Category: Baseball

Columbus Clippers 8, St. Paul Saints 3

What a season it has been for Kahlil Watson! He went 2-5 with a 2 RBI double to raise his average to .276 and his OPS to .931. Juan Brito also went 2-5 with an RBI triple. He is hitting .281 with a .903 OPS in AAA this season. Stuart Fairchild went 2-4 with a walk, and Kody Huff continues his great season going 2-3 with a walk. He is now hitting .318 with an OPS of .980.

It was a solid start for Rorik Maltrud. He gave up 3 runs in 5 innings pitched but also had 7 strikeouts to just 1 walk. His ERA on the season sits at 2.50. Daniel Espino pitched 2/3 of an inning and had two more walks, something he has been struggling with lately. Trent Denholm wound up getting the win by pitching 3.1 scoreless innings of relief with 5 strikeouts.

Akron RubberDucks 5, Chesapeake Baysox 3

We are calling this one the Juan Benjamin game. Benjamin went 4-4 with two doubles and was responsible for 3 of the 5 RubberDucks runs. Alfonsin Rosario went 1-4 with a double, Alex Mooney went 1-3 with an RBI single.

It has been a rough season for Dylan Delucia. This start wasn’t too bad but he still allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in his 4 innings pitched. His ERA on the season sits at 8.14. Adam Tulloch, Reid Johnston, and Jay Driver combined for 5 scoreless innings of relief with 5 strikeouts to just 2 walks.

Lake County Captains 16, Dayton Dragons 6

What a day it was for the Rake County Captains. They really made that nickname proud last night. Luke Hill continues to have an awesome season, he went 4-5 with two Home Runs. Nolan Schubart had 3 walks and hit a grand slam. Aaron Walton might be the highest rising position player prospect in the system after homering again today, he is hitting .319 with a 1.027 OPS on the season. They have to get him to Akron soon. Jace Laviolette went 1-4 with a double and a walk, and Dean Curley went 1-3 with two walks and an RBI single.

It hasn’t been the season that Rafe Schlesinger was hoping to have. He allowed 3 more runs today in 3.1 innings pitched and his ERA is up to 5.33 on the season. The main takeaway from this game on the pitching side has to be Cam Schuelke. His ERA is down to 0.55 on the season after throwing 2 scoreless innings of relief with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk.

Hill City Howlers 7, Wilson Warbirds 3

Dauri Fernandez went 2-4 with an RBI double and a walk. He is now hitting .288 with a .769 OPS on the season. Cannon Peebles went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI single. Jose Pirela homered again and continues his nice season. Tyler Howard went 2-4 with a 2 RBI ground rule double.

Nelson Keljo continues to look awesome. He tossed 4 more scoreless innings tonight with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks. His ERA is down to 1.69 on the season. Ryan Prager made his Single A debut today and threw 2 scoreless innings of relief with 2 strikeouts.

TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros (17-27) will continue their seven-game homestand today as they look to earn a four-game series split with a win against the rival Seattle Mariners (21-23).

Astros starter RHP Mike Burrows (2-4, 5.04 ERA), who tossed 7.0 shutout innings his last time out, will oppose RHP Luis Castillo (0-4, 6.57 ERA) and the Mariners in this series finale.

ABOUT BURROWS: RHP Mike Burrows owns a 2.50 ERA (5ER/18IP) in his last three starts and is coming off the best start of his young career on Friday at CIN (0ER/7IP).

Burrows is acclimating himself to the AL West, as he was acquired from the Pirates this offseason as part of a three-team, six-player trade in which the Astros sent OF Jacob Melton and minor leaguer RHP Anderson Brito to the Tampa Bay Rays, while the Rays sent IF Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

ROCK CLIMBING: The Astros are facing RHP Luis Castillo for the 11th time in his career today and for the second time this season, with the first coming on April 11 in Seattle when the Astros tagged him for seven runs on 3.1 innings.

DH Yordan Alvarez took Castillo deep in that game and now has three career home runs and a lifetime .474 (9×19) average off the three-time All-Star.

VS. SEATTLE: The Astros and Mariners are playing their second series of 2026 and after today will not see each other again until August.

With a win last night, the Astros snapped a nine-game losing streak to Seattle, which spanned back to 2025.

ABOUT THE SKIPPER:Manager Joe Espada recorded his 192nd career managerial victory last night, which moved him past Harry Craft (1962-64) into 12th in club history. He now immediately trails Jimy Williams (215) for 11th on that all-time list.

LANCE REACHES 900 K’S: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. surpassed 900 career strikeouts last night as he fanned six in his 5.1 innings pitched. McCullers became the 15th player in franchise history to reach 900 strikeouts and the quickest to do so in terms of appearances (154g).

THE ORDER: The Astros have used 44 different lineups in their 44 games in 2026. Only LF Yordan Alvarez has started every game in the same spot in the lineup (hitting second), although he will bat 3rd today.

1B Christian Walker has played in every game (43 starts).

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: With two RBI last night, 2B Jose Altuve reached 900 career RBI, making him the fifth player in franchise history to reach that mark.

He also checks in with 238 career homers as a second baseman, needing one more to tie Lou Whitaker for seventh place all-time in MLB history among second basemen.

THE SHEW FITS: SS Braden Shewmake went 2×5 last night, which extended his current hitting streak to a career-long eight games.

Shewmake has hit .364 (12×33) with three homers and a 1.000 OPS in 13 games since being acquired by the Astros in a trade from the Yankees on April 19.

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker is hitting .296 (24×81) in his last 21 games (since April 20) with six homers and 13 RBI.

Among AL players this season, Walker ranks tied for third in RBI (29), sixth in extra-base hits (20), seventh in total bases (84), and seventh in SLG (.525).

GUN ‘EM DOWN: In just 21 games, C Christian Vázquez has thrown out nine baserunners attempting to steal (in 25 attempts), which ranks tied for first in the AL and fourth in the Majors.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2017 – The Astros spoil Derek Jeter Night at Yankee Stadium, erupting for six runs in the 1st inning off RHP Masahiro Tanaka en route to a 10-7 win on national TV. 3B Alex Bregman hits his first career grand slam in the big 1st inning. The win gave Houston a split in what was a Mother’s Day doubleheader.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, May 14, 1:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers close out their four-game series. The Giants won the first two games before Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers shut them out 4-0 on Wednesday. Scheduled starting pitchers are Landen Roupp for San Francisco, with a 3.09 ERA, and Emmet Sheehan for Los Angeles, with a 4.79 ERA.

How to watch San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

• Date: Thursday, May 14

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET / 7:10 p.m. PT

• Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

• TV Channels: MLB Network, SportsNet LA, NBCS BA

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• San Francisco Giants: 18-25 (No. 4 in NL West)

• Los Angeles Dodgers: 25-18 (No. 2 in NL West)

Odds

• Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5

• Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -173 (60.7%) / San Francisco Giants +144 (39.3%)

• Over/Under: 8.0

Starting pitchers

San Francisco Giants: Landen Roupp (5-3, ERA: 3.09, K: 51, WHIP: 1.10)
Los Angeles Dodgers: Emmet Sheehan (2-1, ERA: 4.79, K: 43, WHIP: 1.35)

Weather: 68°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 56,000 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

Update 11:39am MT: Thomas Harding reports that Dollander was removed due to right arm tightness.

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chase Dollander left today’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after facing two batters in the second inning.

After giving up a leadoff double to Endy Rodríguez and then walking Jared Triolo, he shook his right arm and was visited by Keith Dugger and Warren Schaeffer on the mound before being lifted.

Dollander threw 28 pitches, 17 for strikes while allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits with a walk. Two of the runs were scored on a two-run homer from Ryan O’Hearn in the first inning.

Brennan Bernardino entered in relief, and recently-recalled Tanner Gordon will likely pitch most of the innings today.

The reasons for Dollander leaving the game are not known at this time, but Purple Row will continue to follow this developing story.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Royals have not been happy road warriors. Their loss to the White Sox last night ensures they will have lost six of their first seven road series, the only success being a sweep in Seattle. They are just 6-14 overall on the road, the second-worst record in baseball.

The road woes have been a complete team effort – both the hitting and the pitching have been noticeably worse away from Kansas City.

The team moved the fences in at Kauffman Stadium to give hitters a more neutral environment. Runs are up 35 percent at the K – they averaged just 3.71 runs-per-game there last year. At home, the Royals are an offensive juggernaut. They have the seventh-best home offense in baseball with a wRC+ of 115. Royals hitters have a line of .265/.349/.436 at home. They have the fifth-best on-base percentage and the second-highest hard-hit rate. Maikel Garcia is hitting .351 at home. Michael Massey is hitting .333 with three home runs in 14 games at the K. Seven Royals hitters are hitting .298 or better at home.

The road is a completely different story. Royals hitters are batting just .213/.284/.341 on the road – only the Phillies have been worse. Their hard-hit rate falls from 37.1 percent at home to just 29.9 percent on the road, fifth-worst in baseball. Garcia is hitting just .207 on the road. Isaac Collins went hitless in his first 28 at-bats on the road.

Pitchers have endured similar struggles. Their 5.05 road ERA is the fifth-worst in baseball. Royals pitchers have the third-worst home run rate on the road, while they have the tenth-best home run rate at home. Cole Ragans has a 7.97 ERA on the road, second-worst among qualified pitchers. Royals relievers have a 5.57 ERA on the road, although admittedly that figure is distorted by a six-run blowup by Carlos Estévez in Atlanta.

For all their struggles last year, the 2025 Royals were not a particularly bad road team. They finished 39-42 away from the K, scoring more runs on the road. Could the changes to Kauffman Stadium be a possible culprit for the offense? It has boosted offense at home, but could there be a “hangover” effect? Coors Field famously inflates offensive numbers for Rockies hitters, but it also seems to make their road numbers worse as hitters adjust their approach when playing in Denver, but struggle to readjust for road games. Could Royals hitters be eyeing the shorter porches at Kauffman, messing up their approach on the road?

Their home run totals on the road don’t seem to dip too much, rather it is their road batting average of .213 that is an outlier. Some bad luck could be contributing to that – their road BABIP is .261, second-worst in baseball. It could also be a matter of small sample size and matchups. Three of the teams they have visited – the Braves, Guardians, and Athletics, all sit in first place, and another – the Yankees – have one of the best records in baseball.

Still, the Royals will need to figure out their road struggles soon. Some home/road disparity is normal. But the Royals haven’t just been worse away from Kansas City – they look like an entirely different team.

First Pitch (CT):12:40 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo’ Foe: Fish on First

The Twins go for the series victory and first series win vs an NL team in 2026. Zebby Matthews was recalled today to make the start, his first of the season, while the Twins’ lineup will see lefty Braxton Garrett, also making his first start of the year.

After losing the battle for the final rotation spot to Mick Abel, Zebby has been passed over several times as injuries have come up, with the Twins opting for the likes of Connor Prielipp and Kendry Rojas, and Zebby’s AAA numbers make that decision obvious. In 34.1 innings, Matthews has a 4.72 ERA/6.09 FIP/4.28 xFIP while striking out just 21.9% of batters and walking a career high 7.4% of them. His diminished velocity from Spring Training hasn’t really improved and, more importantly, his breaking pitches aren’t really breaking. He’s been better over his past three starts in St. Paul, but this many walks for a player who relies on pinpoint accuracy is concerning. We’ll see if he can turn things around today!

Roster notes:

• RP Travis Adams was optioned to make room for Zebulon
• Struggling Matt Wallner finally got demoted in favor of utility man Ryan Kreidler. Kreidler is likely a placeholder until one of Alan Roden, Emmanuel Rodriguez, or Walker Jenkins is healthy, but it’s a disappointing run for a player the Twins were hopeful could be part of their next core. With so many top prospects on the brink of debuting, there’s a chance we may not see the Forest Lake native with the Big League squad again.
• In the meantime, Austin Martin will get a chance to play every day and see if his hot start is sustainable. Martin has established himself as a key role player, but he’ll get a few weeks to see if he can be more than that.
• Byron Buxton is getting a rare day off. He’s been either their best or second-best player this season (I see you Ryan Jeffers) but even superheroes need breaks occasionally. The Twins don’t have an off day for another week so this seemed like a good time get him off his feet after a monster Wednesday performance.

Lineups

For the first time since 2011, the No. 6 Texas Longhorns host the Missouri Tigers in Austin as conference opponents as head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team tries to secure a favorable seed in next week’s SEC Tournament — as Schlossnagle noted on Wednesday, he was told the Horns could finish anywhere from second to ninth.

The context would make such a slide extremely disappoint, as Missouri enters the series in last place in the conference at 6-21 after entering the season with low expectations when the league’s head coaches picked the Tigers to finish 16th in the 16-team conference.

Given that profile, it’s unsurprising that Missouri has struggled on the road this year with a 3-12 record, but Kerrick Jackson’s program did upset then-No. 24 Kentucky in Lexington for two of those wins — the other came in Knoxville against Tennessee — the first road series win for the Tigers over a ranked team since 2021.

Missouri is also coming off a home series win against Vanderbilt, its first time taking a home conference series since April 2024, so the Tigers do present some level of danger for the Longhorns.

That danger is not typically present at the plate, however — Mizzou is 14th in the SEC in batting average (.262), 15th in runs scored (312), and last in home runs (45) and slugging percentage (.405). With 11 home runs, first baseman Jase Woita is the only Tiger in double digits, while shortstop Kam Durnin and designated hitter Blaize Ward are the only regulars batting over .300 at .329 and .321, respectively.

The pitching hasn’t been much better because the Tigers are saddled with a 5.43 ERA that ranks 15th in the SEC and a .246 opposing batting average that slots 13th. But the No. 1 starter, right-hander Josh McDevitt (3-5, 4.08 ERA), has been good for Missouri, striking out 91 batters in 69.2 innings and ranking fourth nationally in whiff rate on his fastball at 31.8 percent. Left-hander Brady Kehlenbrink (3-8, 6.45 ERA) gets the nod on Friday, but the Saturday starter remains to be determined.

“That’s the thing about Missouri is they play a lot of close games and their starting pitching, especially the first two guys, those guys can pitch for every single team in our conference in the weekend rotation,” Schlossnagle said.

The Texas rotation remains the same as last weekend, led by sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis (6-0, 2.06 ERA) and followed by redshirt senior left-hander Luke Harrison (5-2, 3.88 ERA) and senior right-hander Ruger Riojas (4-2, 3.93 ERA).

The key for all three starters is to get off to a better start. Volantis gave up three runs over the first two innings in last Friday’s loss to Tennessee before reeling off three straight scoreless frames. For Harrison, every inning was a struggle against the Volunteers, but giving up two runs in the first inning is the continuation of a trend that includes eight runs allowed in the first inning against the Aggies and five runs allowed in the first inning against the Bulldogs. After Texas took a 4-0 lead on Sunday against Tennessee, Riojas gave up a first-inning grand slam and also conceded three runs in the first inning against Vanderbilt.

Riojas cited some poor luck on batted balls as part of the randomness of baseball as a factor in his slow starts and recent struggles, but also referenced the need to play with emotion, but not emotional.

“Honestly, the most exciting time is when you first when you first step onto the mound. You take everything in and it can be hard for you to refocus into that. I feel like I do, but maybe when I try to refocus off that excitement, it takes the edge away from it. When I try to be calm and collected, maybe I’m just too calm,” Riojas said.

With the rotation remaining the same despite the short week imposed by the start of the SEC Tournament, the biggest decisions for Schlossnsagle are who to play at second base with junior Ethan Mendoza still unable to throw — senior Jayden Duplantier, redshirt senior Temo Becerra, or sophomore Callum Early — and whether redshirt senior outfielder Dariyan Pendergrass is healthy enough to play after missing nearly a month with a hamstring injury.

“We’ve got to look at the matchups and see what that looks like,” Schlossnagle said.

Missouri trails the all-time series 37-30 and hasn’t won a series in Austin since 2007.

The series opens with 6:30 p.m. Central start times on Thursday and Friday, followed by the series finale at 2 p.m. Central on Sunday. SEC Network+ airs all three games.

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The Chicago Cubs will look to avoid a series sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves when the two teams hit Truist Park on Thursday, May 14.

My top Cubs vs. Braves predictions and MLB picks call for the Chicago bats to wake up in the finale tonight.

Who will win Cubs vs Braves today: Cubs moneyline (+158)

The Chicago Cubs have the lowest BABIP and scored just 3.0 runs per game over the past week, and they’re a huge underdog despite pacing the majors in wOBA against left-handed pitchers.

Atlanta Braves southpaw Chris Sale is up to his typical no-nonsense self and cruising to the tune of a 2.20 ERA, but there are still signs for slight concern.

Sale’s .223 BABIP and 88.4% strand rate are notably better than his respective .313 and 81.0% marks over the previous two seasons, and the Chicago lineup is a top candidate to kick-start the statistical correction.

COVERS INTEL: Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale’s 2.20 ERA is well below his 3.06 xERA.

Cubs vs Braves Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (+100)

In addition to the Cubs leading the majors in wOBA against left-handed pitchers, the Braves pace baseball in the metric against righties.

Of course, Atlanta also leads the way in runs per game (5.51), with Chicago tied for the third most per (5.07), and Chicago has also hit the Over in 21 of their past 35 games (+6.75 Units / 17% ROI).

Finally, while Cubs starter Ben Brown pitched well across four frames in his first start of the year, he also sports a 5.08 ERA as a starter across a healthy 118 2/3 innings.

Cubs vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Cubs +150 | Braves -175
• Run line: Cubs +1.5 (-140) | Braves -1.5 (+120)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+100) | Under 7.5 (-120)

Cubs vs Braves trend

The Chicago Cubs have won 21 of their last 30 games (+11.60 Units / 29% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Braves.

How to watch Cubs vs Braves and game info

Cubs vs Braves latest injuries

Cubs vs Braves 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.

Detroit Tigers (18-24) vs. New York Mets (17-25)

Time/Place: 1:10 p.m., Citi Field
SB Nation Site: Amazin’ Avenue
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (2-2, 3.18 ERA) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (1-2, 2.78 ERA)

Juan Soto is back in the New York Mets lineup for Thursday’s game against the Tigers after exiting Wednesday night’s game with a foot injury. 

Soto fouled a pitch off his foot in the third inning of a 3-2 win in extra innings for the Mets. He finished the at-bat despite being in obvious pain, and came back for an at-bat in the sixth inning before eventually being replaced by MJ Melendez. Soto’s x-rays were negative following the game, and being placed immediately in the lineup for a day game after a night game is certainly a good sign. 

Soto hasn’t been himself at the plate since returning from the injured list in April, hitting .221/.333./.412 with six RBIs in 19 games. Even if he isn’t playing to his career numbers yet this season, Soto’s immediate return to the lineup is the best-case scenario for a team dealing with key injuries to Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert Jr., among others. 

Steve Gelbs of SNY reported Thursday that Lindor’s updated MRI showed healing in his injured calf, but that there is still no timetable for the shortstop’s return. Adding that, manager Carlos Mendoza said that Lindor will progress with the strength-training portion of his recovery. 

Additionally, MLB’s Anthony DiComo reported Thursday that Alvarez had surgery on the torn meniscus in his right knee. The team expects Alvarez’s recovery to be towards the longer end of his recovery timetable, and he is likely to be sidelined for eight weeks. 

New York has a chance to earn their first series sweep of the season Thursday afternoon against a struggling Tigers team. Detroit is just 3-8 in May.

The Guardians, again, are hanging around the bottom half to bottom third of MLB in offense. Why is that the case, and what can be done to change things?

First, it’s important to acknowledge some notable improvements for Guardians’ hitters. In 2025, they were 28th in MLB with 87 wRC+ as a team. Their walk rate was 16th best in MLB at 8.3%. In 2026, so far, they are 20th in wRC+ and fourth in MLB in walk rate at 11.2%. This improvement is especially notable because the Guardians’ three best hitters from last season have had very slow starts to the season, with Jose Ramirez putting up a 101 wRC+, Kyle Manzardo a 66 wRC+ and Steven Kwan a 70 wRC+. If we assume Ramirez will return at least to something closer to 120 wRC+ and Manzardo and Kwan to something closer to league average, the overall offensive output should be closer to just eking into the top half of MLB.

Why doesn’t it feel like things are better for the Guardians’ than a top half offense? When looking at batted ball date, the team is still solidly top 10 in both pull-rate and fly-ball rate. This, by the way, is Jose Ramirez’s primary issue. His pull-rate is down a solid 9% over what it has been the past three years of his career. He’s also seeing about 5% more first-pitch strikes. Basically, Hosey… go up there and try to deposit the first pitch you see in the corner bleachers, and everything should be fine. Anyway, there’s your “how to fix Jose” article in two sentences. The Guardians, as a whole, likely need to look to swing more often on first pitches as they are 26th in MLB in swing rate on the first thing they see from a pitcher in a given at-bat.

But, back to the topic at hand, the Guardians’ offense as a whole. Cleveland still ranks near the bottom of the league in a couple crucial categories – they are last in bat speed (70.3%), 29th in hard-hit rate (34.7%), and 25th in barrel rate. So, while some folks have rightly pointed out that the Guardians have seen some excellent defense played against them…

…the primary issue they are having is they just are not hitting the dang ball hard often enough. So, hey, Guardians – swing faster, get the barrel on the ball – done. Sarcasm aside, some basic ways the Guardians may look to be getting better swings off may be that they are only 15th in MLB in swinging at pitches in the heart of the plate. The Guardians simply are not swinging the bat much – they are toward the bottom swinging at pitches in the shadow of the zone, in chasing and in wasting swings, which is good. However, it seems that this valiant attempt to walk more is perhaps inhibiting their ability to get after pitches in the heart of the zone. Now that a strong plate discipline ethic has been established, it’s truly time to tell these guys to look to let it rip on pitches that drift toward the heart of the plate, regardless of the count.

If you’ve watched a few seconds of Cleveland Guardians’ baseball this season, you MAY have noticed that the team struggles to hit changeups. It’s not your imagination. The Guardians are far and away the worst offense against changeups in MLB at -14.9 runs below average. So, you can bet the Guardians are going to see a LOT of changeups until something changes there. I suspect that part of our hitters’ bat speed issues are due to their attempt to adjust to the steady diet of offspeed they’ve been seeing. The solution for this is pretty simple – get in the cages and set those batting machines to “nastiest changeup mix you’ve ever seen.”

There really is no way out of this predicament other than going through it. Daniel Schneemann, Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez are the only hitters right now to have positive run value vs. changeups. CJ Kayfus leads the team with 1.2 runs above average against them, so, hey, might be a good idea to get him back up here at some point. Over the past three years, Jose, Angel and Kwan are the only Guardians’ hitters currently on the roster who have a positive run value vs. changeups. It’s an organizational issue and you have to hope that Grant Fink and the gang are hard at work on finding a way to deal with it. I note that Stephen Vogt said, recently, that young hitters have to hit the fastball in order to survive in the bigs, so adjusting the offspeed is the next big challenge once they are here. It’s probably fair to expect some improvement vs. changeups from folks like Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, Brayan Rocchio and even Kyle Manzardo as they continue to gain experience… but it’ll take some intentional work.

There could be some help, offensively, still on the way from Columbus. Aside from getting Kayfus back on track, Kahlil Watson has an average exit velocity of 94.4 mph and a hard-hit rate of 56.6% in Columbus. Might swapping him and Petey Halpin in a couple weeks and giving Watson steady plate appearances in center while letting Angel Martinez eat into Kwan’s playing time make sense at that point? Cooper Ingle has an average exit velocity of 90.6% and a hard-hit rate of 56.6%. Is there a way to get him on this roster at some point to see if that can transfer some? And, finally, at some point Ralphy Velazquez will make his way to Columbus and begin putting pressure on both Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins. We don’t yet have his exit velocities and hard-hit rates but a .512 slugging and a .202 ISO are positive signs, especially if he continues to build on a recent hot stretch.

Ultimately, the improvements are going to have to come from within the players currently on the roster. The Guardians need to go to the plate looking to do maximum damage on pitches that come near the heart of the zone. They need to spend tons of time in the cages getting the best looks they can at the best changeups pitching machines can produce. They need to maintain their excellent plate discipline and trust that their 29th best batting-average-on-balls-in-play will improve if they make quality contact consistently. I think Guardians’ fans should be optimistic that, by the summer, this can be a top 15 offense in baseball. But, it won’t come without putting in a lot of work until then.

Milwaukee squandered a masterpiece from Jacob Misiorowski last night, allowing the Padres to come back and eke out a ninth-inning win. Both teams have now each won one game heading into today’s rubber match, which pits Kyle Harrison against right-hander Griffin Canning.

Milwaukee has embraced a youth movement within its rotation, but Harrison (2.41 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) has been pitching like a seasoned veteran. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his seven appearances while striking out just over eleven batters per nine innings.

However, Harrison is coming off a slightly more stressful outing against the Yankees. The left-hander allowed just two runs on four hits, but walked four batters, allowed at least one baserunner in every inning, and lasted only four innings. He’ll look to bounce back against a Padres lineup that Misiorowski dominated last night.

San Diego is starting former Gold Glove winner Griffin Canning, who made his season debut on May 3 after spending the early part of the year rehabbing an Achilles tear suffered last season with the Mets. Canning posted a career-best 3.77 ERA before the injury and looked effective in his first start back (against the White Sox) but the Cardinals tagged him for six runs in his last outing.

No big surprises in today’s lineup, as the top of the order — Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras — remains unchanged. Contreras will get the day off behind the plate in favor of cleanup hitter Gary Sánchez. Andrew Vaughn is batting fifth in front of Luis Rengifo, who’s at third base today. Rounding out the order are Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and David Hamilton, who gets the start at shortstop in place of Joey Ortiz.

Notably, Christian Yelich is again out of the lineup after Pat Murphy said yesterday that he’d been dealing with “back soreness.” Yelich reportedly tried to play last night, but given his history of back issues, it’s understandable that the Brewers want to be cautious. Definitely a situation worth monitoring over the next few days.

Today’s first pitch is set for 12:40 p.m. You can catch the game on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network.

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The Phillies and Red Sox play the rubber game of their midweek series at Fenway on Thursday.

Each team has a win, but they’ve combined for seven runs in the two games. Boston and Philly are both playing better since changing managers last month, but neither team is hitting.  

Boston appears to have the better end of a southpaw pitching matchup. My Phillies vs. Red Sox predictions and MLB picks look for the Sox to take it at home.

Who will win Phillies vs Red Sox today: Red Sox moneyline (-106)

Wednesday’s 2-1 win marked the 15th time this season the Boston Red Sox have scored three runs or fewer at Fenway Park. Boston has scored 21 in their last 11 at home. 

The Red Sox face lefty Jesus Luzardo who has a 5.77 ERA, although the underlying stats indicate that might be partially due to bad luck. Boston hits 96 OPS points higher against lefties and is 13% better than league average.

The Philadelphia Phillies have also been hitting below league average on the season and face Boston southpaw Ranger Suarez. Philadelphia is hitting 10% below league average and 51 OPS worse against lefties.

COVERS INTEL:Luzardo is in baseball’s top 10% in strikeout percentage, swing and miss, chase rate, exit velocity against and hard-hit percentage against. His FIP (a predictor of future ERA) is below 3.00. So he should start seeing better results soon.

Phillies vs Red Sox Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-125)

Suarez left Philadelphia last winter after eight seasons, so he’s familiar with the lineup. He’s held opponents scoreless in four of his last five starts and has logged two eight-inning outings over that span. His fastball’s run value is in MLB’s top 1%, and his overall pitching value is top 5%.  

Most of Luzardo’s struggles have been at home this season. He’s 2-0, 2.04 in road starts with 12 strikeouts per nine. Opponents are hitting 21% below league average against him away from Philadelphia. Add that to Boston’s offensive struggles at home (74 OPS+) and it should be low-scoring.

Phillies vs Red Sox odds

• Moneyline: Philadelphia -104 | Boston -100
• Run line: Philadelphia -1.5 (+156) | Boston +1.5 (-163)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+117) | Under 7.5 (-122)

Phillies vs Red Sox trend

The Boston Red Sox have hit the Game Total Under in 18 of their last 24 games at home (+12.40 Units / 47% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Red Sox.

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