Category: Baseball

Orion Kerkering was probably the biggest story from the end of the 2025 season. His gaffe that sealed the Phillies’ elimination at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLDS loomed like a specter over the entire offseason. But as we sit in May 2026, Kerkering has been in the background amid the team’s early struggles and feels as though he’s a forgotten man in the discussion at this point.

An injury in early spring training delayed Kerkering’s season debut until shortly after Opening Day, but he’s been quietly effective in his limited work. He’s appeared in 14 games entering play on Thursday and owns a 2.08 ERA through 13 innings pitched. Kerkering has collected nine strikeouts but also has six walks and surrendered nine hits including a home run. His underlying metrics paint a good picture, as his xERA of 2.01 is currently in the 97th percentile of all pitchers. Meanwhile, his expected batting average of .142 and average exit velocity of 80.5 MPH are among the best in all of baseball.

Despite his strong quality of contact numbers, Kerkering has once again struggled to generate swings and misses. He finished 2025 with a 24.4% strikeout rate that was only slightly above average and felt lacking considering the stuff Kerkering possesses. His whiff rate of 23.3% was well below league average and is down to 19.8% in the early going of 2026. He has however begun to experiment with throwing a splitter, a pitch he never utilized in the past. It’s only been thrown ten times, nine of which were to lefties, but Kerkering’s splitter has already generated six whiffs. The high number of walks in 2026 isn’t new either, as his 10.2% walk rate in 2025 was the highest among qualified relievers in the Phillies bullpen.

So, what do you make of Orion Kerkering’s season so far? Do you feel as though his error to end last season still lingers in his head? Or do you think he’s put it behind him?

Columbus Clippers 4, Iowa Cubs 2

Clippers improve to 19-17

Cooper Ingle returned from injury recently and he hasn’t missed a beat. The top catching prospect blasted off on Thursday, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a walk. He’s now batting a ridiculous .432 with a 1.445 OPS on the season.

Coooooooop#ClipShowpic.twitter.com/hfxdiIpw5z

— Columbus Clippers (@CLBClippers) May 7, 2026

Additionally, Angel Genao has been off to a slow start in Columbus, but he connected for his first Triple-A home run and stole a base, which was great to see.

Been a bit of a tough start for Angel Genao at Columbus so far, but he picks on a hanging breaking ball 105 MPH for his first Triple-A homer.pic.twitter.com/cuCkBm8YAR

— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) May 7, 2026

Kahlil Watson went 1-for-4 with a walk and two steals and Juan Brito doubled and stole a base.

Former innings eater Pedro Avila had one of his best outings of the season as a starting pitcher, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings.

Will Dion followed with a scoreless inning and Trenton Denholm closed out the victory with 3.0 scoreless innings of long relief.

Akron RubberDucks 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels 5

RubberDucks fall to 16-14

Akron’s late rally fell short as the RubberDucks lost their fourth straight game Thursday.

Ralphy Velazquez led the way on offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.

Alex Mooney had the only other multi-hit game, going 2-for-4, while Connor Barstad homered and Nick Mitchell went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Matt Wilkinson was solid, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings. Jack Jasiak was outstanding in long relief, tossing 2.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts, although he allowed an inherited runner to score.

Unfortunately, Jay Driver gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, which stunted Akron’s comeback attempt.

Lake County Captains 15, Great Lakes Loons 13 (F/8) Game 1
Lake County Captains 2, Great Lakes Loons 7 (F/7) Game 2

Captains move to 14-16

Game one was one hell of a wild ride as Lake County blasted off for 15 runs on 14 hits and 11 walks.

Every single player in the lineup reached base at least twice.

Leading the charged was Jace LaViolette, who went 2-for-5 with a massive home run and four RBIs.

Ryan Cesarini also had a monster game, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk.

RYAN CESARINI CANNOT BE STOPPED ‼️‼️‼️

It’s his sixth homer of the campaign and he has now gone deep in four out of the last six games! 😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/y0KcPFBG8G

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) May 7, 2026

Bennett Thompson went 2-for-5 while Garrett Howe went 2-for-3 with a walk. Dean Curley went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, Nolan Schubart went 1-for-2 with three walks, Tommy Hawke went 1-for-3 with two walks and Aaron Walton went 2-for-4 with a walk.

The craziest moment, however, didn’t involve any of those players. Trailing 13-12 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Lake County called on Jeffrey Mercedes to pinch hit and despite having a .146 batting average on the season, he blasted a walk-off three-run bomb.

JEFFREY MERCEDES ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! 🚀

HE LAUNCHES ONE TO RIGHT, AND THE PICANTES WIN A ROLLERCOASTER OF A GAME!! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/BY9CJr1K3h

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) May 7, 2026

I’m only going to mention starting pitcher Braylon Doughty, because he was fine, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in two innings.

Game two wasn’t much to write home about. Luke Hill pretty much accounted for all of the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and a walk.

Dean Curley also went 1-for-3 with a walk and Mercedes went 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch.

Starting pitcher Rafe Schlesinger was tagged for four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in 4.1 innings.

Hill City Howlers 2, Fredericksburg Nationals 4

Howlers fall to 18-12

The first seven players in Hill City’s lineup all had a hit, but no one had a multi-hit game. Yelferth Castillo and Cannon Peebles both doubled while Robert Arias and Jose Pirela both went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Joey Oakie was fine, albeit a bit wild, allowing one run on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

Zane Petty was excellent in long relief, allowing one more run on three hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings. The game stayed tied until the ninth inning, when Aaron Savary allowed two runs.

Bill Dawley would appear in 275 games as a reliever during his major league career.    He’d make his debut with the Astros on April 15th and set ablaze the first half of the 1983 season, winning 5 contests while posting a 1.88 ERA.  That start would culminate with an All-Star Selection at Old Comiskey Park in the Mid-Summer Classic in Chicago.   

Here’s the 12th installment of our continuing legends series.    

Q:  Did you have any idea you were going to be dealt during spring training in 1983?   

A:  I had obviously been with the Reds for years and I thought that year I would make the club, but I didn’t make the starting five.

On one of the very last days of spring training, they demoted me, but back then you had 72 hours to report to the minor leagues.  I was disappointed, but then I received a phone call from Chief Bender who was the man responsible for building the foundation for the Big Red Machine. He told me he about a trade to the Astros, so I get optioned to Tucson, AZ and now I’m in their system but not with the main club. 

As fate would have it, the Astros started the year 0-9 and they brought me up.    

Q:  And then upon being brought up, you catch fire immediately and start paying dividends.  What do you remember most from your first game?

A:  I’m brought up and we’re playing the Expos.  The first batter I faced, I actually hit in the ribs, that was Chris Spiers. 

So, he’s on first and then Terry Francona comes up next and bunts into a double play with a hard ground ball to Phil Garner.  I get the next guy out, we score a run the next inning, and all of sudden, I have my first win.     

The team is 1-9 and I’m 1-0! (laughs) It happens again a few nights later, I get another win after the team loses a few, and I’m 2-0, but the team is 2-11.  They quickly gave me the nickname “The Vulture”.

Q:  All told the first half is so impressive, that you are named to the All-Star Team.  What was that experience like?

A:  I was sitting in a hotel in Atlanta, and back then the managers and coaches picked the pitching staff so Whitey Herzog calls and says “Congrats! You’re an all-star.”    

It all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to think about it.  Ironically, I had grown up a huge Red Sox fan, and the first guy I faced that night was Jim Rice.   

Q:  You get Rice, you face George Brett, Lance Parrish, and Manny Trillo.  You got all of those guys out.   What was that experience like?

A:  I was pumped.  I was on cloud nine.  I struck out Parrish, I got Brett to foul out to third base.   After Brett, Dave Winfield came up and I made him look silly on two sliders to start things, and thought I could get a fastball by him, but he hit it into right field and then I got Trillo.   I still remember what I threw those guys and it sometimes feels like yesterday.

Q:  Toughest hitter you ever faced?

A:  Andre Dawson.  When he was with the Expos, I think I got him out every single time.    When he was traded to the Cubs, he just owned me.  He hit three home runs against me, a fastball, a slider, and a change up.  He was my toughest out by far.

Q:  Pitching in the Dome.  What comes to mind?

A:  I loved it.  You know my first 10 or 11 innings; I hadn’t given up a run.  So, one night, the count is 2 balls and no strikes on Dale Murphy, and I just thought because the dome was so massive that I’d throw him a fastball on the outer half, because no one in the Dome hits a homerun to center field.    

Well, I was wrong (laughs).  Dale hits it over the fence and that was the first run I ever gave up.   It was a great place to pitch, and I actually liked the AstroTurf because you rarely got any bad bounces along the way.   

I definitely have much more negative feelings reserved for the feelings. I don’t really even have strong feelings, including negative feelings, for the Dodgers — but I know a lot of others do. So, let’s hear it.

Yankees 9, Rangers 2

• Well that sucked.
• I’m going to cut the offense some slack on this one, though. The Rangers had a number of hard hit balls that ended up finding gloves, starting with the first batter of the game, when Brandon Nimmo ripped a shot to deep left that Jasson Dominguez made a great play on.
• Dominguez crashed into the left field wall and had to leave the game, resulting in Ryan McMahon coming into the game and the Yankees doing a bunch of defensive shuffling.
• The Rangers followed things up in the first with an Ezequiel Duran walk, an Ezequiel Duran caught stealing, a Corey Seager walk, a Josh Jung HBP, and a Joc Pederson ground out.
• What one would have thought would’ve, could’ve, been a productive inning resulted in nothing.
• The bottom of the first featured two triples by the Yankees, both to right field, where Joc Pederson was getting his first start in the outfield since 2023.
• The first triple was by Paul Goldschmidt. It was his sixth triple since the start of the 2019 season.
• This was the second of the two triples:

• See, a reasonable person would have seen how the first inning shook out and said, nope, it ain’t happening today.
• We aren’t reasonable people, though. We’re Rangers fans.
• Still, the Rangers stayed in it for a while. They took the lead, even, putting one up on an Ezequiel Duran homer and getting another run on a Duran RBI ground out.
• It was all a ruse, though, a way of sucking us in, thinking that they’d take the final game in New York, come home with a .500 road trip.
• Things finally went to pieces in the sixth, though, when MacKenzie Gore, Jalen Beeks and Cole Winn each retired one (1) batter, and six runs came across.
• Oh, and Peyton Gray gave up his first run of the season, with two outs in the ninth, on a comebacker that hit him in the wrist and knocked him out of the game.
• I had a dream last night that the Rangers blew a game by sending Ezequiel Duran out to pitch the top of the ninth inning with a lead, and he allowed 14 runs (though just 13 were earned) before Peyton Gray came in to retire the last batter of the inning.
• I woke up before the Rangers batted in the bottom of the ninth, though, so I don’t know if they rallied for a comeback win.
• MacKenzie Gore’s fastball topped out at 97.0 mph, averaging 95.0 mph. Jalen Beeks touched 94.3 mph with his fastball. Cole Winn’s cutter maxed out at 92.1 mph. Tyler Alexander’s sinker hit 90.8 mph. Peyton Grey reached 93.1 mph with his fastball. Gavin Collyer threw one fastball, which was 96.2 mph.
• Jake Burger had a 110.9 mph fly out. Brandon Nimmo had a 108.6 mph single, a 104.8 mph single, and a 101.0 mph fly out. Evan Carter had a 108.2 mph fly out. Corey Seager had a 107.7 mph fly out and a 100.0 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 107.3 mph single and a 106.7 mph ground out. Josh Jung had a 103.5 mph GIDP. Ezequiel Duran had a 101.0 mph ground out.
• The road trip is over. Back to the Shed.

The playoff-bound Red Sox posted three All-Star selections in 2025 with Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman. The trio of offseason additions stood among the game’s top performers, though the closer was the only Boston player to suit up for the midsummer classic in Atlanta. 

Baseball sits just over two months from the All-Star break, which this year will be held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of America 250 celebrations across the country. The star-spangled celebration of the country’s national pastime should be a memorable installment. 

While Boston remains under .500 to start the season, the Red Sox could still have legitimate representatives in the game.

Here are three Red Sox hopefuls who could find themselves in Philadelphia in mid-July:

Willson Contreras

2026 Stats (Entering Thursday): .264/.376/.481, .856 OPS, 8 HR, 23 RBI

Previous All-Star selections: 3 (2018, 2019, 2022)

Boston really can’t ask for much more from the veteran first baseman so far in a Red Sox uniform. He’s the lone source of true power in the lineup and his energy is a rare sparkplug for a clubhouse that’s needed exactly that time and time again. 

Wilyer Abreu

2026 Stats (Entering Thursday): .299/.381/.467, .848 OPS, 5 HR, 16 RBI

Previous All-Star selections: N/A

Abreu already has a pair of Gold Gloves to his name. A strong start offensively could put Abreu in the All-Star conversation and earn more deserved national attention as a standout in Boston’s outfield log jam. 

Aroldis Chapman

2026 Stats (Entering Thursday): 0-1, 0.77 ERA, 12 G, 9 SV, 14 K, 3 BB 

Previous All-Star selections: 8 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025)

The Red Sox have had some lengthy stretches without Chapman pitching this season. Nonetheless, he’s done the job when his number gets called. The lefty put together a resurgent 2025 campaign where he was nearly unhittable for the Red Sox.

He may be a tick below that this season, but he’s still one of the better relievers in the sport.

The Yankees are on a roll. After a 6-1 homestand in which they mopped the floor with the Orioles and decisively took two of three from the Rangers (again), the Bombers boast an AL-best 26-12 record. Now, they’ll shove off for a nine-game road trip, beginning with a three-game set against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The last trip the Yankees took to American Family Field was highly enjoyable. In 2024 they scored 15 runs in consecutive contests, and would have wrapped up a sweep if the Crew didn’t outlast them in an 11-inning game to open the series. Last season, of course, the Yankees swept the Brewers in the Bronx to open their regular season, setting home run records along the way. What will 2026 hold for this matchup? One thing we know for sure: Carlos Rodón is scheduled to make his season debut in the series finale.

Milwaukee is currently stuck in the middle of a five-team dogfight in the NL Central—as everyone expected. They enter action at 19-16, good for third place behind Chicago and a resurgent Cardinals team they just saw on their recent road trip. They’ve had a tendency to play above their proverbial weight class in recent years, but right now the middle of the road feels about right for their roster construction. That said, they have some excellent pitching, and some of their finest arms will take on the Yankees’ best.

Friday: Max Fried vs. Jacob Misiorowski (7:45 pm ET)

Fried didn’t have his best stuff last time out against Baltimore, but grit his teeth through 5.1 innings, allowing three runs and striking out six batters. It’s easy to forget about it now, but Fried’s first start as a Yankee came in that game where the Yankees scored 20 runs and homered nine times—and Fried didn’t pitch all that well. But of course, the Yankees scored 20 runs. Everyone sorta wrote off that start from Fried, and they were right to do so.

Misiorowski—a.k.a. The Miz—became a sensation when he was called up last June, even getting flown out to the All-Star Game to get a national audience. The tall Missourian didn’t finish the season with spectacular results, but his first full season in the Bigs is off to a strong start. He actually had a no-hitter going in his last start against the Nationals before cramping up and having to leave the game in the sixth. We’ll see how far he can go in his first career matchup with the Bombers.

Saturday: Cam Schlittler vs. Kyle Harrison (7:10 pm ET)

Schlittler keeps acing all the tests. His Monday night start was not Cam at his sharpest either, with seven hits and three walks to just four strikeouts, but he started throwing 101 mph as a lark, setting new a career mark in fastball velo. Sure. Why not. I guess you gotta keep yourself entertained some way or another. He wound up loading the bases in the sixth and departing for Jake Bird, who grabbed a key strikeout to end the inning. That kept his numbers looking pretty: a 1.52 ERA with 53 Ks and nine walks.

Who won the Rafael Devers trade? Why, the Milwaukee Brewers, of course! Kyle Harrison began on the Giants as a top prospect, packed his bags for Boston, and found himself on the move to the Wisconsin pitching factory when the Red Sox lost Alex Bregman and suddenly needed more infielders. So now the Red Sox don’t have Devers, Bregman, or Harrison. To me, that’s awesome.

Of course, six starts are six starts. But the 24-year old southpaw is looking like a keeper for Milwaukee, with a 2.12 ERA. Two starts ago, he cruised through six scoreless one-hit innings against the Pirates, while striking out 12. The Yankees have managed some success against southpaw starters this year—including MacKenzie Gore in the Texas series finale—so we’ll see if that trend continues against Harrison.

Sunday: Carlos Rodón vs. Logan Henderson (2:10 pm ET)

The first of two eagerly-awaited returns in the rotation is scheduled for the Sunday matinée, with Rodón taking the hill. Carlos’ last rehab start was eventful; he allowed a lot of hits and runs but pitched into the seventh inning, so he should be fully built up. Rodón’s start-to-start consistency was a revelation last year after he felt like a bit of a mystery box in 2024. Hopefully his first outing back will be a good tone setter against a wonky Milwaukee offense that just got some major reinforcements: Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio made their returns to the lineup on Monday.

Logan Henderson is another typical homegrown Brewers pitching prospect developed from an obscure school: taken in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. (Notable former Yankee Jay Buhner went there, though!) Milwaukee’s No. 6 prospect had a solid couple games last year and just came up from the Minors to toss six quality innings against the Nationals last Sunday. Don’t expect eye-popping velocity or imposing physical stature, but his fastball has terrific arm-side run.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (20-15)

SYRACUSE 3, ROCHESTER 2 (BOX)

A.J. Ewing only had one hit on the night, but it was a big one, as he ripped a two-out single to right field to give Syracuse—playing as the Salt Potatoes for this one—a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth. Earlier in the game, Rochester twice led by one run before Syracuse evened the score, as Ji Hwan Bae drove in a run in the fourth before Christian Arroyo drove in the team’s second run of the night in the sixth.

Salt Potatoes pitchers were mostly very good, and if you were looking for potential bullpen upgrades in Syracuse after watching the major league Mets yesterday afternoon, Ryan Lambert, Jonathan Pintaro, and Dylan Ross each threw a scoreless inning at the tail end of this game, totaling six strikeouts with zero walks and just one hit allowed by Lambert.

• CF A.J. Ewing: 1-5, RBI
• RF Nick Morabito: 1-4, R, 2 K, SB
• LF Ryan Clifford: 0-4, K
• 1B Christian Arroyo: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• 2B Ji Hwan Bae: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K
• DH Cristian Pache: 0-4, 2 K
• 3B Yonny Hernández: 1-4, K
• C Ben Rortvedt: 0-1, BB, K
• PR Kevin Villavicencio: 0-0, R
• SS Jackson Cluff: 0-2, BB, 2 K
• P Bryce Conley: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• P Mike Baumann: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Daniel Duarte: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• P Ryan Lambert: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• P Jonathan Pintaro: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• P Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (11-19)

HARTFORD 5, BINGHAMTON 3 (BOX)

Binghamton struck first with a run in the bottom of the first, but the Yard Goats tied things up with a run in the third, took the lead with a run in the fifth, and got to Rumble Ponies reliever Kevin Gowdy for three runs, two of them earned, in his one-third of an inning appearance in the top of the seventh. Binghamton scored one in the bottom of that inning and one more in the eighth, but they came up short in their comeback attempt.

• LF Chris Suero: 0-2, R, RBI, BB, K, 2 SB
• RF Jose Ramos: 0-5, 2 K
• C Kevin Parada: 0-4, K
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 2-4, 2 K
• 1B JT Schwartz: 1-4, K
• DH TT Bowens: 0-3, R, BB, K
• CF Matt Rudick: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K
• SS Wyatt Young: 1-4, R, K
• 2B Diego Mosquera: 2-4, K
• P Jordan Geber: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• P Matt Turner: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Kevin Gowdy: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• P Jefry Yan: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Felix Cepeda: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (7-21)

BOWLING GREEN 9, BROOKLYN 2 (BOX)

Jonathan Jimenez got knocked around early, giving up four of his five runs in the bottom of the first inning, and Bowling Green never really looked back from there. To their credit, the Cyclones answered that inning with a pair of runs in the top of the second, but the bats were mostly silent after that, as they failed to scored another run the rest of the way. Cyclones reliever Garrett Stratton had a rough night, too, giving up three runs in the seventh.

• SS Antonio Jimenez: 0-4, K
• 2B Mitch Voit: 1-4, 2B, K
• C Ronald Hernandez: 0-3, BB, K, E
• RF John Bay: 0-3, BB, 2 K
• DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-3, R, 2B, BB
• 3B Colin Houck: 1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K
• LF Vincent Perozo: 1-4, E
• 1B Trace Willhoite: 1-4, K
• CF Sam Biller: 1-2, BB, K, SB
• P Jonathan Jimenez: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• P Juan Arnaud: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• P Garrett Stratton: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• P Hunter Hodges: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (13-17)

LAKELAND 4, ST. LUCIE 1 (BOX)

St. Lucie opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first, but like their High-A counterparts, they didn’t do much at the plate after that. Reliever Elwis Mijares was the only Mets pitcher to have a rough outing in this one, but the two runs that starter Frank Camarillo allowed in the bottom of the first proved to be the difference in the game anyway.

• 2B Sam Robertson: 1-4, R, 3B, 2 K
• LF JT Benson: 0-3, BB, K
• RF Randy Guzman: 0-4, 2 K
• 1B AJ Salgado: 1-4, RBI
• DH Julio Zayas: 0-4, 2 K
• CF Simon Juan: 1-4, 2B, 3 K
• C Francisco Toledo: 2-4, K
• SS Branny De Oleo: 0-3, 2 K
• 3B Jamari Baylor: 0-2, BB, K
• P Frank Camarillo: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• P Elwis Mijares: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Ernesto Mercedes: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (1-3)

FCL NATIONALS 6, FCL METS 3 (BOX)

• RF Wyatt Vincent: 1-3, R, 2B, BB, K
• 2B Jeremy Rodriguez: 0-4, K
• SS Anthony Frobose: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 1-4, RBI, K, SB, E
• DH Josmir Reyes: 1-2, BB
• CF Bohan Adderley: 1-3, K, 2 SB
• LF Heriberto Rincon: 0-3, K, SB
• 1B Yeider Mindiola: 0-2, BB, K, E
• 3B Vladi Gomez: 1-2, R, 3B, K
• P Roberto Pena: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• P Jose Lopez: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• P Omar Victorino: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

STAR OF THE NIGHT

The Syracuse bullpen

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Kevin Gowdy

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

The Orioles’ get-right series against the Marlins took a wrong turn at the end. Not only did the O’s fail to complete the sweep by losing in the dumbest way imaginable — a walkoff throwing error — but they also suffered another injury to a starting pitcher. Cade Povich left his start against the Marlins after just three innings with what the team announced as “left forearm discomfort.” Uh-oh.

While we don’t want to assume the worst case scenario, that type of injury rarely portends good news. At the very least, Povich is almost certainly headed for a stint on the injured list, where he’ll join fellow starters Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer, and of course Zach Eflin, who is out for the season.

The Orioles’ pitching depth has been stretched thinner than anyone could have imagined by May 8. The Birds have already used nine different starting pitchers and that number could continue to climb as another hole has opened up in the rotation. That spot could be filled by Rogers, who is eligible to come off the 15-day IL in three days. Or if not Rogers, perhaps the Orioles could call up Trey Gibson, who held his own in his MLB debut against the Yankees last weekend. The next time this spot in the rotation comes up will also be against the Yankees, so if it is Trey, good luck to him again.

What a rotten turn of events for Povich, who was trying to pitch his way back into the Orioles’ plans and help offset the loss of some veteran starters. Who knows if Povich would’ve had a breakout performance or if he would’ve ended up in the 5+ ERA range like the last two years, but now he might not get the chance to find out for a while. Injuries continue to wreak havoc on this Orioles roster.

After their 2-5 road trip, the Orioles return home for an eventful weekend series against the Athletics. Tonight they’ll be giving away the wildly popular Tupac bobblehead, and after tomorrow’s game the O’s will be hosting a post-game concert featuring Nelly. If only the concert also featured Tupac, now that would be something.

Links

Orioles should not move on from Jordan Westburg | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

A fed-up reader thinks the Orioles should just “get rid of” Jordan Westburg. Dude, why? He makes the league minimum, is under team control for four more seasons, and is a quality player when he’s on the field. I can think of about 15 other Orioles I’d sooner get rid of.

The O’s walking man: Taylor Ward keeps drawing walks and at a record pace – Steve Melewski

I must say, this is not the version of Taylor Ward that I expected the Orioles would be getting. But I’ll certainly take it.

Holliday restarts rehab assignment, expected back in mid-May – MLB.com

Third time’s the charm for Jackson, hopefully. His previous two rehab attempts haven’t turned out so great.

Jon Meoli: Pete Alonso’s ‘coin-flip theory’ explains his approach to hitting — and the Orioles slugger’s recent success – The Baltimore Banner

The theory is basically “keep hitting the ball hard and your luck will eventually even out.” Hard to argue with that.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Four ex-Orioles were born on this day, including one of the best pitchers in team history, the late Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Cuellar (b. 1937, d. 2010). Cuellar spent eight years in Baltimore and racked up four 20+ win seasons, 133 complete games, three All-Star appearances, and a 1970 World Series ring. His 143 wins as an Oriole are the fourth-most in franchise history. Cuellar was the co-AL Cy Young winner with the Tigers’ Denny McLain in 1969, the only time that the Cy Young vote in either league has ever resulted in a tie. Other former Orioles born on this day are left-hander Sean Gilmartin (36) and righties Alfredo Simón and John Maine (both 45).

A whole lot of stuff has happened on this day in O’s history, most of it not good. On this date in 1965, O’s second baseman Jerry Adair saw his MLB record streak of 438 errorless chances come to an end when he booted a Bill Freehan grounder to start the eighth. It was Adair’s first error in his last 90 games, since July 21, 1964.

On this date in 2012, the O’s gave up four home runs in one game to the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton, who became the 16th player in MLB history to accomplish the feat. All four of Hamilton’s homers were two-run shots, all four with Elvis Andrus on base. He bashed his first two in the first and third off O’s starter Jake Arrieta, then added one off Zach Phillips in the seventh and Darren O’Day in the eighth.

In 2014, the O’s were the victims of an immaculate inning — nine pitches, three strikeouts — thrown by Rays reliever Brad Boxberger. What made it particularly unique is that Boxberger did it after coming in with the bases loaded and nobody out, the first time that’s happened in MLB history. Boxberger mowed down Steve Pearce, Jonathan Schoop, and Caleb Joseph for the most impressive possible escape from the jam. Fortunately, the Orioles won the game anyway.

In 2018, Dylan Bundy made dubious history by becoming the first pitcher in major league history to give up four home runs without recording an out. The Orioles starter began the game with a single before coughing up three straight dingers to the Royals’ Jorge Soler, Mike Moustakas, and Salvador Perez. He then walked the next two batters before serving up his fourth homer, to Alex Gordon, which chased him from the game. The Royals ultimately scored 10 runs in the top of the first in an eventual 15-7 drubbing of the Birds.

But not everything that has happened on May 8 has been bad for the Orioles. It was on this day in 1966 that Frank Robinson hit the most famous home run in O’s history, a titanic blast that sailed clear out of Memorial Stadium. The prodigious homer has practically taken on mythical status over the years, but it did actually happen, as Robinson’s first-inning clout off Cleveland’s Luis Tiant sailed over the bleachers, into a parking lot, and rolled under a car. It’s estimated that the ball sailed 451 feet on the fly and another 90 feet on the ground. Robinson received a standing ovation from the fans when he came out to the field the next inning.

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

A HUGE Happy birthday to Ross Barnes, who was born in 1850 and played on the 1876 White Stockings (Cubs, hence the photo) and was considered the GOAT of MLB upon his death in 1915, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history: In 1973, Cubs manager Whitey Lockman is ejected during a 12-inning, 3 – 2 win over the Padres. Coach Ernie Banks fills in for the last few innings, technically becoming the major leagues’ first black manager, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1896 – In the top of the 9th inning, Philadelphia’s Billy Nash starts to argue with the umpire over a called strike. Clark Griffith throws a pitch in the midst of the argument which nicks Nash’s bat, resulting in a double play. Griffith’s quick thinking helps the Chicago Colts take a 5-3 victory.
• 1901 – Amos Rusie makes his first start after a two-year layoff and is bombed, 14-3, by the Cards. After two more appearances, he goes back to digging ditches, having won 245 games in nine years, mostly for the New York Giants.
• 1901 – Boston defeats Philadelphia, 12-4, behind Cy Young. His 33 wins are 41.8 percent of his team’s 79 victories; a post-1900 record, it will stand until Steve Carlton wins 45.8 percent of the Phils’ 59 wins in 1972.
• 1914 – The A’s drive six runs in three innings to force Walter Johnson from the mound. Johnson throws the one and only beanball of his career, a fastball at the head of Frank “Home Run” Baker, a particular nemesis of Johnson’s. The beanball misses Baker, whom Johnson calls “the most dangerous batter that I ever faced.” Baker had hit .385 against the Nats ace up till this game in four seasons; he’ll hit just .207 off him in the next nine years.
• 1947 – A movement among Cardinal players to protest the first meeting with Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers is aborted by a clubhouse talk from owner Sam Breadon, according to a story by writer Stanley Woodward. League president Ford Frick had warned the team that if a strike occurred, any player involved would be suspended. Cardinal manager Eddie Dyer denies there was any strike talk. The Cards win, 5-1.
• 1948 – At Griffith Stadium, Larry Doby pounds a 408-foot homer to center field, which hits the loudspeakers 35 feet high, to help the Indians top the Senators, 6-1. Larry’s ball bounces back onto the field and is initially declared in play. The eighth-inning three-run homer is the longest home run in the Stadium since Babe Ruth‘s shot in 1922, and is the first of Doby’s four career inside-the-park homers.
• 1963 – A Stan Musial home run against the Dodgers gives him 1,357 extra-base hits, surpassing Babe Ruth‘s major league record. He will get 20 more; his record will later be broken by Hank Aaron.
• 1966 – Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson hits the only ball ever completely out of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. The shot clears the left-field single-deck grandstand‘s rear wall, 451 feet away, going an estimated 541 feet. 
• 1966 – In a controversial trade for San Francisco, St. Louis acquires popular 1B Orlando Cepeda from the Giants for P Ray Sadecki. Sadecki will go 3-7 this year, and Cepeda will win the MVP Award for St. Louis in 1967.
• 1973 – Cubs manager Whitey Lockman is ejected during a 12-inning, 3-2 win over the Padres. Coach Ernie Banks fills in for the last few innings, technically becoming the major leagues’ first black manager.
• 1984 – Twins rookie Kirby Puckett hits four singles in his first major league game, helping Minnesota beat the Angels, 5-0. He is the ninth player in history to collect four hits in his first nine-inning game.
• 1985 – Ryne Sandberg‘s homer off Mike Krukow is the only score as Rick Sutcliffe and the Cubs beat the Giants, 1-0.
• 2001 – The Devil Rays edge the Orioles, 4-3, as Tampa Bay’s Fred McGriff joins Mark McGwire, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Eddie Murray and Reggie Jackson as the only players to homer off 300 different pitchers in their career. 
• 2001 – Diamondbacks flamethrower Randy Johnson strikes out 20 Reds in Arizona’s 4-3 win over Cincinnati in 11 innings. Johnson gets all 20 in his nine innings of work, but does not officially tie Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood‘s record since the contest goes into extra frames.
• 2010 – Snapping out of what is for him a typical cold start to the season, the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira hits three homers and drives in five runs to lead New York to a 14-3 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park; he is the second player in Yankee history to hit three long balls in a game against Boston, after Lou Gehrig.
• 2016 – The Cubs decide they are not going to let Bryce Harper beat them and their pitchers walk him a record-tying six times, with his other at-bat resulting in a hit-by-pitch as he does not take even one swing of the bat in the Nationals’ 13-inning, 4-3 loss in Wrigley Field on a walk-off homer by Javier Baez. The strategy works all series, as Harper draws 13 walks, but Chicago sweeps all four games to improve to 24-6 after 30 games.

Cubs Birthdays:Bill Powell, Ross Barnes. Also notable: Turkey Stearnes HOF. Edd Roush HOF. Dan Brouthers HOF.

Today in history:

• 1348 – Ship from Bordeaux carrying the plague, lands in Melcombe Regis (now Weymouth), Dorset. The beginning of the Terrible Pestilence (Black Death) in England.
• 1958 – US President Eisenhower orders National Guard out of Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas.
• 1970 – The Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, “Let It Be”, in conjunction with the film of the same name.
• 2014 – The world’s oldest astrolabe (mariner’s navigation tool) from circa 1498 is found near Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman, from a Portuguese shipwreck of explorer Vasco da Gama.
• 2025 – Cardinal Robert Prevost (69) is elected as the 267th pope of the Catholic church, the first American to hold the office takes the name of Pope Leo XIV.

*pictured.

The Detroit Tigers kick off a six-game road trip on Friday with a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Coming off a rough homestand that saw the team drop four of six — including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox — maybe a little time away from Comerica Park will do the team some good.

The Motor City Kitties kick off the weekend with right-hander Keider Montero taking the mound for his seventh start of the season. The 25-year-old has been a steady presence in the rotation after taking over for Justin Verlander and is coming off his best game so far, in which he threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits (including a solo home run) and a walk while striking out in a home win against the Texas Rangers.

Montero has already faced Kansas City once back on April 16 in Detroit, failing to figure in the decision after surrendering four runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out five over six frames in a team win.

Left-hander Kris Bubic will climb the hill for the home team in a season that has been a slight step back so far — but it is still early. The last time he faced the Tigers was that same game that Montero threw in, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 4 2/3 innings.

Hopefully, bad Bubic shows up on Friday night and Montero throws a gem for the Ole English D. Take a look below at their numbers so far in the 2026 campaign.

Detroit Tigers (18-20) vs. Kansas City Royals (17-21)

Time (ET): 7:40 p.m.
Place: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
SB Nation Site:Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 39: RHP Keider Montero (2-2, 3.48 ERA) vs. LHP Kris Bubic (3-1, 3.32 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Montero	6	33.2	18.8	5.3	33.0%	3.44	0.8
Bubic	7	40.2	25.8	11.7	41.0	3.51	0.8

MONTERO

BUBIC

Remember how the Phillies climbed out of their run differential hole with a 9-0 win over the Athletics the other night?

That was fun.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Edmundo Sosa was in the lineup at third base for the Phillies last night as Alec Bohm got a night off while struggling.
• Trea Turner is taking a lot of batting practice to “try not to suck.” ($) He might need to take a little bit more then.
• Yesterday, the Phillies claimed someone named Grant Holman off waivers from the Tigers. No idea who this man is.

MLB news:

• Getting rid of the shift hasn’t really done much to bring back base hits. Is it really that big of a deal to anyone ($)?
• The Yankees are going to give Spencer Jones a major league look with Jasson Dominguez needing an injured list timeout.
• You know what you need today? You need a new MLB mock draft for the upcoming player draft. You know you wanted one.

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers are back in town, as they’ll host the Yankees and Padres over the next week. We’ll start things off this week with a question: Which opposing MLB stadium would you most (and least) like to visit to catch a game?

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread:

Authors Note: I wrote this article before last night’s nail biter at San Diego. Think of the ninth inning last night as confirmation of what I wrote. It was poetic justice that it occurred in San Diego. You’ll know why if you finish the article.

I continue to resist the urge to parse into various statistics and metrics until they’ve had a chance to stabilize. Gosh I want to dig into Walker’s metrics like nobody’s business. But we haven’t hit that point with most yet, and discipline is required. However, K% supposedly stabilizes around 70 batters faced, and there aren’t too many K oriented pitchers on this roster. Riley O’Brien is right near that threshold, and I’ve been curious what some of the under-the-hood metrics look like with him. We will look together.

Riley was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay organization in 2017 (8th round). He made it as far as AA, when he was traded to the Reds during the infamous 2020 season, in which there was no MiLB season. He opened 2021 at AAA and made a cameo (as in one) MLB appearance with them that year. He was traded early in 2022 to Seattle for the even more infamous PTBNL. He was 27 years old and idled at AAA the whole year. His story was consistent across his MiLB career – his K%-BB% ratio was too poor to suggest MLB success, although his raw stuff was clearly appealing. Interesting, back then, he had an arsenal of Cutter, Sweeper and Change. He came to the Cardinals in a cash consideration trade in November of 2023. That season, at Tacoma, his stats had veered noticeably. Higher K rate, lower BB rate, FIP < 4. I assume that is what the Cardinals saw … a late bloomer with K and BB rates bordering on elite.

I got a chance to see him early the following Spring (2024) and he certainly had impressive stuff, so he passed the eye test on day 1. He got hurt late in camp as I recall and he was out until late July. His 2024 Spring appearances were impressive enough that a month of rehab at AAA brought him to the MLB team. It was a bit rough, and I believe he got dinged up again. He started the 2025 season at Memphis but made it back to MLB in late May. Not everything was roses, but in the aggregate, he had some really nice season totals. FIP 3.61. ERA- 51. FIP- 89 (on those last two, 100 is average and lower is better). He did enough to be included on the short list of pitchers expected to close in 2026, following the trade of Ryan Helsley the previous deadline. You pretty much know the story so far this year, so I won’t repeat. Now we look under the hood.

High level – the results

Off to the left we see Riley’s current season Statcast page. A sea of red. Always a good thing. Without sharing last year’s image with you, I can tell you he has improved Chase%, Whiff% and K% and BB% from 2025 to 2026. All but the Whiff% are now in the elite zone.

What is not to like? One might not care for the below average run value of the off-speed pitches. For the record, he has thrown 2 of those pitches this year (changeups). So, ignore that.

The pitch mix

Down below, you can see the pitches Riley has used and how they get allocated. 58% sinker (who wouldn’t?) averaging 98.3 mph. Note that the sinker has higher than average drop. As in about 10% more drop that MLB average and also about 10% more ride (in on RH batters).

His second-most used pitch is the Sweeper (ST) at 25% usage. Similar to the Sinker (SI), the Sweeper action is well outside the average range, both in sweep (horizontal run) and in drop. Both values are 20% more than MLB average.

His third-most used pitch is reserved for LH batters. Overall, he uses it 16% of the time, but to LH batters that number is closer to 22%. The slider is pretty much an average pitch. As I wrote earlier, he has thrown 2 changeups (CU). Not sure why. Since it looks and acts like his Sinker, I would think it would keep batters honest. Maybe he just hasn’t needed to yet.

Note that early in his career he was Cutter and Sweeper oriented, with a few 4S FBs thrown in. So, he has ditched the Cutter and added a Sinker to replace the 4-seam and sharpened his Sweeper. That, folks, in the St. Louis Cardinals pitching lab for you, right there.

Pitch Shapes

To go another layer deep, let’s look at the movement profiles of these pitches.

You can see the top-scale red for both vertical and horizontal movement associated with his Sinker and Sweeper. That tells me he has elite level movement on two-axes on two different pitches. No wonder he is not a starter. He is just a two-pitch pitcher! Oh, wait. That is what an elite reliever looks like. Am I sure? Here are the pitch shape characteristics of another reliever who is pretty good. Mason Miller.

Of course, Mason is of the Mariano River devastating slider class of closer, but you get the point (I hope).

Ok, one more level down in the data and I’m done.

Deception

A key for a pitcher is to be able to disguise their pitches, which they do a number of ways. One of the most looked at is spin direction. Really sharp-eyed hitters can detect the direction of the ball’s spin. Some spin angles look like red dots (the seams) while other look more like a fan.

In Riley’s case, his two best pitches (SI and ST) have the exact opposite spin direction, meaning the hitter won’t see a difference. By the time a RH hitter detects whether the ball is riding in on him (SI) or floating away (ST), it’s hard to adjust, especially with the velo difference between the two. Part of his success is how these two pitches play off each other.

How the stuff plays

No charts, but some data points. Riley has showed improvement in Stuff+ 4 years running. Last year he was 106, this year 110. That is the look of a pitcher refining, not making leaps. His Location+ has followed the same general trend. Last year, Location+ was commendable 107 and this year has risen to 118. While a 1.5% walk rate is probably not where he will end the year, these numbers suggest his command is not fluky, either.

Historically, O’Brien’s big bugaboo has been walking batters. His 2026 walk rate is currently at an unsustainable 1.5%. BB% rates don’t stabilize until closer to mid-year, so this will be one area where we can expect regression. His K% rate is 28.4% (good) and has reached the stabilization level I referenced earlier. Looking at his career, he could regress a bit, but unlikely to move too much.

The future

If Riley O’Brien was 25 years old, we’d be looking at a long-term closer gig ala. Helsley. But he is not. He is 31 years old, presumably on the downward side of the aging curve. While he has six years of team control (2025 included), he is unlikely to be a long-term closer here (or anywhere). But short-term?

Come the trade deadline, the Cardinals are going to have an interesting choice to make. Closers, especially elite ones, tend to command a handsome dowry around Aug 1. If you look into the Cardinals pipeline, there are a few guys in that line that have “reliever risk” attached to their name, and closer stuff on their Prospect Savant page.

Will the remaining control make him valuable to the Cardinals upcoming window of contention? Or will his age and the burgeoning pitching make him expendable? Almost with certainty, they will ask for and require a king’s ransom to move a player with the kind of stuff and control he has. I would tend to think last year’s Mason Miller trade might be a decent guidepost and if I remember, that took a #1 prospect (De Vries) to pry him off the A’s roster. That might be a little rich for some teams, but probably not much less than would be needed to move him. Bloom is in a win-win with this one.