Category: Baseball

Brad Lidge is an archaeologist in real life. The following, however, does not take place in real life. It takes place in the year 3026, when the Phillies, and the sport they played, have been forgotten by all. All that is, except for the archaeologists who study the distant, dusty past. Among them is a scholar by the name of Brad Lidge the 35th, who is only now beginning to discover the grand drama of which his ancestor was a part. It is an imaginary story… aren’t they all?

Scene: A conference room at the annual meeting of the Worldwide Society of Archaeologists. The year, 3026. BRAD LIDGE THE 35TH, a young, talented scholar, bright-eyed, eager, is on stage, presenting his research.

LIDGE:

…, the Phillies were thought by our field to be a myth, characters in tales told by the ancient Philadelphians to teach their children valuable lessons in how to persevere through failure. That is, of course, until the discovery of the Complaint Tablet to WIP-Nāsir, which conclusively proved their existence as actual historical figures. Though we know little of the game they played, we are aware that it was called “baseball”, that it took place in various public forums, and that it involved a village elder dressing up as a mysterious creature known as the Phanatic, whose rhythmic dances were possibly part of a Philadelphian fertility ritual.

We also know that the Phillies apparently never won. Our colleagues have identified hundreds of fragments of parchment, uncovered from various sites around the Philadelphia region, each of which reads something like “Braves triumph over Phillies” or “Phillies fall to Cubs”. Like the even-more ancient gladiators of ancient Rome, these Phillies appeared to be tasked with battling both humans and animals. Unlike their Roman counterparts, the Phillies did not appear to taste the glory of victory on any occasion. None of the extant fragments, dating all the way back to April 14, 2026, detail a Phillies win. The standard view, as you all know, is that the Phillies did not really play baseball, but instead took part in a highly choreographed ritual in which they always played the part of the losing team, likely as part of diplomatic tributes to rival societies in Atlanta and New York. That interpretation can explain all of the known evidence.

But it can’t explain this.

Lidge presses a button on his computer, and a photo fills the screen behind him. It depicts a battered parchment, torn in places, reading …“edelphia Inqui… PHI…IES DEF..T MARL..NS…”

A gasp goes through the room.

LIDGE:

This fragmentary parchment was found lining an ancient storage vessel in the Philadelphian settlement once known as Fishtown. Though the text is partially lost, it clearly states that the Phillies won a baseball game over a team most likely known as the Marlins. Perhaps the settlement took its name in celebration of this victory over their aquatic foes—

PROFESSOR METZ, a bitter, sarcastic archaeologist, snorts and removes his glasses in a condescending fashion.

METZ:

Doctor Lidge, you cannot expect us to believe this. We have documentation of ten consecutive losses for the Phillies. It is simply not plausible that a team could lose to that extent if they were actually taking part in genuine competition.

LIDGE:

Then how do you explain this fragment?

METZ:

Perhaps it is like the Sumerian bar joke: we have the words, but not the context to understand them. It had meaning, once, but the meaning is lost to us.

LIDGE:

The meaning is clear. The Phillies did once win a game. Perhaps even more than once—

METZ:

Sure, sure! What’s next— you’ve uncovered a potsherd with proof that the Phillies roster carried a proper cleanup hitter?

The room erupts into laughter. LIDGE, humiliated, walks off stage, muttering to himself.

LIDGE:

Let them laugh— I’ll prove it to them!

SCENE: Days later, LIDGE, a torch in one hand, slumps against a wall in the dark, dusty ruins of what was once Citizens Bank Park. Though he began his expedition with enthusiasm, regret has begun to set in. Sweat pools on his brow. Fatigue fills his very being.

LIDGE:

Cubs 10, Phillies 4. Braves 9, Phillies 0. Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 3. Days and days spent here, and all I’ve found is records of Phillies losses. Maybe they’re right. Maybe the Phillies never did win a game.

LIDGE leans back against the wall in despair. Suddenly, a single green feather floats down, landing on his face. He picks it up, lifts it, holds it to the light, awestruck.

LIDGE:

My god. This is the genuine article, not part of a costume…The Phanatic was real. What if… what if all of it was real? Not myth, not performance… Could Bedlam at the Bank have been an actual historical event? Could the Ovation of Turner have really happened? Could the god of merriment known only as “Kruk” have been a real man?

A bright light fills the room. LIDGE shields his eyes. When he dares to look, before him stands the ghostly figure of THE PHANATIC.

LIDGE:

It is said in the ancient texts that you appear to Philadelphians true of spirit in their time of greatest need, and also in the seventh inning. I beg you, Phanatic: show me the way.

THE PHANATIC points towards a loose brick in the wall behind LIDGE. LIDGE reaches for the brick, presses it. A rumbling, a cloud of dust. A secret passage opens in the wall opposite. THE PHANATIC nods, then vanishes.LIDGE walks through the passage, finding himself in a room packed with newspapers, pennants, bobbleheads, memorabilia of all kinds.

LIDGE:

This… this can’t be. This says… Phillies National League East Champions, 2025… Phillies National League Champions 2022…

He sees a bobblehead on a pillar at the center of the room. He picks it up. It depicts the Phanatic waving a pennant that reads…

LIDGE:

“Phillies World Champions 2008”! The Phillies won! They won more than a game! They were champions. They were champions!

Suddenly, a rumbling, bigger than before, sets everything in the room shaking. A massive boulder, painted with red lines and stitches, bursts through the wall, crushing everything in its path. LIDGE runs for his life, clinging to the bobblehead. As he sprints, he comes to a chasm. Certain death on one side, safety on the other. With no choice but to dare, he leaps, barely catching the ledge. The boulder drops into the depths below. But the danger is not over. As LIDGE struggles to hoist himself up, he realizes that he cannot do so with one hand. He will have to drop the bobblehead, or die.

LIDGE:

No. No! But there’s no other way…

LIDGE, sorrow filling his features, drops the bobblehead. It falls into the darkness, lost forever. He pulls himself up, catches his breath.

LIDGE:

I was so close. So close!

LIDGE drops to his knees and raises his fists to the heavens. But in a despairing sort of way, not a “just got the last out of the World Series” sort of way.

LIDGE:

I know, Phillies. I know that you won games. But how can I ever prove it?

A scrap of paper drops from above, fluttering gently into his hands, as if directed by an external force. Lidge holds it up, reads the text by the light filtering through a crack in the ceiling.

LIDGE:

“April 25th, 2026: Phillies 8, Braves 5”!

LIDGE pumps his fist triumphantly. The Indiana Jones theme plays, which is fine, because this is 3026 and the copyright has expired. He strides forward, out of the ruins, back into the world of the living, as the sun filters into the ancient ballpark, filling the home of Rollins, Utley, Howard, and yes, Brad Lidge, with daylight…

THE END

I find it appropriate to start out by hat tipping the Dodgers offense. They curb stomped Colin Rea and Javier Assad in this one. A further hat tip to four Dodger relievers who combined to allow just two hits and a walk over the final four innings of the game. The Dodgers offense and bullpen were just too much for the Cubs on this night. To say anything else would be revisionist history.

Everything below that first paragraph may be described as coping, I guess. If you’d have asked me about how the Cubs would do with a 13-game stretch, with one day off, It started in Philly, had the lone off day, then went home for seven with the Mets and Phillies, then immediately went west for three with the Dodgers. 13 games, 14 days against three teams who I thought would be playoff teams this year, I’d have said eight wins would be decent, nine good and 10 knocking it out of the park. They have the 10 wins already and still have one more game in hand with a chance for 11.

If you’ve read me before, you’ve probably read me saying “Get greedy.” When you’ve got eight, get nine. After nine, get 10. After 10, get 11. Just because things fall your way and you catch two potentially good teams when they are anything but, you kick them when you are down and then you go try to get more. I’m absolutely disappointed they didn’t get another one. This was a pretty good matchup as things are ever going to go against the Dodgers. As crazy as it is given relative contract as a barometer, Colin Rea is a more accomplished MLB pitcher than Roki Sasaki. If the Cubs were going to win one, I thought this one was their best shot.

I was out, but had the first six innings of the game on (again). I didn’t look, but I had the captioning on for the national broadcast. I didn’t check if there was a second option. Regardless, I sometimes like to hear what the national broadcast has to say. I’m usually the last to call out the national broadcast. I’m sure that’s why I’m less bothered by Boog than many of you are. And yes, I get it about the inane side conversations at weird times. But anyway, my favorite exchange on the national broadcast came in the sixth inning. That was when they decided to suggest that this was the best Sasaki has looked. Granted, he’d shown some swing-and-miss stuff. And if they’d said, there were some positives here for a guy who’s struggled, I think that’s perfect. They were gushing about what a good start it was. Raise your hand if you ever think your pitcher did a good job when he’s allowed four runs, three on homers in the first five innings of a game. The Dodgers offense through five innings? Relentless and overpowering. Sasaki? Fortunate that he didn’t give away a game when the offense was so exceptional.

I realize national broadcasts want to have their guys to shill their stuff. It would be so much better if they just pulled one guy from each team and let them work together on the call. At least then we’d have announcers familiar with the players and their relative performances and perspective for their accomplishments. I know some of the national crews are really good. But in baseball, I find that more the exception than the rule. Different than the NFL, each MLB team does have a dedicated team that calls very nearly every game. It doesn’t have to be this way. And you might get some fun interaction with my team/your team stuff. In a lot of cases, I don’t think it could be worse.

Just my two cents.

Three Positives:

• Seiya Suzuki had three hits, one a homer.
• Moisés Ballesteros had a homer and a walk. The walk came against a lefty. I saw them say he saw something like 24 pitches in his first three plate appearances. Plays this game like a guy who’s been around for years.
• Vince Velasquez threw in really low leverage. But, he faced eight batters and recorded seven outs. The Cubs will have most of their bullpen available to chase another win in this series.

Game 27, April 25: Dodgers 12, Cubs 4 (17-10)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero:  Moisés Ballesteros (.200). 1-3, HR, BB, RBI, R
• Hero: Seiya Suzuki (.140). 3-4, HR, RBI, R
• Sidekick: Michael Busch (.041). 1-5, RBI

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Colin Rea (-.371). 3.1 IP, 20 BF, 6 H, 4 BB, 6 ER, 4 K (L 3-1)
• Goat: Javier Assad (-.245). 2.1 IP, 16 BF, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 ER, 2 K
• Kid: Dansby Swanson (-.097). 0-4

WPA Play of the Game: With the Dodgers trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Max Muncy hit a one-out, two-run homer to tie the game. (.186)

*Cubs Play of the Game: With the game tied in the fourth inning, Moisés Ballesteros hit a solo homer. (.133)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 26 Winner: Dansby Swanson received 248 of 302 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Nico Hoerner +7.5
• Michael Conforto/Shōta Imanaga +7
• Matt Shaw -7
• Jacob Webb -9
• Pete Crow-Armstrong -13

Current Win Pace: 102

Up Next: With all due respect to Meat Loaf, two out of three here would be terrific. The third and final game of the series at the very reasonable hour of 3:10 central. The Cubs will send Shōta Imanaga (2-1, 2.17, 29 IP) to the mound. He’s been nothing shy of terrific for the Cubs so far this year. He’s allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over his last three starts (19 IP).

Hoffman Estates, IL native (though he attended high school in Georgia) Justin Wrobleski (3-0, 1.88, 24 IP) has arguably been even better for the Dodgers. The 11th-round pick of the Dodgers in 2021 out of Oklahoma State is a rarity in modern baseball. He doesn’t really strike out a ton of hitters (just nine so far). He’s won each of his last three starts, allowing two runs on 12 hits and four walks (20 IP). In the process he won in both Colorado and Toronto, two very different challenges.

This is another tough one. But the Cubs have won some tough matchups lately. Let’s do it again.

The rain ahead of Saturday’s contest between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies may have forced Brian Snitker’s Braves Hall of Fame induction ceremony indoors but it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of anybody who was in the house for Snit’s big day.

That included Braves Hall-of-Famers Tim Hudson and Terry Pendleton, who were two of many former stars, legends and luminaries who showed up to be there for Snit’s time in the sun (well, the rain but I think you know what I’m getting at, here).

Both legends took questions in the Braves dugout right as the tarp was being rolled onto the field and both of them made it very clear just how impactful Brian Snitker was on them — not just as ballplayers but as human beings as well.

“When you start thinking about hall of famers and thinking accomplishments: Who’s been in an organization 50 years? Who’s been a manager who’s won a World Championship and continue to help kids and adults get better Also off the field, too,” stated Terry Pendleton when he was asked about how his feelings on Snit getting inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame.

“We’re all looking at baseball on the field — do you know how encouraging it is for a youngster out there trying to accomplish something? Not just baseball but life or work and trying to be the best they can be and grow and do something special. Snit has shown everybody how to do that, how to endure and continue on.”

Pendleton also revealed that the baseball-lifer Snitker was actually a bit nervous and wondered if he belonged in the same category as those who have been inducted before he was. Pendleton let us know that he made it clear that Snit belonged. “I told him down in Florida, he was like ‘I saw these names and I’m not worthy of this’ and I said ‘Hey, if anybody’s worthy of this, you are.”

Pendleton also spoke about how while the two of them didn’t really cross paths that much during Pendleton’s time as a big-leaguer, he took home some valuable lessons and inspiration from the man once Pendleton became a coach, himself.“

“Well, it took a while. It took some years. I didn’t really get to hang around him when I was in the big leagues since he was in the minor leagues down working,” explained Pendleton. “It didn’t really happen until we came together as coaches in the big leagues and I really got to learn who the man was and I love the man. Don’t get me wrong: I love his coaching, I love his managing but I love the man because I know what the man stands for and I know who he is.”

Once Terry Pendleton got done talking about Snitker, it was Tim Hudson’s turn. The Alabama native whose entire time as a starting pitcher for the Braves coincided with Brian Snitker’s tenure as a third base coach also spoke kindly about the time and experience he got to share with Snitker in the clubhouse and on the field. Huddy even talked about a time when h got to experience something that pitcher’s don’t usually get to do (and they certainly don’t get to do in today’s game).

“I remember there was a game in Washington where I was on first base and there was a double hit to the gap,” explained Hudson. “I thought I was kind of an athlete back then so I’m running hard and nine-times-out-of-ten or almost 100 percent f the time, the third base coach is going to stop you right at third base since you don’t want to hurt the pitcher.”

“Well I’m running and all of a sudden, I get close to third base and I see Snit and he’s giving me the [signal to round third and come home], he’s willing me around third base. I say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m scoring’. We never scored from first base, being pitchers and it was a play at the plate. It was like a bang-bang play. I felt like an athlete. I felt like a baseball player.”

Hudson did admit that the decision from Snitker to wave him around third wasn’t exactly smiled upon but Hudson appreciated it. “I’m sure people’s hearts skipped a few beats when that happened but it was just the kind of guy he was. He loves baseball, he loved working with the pitchers that could handle the bat a little bit and could run the bases and I appreciated that as a player.”

I then asked Tim Hudson if there was anything he he could take away from his experience with Brian Snitker and not just as a baseball player but as a human being, oto.“

“Probably after he’s retired and after I retired, I probably have a lot more respect for him now than I did when he was a manager or a coach because we’ve gotten to be a lot closer now as a family since he’s retired and since I’ve retired than we were [in the clubhouse]. Ronnie, his wife and my wife are really good friends. He always supported anything that we’ve had going on with our charity work and he always comes to Auburn and hangs out and does things. He’s a real person and he’s very approachable. If you can take away from this game four-or-five people that you can really call friends, you’re pretty lucky. He’s one of those guys.”

These were just two collections of stories from two of the truly countless amount of players that Brian Snitker got to either play with, coach or manage during his now-50 years with the Braves — remember, he’s still employed as a special consultant. Whether you consider that a ceremonial job or not, he’s still sticking around the organization. Either way, Brian Snitker has truly been an important part of this organization for quite some time and it’s good to see that everybody who he impacted made an effort to give him his flowers on his Braves Hall of Fame induction day.

The San Diego Padres put together another late inning rally to overcome a four-run deficit and beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City. The Padres had to overcome a rough second inning for starter German Marquez who allowed four runs with two outs in the inning. To his credit, Marquez made an adjustment and was able to complete six innings to avoid overworking the bullpen. San Diego was not able to get much if any offense in the early part of the contest, but after Zac Gallen left the game following being struck by a Freddy Fermin line drive. Brandon Pfaadt came on in the fourth and was affective until the Padres were able to knock him out in the top of the seventh. The Padres added four runs to their 4-1 deficit which put them in the lead for good. Ty France hit two homers in the effort and was the star of the game for San Diego on the offensive side. The Padres will finish their series with the Diamondbacks on Sunday at 3:05 p.m.

Padres News:

• The San Diego farm system continues to function as normal despite all the naysayers. Is it the top system in the game? No, but it does not have to be for the Padres to benefit and for the system to make headlines.

• With the Padres and Diamondbacks kicking off the Mexico City Series 2026, Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball took a trip down memory lane and pointed out some of the highlights of past trips for the Padres in Mexico.

• Utility infielder Sung-Mun Song was called up from Tiple-A El Paso as the extra player for the Mexico City series.

• Mason Miller has been more than what the Friar Faithful could have expected as the closer of the Padres and he now stands alone as the franchise leader with 34.2 innings pitched without allowing a run. San Diego general manager A.J. Preller took some criticism for the trade, but it seems to be paying off for him and the Padres.

Baseball News:

• Alex Cora, as well as a large portion of his coaching staff, are out as the Boston Red Sox manager. The move came after the Red Sox were able to snap a four-game skid with a 17-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

• The Seattle Mariners hit three home runs and watched the St. Louis Cardinals hit five home runs. The Mariners came out on top of the slugfest, 11-9.

• The Cincinnati Reds placed Eugenio Suarez on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain.

• Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan was scratched from the lineup in their matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays due to neck stiffness.

Rangers 4, A’s 3

• The Rangers beat a lefty starter! Woo hoo!
• MacKenzie Gore had what I’m starting to think of as a rather MacKenzie Gore start. He struck out the side in the first on 14 pitches, making you feel like he was locked in. The broadcast was marveling at how his fastball was playing, how the A’s hitters weren’t catching up to it.
• Then in the second, Tyler Soderstrom had a well struck fly out, Jacob Wilson smoked a double, and Darell Hernaiz had a hard hit single to drive him in for a 1-0 A’s lead. Corey Seager booted a two out grounder, which made things more worrisome, but Gore got Zack Gelof to fly out to end the inning.
• In the third, it looked like Gore was in danger of having a really short outing. A line drive single by She Langeliers, a walk to Nick Kurtz, and a line drive single by Colby Thomas brought a run in. A ground out advanced the runners, Jacob Wilson had a sac fly, and then a seven pitch walk to Max Muncy followed by a six pitch walk to Hernaiz loaded the bases with Gore at 32 pitches in the inning.
• Gore got out of it, though, getting Austin Wynns to fly out. And after that he was fine, allowing a single in the fourth and another in the fifth but not allowing either runner past first.
• Gore’s final line was three runs in five innings, six hits, three walks, seven Ks. He generated 14 whiffs on 106 pitches, 10 of which came on his fastball and another two on his sinker. His offspeed pitches weren’t getting it done.
• The bullpen, on the other hand, did get it done. An inning apiece from Cole Winn, Jalen Beeks, Jakob Junis and Jacob Latz, with just one A’s hitter reaching base over the final four innings.
• As for the offense, they didn’t get on base much, but when they did, they made it count. A pair of two spots, one in the third and one in the sixth.
• In the third they loaded the bases with no one out on a Danny Jansen HBP, an Evan Carter full count walk, and a Sam Haggerty bunt single. Brandon Nimmo brought home one run with a sacrifice fly, and a Corey Seager two out flare single brought home the second.
• Josh Jung was responsible for the second two run inning, as he went the opposite way for a home run after Seager had lead off the inning with a single.
• If you’re keeping track, Jung is now slashing .299/.354/.540 on the season. Not bad.
• Every other inning was a 1-2-3 inning for the Rangers, except for the fourth, when Jansen had a two out single.
• MacKenzie Gore hit 97.6 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.9 mph. Cole Winn touched 96.3 mph with his fastball. Jalen Beeks reached 95.3 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis’s fastball topped out at 92.9 mph. Jacob Latz hit 97.1 mph with his fastball.
• Brandon Nimmo had a 102.9 mph groundout. Josh Jung’s home run was 100.6 mph. Jake Burger had a 100.4 mph fly out.
• Can the Rangers win the finale on Sunday and take the series? Tune in and find out…

Meet the Mets

Yesterday’s game between the Mets and Rockies at Citi Field was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader today with first pitch of Game 1 scheduled for 1:40pm ET. Nolan McLean will pitch the first game and Kodai Senga, yesterday’s scheduled starter, will pitch Game 2.

Reliever Austin Warren will be serving as the Mets’ 27th man for today’s doubleheader.

Given the Mets’ starting pitching depth, the leash can’t be that long for Kodai Senga, writes Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post.

Around the National League East

The Phillies rallied to beat the Braves 8-5 in ten innings to snap a ten-game losing streak. Zack Wheeler made his return from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome for Philadelphia and the results were encouraging for the Phillies; he allowed two runs on three hits, striking out six in five innings of work. The Braves took a one-run lead in the sixth, but Philadelphia tied it in the eighth and put up a four-run tenth against the Braves’ bullpen, who wasted a strong effort from Bryce Elder. Bryce Harper’s go-ahead single was the decisive hit for the Phillies.

Former manager Brian Snitker was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame prior to the game against the Phillies at Truist Park. He was surprised by his son—Mets hitting coach Troy Snitker—who was able to catch a flight to Atlanta to make the ceremony after the Mets’ game was postponed.

The Nationals beat the White Sox 6-3 also in extras thanks to a four-run tenth. Two Nationals pitchers also combined for the rare four-strikeout inning.

The Marlins fell to the Giants 6-2, as Eury Pérez took the loss for allowing four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Around Major League Baseball

After a disappointing 10-17 start, the Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff yesterday in a massive, stunning shakeup.

Yesterday marked the 50-year anniversary of the day two protestors attempted to burn an American flag on the field at Dodger Stadium. Rick Monday, then an outfielder for the Cubs, grabbed the flag from them. The flag, which Monday still owns, will be on loan to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this summer as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.

Reds DH Eugenio Suárez was placed on the injured list yesterday with an oblique strain.

The Padres beat the Diamondbacks 6-4 to open the Mexico City Series. With a scoreless inning to close things out, Mason Miller set the record for longest scoreless streak in Padres history.

The Dodgers walloped the Cubs 12-4 to snap Chicago’s MLB-best 10-game winning streak.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

On a new episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane breathe a sigh of relief that the Mets managed to win a couple of games, but remain concerned about the state of the team, especially with the injury to Francisco Lindor.

This Date in Mets History

Two iconic Mets—Keith Hernandez and Mike Piazza—reached career milestones on April 26: 1,000 RBIs for Keith in 1988 and 400 home runs for Piazza.

Saturday saw the Yankees extend their win streak as they picked up another fairly comfortable win over the Astros. Trent Grisham, José Caballero, and Austin Wells all homered as the Yankees picked up the win to take their eighth consecutive game.

The win streak has seen the Yankees vault towards the top of the standings across baseball, but let’s see if they gained any ground with their competition around the AL yesterday.

Boston Red Sox (10-17) 17, Baltimore Orioles (13-14) 1

The biggest news around them came postgame when they fired Alex Cora, but the Red Sox did well on the field on Saturday, obliterating the Orioles.

Even with that final score, the game didn’t actually get too out of hand until late, although Boston was in control for most it. Caleb Durbin opened things up with an RBI double, as the Red Sox scored three runs in the first. They added one in the fourth and three more in the fifth, with Connor Wong hitting a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double.

Meanwhile on the mound, Garrett Crochet was way better than some of his other recent starts. He lowered his ERA to 6.30, having thrown six scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and two walks. Baltimore then did get on the board in the seventh, giving them a brief glimmer of hope, but that door would soon be slammed shut.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Red Sox scored 10 runs on 10 hits, sending 14 batters to the plate over the course of the frame. O’s reliever Keegan Akin was making his 2026 debut, and will leave the game with a 54.00 ERA after allowing six of the 10 runs in the inning.

Despite that dominance, Boston still pulled the trigger on Cora — and several coaches, including franchise legend Jason Varitek (who got away with reassignment) and former Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson — a few hours later. It’s been a less-than-stellar start for them, but that was still an unexpected move.

Toronto Blue Jays (11-15) 5, Cleveland Guardians (15-13) 3

A two-RBI double from Andrés Giménez capped off a three-run sixth inning for the Blue Jays that ended up holding up for a Toronto win.

The Guardians took an initial lead in the third, but the Jays answered on Kazuma Okamoto’s fourth inning homer to tie things up. Two innings later, Toronto broke things open. It was a Daulton Varsho RBI single that gave the Blue Jays the lead, before Giménez plated another two runs.

Cleveland did score two further runs and they did certainly have their chances, putting up nine hits on the day. However, Toronto also scored once more and their bullpen was solid enough to close things down.

Other Games

• Seattle Mariners (13-15) 11, St. Louis Cardinals (14-12) 9: Despite getting only three innings out of Bryan Woo, who left after allowing seven runs, the Mariners used a late surge to overtake the Cardinals. Leo Rivas hit a two-run single in the top of ninth to give Seattle the lead after they trailed 9-7 going into the eighth.

• Tampa Bay Rays (15-11) 6, Minnesota Twins (12-15) 1: Shane McClanahan and the Rays’ bullpen kept the Twins off the board until the game was basically decided as Tampa Bay came away with the win. Jake Fraley and Ben Williamson had two-RBI games each as the Rays mostly cruised.

• Texas Rangers (14-13) 4, Athletics (14-13) 3: Josh Jung’s go-ahead homer gave the Rangers the lead for good as they overcame a 3-0 deficit against the A’s. The artists formerly known as Oakland struck a couple times early, but managed just one hit over the final five innings against Texas’ bullpen, allowing the Rangers to overtake them.

• Cincinnati Reds (18-9) 9, Detroit Tigers (14-14) 2: Despite Kevin McGonigle homering in the game’s very first at-bat, the Reds immediately scored four runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back from there. Sal Stewart had a homer for Cincinnati and drove in five runs on the day.

One thing that is absolutely, undeniably true about sports is that all winning streaks must end, sometime.

Thus we knew that eventually, the Cubs would lose another game after going on their longest winning streak since the World Series year of 2016.

It’s not always pretty when winning streaks end and that was the case Saturday night in Los Angeles, when the Dodgers blew out the Cubs 12-4.

The Cubs actually had a 2-0 lead in this game. Seiya Suzuki was responsible for the first of those runs when he hit his fourth homer of the year in the second inning [VIDEO].

In the third, Miguel Amaya led off and was hit by a pitch. He took off for second on a wild pitch that bounced in front of the plate and was safe on a close play. One out later, Amaya scored on a single by Michael Busch [VIDEO].

The Dodgers tied things up in the bottom of the third on a two-run homer by Max Muncy off Colin Rea. But the Cubs took the lead again in the top of the fourth. Moisés Ballesteros smashed his fourth homer of the year off Roki Sasaki [VIDEO].

Then the wheels fell off. Rea, who had thrown 73 pitches over the first three innings, allowed a one-out single and then a game-tying RBI double to Alex Freeland. Shohei Ohtani walked and then Freddie Freeman singled in Freeland to give the Dodgers the lead. About Rea’s evening, from BCB’s JohnW53:

Colin Rea gave up six hits and walked four. He was the first Cubs starter in eight games to allow double-digit runners and just the fourth this season. Edward Cabrera allowed 11 vs. the Pirates on April 11 and 10 vs. the Mets on April 17. Javier Assad surrendered 13 at Philadelphia on April 13.

Maybe Craig Counsell should have just lifted Rea after three innings and brought in Javier Assad to start a clean inning in the fourth. As it was, Assad walked the first hitter he faced, loading the bases. He got Kyle Tucker to pop up for the second out, but then the Dodgers smacked three straight singles off Assad, scoring four runs in all (two of which were charged to Rea). If you’ve lost count here, that’s a six-run inning and a five-run Dodgers lead.

A home run by Amaya with one out in the fifth made it 8-4 [VIDEO].

The Cubs did have a chance to get back in this game in the sixth. Ian Happ led off with a walk. Then Suzuki singled and Sasaki was lifted for left-hander Jack Dreyer. Counsell left Ballesteros in to face the lefty and Moisés walked, loading the bases with nobody out.

But Dreyer struck out Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong and got Amaya to ground out, so the Cubs turned that opportunity into no runs at all, and then the Dodgers pushed four more runs across the plate. Assad started the sixth and, as was the case for Rea, maybe Counsell should have taken him out and started the inning with Vince Velasquez, who eventually entered after Assad had allowed the first four Dodgers to reach base, followed by two outs, the first of which scored a run. Eventually the Dodgers made it a four-run inning, the last of the runs scoring on a wild pitch by Velasquez.

And that, as they say, was that. The Cubs had just one baserunner after the seventh, Suzuki with a leadoff single in the eighth, but he was erased when Swanson hit into a double play. Props to Suzuki, who had three hits including his home run and is now batting .327/.439/.564 (18-for-55) in 15 games played since his return from the knee injury suffered in the World Baseball Classic.

Oddly enough, this game felt a lot like the loss that preceded the 10-game winning streak, the 13-7 loss to the Phillies in Philadelphia. Assad pitched in that one, too. This one appeared to be just one of those nights when neither Rea nor Assad had it, and those kinds of things happen from time to time. Here are some postgame comments from Counsell [VIDEO].

A couple final notes on this one from John:

This is just the third of the Cubs’ 27 games in which they have allowed at least eight runs. The first two were Opening Day, when they lost at home to the Nationals, 10-4, and the 13-7 shellacking on April 13 at Philadelphia. They had given up 100 runs in 26 games before this one — 3.85 per game.

Also, remarkably:

The 12 runs scored by the Dodgers tied for the most they have scored against the Cubs since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. This was the 368th game there between the teams. The Dodgers had scored 12 in four previous games at L.A., beating the Cubs by 12-6 in 1960, 12-5 in 1947, 12-3 in 1991 and 12-4 on April 24, 1998.

They scored more than 12 runs against the Cubs at Brooklyn in 10 games between 1901 and 1953. Their high was in a 16-1 win in 1922.

The Cubs still have a chance for a series win in the finale Sunday afternoon, and hopefully begin another winning streak. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and Justin Wrobleski will go for the Dodgers, a battle of left-handers. Game time is 3:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Dodgers market territories).

The team’s Ace returned to the mound last night in Atlanta and had a solid season debut. Wheeler was coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and what to expect of him was something of a mystery. His velocity vacillated between good and concerning during his rehab starts, but on Saturday, he mostly maintained it in the 94-96 area.

Overall, what was the most encouraging thing you saw out of Wheeler? His control wasn’t pinpoint on the evening, but it was good enough. His secondary stuff was mostly good but with a few holes. It was a promising start to his season.

We are now far enough into the college baseball season that we’re not that far away from starting to seriously start thinking about seeds and hosting for the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina is in pretty good position on that front, especially having won a series last weekend over Georgia Tech, with both teams ranked #2 and #3 by several polls. There’s still some season left and baseball can be a fairly random sport, but the Tar Heels look to be in position to be a national championship contender this year.

UNC baseball have yet to actually take home a national title, but they have come agonizingly close. Thinking about the chances of this year’s teams inevitably takes one back to past great Carolina baseball teams. After all, baseball in general is an excuse and an exercise in “remembering some guys.”

With that in mind, for today’s question of the day, I thought I’d simply ask: who is your favorite UNC baseball player of all time?

My personal answer is former Tar Heel pitcher Andrew Miller for a couple of reasons. One is that he was excellent playing at UNC. He was a member of one of those teams that came agonizingly close to a national title, as an important part of the 2006 Tar Heels. They made it all the way to the finals before losing to Oregon State in the championship series. That year, he was also one of the best individual players in the country, winning a host of awards, including Baseball America’s College Player of the Year.

That season and his career in Chapel Hill led to Miller getting drafted sixth overall in the 2006 MLB Draft, and it was his professional career that leads the other reason why I hold him so dear. From 2015-16, Miller played for my favorite MLB team: the New York Yankees. Over those two seasons, he was an absolutely lights out reliever for the team and also always seemed like a good guy in addition to a good pitcher.

As far as recent Tar Heels go, Vance Honeycutt was an electric player to watch when he was at Carolina. As of now, I would find it a little hard to root for him at the MLB level, as he would be a division rival of my Yankees with the Baltimore Orioles. I wish him personal success, just maybe not his team.

That’s my answer, but what about you? Who is your favorite ever UNC baseball player?

Like the rest of the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals have been at or above .500 for the majority of the season, but despite outperforming expectations, they find themselves in the middle of the way-too-early division race. Thanks to Jordan Walker, rookie JJ Wetherholt, and a new hero each win, the Cardinals have been able to hide the weakness on the field. Through the first 25 games of the year, St. Louis starting pitchers are checking in at 29th in the league by measure of fWAR and the underlying metrics show the alarming truth that they might actually be outperforming expectations so far in 2026.

As we all know, the point of this season was to serve as a fact-finding mission for most every piece on the major league roster. That involved bringing back everyone’s favorite 2025 term “runway” when talking about Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker on the offensive side, as well as including Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante in the rotation. So far, the Cardinals are batting .333 when looking at the early success of these four players. (I am classifying Leahy as an in-progress plate appearance since he is the one with the least amount of track record heading into the season as a starter). All four of them had the right to the first crack at playing time, especially factoring in that Chaim Bloom did not want to get into any 40-man funny business before the regular season got started.

Unfortunately, we have seen the Andre Pallante we saw for the majority of last season, a pitcher with a below-average fastball and inconsistent breaking stuff, which ends up with starts showing lack of command, lack of efficiency, or some combination of both. Positively, Pallante has already won more games than he won the entire second half last year, but he has yet to pitch more than five innings or allow less than six baserunners in any of his four starts. Leahy, on the other hand, has been more effective than Pallante when it comes to strikeouts and walks, but not by much, which is a bummer for a pitcher who had a mediocre 22% K-rate last year so he did not have much wiggle room for regression there, while also losing close to 2mph on his average fastball. The move to the rotation has also impacted his command, as the former reliever is walking hitters more often and allowing more hits and homers than he did out of the bullpen. In a season of fact-finding, the early returns are not pointing to positive data in the Cardinals rotation, potentially forcing more moves than anticipated for a rotation that seemed to be a point of solid, if unspectacular performances.

The Cardinals should utilize the Memphis Shuttle for more than just relievers

The Opening Day rotation featured Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Dustin May, Andre Pallante, and Kyle Leahy, which again simply seemed “fine” for this iteration of Cardinals baseball. However, the early struggles of Pallante and Leahy did not help when surrounded by a couple May blowups (the pitcher not the month), and McGreevy getting hit like the pitch-to-contact hurler he is. Staff number one Matthew Liberatore has also been simply okay thus far, but he is showing concerning command issues and losing his normal strikeout stuff and was hit hard in his start against the Mariners.. For those keeping score at home, that is closer to 0-for-5 than any of us were hoping for, especially with the Cardinals still managing to win ballgames.

The problem with this current rotation alignment is that each of these players should start games as long as they are healthy or unplayable, which is quite the standard to hit in a season where winning is not priority 1, 2, or 3. I truly hope none of the five incumbents get there, but I am also hoping that the need to find answers extends beyond the major league roster and trickles into Memphis for some of the arms that are close to St. Louis. Typically, we see the shuttle bus reserved for struggling or overused relievers, but I would be open to gassing that baby up to transport guys who can pitch more than an inning at a time and still give the team a chance to win. Of course, a difficulty of that is having MLB-ready talent sitting in Triple-A who also match up to schedule and rotation needs, which the Cardinals have not worried about yet thanks to having every Thursday off in April.

One such pitcher who, at times, looked to be the next man up when the rotation was ready was Richard Fitts, who flashed high-90s velocity during Spring and was the face of the revamp we were promised in the minors. However, the minor league injury bug struck yet again in Memphis and Fitts has since undergone season-ending shoulder surgery with the expectation of a full recovery in 2027. Now, Fitts joins a growing list of Cardinals’ prospects who have missed extended time due to injury despite the major league arms seemingly immune to health issues.

A name left off the list but currently rehabbing is other offseason acquisition in Hunter Dobbins, who the Red Sox gave up in order to gain the services of Willson Contreras. Dobbins came to St. Louis already recovering from ACL surgery, but his inability to yet field his position in games limited his exposure to big league hitters during camp. Now, he is back on the mound on what the Cardinals are calling a rehab assignment, meaning the team will have to make a decision on his roster standing when the allotted rehab time is up. The latest news around the organization is that a six-man rotation could be an option to help the Cardinals work through a long stretch of games, and the expectation is that Dobbins will fill that role. The remaining question, then, is if this is just a short three-game audition, or if he is actually going to be up and competing to stick around at the end of the grueling 17-game run.

The current rotation has an interesting setup, with really only Matthew Liberatore and probably Michael McGreevy having the longest leash for the entire season, as Dustin May is likely to be traded after bouncing back well since a rough start, and Pallante and Leahy have to prove their value to stick. The only change for the latter would likely be a move to the bullpen, if anything, as Leahy is 29 years old with an established ability to fill the middle innings. Pallante would be an interesting discussion if any changes were to happen in his role. He broke in and proved himself as a reliever before saving the rotation after stretching out in 2024, but he has never shown dominance as a starter or out of the bullpen. He has an option remaining and becomes arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason, so if the Cardinals find a couple things he needs to work on, a move to Memphis could help. But, if he is closer to a finished product than a work in progress, keeping him in the bigs might be the only option in hopes he can build his value enough to be shipped at the Trade Deadline with May.

If a demotion, role change, or trade were to happen anywhere in the rotation, someone from Memphis will have to be ready. Assuming Dobbins gets first dibs at any vacancy, it is a wide-open competition for who would be the next man up. Former Pitcher of the Year Quinn Mathews has battled adversity since that 2024 season, regressing from a Top-100 prospect to a solid future as a rotation arm, but has been working through command issues. Those struggles continued in the start of the 2026 season, and even with his strikeout stuff getting back on track, these issues could prevent a promotion, even if an injury strikes.

The 2025 Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Cardinals, Brycen Mautz, also looked to be a candidate for a big-league spot, but he has simply been just “fine” outside of a 1.2 inning start where he allowed four homers and four walks in that shortened outing. He is on the 40-man roster and does not have the prospect pedigree of Mathews, so that could actually work in his favor if the Cardinals decide to “rush” Mautz to the bigs for a cameo or two.

Interestingly, and unfortunately, Memphis’ best starter so far has been 31-year-old journeyman Bruce Zimmerman who is putting up the best strikeout numbers of his career while with his fourth organization. Unlike the other lefties, he is not on the 40-man roster, so any move up to the St. Louis for Zimmerman would mean someone losing their spot on the 40-man, as well as on the big league roster. Then, if the Cardinals wanted to send Zimmerman back to the Redbirds, he would have to clear waivers due to being out of options.

I would be surprised if Bloom and Co decide to cycle through the roster outside of Dobbins (or whoever they choose) during the six-man rotation stint. I personally think that any roster changes would happen only due to injury or trade, as we all know that winning is not on the top of mind for the executives this season.

Would you like to see any changes in the current setup? Remember, demoting or trading someone means that someone else has to take their spot, so a simple “DFA Svanson” comment that is usually left for Twitter would not make sense here.

Thanks as always!

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The New York Yankees look for a series sweep when they visit Daikin Park and the Houston Astros.

The New York bats are booming, and my Yankees vs. Astros predictions and MLB picks expect the Yankees to pull off a convincing victory. 

Who will win Yankees vs Astros today: Yankees -1.5 (+120)

Luis Gil doesn't need to be lights out today. He just needs to hold off the Houston Astros long enough for his New York Yankees lineup to do what it's been doing all season.

Ben Rice is barreling at 21.6%, and Aaron Judge at 24.6%, the Yankees are second in the sport with 39 home runs, and they've beaten up on the Astros six of the last ten times out. 

Gil has stymied this Astros lineup in the past, and Houston's bullpen ranks dead last with a 5.94 ERA and 1.85 home runs per nine frames. Let the Yankees prevail!

COVERS INTEL:Spencer Arrighetti has a low ERA, but his xFIP is nearly three runs higher with a 5.08 xERA this season. 

Yankees vs Astros Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (-110)

Spencer Arrighetti has a high hard-hit rate, with an xERA of 5.04 and a walk rate over 15% through two starts.

Gil isn't far behind, with an xERA of 5.20, suggesting the Astros and their fourth-best 119 wRC+ will likely chase him after plating some runs. 

Both starters are due for regression, and totals set at 9.5 have a way of finding the Over when the bill comes due. 

The Over is 7-2-1 across the past 10 H2H meetings, and yesterday's 8-3 final shows this matchup still has teeth. Trust the trend.

Yankees vs Astros odds

• Moneyline: Yankees -127 | Astros +122
• Run line: Yankees -1.5 (+102) | Astros +1.5 (-156)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (-108) | Under 9.5 (-104)

Yankees vs Astros trend

The Yankees have covered the run line in 23 of their last 35 away games for +14.05 units and a 37% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Astros.

How to watch Yankees vs Astros and game info

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Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Chad Samuel Tracy and he comes from the land of baseball lifers. While he is decidedly not the Chad Tracy who spent the bulk of a mid-sized career with the Diamondbacks in the early part of this century, this Chad Tracy has spent his entire life around the game. Chad’s father Jim played professional baseball for eight years, breaking through to the Majors with the Cubs for 87 games while otherwise bouncing around between places like Pompono Beach, Florida and Yokohama, Japan.

Chad never knew his father as a ballplayer, as he was born one season after his old man finally put his glove away for good. But he always knew his father as a coach. Jim Tracy got his first minor league managerial gig with the Peoria Chiefs when Chad was just two years old and then spent the next 20 years coaching in some capacity, culminating in his 11-year stretch as a big league manager with the Dodgers, Pirates, and Rockies.

Naturally, Chad himself was a ballplayer. He starred as a catcher at Pepperdine University, winning the West Coast Conference Player of the year award in 2005 before being drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round. Tracy spent the next eight years in the minors, slowly climbing the ladder and eventually playing 390 games at the AAA level but never cracking the majors for so much as a cup of coffee.

After spending two years in the independent Atlantic League, the then-28-year-old Tracy finally gave up the dream and followed his father’s footsteps into the manager’s office, making his debut with the single-A Burlington Bees in the Angels organization the very next year. He would go on to spend seven years with the Angels, the last four as their Minor League Coordinator before being hired to lead the WooSox by Chaim Bloom in 2022.

Is he any good?

I will happily die on the hill known as Mount None of Us Actually Knows Whether a Baseball Manager is Any Good. Baseball is not a sport like basketball or soccer, where coaches develop certain tactical schemes and distinct styles of play. It’s not football, where the head coach is often the final decision-maker on roster moves. Baseball is ultimately a players’ game. Modern managers are tasked with keeping the roster focused and engaged for 162 games while implementing the front office’s player personnel plan.

Having said that, there obviously are managers who are better or worse than others when it comes to creating and maintaining a winning clubhouse culture (Terry Francona on the former hand, Bobby Valentine on the latter). Tracy has a few things going for him to suggest he could be a good fit for this Red Sox team.

First and most importantly, he has a ton of experience coaching a lot of players on this Red Sox roster. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Connelly Early, Patyon Tolle, Brayan Bello, Connor Wong, and Jarren Duran all spent significant stretches playing under Tracy at Worcester. Notably, all of them arrived at Fenway as developmental successes.

Secondly, he does have a winning track record. Tracy’s WooSox teams went 323-295 during his tenure. Win-loss records in the minor leagues don’t really mean anything, obviously — winning isn’t the point in the minor leagues. But you’d certainly rather have a manager used to winning rather than losing. Tracy won enough and was respected enough that his managerial peers voted him as the International League’s “best managerial prospect” two years in a row in 2023 and 2024.

And finally, it’s often said that great players make poor coaches, the theory being that baseball came so easily to them that they struggle to communicate how to play the game to players of lesser talents. If there’s any truth to that, then perhaps the inverse is also true. Tracy spent eight years grinding in the minors and came tantalizingly close to reaching his dreams, only to, like Moonlight Graham, watch them pass him by like strangers in a crowd. Perhaps his particular background makes him a better baseball communicator than most.

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

He appears to be praying, only with a baseball subbed in for the rosary. And that’s the perfectly romantic image of a minor league lifer, isn’t it?

What’s his role on the 2026 Red Sox?

That’s the big question. Right now he has the interim tag attached to his job title and we haven’t yet heard whether Craig Breslow will attempt to find a full-time manager during the season. Tracy may end up being a mere placeholder.

But Tracy is someone who was almost certainly going to become a big league manager one day. And as he prepares to make his debut this afternoon, he’s well-positioned to succeed, managing a roster he’s familiar with that should be performing a lot better than it has so far. If the Sox are able to get things in gear over the coming weeks and months, then maybe Breslow won’t need to post an opening on the Red Sox LinkedIn page after all.

You win some, you lose some. However, the Atlanta Braves have yet to lose a series this season and are the only MLB team to achieve this feat. Although they can’t repeat getting a sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies, they have an opportunity to bounce back from yesterday’s rainy day loss.

Chris Sale, boasting a 2.79 ERA and 4-1 record this season, has been impressive from the start. The last outing for the slider master was last Saturday (4/18) against the Phillies, in which he went through seven innings, only giving up one run and seven total strikeouts.

There’s no need to hammer down what must be done to return in top shape for today’s matchup to secure the win. Sale is set to hold it down on the defensive end. Will the offense be ready to reflect that and get some runs on the board early?

Though yesterday didn’t turn out in the Braves’ favor, the Phillies could sleep well at night with satisfaction that they had a game to go their way, finally breaking their 10-game losing streak.

Aaron Nola (5.06 ERA) will be facing the Braves for the first time this season, but his opponents won’t be walking into unfamiliar territory, as at least five of the Braves have over a 1.000 OPS batting against him in the past.

Nola, with the second-best ERA on the Philies’ starting pitching staff, takes every experience head-on. He mentioned earlier this year, while paying for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, that it’s fun for him and many other starting pitchers when they can take their experiences and come up with ways to get multiple guys out in different ways over a course of time.

The pitch that the Braves should look out for is not just his leading four-seamer, but the filthy knuckle-curve that he uses just as much in his arsenal.

The task is clear…the skies, not so much. Another rainy day for the ballgame, but the show must go on. Will the Braves continue their series win streak, or will the Phillies find a way to take advantage of yesterday’s win and pick up where they left off?

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 26, 1:35 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLBTV

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan