennant. The 2008 streak was one of five of 14 games. The 2001 streak was the only one of 13. They also had a lone streak of 12, in 1927, and of 11, in 1910. Eight of the streaks ended after 10 games. Ten were snapped after nine wins. The first seven were in 1908-33. Then there was one in 1957 and two in back-to-back years, 2016 and 2017. The most recent streak ended with a 5-1 loss to the Braves in which the Cubs managed only five hits: two each by Ian Happ and Ben Zobrist, and one by Jason Heyward. One of Happ’s was a homer. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THREE OF A KIND: The Cubs’ pair of three-run innings yesterday were their 11th and 12th of the season with a trio. They have scored five runs in three innings, four runs in seven and two runs in 22, for a total of 44 crooked-number innings, out of 95 total innings in which they have scored. They have allowed multiple runs in 35 of 74 innings in which they gave up runs. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DANSBY: Dansby Swanson, last 17 games since April 12: .273/.391/.600 (15-for-55) with a double, a triple, five home runs, 11 walks, 16 runs scored and 18 RBI.
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs homered four times (Sammy Sosa, Gary Matthews Jr., Bill Mueller and Eric Young Sr.) and defeated the Padres 8-3 at Wrigley Field. It happened 25 years ago today, Wednesday, May 2, 2001.

Cubs lineup:

Diamondbacks lineup:

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Ryne Nelson, RHP

Shōta Imanaga was a little off his game Sunday against the Dodgers, allowing five runs in 5.1 innings. One positive: He did not allow a home run and this year he’s given up just three long balls in 34.1 innings, a vast improvement over last year.

Overall, though, after a bit of a rough outing his first time out this year against the Nationals, Imanaga posted a 2.45 ERA and 0.750 WHIP in 29.1 innings in five April starts. Can’t really argue with that sort of production.

Last year, he threw seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball against the D-backs March 29, 2025 at Chase Field. Do that again, Shōta.

Ryne Nelson had a pretty good year for the D-backs in 2025 (33 games, 23 starts, 3.39 ERA, 1.071 WHIP, 3.4 bWAR), but this year has been a disaster. He’s had two decent starts but the other four have been awful, and especially the last two: 15 hits, 14 earned runs in 5.1 innings (that’s a 23.83 ERA). He’s allowed six home runs in 25.2 innings this year.

Last year he made two relief appearances against the Cubs and they absolutely pounded him: 10 hits, nine runs in 2.1 innings.

Do that again this afternoon, Cubs hitters.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Diamondbacks site AZ Snakepit. If you do go there to interact with D-backs 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.

Discuss amongst yourselves.