Category: Baseball

Baseball lifer Phil Garner, who won a World Series as a player with the Pirates and took the Astros to a World Series as a manager, died Saturday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was 76.

“Phil Garner passed away peacefully last night, April 11, surrounded by family and love after a two-plus-year battle with pancreatic cancer,” his family said in a statement. “Phil never lost his signature spark of life, he was so well known for, or his love for baseball, which was with him until the end. Special thanks to the Houston Medical Center, MD Anderson, Baylor St. Lukes and all the Doctors and Nurses for their excellent care and support.”

Garner played from the Majors from 1973-88, spending notable stints with the Oakland A’s, Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros, most notably.

Garner, who starred with the Pirates from 1977-81, won a World Series with the team in 1979.

Two of his three All-Star appearances also came while representing the Pirates in 1980 and ’81, respectively.

His first All-Star appearance came in 1976, his last with the A’s.

Garner was also a longtime MLB manager after his playing career.

Garner led the dugout of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1992-99, the Detroit Tigers from 2000-02, and the Houston Astros from 2004-07.

“He was competitive. He was honest. He told you the truth. He made you accountable — all the great things that leaders do,” said Jeff Bagwell, who played for Garner while with the Astros. “I think Gar just did a tremendous job of that. You could see how much he cared about his players, cared about winning and our organization. It was just a pleasure to play for him and be his friend.”

As a manager, Garner’s best work came with the Astros, whom he led to a World Series appearance in 2005, losing to the Chicago White Sox led by Ozzie Guillen.

He retired with a 277-252 record as a manager, with a 13-13 display in the playoffs.

As a player, he put up a career .260 average with 1,594 hits, 299 doubles, 225 stolen bases, 109 homeruns and 738 RBIs.

The Houston Astros (6-9) look to stop a 6-game slide as they play their 3rd of 4 games in Seattle against the Mariners (6-9) at T-Mobile Park.

RHP Cody Bolton (0-0, 3.68 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros opposite RHP Logan Gilbert (0-2, 5.40 ERA) and the Mariners.

ABOUT BOLTON: RHP Cody Bolton will make his second career start today against the Mariners.

In his first career start on Tuesday, April 6 at COL, he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

AGAINST THE MARINERS: The Astros and Mariners face each other today for the third of 13 scheduled matchups in 2026.

The Astros went 5-8 against the Mariners in 2025, including 2-4 record at T-Mobile Park.

Houston owns a 132-99 all-time regular season record against Seattle.

The Mariners will travel to Daikin Park for the first of two road trips to Houston from May 11-14 for a four-game series.

PEÑA INJURY: Astros SS Jeremy Peña left last night’s game due to right knee posterior tightness. He will get further evaluation today.

ULLOLA INJURY: RHP Miguel Ullola left last night’s game for Triple A Sugar Land due to a left ankle sprain.

ON THE MEND: LHP Bennett Sousa (left oblique strain) began a rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land last night…in his outing, he walked one and struck out two in one scoreless inning.

DOWN ON THE FARM: Astros number two overall prospect IF Xavier Neyens went 2×4 with a solo home run, walk and a stolen base. It marked his first career home run as a professional.

AIRCRAFT CARRIER: RF Cam Smith went 4×5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored last night at SEA. It marked his second career four-hit game, also June 17, 2025 at ATH.

TOMORROW’S PITCHER: RHP Mike Burrows will draw the start in tomorrow’s series finale vs Seattle.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2019 – The Astros outslug the Mariners in Seattle by a score of 10-6.

Houston smacks three home runs, including grand slams from 2B Jose Altuve (2×5) and 3B Yuli Gurriel (3×5). It marks just the third time in club history for the Astros to hit two grand slams in the same game.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 12, 3:10 p.m. CST

Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

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

Another day on the West Coast.

⚾️: 3:10pm CDT
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 | Spanish: 102.9 HD2#ChaseTheFight x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/tqKZtT789z

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 12, 2026

All set for Game 3️⃣! pic.twitter.com/36kfhu7hts

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 12, 2026

LOS ANGELES — With a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Saturday night, the Dodgers opted not to use closer Edwin Díaz, whom they signed to a record-setting contract in December. His velocity is down, but Díaz says he’s not hurt, and the Dodgers say they don’t think it’s a mechanical issue. Díaz may or may not be available on Sunday.

“Just talking to the pitching guys, looking at the velocity and some of the things he’s dealt with in the past, it’s a day-to-day thing,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “I’m going to see how he feels in catch play and talk to the trainers and pitching guys, see where we go and make a decision from there.

“I’m confident right now, because everything I hear is he feels fine. For me, you hear it, you want to completely trust it, but you’re also looking at the [radar] gun and making sure. We’re treading lightly, and giving him the benefit of the doubt, and still watching.”

Díaz on Friday night blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning and threw 23 pitches.

On Saturday night, manager Roberts said Díaz was unavailable due to the previous night’s workload, which completely tracks with the team’s bullpen deployment in the first three weeks of the season. Thus far, there have been only eight instances of a pitcher throwing on back-to-back days, including Díaz on March 27-28. Only one of those outings on no days rest came the day after throwing more than 17 pitches — Edgardo Henríquez threw 25 pitches on April 3 in Washington D.C., then was used the next day in a very low-leverage situation, up by six runs to get the final three outs in the ninth inning.

Ten times this season a Dodgers reliever has thrown at least 20 pitches in an outing. Other than the Henriquez outing, all those pitchers have been given at least one day off before pitching next, and in most cases got two or more days off.

During that outing on Friday, Díaz averaged 95.5 mph on his nine four-seam fastballs, and on the season he’s averaged 95.8 mph. He’s averaged at least 97 mph on that pitch in every other season of his career, including 97.2 mph in 2025.

Starting slow has been the norm recently for Díaz, for whom April has seen his lowest velocity of the season dating back to 2022. He did not pitch at all in 2023 after suffering a torn patellar tendon in his knee.

Year	April	Season
2022	98.1 mph	99.1 mph
2024	96.9 mph	97.5 mph
2025	96.3 mph	97.2 mph

Díaz has pitched only six games, and struck out 10 of his 29 batters faced while allowing four runs in six innings. But his current 95.8 mph would be the lowest velocity month of his career.

“We’re still trying to dig in a little bit,” Roberts said, calling the 2-mph drop from Díaz’s usual average “significant.”

“A couple days ago there were a lot of throws in there, too. Like we’ve done many times is to play the long view with our guys,” Roberts added. “We’re still going to do what’s best for him and the organization. This is a day-to-day thing, it really is. It’s not an IL thing we’re talking about, it’s more day-to-day.”

Colorado Rockies (6-9) at San Diego Padres (9-6), April 12, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Military Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ypcZ0lCsSD

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 12, 2026

Sunday starters 👇 pic.twitter.com/uipxFuEofe

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 12, 2026

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While it’s disappointing to once again be facing a sweep at the end of a series, one must remember the Colorado Rockies are who we thought they were. They are a team at the ground floor of a rebuild and by their own admission are “here for the climb.”

By that metric, the Rockies have one major takeaway from the series so far: They’re keeping the San Diego Padres on their toes. Through the first three games, they have kept things close and competitive. The Padres had to walk-off the Rockies in the first two games, and the Rockies had the tying run at the plate last night in the top of the ninth inning.

This is not a post-season team. This is a team where progress is all that matters.

That being said, it sure would be nice to avoid getting swept out of San Diego to end this series. The man leading the Rockies into battle for that cause will be left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland.

Freeland—despite a truncated spring training—is off to a strong start. Over his first three starts of the season he has a 2.30 ERA over 15.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and four walks. His last time out against the Houston Astros he pitched a 6.1 inning Quality Start, giving up just one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five batters.

On the bump for the Swingin’ Friars is right-handed veteran Nick Pivetta. Pivetta has his strikeout stuff working well to start the season with a 13.8 K/9 through 13 innings. However, he’s also had opposing batters get to him. Over his first three starts he has an ERA of 5.54 on 12 hits and six walks, but he’s also yet to allow a home run.

Historically Pivetta hasn’t had the best of luck against the Rockies. He holds a 9.64 career ERA against the boys in Purple over eight appearances—seven of which were starts—with seven home runs allowed over 32.2 innings of work. This season Pivetta is working primarily with four pitches: a four-seam fastball averaging 94.1 MPH, a curveball, a sweeper, and a cutter. He can also throw a sinker and slider if needed.

First Pitch: 2:10pm MDT

TV: Rockies.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups:

Sunday starters 👇 pic.twitter.com/uipxFuEofe

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 12, 2026

Military Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ypcZ0lCsSD

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 12, 2026

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Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Sunday, April 12, 2026, 3:10 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium

RHP Jacob deGrom vs. RHP Roki Sasaki

Go Rangers!

One part of the Mets’ bullpen makeover is already gone, with Luis García designated for assignment prior to Sunday’s series-finale against the A’s.

After the 39-year-old right-hander was forced into Saturday’s loss, in part because of Luke Weaver’s ineffectiveness, Carlos Mendoza said the bullpen needed to be replenished for Sunday’s game at Citi Field.

So the Mets opted to recall right-hander Joey Gerber from Triple-A Syracuse and are set to lose García, who was signed to a one-year, $1.75 million deal in January.

“We needed an arm, especially with the way we used the bullpen the past couple of nights,’’ Mendoza said. “We feel like we needed some protection there in case something bad happens again.”

Of the decision to DFA Garcia , Mendoza said it was “not an easy one. Luis had to pitch [Saturday] on a day we were staying away from him. [Weaver] got in trouble and we needed a fresh arm here.”

Gerber last played in the majors with the Rays last year, making two appearances, while spending most of the season with Triple-A Durham.

His contract was purchased by the Mets in November and he struggled in four outings in the minors this season.

Phil Garner, longtime major league infielder and longtime major league manager, has passed away, it was announced. He was 76.

Garner originally came up with the Oakland A’s, and in 1975 and 1976 solidified what had been an unsettled situation at second base for the A’s, including getting an All Star nod in 1976. During spring training, 1977, Garner was dealt, along with Chris Batton and Tommy Helms, to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Tony Armas (the Elder), Doug Bair, Rick Langford, Mitchell Page, Doc Medich and Dave Giusti.

Garner had a four-plus year run as a key part of the Pirates’ infield, highlighted by his slashing .472/.537/.722 in 10 playoff games in 1979 as the We Are Family Pirates won the World Series.

Garner was dealt at the end of August, 1981, to the Houston Astros for prospect Johnny Ray, with the Pirates giving up their second baseman of the present for their second baseman of the future. Garner played with the Astros until the 1987 trade deadline, when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His final season came in 1988 with the San Francisco Giants.

For his career, Garner put up a 29.7 bWAR in 1860 games over 16 seasons, with a .260/.323/.389 slash line an 99 OPS+. He is 68th all time in career bWAR for second basemen.

Garner was named the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers following the 1991 season. He spent seven-plus years as the Brewers’ manager, being let go during the 1999 season with the team sporting a 52-60 record. Garner was hired by the Detroit Tigers in the 1999-2000 offseason — Rangers fans may recall that that was the offseason when Texas traded Juan Gonzalez to the Tigers. The Tigers were not successful during Garner’s time there, however, and he lasted two seasons and six games, being fired in 2002 after the team got off to a 0-6 start.

Garner’s final stop was with the Houston Astros. When the Astros fired Jimy Williams at the 2004 All Star Break, with the club at 44-44, Garner was brought in to take over. The Astros went 48-26 the rest of the way, then beat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS.

Garner led the Astros to the World Series the following year, beating the Braves again in the NLDS and exacting their revenge against the Cardinals in the NLCS. In the World Series, however, the Chicago White Sox proved to be too much, with the ChiSox sweeping the Astros.

The Astros missed the playoffs in 2006, finishing 82-80, and in 2007, with a much different roster than the ones that had had so much success in 2004 and 2005, Garner was fired mid-season when the team’s record was 58-73.

Garner ended his career having managed 2040 games, with a career 985-1054-1 record.

The first two games the Yankees played at Tropicana Field since the park’s reopening have proceeded quite…troppily, if you will. New York’s anemic offense was at least able to find a pair of go-ahead hits from José Caballero in yesterday’s 10-inning defeat, though the bullpen wasted little time coughing up the meager advantage to the Rays both times. Altogether, these games have lacked any sort of satisfying narrative flow—if you cynically expected the Yankees to trip over their own feet you were generally proven right within a couple of plate appearances.

So, with their lead over the AL East whittled down to just one game, Cam Schlittler and the Bombers will attempt to salvage the final game of this weekend set in St. Petersburg and snap a four-game skid which has halted the good vibes of their 8-2 start. Schlittler will get his first taste of action in this ersatz stadium. We’ll see how he does!

Cam’s lengthy scoreless streak was finally snapped by the Athletics in his last go-round when they tagged him for three runs in the third inning of a five-inning start. The tall righty collected himself after that point, and Amed Rosario’s heroics would deliver them the win. The Yankees haven’t won since then. Grabbing the initiative early hasn’t seemed to do the trick; they started with a lead in three of these four straight defeats. It’ll be up to Schlittler to keep down a typically pesky Rays offense and give New York some runway to finally get their bats clicking on full cylinders.

Of course, Schlittler’s opponent is yet another pitcher who has enjoyed great success against men in pinstripes. Drew Rasmussen, who was reinstated from the family medical emergency list today, has a 1.19 ERA across seven appearances (six of them starts). He’s picked up 44 strikeouts over 37.2 innings, with a mere five total runs allowed across those games. As if the Yanks didn’t have their hands full enough already! The silver lining is that the 30-year-old right-hander doesn’t tend to pitch very deep into games. He was five-and-dive in his first two starts, allowing one run to a pair of NL Central teams in St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Seeking a spark, the Yankees have shuffled their lineup around a bit. There are six lefties in today—though Rasmussen is as platoon-neutral as it gets. Ben Rice has moved up to the second spot in the order ahead of Aaron Judge, who will DH. Randal Grichuk, who is still hunting his first Yankee hit, will fill in at right field. Ryan McMahon gets another start at the hot corner and J.C. Escarra will catch the day game after a night game.

How to Watch:

Location: Tropicana Field — St. Petersburg, FL

First Pitch: 1:40 pm EDT

TV broadcast: YES/Rays.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 / WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM

Online stream: MLB Network (out-of-market-only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Cam on the bump.#RepBXpic.twitter.com/TFmc2FVbLH

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 12, 2026

Rasters Sunday pic.twitter.com/8QQmI7Ue6A

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 12, 2026

First Chuck: 12:37 PM CDT (click here each week for a new anthem!)

The Tube: Twins.TV

The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network

Spies ‘R Us: Bluebird Banter

With the Minnesota Twins battling the 2025 AL Champion Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, it got me thinking how our boys have historically fared against the previous year’s American League pennant-winning squad. A little Baseball-Reference.com research and some simple math later, and the result is: not good—at all.

Going back to 2001, the Twins are 90-142 against the reigning Junior Circuit champion. That’s a .388 winning percentage (or a 63-99 regular season pace) if you are Bert Blyleven-ing the math at home.

The worst offenders…

• 2002: 0-6 against the New York Yankees (gee, what a shock)
• 2016: 4-15 against the Kansas City Royals

• 2022: 0-6 against the Houston Astros

In fact, only three times have the Twins even been over .500 against the league champs…

• 2001: 4-2 against the Yankees (this was a pre-Chuck Knoblauch $1 hot dog curse world)
• 2011: 5-3 against the Texas Rangers
• 2024: 5-2 against the Rangers

But this afternoon, the Twins have a chance to flip the script and take the series from the defending champs!

Click here for Lineups!

It’s series finale time! The San Francisco Giants are facing the Baltimore Orioles one more time, and then they’re off to Cincinnati, albeit with a well-deserved day off first.

For the Giants, it will be righty Adrian Houser on the mound, as he makes his third start of the year for the team. The 33-year old is 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA, a 2.71 FIP, and seven strikeouts against three walks in 11.1 innings. In his last game, Houser gave up four runs in six innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He’s up against lefty Cade Povich, who celebrates his 26th birthday today. Povich, who is in his third year, has pitched just once this year, giving up two runs in 5.2 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Enjoy the game, fans! Go Giants!

Game #16

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Baltimore Orioles

Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland

When: 10:35 a.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

It’s going to be a beautiful day in downtown Baltimore. Clear skies. A modest breeze. Highs near 70. That’s baseball weather, folks, and I can think of no better setting for the Orioles to take a series from the visiting Giants. It will be up to Cade Povich to make it happen.

To the surprise of many (myself included), Povich and Brandon Young have been the club’s choices to step into Zach Eflin’s spot in the rotation rather than Dean Kremer. For the time being, anyway. Povich was used as a bulk reliever after Chris Bassitt threw just two innings on April 5 and performed admirably (5.2 innings, two runs, four hits, three walks, two strikeouts). One week later, and on his 26th birthday no less, the southpaw will make his first major league start of the year.

It is entirely possible that no matter how Povich pitches today, he will be sent back down to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday. The Orioles are right at the beginning of a 13-day stretch with no off days. They also used five relievers in Saturday’s win, so another heavy workload for the bullpen today almost guarantees a move is coming. Juggling the fifth starter spot is something most teams do as they need to survive these types of runs in their schedule.

The O’s have not announced their starter for Game 1 of the upcoming Diamondbacks series. This could be where we see Kremer make his season debut. He last pitched for Norfolk on April 8th, and did well (4.2 shutout innings). Young is set to start for Norfolk today. Provided that actually happens, Kremer would be the favorite for a call up. That would buy an extra day of rest for the other members of the rotation. It seems like every member of the rotation except Trevor Rogers could use that right now.

But let’s worry about tomorrow tomorrow. The goal for today is win the series. If that means Povich gets through the order twice and then gets pulled, so be it. It won’t matter if the O’s lineup is up to the task of facing Adrian Houser. It would be great to see Pete Alonso turn things around. He’s in the middle of a 2-for-31 skid in which he is striking out nearly a third of the times he steps to the plate. This team needs more from him.

It doesn’t look like any roster changes came prior to today’s game. Samuel Basallo is starting again at catcher despite also starting the night before. There was speculation that Sam Huff would be called up to play behind the plate. But for now, it looks like Maverick Handley will remain as the understudy for the day.

If Craig Albernaz is trying to stay away from Handley for whatever reason, he may have a bench of just one healthy, truly available player, that being Blaze Alexander. Tyler O’Neill (illness) and Ryan Mountcastle (foot) are around, but seemingly not fit enough to start the game. Johnathan Rodríguez, a 26-year-old outfielder that the O’s acquired last month, was added to the taxi squad as a precaution.

Orioles lineup

1. Gunnar Henderson, SS
2. Taylor Ward, LF
3. Pete Alonso, 1B
4. Samuel Basallo, C
5. Dylan Beavers, DH
6. Leody Taveras CF
7. Colton Cowser, RF
8. Coby Mayo, 3B
9. Jeremiah Jackson, 2B

LHP Cade Povich (0-0, 3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP, 2 K)

Giants lineup

1. Willy Adames, SS
2. Rafael Devers, 1B
3. Matt Chapman, 3B
4. Casey Schmitt, DH
5. Jung Hoo Lee, CF
6. Heliot Ramos, LF
7. Daniel Susac, C
8. Jerar Encarnacion, RF
9. Christian Koss, 2B

RHP Adrian Houser (0-1, 3.97 ERA, 11.1 IP, 7 K)

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Two first-place ballclubs meet on Sunday Night Baseball as the Cleveland Guardians face the Atlanta Braves. 

The game will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock at 7:20 p.m. ET, featuring a pitching matchup of Tanner Bibee and Chris Sale.

Here are my three favorite MLB player props and full Guardians vs. Braves predictions on Sunday, April 12.

Guardians vs Braves props for April 12

Guardians vs Braves player prop picks

Ronald Acuna Jr. Over 1.5 total bases

It’ll be warm at Truist Park, with a temperature of 83 degrees at first pitch. 

That’s favorable hitting weather for players like Ronald Acuna Jr. The Atlanta Braves star is off to a bit of a slow start (.224 AVG), but the underlying metrics say positive regression is on the way.

Acuna’s bat speed is still elite, and he’s in the 85th percentile or above in xwOBA, xSLG, and barrel rate. Better days are ahead. 

Tanner Bibee gets the nod for the Cleveland Guardians. He has notable reverse splits again early this year (.318 AVG to righties), a continuing trend from a year ago, so Acuna is in for a favorable matchup.

Chris Sale Under 6.5 strikeouts

Chris Sale’s strikeout prop is set at 6.5, with juiced odds on the Over, and plus money on the Under. 

The southpaw’s strikeout rate is down to 25.4%, a 7% drop from a year ago. That’s despite his first two starts coming against the Rangers, Athletics, and Angels — teams with strikeout rates above 27%. 

Cleveland has been a difficult punchout, posting a 17.1% K rate against LHP. Sale’s chase and whiff rate numbers are down, and this is hardly a bounce-back spot against a contact-heavy lineup.

Mauricio Dubon Over 1.5 hits+runs+RBI

Mauricio Dubon is off to a hot start as Atlanta’s starting shortstop, slashing .321/.345/.528 with a 146 wRC+. This is a decent matchup, and there’s friendly hitting weather, so he may not cool off immediately. 

He’s particularly raked against cutters (.377 xBA) and sinkers (.353 xBA), which are Bibee’s two most frequently thrown offerings against right-handed hitters (combined 70%). 

Dubon has strong numbers against RHP (.353 AVG) and at home (.360), so I’ll buy the plus money on him clearing 2+ hits, runs, and RBI.

How to watch Guardians vs Braves and game info

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