Category: Baseball

The Mariners will be without one of their biggest off-season acquisitions for at least the next week, placing INF Brendan Donovan on the 10-day IL with a groin strain.

Roster moves:

🔹 Will Wilson (#7), INF, selected from Triple-A Tacoma.
🔹 Brendan Donovan, INF/OF, placed on 10-day IL (left groin muscle strain, retro. 4/18).
🔹 Miles Mastrobuoni, INF/OF, transferred to 60-day IL.

🔗 https://t.co/gyq4jiuW2lpic.twitter.com/ItukOT6T0s

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) April 20, 2026

Donovan appeared to suffer the injury in Friday’s series opener against the Rangers, a game where he had to make multiple tough plays on bunts.

Brendan Donovan tweaked his left hip on one of the plays he made at third base last night, Dan Wilson said.

Here's a look at each of the batted balls he was involved with… pic.twitter.com/bbpfL51C6j

— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) April 18, 2026

Will Wilson gets the call up from Tacoma and will take Donovan’s roster spot. Wilson appeared in 34 games with Cleveland last season, slashing .192/.267/.244.

For those wondering why the Mariners didn’t select Colt Emerson after signing him to a then record-breaking extension, Emerson is currently dealing with a wrist injury that will keep him out of Triple-A Tacoma’s next couple of games. Mariners GM Justin Hollander said they will reassess Emerson on Thursday and see how he’s doing.

Here’s to a speedy recovery for Brendan Donovan.

The draft can be a bit of a crapshoot. Injuries derail some players, while others have trouble adjusting to the professional level. Asa Lacy experienced both problems. Six years after the Royals made him the fourth overall pick, the team is finally cutting ties, releasing him outright.

Lacy was an absolute stud at Texas A&M University. In 2019, he had a 2.13 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 88 ²⁄₃ innings, and he pitched for the U.S. Collegiate National team that summer. He was a lefty who filled out his 6’4” frame, throwing regularly in the mid-90s with a wipeout slider.

The pandemic halted the 2020 college baseball season just as it was getting started, depriving scouts of an opportunity to see amateur talent. Baseball still held its draft in June, but the information felt incomplete. Teams at the top of the draft elected to go with safer college talent – the first seven picks were all collegiate players. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America ranked Lacy as the #3 prospect, so the Royals appeared to be getting a terrific prospect when they selected him fourth overall, signing him to a $6.67 million bonus.

There was no minor league season in 2020, but the Royals felt so confident in Lacy, they sent him to make his pro debut in High A Quad Cities in 2021. He made 14 starts there and had eye-popping striking out numbers, with 79 punchouts in 52 innings, or one-third of all hitters he faced. But he also struggled with control, walking 41 hitters and putting up a 5.19 ERA. He was shut down in July with a shoulder and lat injury, but returned that fall to pitch in the Arizona Fall League with impressive results.

The Royals promoted him to Double-A in 2022 at the age of 23, but after just two starts he was shut down with a back injury. When he returned, he completely fell apart. Overall, he struck out 35 but walked 42 in just 28 innings – a real-life “Nuke LaLoosh”. After a 10.61 ERA in 15 games, the Royals shut him down. He didn’t pitch the entire 2023 season due to back injuries, and had Tommy John surgery in 2024. He has not pitched in a game since 2022, and was released with a total of 80 minor league innings under his belt.

Looking back, the top of the 2020 draft class looks rather cursed. Top pick Spencer Torkelson has a couple of 30+ home run seasons, but overall has had mixed results. The #2 pick Heston Kjerstad, #3 pick Max Meyer, and #9 pick Zac Veen have been hit by injuries. The #5 pick Austin Martin and #7 pick Nick Gonzales look like utility players. Emerson Hancock, the #6 pick, may finally be coming through at age 27. Meanwhile, the #8 pick Robert Hassell is still in the minors. Still, there were two All-Stars in that draft – #11 pick Garrett Crochet and #19 pick Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Lacy’s release is a reminder that even the most polished amateur arms come with real risk, especially in a draft shaped by uncertainty. The Royals didn’t make an unreasonable bet at the time. Many teams would have done the same. Injuries robbed Lacy of development time, and likely contributed to his command issues. What once looked like a potential cornerstone instead becomes a cautionary tale, another example of how quickly promise can unravel, and how even the “safe” picks are anything but.

In the midst of a seven-game losing streak, the Royals added injury to insult on Monday. The team announced second baseman Jonathan India has been placed on the Injured List with a left-shoulder subluxation. The team has called up Nick Loftin from Omaha to replace him.

India has continued his struggles from last year, hitting just .167/.310/.313 in 17 games this year. He has just one hit since April 6, going 1-for-20 over that time. He also suffered a left shoulder subluxation last June, and missed a game in the Atlanta series with a shoulder injury.

Loftin was up earlier this year and hit 2-for-9 (.222) with two walks and a double. The 27-year-old utility player hit .303/.385/.455 in nine games with Omaha.

The Orioles made the playoffs in 2024, had high expectations in 2025 only to crash and burn with a losing record. That sounds a bit familiar. They’re off to a decent start this year, but have dropped five of six recently, including three of four on this road trip.

Baltimore Orioles (10-12) vs. Kansas City Royals (7-15) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Orioles: 4.14 runs scored/game (19th in MLB), 4.45 runs allowed/game (15th)

Royals: 3.23 runs scored/game (30th), 4.68 runs allowed/game (22nd)

The Orioles have the 11th-best walk rate, but the second-highest strikeout rate. As a team, they are are hitting just .201/.295/.316 on the road this year. Baltimore paid a steep price to acquire Taylor Ward, but it has paid off as he leads the league with 11 doubles. Gunnar Henderson is a .299/.360/.478 hitter in 18 career games against the Royals. Big free agent signing Pete Alonso has just two home runs in 23 games. He has never hit fewer than four home runs in a month in which he has played at least 20 games.

Samuel Basallo signed an eight-year, $67 million deal in his first week in the big leagues, but has only hit .157 in 47 MLB games. Baltimore signed Leody Taveras and Jeremiah Jackson off the scrap heap, and both have performed early in the season. The Orioles are missing Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, Tyler O’Neill, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad, and Ryan Mountcastle to injury.

Kyle Bradish has appeared in just 14 games over 2024-25, after having Tommy John surgery. His 94 mph fastball has been very hittable – opponents are hitting .583 against it this year. But he does not throw it much, instead relying on a sinker, slider, and curve.

Shane Baz has also had an injury-filled past, but made a career-high 31 starts for Tampa Bay before they traded him to the Orioles this past off-season. He signed a five-year, $68 million deal with Baltimore, but is still looking for his first win of the year. Last year he struggled in Tampa Bay’s minor league park, but did much better with a 3.86 ERA in 15 road starts.

Chris Bassitt pitched in the World Series last year for the Blue Jays, posting a 3.92 ERA in 170.1 innings in the regular season. He signed with Baltimore in the offseason and has had mixed results, but tossed five shutout innings in his last start against the Guardians. He has a sinker in heavy rotation, generating a 46 percent groundball rate last year.

Ryan Helsley was disastrous at the end of last season with the Mets, but has resurrected his career with the Orioles, going 6-for-6 in save opportunities so far. The Orioles rely on a bullpen full of young, unproven no-namers, but they are getting results. They have the lowest rate of inherited runners to score in baseball at just 13 percent, and their 3.57 bullpen ERA is tenth in baseball.

The Royals need a win badly, but even a banged-up Orioles squad will prove to be a challenge. It is still April, but it’s getting late early. The Royals need a successful homestand to right the ship, and they need to start winning now.

Prior to their series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, the Tampa Bay Rays are calling up right-handed pitcher Trevor Martin from Triple-A Durham.

Martin, 25, was the Rays 3rd round selection in the 2022 draft. During his collegiate days, Martin was a closer for Oklahoma State but the Rays tried him as a starting pitcher for the first few years of his development. Martin easily dismantled hitters in the lower levels but Double-A was too much of a challenge and he was converted back into a reliever last season. This year, Martin has made seven appearances for Triple-A Durham and has yet to allow an earned run over 9.1 IP, registering a 26.8 K% and 14.6 BB% against 41 hitters faced.

FanGraphs ranked Martin as the Rays 42nd best prospect entering the 2025 season and they had this to say regarding the young hurler,

Martin hasn’t sustained his peak 2022 velo and was more 90-94 with his fastball in 2024, but plus vertical break and above-average extension help enable a fastball-heavy approach despite that middling velo. Aside from his curveball, which has movement that pairs with his heater, Martin doesn’t have a secondary pitch that’s performing at an average or better level.

Mason Englert heads to the Injured List with right forearm tightness. The 26-year old has thrown in 9 games for the Rays already this season, registering a 7.11 ERA | 4.77 FIP with a 16.7 K% & 6.7 BB% over 12.2 IP.

In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred recent free agent signing Michael Grove, to the 60-day Injured List.

The A’s announced a small roster move on Monday morning hours before their series with Seattle kicks off. The team is bringing up left-hander Brady Basso to the big league squad for the first time this season, while optioning out right-hander Mason Barnett back to Triple-A:

We have made the following roster moves. pic.twitter.com/GuRVNNcz14

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 20, 2026

Basso provides manager Mark Kotsay with another left-handed option out of the bullpen. The 29-year-old began the season in Triple-A with the Aviators in the ‘pen but has gotten hit hard in six appearances. He’s sporting an ugly 9.45 ERA but has had some success in the past before. Let’s hope he can figure it out at the big league level or if his struggles will continue.

Barnett meanwhile returns to Vegas after spending just a couple days with the big league team. The right-handed starter made just one relief appearance for the A’s this weekend, pitching two innings without allowing a run. He’ll now return to Vegas and likely resume his starting responsibilities until the A’s need another arm again. Maybe next time he gets brought back up he’ll actually get a starting assignment or two.

The Houston Astros come to town tonight, looking to get back on track, while the Guardians look to continue their strong start with another series win.

The Astros are 8-15 and third in wRC+ at 122, ninth in Baserunning Runs Above Average at 1.2, 21st in Defense at -5.4, last in starting pitcher ERA at 6.34 (4.59 FIP), and 24th in bullpen ERA at 5.21 ((4.26 FIP).

The Guardians are 13-10 and 17th in wRC+ at 100, 25th in Baserunning Runs Above Average at -1.5, ninth in Defense at -0.2, fourth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.10 (3.93 FIP), and 29th in bullpen ERA at 6.18 ERA (5.39 FIP).

On paper, looks like the Guardians need to hope the past couple games of bullpen improvement can hang around, then they will have a good chance of keeping that Astros’ offense in check. Putting the ball in play a good bit should help as the Houston defense looks bad, so far. It’s tough to read TOO much into trends for another couple weeks, at least, but surface level, the Guardians have a clear path to take this series.

MATCHUPS:
Game One, Monday, 6:10PM ET: Slade Cecconi, RHP 5.03 ERA (4.50 SIERA) vs. Spencer Arrighetti, RHP 1.50 ERA (3.28 SIERA).
Game Two, Tuesday, 6:10PM ET: Parker Messick, LHP 1.05 ERA (3.23 SIERA) vs. Ryan Weiss, RHP 4.91 ERA (7.18 SIERA).
Game Three, Wednesday, 1:10PM ET: Tanner Bibee, RHP 4.81 ERA (3.96 SIERA) vs. Peter Lambert, RHP 7.20 ERA (2.15 SIERA).

This will be a big series for the Guardians to show that they are more of an alpha team in the AL than the Astros. The Astros are reeling… (Mortal Kombat voice) FINISH THEM.

Also, Jose Ramirez’s official countdown to 300 homers/300 steals: 9 homers left, 3 steals left.

Glossary:

wRC+ – Weighted Runs Created Plus – A measure of determining a player’s run production value while controlling for park effects. 100 is league average.

Baserunning Runs Above Average – A metric including stolen base value, double-play avoidance, and taking extra bases to determine how many runs above average a team is on the basepaths

Defense – This stat gives you how many runs above average a team’s defenders save their team, adjusted for positional value (i.e. a catcher has far more defensive value for a team than a first baseman).

FIP – Fielding Independent Pitching. Essentially, ERA weighted by factors a pitcher can control (strikeouts, walks and homers) while eliminating as much as possible the effects of a good or bad defense.

SIERA – A metric to determine a pitcher’s true ERA based on strikeout rate, walk rate, and quality of batted-balls given up. This number is similar to ERA (3 and under is excellent) in determining player performance.

This past week looked like it was going to continue to frustrate the Yankees, as they opened up with a series where they pulled a split from the jaws of a sweep. The Angels outclassed them on the field, dominated the two wins that they took in the Bronx, and only thanks to the full might of the offense and Jordan Romano completely melting down in the ninth twice did they pull out a pair of walk-off wins. However, the Royals were a needed medicine and the team recovered fast, sweeping Kansas City out of town with a pair of weekend blowouts to boot.

The playing field has leveled out with the Yankees taking a brief dip into their first losing streak of the year, but they’ve clawed back a narrow half-game lead atop the division. The Rays are surprisingly the team they’re fending off after getting swept by them, as the rest of the East is still under .500, and the AL in general lacks standouts in the Central and West. Will the Rays remain a thorn in their side and stick around to challenge them for first, or are the standings so crazy right now that anything goes? Is Ben Rice breaking out into a superstar bat, or do we need to pump the breaks before leading co-MVP chants at the Stadium? Have the worries with Trent Grisham’s bat dissipated after finding the power stroke recently? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.

Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of April 23rd will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Rob Thomson sticks with Alec Bohm amid struggles on and off field originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO – Manager Rob Thomson considered giving Alec Bohm the night off as the Phillies began a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday night. But when the lineup was posted, Bohm was in it, batting sixth.

“I thought about it,” Thomson said. “But you know what, he’s going to play the next two days (against a pair of left-handed Cubs’ pitchers) so let’s run him through and see if we can get him going a little bit.”

The Phillies came into Wrigley Field on the heels of a troubling 2-7 homestand.

No one struggled more on the homestand than Bohm, who was just 2 for 29, dropping his season average to .139.

Bohm had a strong spring — .310, three homers, 10 RBIs, .928 OPS — and smacked a three-run homer to help key an opening day win. Since then, he has just nine hits, eight singles and a double, in 69 at-bats.

The hellacious slump has coincided with the news that Bohm has filed a lawsuit against his parents, claiming they mismanaged his finances.

Bohm has declined comment on the matter, citing the personal nature of it all. But it is fair to wonder if the situation has affected his play.

Thomson was asked if he believes that could be the case.

“That I can’t tell you,” he said. “Because I haven’t talked to him about it. My door is always open and I told him any time he wants to come in and talk about it, but he hasn’t.

“His demeanor around the clubhouse and prior to the game is really good, and, actually, during the game it’s really good. I see a lot less frustration out of him when he doesn’t do well. He’s growing up. He’s maturing. We’ve just got to get that swing and that contact point straightened out because we need him. He can hit.”

NOTES

• Catcher J.T. Realmuto, who came out of Saturday night’s game with lower back soreness and did not play Sunday night, was not in the starting lineup Monday night.

“He’s available on an emergency basis tonight,” Thomson said. “I think he’s going to be able to play (Tuesday night).”

• Thomson said he would announce Zack Wheeler’s next start on Tuesday. That start is expected to come in Atlanta, where the Phillies begin a series Friday night.

Thomas Nestico of TJStats broke down the top WAR player currently on each team by position and by division.

Today, we are going to look at the catcher position:

WAR Leaders by Division — Catcher pic.twitter.com/eytI82NU9W

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 20, 2026

Yainer Diaz hasn’t just been the worst catcher on his team. He isn’t just the worst catcher in the AL West. He’s tied as the worst catcher in MLB. That’s a statement.

When Yainer first came up to Houston, his defense would be a work in progress but he showed strong pop times and a powerful arm. At the plate, he had power, hit for a high average, and made strong contact despite a tendency to be a free swinger.

It was expected that as he got older, he would learn better plate discipline and get himself better pitches to hit as a result. Instead, the opposite has happened and Yainer has regressed at the plate badly as a result.

Yainer still swings at nearly everything, often leading to ground ball outs when reaching for pitches he should be taking. He sees less good pitches to hit because the league knows he will swing at anything.

The differences between Yainer’s rookie season of 2023 when he burst on the scene looking like a real catcher of the future to today are startling:

That is an awful lot of red that has turned to blue. The top 7 categories have gone from red to blue.

He still chases at near the same rate, and while his walk rate has improved ever so slightly, it’s still way down the bottom of the league.

It may be something that would be perhaps more tolerable if his defense had continued to improve. Alas, that has regressed also:

These stats are confounding because Diaz is not old enough to have age-related regression in physical ability, and we are not aware publicly of any kind of injury that is causing Diaz to regress. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation, and the room it does leave isn’t positive.

Meanwhile, Christian Vazquez is hitting .375 (12×32) with a .444 OBP and a 1.132 OPS, with 10 RBI in just 10 games (8 starts) and has four catcher caught stealings on the season.

While it’s unlikely Vazquez continues at this torrid a pace, he should be getting more playing time while he is hot, especially since his defense is such a vast improvement from Diaz’.

To be clear, we are not seeing some dip into the fountain of youth on Vazquez, this is a hot streak.

If we compare Vazquez’ 2025 (.189/.271/.274) to his current 2026 (.375/.444/.688) via the metrics, here is what we get:

As you can see, Vazquez’ offensive metrics really aren’t much different from last year.

His x SLG is nearly identical, as are his exit velocities and barrel rate.

Vazquez’ Hard Hit % is actually lower, as his is Square Up % and his overall bat speed.

His Chase Rate, Whiff Rate and K rate are all up, though his BB Rate is also up.

These numbers tell us that there has been some luck involved in his performance, but also that his willingness to draw walks (8.4% to 10.8%) has helped him get better pitches to hit, and he’s hit them in places that have resulted in base hits (xBA improvement from .210 to .251)

Now for the defense:

While it is likely the Blocks number for 2026 is negatively impacted by limited playing time, the Caught Stealing is something that Vazquez continues to do well in.

Framing could also be a factor of limited opportunity. Sprint speed is down, and that is to be expected in an aging catcher.

Overall, Vazquez doesn’t project as a starting-caliber catcher, but Diaz has been so bad this season, that the Astros really have no choice but to play Vazquez more (especially while he’s hot) if they intend on winning baseball games.

Maybe a short term hit to playing time lights a fire under Diaz, but we will learn a little something about his makeup if it does or it doesn’t.

The numbers match the eye test right now, and neither one lies. It has been a brutal start to the season for Yainer Diaz.

The question is at what point is there accountability.

The Cincinnati Reds have scored just 78 runs through their 22 games played this year, yet they’ve managed to win 14 of those and sit in 1st place in their division after their weekend sweep of the Minnesota Twins.

The Tampa Bay Rays, meanwhile, have seen their runners score 103 times through just 21 games, yet they sit in 2nd place in their own division with 12 wins after dropping two of three over the weekend against Pittsburgh.

Not all baseball is played alike, of course. Tampa’s offense has come out of the gate in impressive fashion, their team wOBA ranking 11th overall, their team wRC+ 10th, and their 18.6% K-rate at the plate the second lowest of any team in baseball. The flip side to that, though, is that their 4.90 expected ERA through those 21 games is 5th worst as they’ve yielded 1.28 homers per game (5th highest) – and the collective 5.81 xERA from their relievers is the single worst of any bullpen unit to date.

In many ways, the 12-9 Rays are the inverse of the 14-8 Reds, who have gotten where they are thanks to elite bullpen work and improved defense (Cincinnati ranks 13th in DEF at FanGraphs while Tampa ranks 2nd worst) despite bottom of the barrel offense. Both clubs, though, have managed to win a lot more than they’ve lost despite both still boasting negative run differentials for the season, with Tampa mimicking the Reds with a 4-1 record in one-run games of their own.

Something will likely have to give in this series, though that’s not a given. We could get a 9-6 win from Tampa followed by a pair of pair of 2-1 Reds victories, and that would just about sum up where both clubs are on the baseball result spectrum at this point in the galaxy’s history.

Rhett Lowder will toe the rubber in Monday’s series opener, with Chase Burns (Tuesday) and Brandon Williamson (Wednesday) slated to follow. First pitch Monday at the renovated Trop is set for 6:40 PM ET, and the Reds will line up like so:

First of three with the Rays!

Powered by @PNCBankpic.twitter.com/O3eVWqSn6L

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 20, 2026

So we can only have so many nice things with the 2026 Red Sox, eh?

Good news! The offense can actually produce runs!

Bad news! Sonny Gray left the game in the third with right hamstring tightness and we had to almost empty out the pen before the series against the Yankees!

Fun times.

Can I also just say the jersey matchup today was phenomenal? I wouldn’t be opposed to the Tigers bringing these navy getups back in much more permanent fashion.

Studs

Roman Anthony (1-for-2, 3 BB, 1 RBI)

Things might be starting to click for Roman, and it’s really because of the walks. Being able to have a good eye means you’re not swinging at bull. When he can put the second half of it together and make good contact on his pitches, watch out.

Masataka Yoshida (2-for-4, 2 runs scored, 1 BB)

Where has he come from? His exit velo is at a career high, his clutch meter is through the roof, his decision making…well he at least got back to third and didn’t get caught blowing by a stop sign in this one, but I’m seeing a good ballplayer!

Middle Bullpen (Weissert, Whitlock)

The Italian Stallion and Mr. Whit cleaned up a big mess inherited from the below. It let the Sox score a few more runs and breath a little.

Duds

Middle Bullpen (Morán, Watson, Kelly)

These guys are lucky that the Sox don’t have so many function arms because BOY do they get used a lot and boy is it an adventure every single time. Ryan Watson, WHAT are you doing?

Jarren Duran (0-for-3, 1 K)

Almost put Abreu on here but he walked and brought in a run, Duran just didn’t have an affect on this one.

Play of the Game

I was going to go for Rafaela’s RBI single in the 7th, but this actually ended up being the game-winning hit after all was said and done. I can’t believe after getting inches from being beaned on a bunt, he slapped that single.

The Atlanta Braves will be facing off against the Washington Nationals tonight in a battle of two of top three offenses in MLB right now in terms of runs scored per game. The Braves are scoring 5.55 runs per game and the Nats are scoring 5.50.

This matchup will feature five hitters in the top thirty in the NL in wRC+. CJ Abrams in currently number two in the NL with Michael Harris rounding out the top thirty.

With the Nats’ starter Jake Irvin being a RHP, it could be assumed that we will see a lineup that features the red hot Dom Smith, but what we did not know for certain is if Walt Weiss will be resting any of the starters. He has been doing that this season seemingly more than Brian Snitker did.

📍 Washington, DC#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/upa7qaR6Sl

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 20, 2026

We knew Matt Olson would not be sitting, but he has struggled against Irvin in his sixteen at-bats with a .188 average and .610 OPS. Dominic Smith has a .333 average against Irvin in his six at-bats, but only a .666 OPS. The player to keep an eye on is Michael Harris who leads the team with eighteen at-bats against Irvin and has been successful. He has a .389 average and .950 OPS against him.

It turns out that Mauricio Dubón will be getting the night off as Jorge Mateo will be getting the nod at SS. We also have some other movements of note. Mike Yastrzemski has been moved down to ninth while he is waiting to get into a groove, and red hot Michael Harris has been moved up to sixth in the lineup. It is nice to see that Walt Weiss is not stuck on a certain lineup and will play the hot hand and move certain players around.

For the Nationals, CJ Abrams has had no trouble against Bryce Elder in his career. In his fifteen at-bats against him, he has a .400 average and .905 OPS. In fact, five of the seven players to have faced Elder before have an OPS of .800 or better. The difference is this is arguably the best version of Bryce Elder we have ever seen.

The Nationals red hot offense will be a real test to see if Elder is for real. Every pitcher has an off night every once in awhile. We saw it with Chris Sale recently. But, Elder could also prove tonight that he can slow down a potent lineup. The key will be slowing down Abrams and James Wood, who has hit a HR off of Elder already in his young career.

First pitch is at 6:45 EDT.

In an unusual road game on Monday that wraps up a four-game series, the Dodgers try to avoid a third straight defeat at the hands of the Colorado Rockies, twice done in by the bullpen late in games. They’ll do so against a familiar face in José Quintana, a starter they’ve bullied in the NLCS in each of the past two seasons on their way to World Series titles. Now, this lefty-mashing offense will get the opportunity to hit against Quintana in Coors Field.

As a team, the Dodgers have an .851 OPS against southpaws, while 28 of the other 30 clubs are below .800. And sure, scoring 16 runs in three games isn’t bad by any means, but there was probably a little part in all of us that wanted to see them crack double digits at least once while playing in Colorado. This is as good an opportunity as any.

For the second week in a row, Justin Wrobleski will square off against a lefty, now looking to replicate—at least partially—the success he had against the Mets, pitching the game of his life with eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball.

A reliever who provided length for the majority of his early career in the majors, Wrobleski fulfilled that role three times in previous appearances at Coors Field. This will be his first start at Colorado, following what seemed to be a trend in this series—Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow had also never started a game in Coors before.

Monday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Rockies
• Ballpark: Coors Field, Denver
• Start time: 5:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)