Apr 13, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners J.P. Crawford (3) throws to first base for a ground out during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
J.P. Crawford was a late scratch before Wednesday’s series finale against the White Sox, as the triceps issue stemming from a hit by pitch in the last series with the Padres continues to bother him. Pregame he was seen pointing out the sore area to Cole Young, playfully poking the young second baseman in the same spot, before settling in to take his daily defensive drills with Perry Hill.
It’s the kind of leadership and attention to young players Crawford has demonstrated during his entire tenure as a Mariner, something that will intensify when Crawford is able to return to play – although not, perhaps, where Mariners fans are used to seeing him. While going through those drills, Crawford walked to third base instead of his usual position at short.
Per Mariners GM Justin Hollander, Crawford’s agent reached out to him about the possibility of playing third base, saying he wanted to do whatever was necessary to help the team win. Crawford reportedly approached Dan Wilson directly with the same proposition.
Whether you rely on the eye test or on defensive stats, it’s been a struggle for Crawford at shortstop this year. With a Fielding Run Value of -5, Crawford ranks in the bottom five of all defenders in MLB; his Defensive Runs Saved mark of -7 is also bottom-five in the bigs. If you’ve just been relying on the eye test, you’ve seen the throws that have gone off-target at first, most cleaned up by Josh Naylor – not anything that would show up in defensive stats, but uncomfortable nonetheless. Crawford missed time this spring with a lingering shoulder issue, which might be impacting his accuracy. There have been times this season where Crawford’s body language has shown visible disappointment or frustration after making an off-target throw or mishandling a ball. Crawford’s defense has attracted enough negative attention that it’s even been the focus of various segments on the local talk radio stations; it’s fair to call it a noticeable issue.
But it’s not so simple as just pulling Crawford off the position that’s been his for as long as he’s been a Mariner. He’s the Mariners leader in games played at shortstop, surpassing Alex Rodriguez last season, and a future Mariners Hall of Famer. He’s the longest-tenured Mariner, the one they call “Captain,” the steady hand that’s overseen the transition of this team from rebuild to an ALCS appearance.
Now, it seems Crawford is prepared to enter a new phase of his Mariners tenure. If he does take over at third, it will be an echo of the start of his career, when Philadelphia tried to convert him from a primary shortstop to a hybrid shortstop-third baseman. Crawford struggled defensively in Philly, and later said that coming to Seattle to work with Perry Hill “saved his career.” Now, if Crawford transitions to third base, it will be his decision.
If he does take up the mantle at the hot corner, Crawford’s career as a Mariner will likely end mirroring the player who mentored him during his time, one of the best third baseman in Mariners history, Kyle Seager. It’s especially fitting because as Seager poured so much into Crawford as a young player, so does Crawford pay it forward with his young infielders Cole Young and Colt Emerson.
“J.P. is a selfless player,” said Dan Wilson. “He’ll go wherever anybody needs him to go.”
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 18: General view of the field as three umpires work the field after home plate umpire Alfonso Márquez leaves the game after being hit in the mask with a ball during a game against the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves at loanDepot park on May 18, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s getting to be that time for the pivotal third game of any four game series. The winner will be in the drivers seat for a series win while the loser will go into tomorrow’s game simply trying to salvage a split. I think we’re all hoping that Chris Sale and the Braves will be able to play themselves into the driver’s seat with a win this evening. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out. Come on down into the comments and join us, why don’t you?
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 17: Luis Curvelo #57 of the Texas Rangers poses for a portrait during photo day at Surprise Stadium on February 17, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers activated pitcher Luis Curvelo from the 15 day injured list and optioned him to AAA Round Rock, the team announced today.
Curvelo started the season in the minors, but was called up a little over a week into the season to join the Rangers’ bullpen. He was placed on the injured list on April 15, and was sent out on a rehab assignment with Round Rock on May 15. The Rangers have apparently decided they do not need him in the major league pen for the time being, so he is officially off the injured list and on the active roster for the Express.
With Chris Martin having been activated from the injured list yesterday, that leaves four pitchers on the major league injured list — lefthanded starting pitchers Cody Bradford and Jordan Montgomery, who are both on the 60 day injured list, and lefty reliever Robert Garcia and righthanded reliever Carter Baumler, who are both on the 15 day injured list.
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 09: Zach Thornton (21) of the New York Mets delivers a pitch during a spring training game against the Miami Marlins on March 09, 2026 at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Mets lineup
Carson Benge – RF Bo Bichette – SS Juan Soto – LF Mark Vientos – 1B MJ Melendez – DH Brett Baty – 3B Marcus Semien – 2B A.J. Ewing – CF Hayden Senger – C
SP: Zach Thornton – LHP
Nationals lineup
James Wood – DH Curtis Mead – 3B Andres Chaparro – 1B CJ Abrams – SS Dylan Crews – RF Daylen Lile – LF Jacob Young – CF Nasim Nunez – 2B Keibert Ruiz – C
SP: Zack Littell – RHP
Broadcast info
First pitch: 6:45pm EDT TV: SNY Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 15: Connelly Early #71 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on May 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TV: NESN
First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. ET
The Red Sox are officially out of last place in the American League East and search for their second sweep of the season. Boston earned wins behind solid starts from Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez to start the series. On Wednesday night, Boston sends Connelly Early to the mound in the midst of a solid campaign.
Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate Wednesday night.
The Mets bullpen should be getting reinforcement really soon.
Manager Carlos Mendoza spoke with the media ahead of Wednesday's game against the Nationals and gave an update on A.J. Minter, and the news is promising.
"He’s going to pitch one more time in Syracuse, could be Saturday or Sunday, depending on how he recovers from the back-to-back," Mendoza said. "It’s a quick turnaround."
Minter pitched Tuesday night for the Syracuse Mets and struck out one batter in his one inning of work. He was then asked to come in less than 24 hours later for Syracuse's 11 a.m. start and pitched 0.2 innings. He allowed a run on a hit, walk and a hit batter, raising his ERA to 2.70 in Triple-A. However, Mendoza is encouraged by Minter's ability to bounce back so soon.
"The fact that he pitched in an 11 o’clock game today. Shows you that he feels pretty good," Mendoza said. "One more over the weekend, hopefully and we’ll see if he’s in play for us when we get back from Miami."
In seven Triple-A appearances, Minter has allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out three across 6.2 innings.
The Mets will head to Miami after the end of the Nationals series on Thursday before heading home to take on the Reds.
Updates on Polanco and Robert Jr.
Mendoza was asked about the progress of Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. and there wasn't much for the Mets skipper to give.
While Robert Jr. remains shut down from all baseball-related activities, Polanco continues to do so and continues to take batting practice.
THAT THIRD GAME: The Cubs are 32-33 in third games of series at home vs. the Brewers. They are 14-20 after losing second games, including 6-7 after losing the first two. The Cubs last were swept by the Brewers at Wrigley Field on Aug. 10-12, 2021, in a four-game series that began with a doubleheader. This is their 10th series on the North Side since then. It is the second in which the Cubs lost the first two. They lost both games of a doubleheader May 30, 2022, then won the next two days. The Cubs last were swept in three games at home by the Brewers on Sept. 8-10, 2017, which was 20 series ago. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
RUNS ARE HARD TO COME BY: In their 2-8 funk, the Cubs have scored more than three runs only twice — and they lost one of those games, 9-8, on the South Side on Saturday. In their first 10-game winning streak, the Cubs scored at least four runs in nine games. In their second streak, they did it in eight of 10. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
AT LEAST ONE RELIEVER IS SOLID: Jacob Webb, last 12 games since April 19: 1.38 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 15 strikeouts and only three walks in 13 innings.
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Frank Castillo and three relievers allow four home runs to the Braves in an 18-1 loss in Atlanta. The team has given up that many runs or more only nine times since that game, which happened 30 years ago today, Monday, May 20, 1996.
Edward Cabrera was going along pretty well this year but his last two starts have been rough. His last start, in particular, was wrecked largely due to walks, which had been a concern in his time in Miami. Hopefully that won’t get worse as the season goes on.
His last start against the Brewers was July 6, 2025 in Miami. He allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out five. We’d take that tonight.
Kyle Harrison, originally a member of the Giants, went to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers deal and then came to Milwaukee as part of a six-player trade in February.
He’s been very good for the Brewers, allowing no more than two runs in any of his eight starts. He has a good walk rate (just 8.1 percent) and he doesn’t allow the long ball (just three in 38.2 innings).
He has one career relief appearance against the Cubs — he was the guy who pitched the 11th inning May 6, 2025 after Ryan Pressly had that monstrously bad top of the 11th.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 20: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 20, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Watching Sal Stewart struggle for the first time as a big leaguer was rough. After ripping through the month of April and taking home National League Rookie of the Month honors, May greeted him with a dose of what happens when big league pitchers and coaches finally get to scout you in detail via big league video evidence.
Across 17 games from April 29th through May 16th, Sal collected just 10 hits in 67 AB, smashing nary a homer and striking out twice as often (16 times) as he walked. He hit just .149/.240/.224 in that span, and there’s no coincidence that the Cincinnati Reds hitting a skid coincided with that.
The last week, though, has seen a much needed resurgence. He entered play on Wednesday in Philadelphia having been on-base multiple times in four straight games, and then erupted for a 4 for 5 day that saw him double, swat a late 2-run homer to put the game on ice, and score 3 times in the Reds 9-4 win over the Phillies. That earns him today’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game award, and deservedly so.
That homer flew 441 feet into the second deck in Philly, by the way.
Sal even turned in a good defensive performance at the hot corner, making an acrobatic catch over the rail along the Reds dugout on a pop fly. It’s as if the Reds had no need to go acquire a different 3B last July after all!
The win secured a series victory for the Reds and pushed them back to a pair of games over the .500 mark at 26-24, and the club wrapped their two-city road trip with a .500 record after dropping the first series to the Guardians in Cleveland.
Sal backed Andrew Abbott, who turned in another solid performance in a string that’s been much, much more akin to what we’d come to know about him prior to his own April slump. Abbott fired 5.1 IP and allowed just 3 hits and 2 runs (one earned), dodging some early control problems – he walked the first two batters he faced in the game and the first one scored – to pour in a 96 pitch outing the Reds sorely needed. Brock Burke ran into some trouble when he took over, yielding a 2-run dinger to Edmundo Sosa, but the rest of the bullpen effort was nails in the form of scoreless frames by Connor Phillips, Graham Ashcraft, and Sam Moll.
Nathaniel Lowe helped Sal carry the offensive load on the day, swatting a pair of doubles and driving in a trio. Blake Dunn, who started against a RHP in the outfield as TJ Friedl continues to sit, doubled and tripled and scored twice. Even PJ Higgins chipped in with a pair of RBI singles as the Reds breezed on a rare day where Elly De La Cruz (0 for 5, 3 K) was off his best.
The Reds have the day off on Thursday, and on Friday they’ll begin a home series against their NL Central rivals from St. Louis. Chris Paddack is scheduled to get his second start since joining the Reds in the series opener in Great American Ball Park Thursday evening, with first pitch slated for 6:40 PM ET.
San Diego Padres Closer Mason Miller (Photo by Ryan Levy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
An errant pickoff throw by San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller allowed Los Angeles Dodgers pinch-runner Alex Call to move all the way to third base. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Andy Pages, securing the Dodgers a hard-fought 5-4 victory over the Padres.
After watching the replay, you see Miller threw the ball wide of Friars’ first baseman Ty France’s reach. What is more frustrating is that the righthander had Call dead to rights. The runner was two to three steps heading toward second base. Call froze on the base path before noticing the ball ricochet off France’s glove and roll down the right-field line.
Offensively, the Padres runs came on two two-run home runs by Manny Machado and Miguel Andujar. Machado’s blast came with two outs in the first inning. It was his seventh home run of the season.
Andujar homered after Fernando Tatis Jr. walked in the third inning. It gave the Friars a 4-2 lead in the contest.
Taking the mound
Shohei Ohtani (LAD) v. Randy Vasquez (SD)
Arguably, today’s late afternoon matchup could be a classic pitching duel. Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani has been the best starting pitcher in the National League over the first quarter of the 2026 season.
In seven starts, Ohtani posted a 3-2 record with a 0.82 ERA. His dominance has been a life source for a starting rotation in shambles. Injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have placed them on the injured list, and their return dates are unknown at this time.
Randy Vasquez has settled into the No.2 spot in the Padres’ starting rotation. He has a 5-1 record with a 2.68 ERA in nine starts this season. Vasquez has offered the Friars an opportunity to win each night he is on the mound. There are significant questions surrounding the state of the team’s rotation. Another quality start from Vasquez proves he is a reliable option moving forward.
Batter up!
2B Fernando Tatis Jr.
DH Miguel Andujar
1B Gavin Sheets
3B Manny Machado
SS Xavier Bogaerts
CF Jackson Merrill
RF Nick Castellanos
LF Ramon Laureano
C Freddy Fermin
Relief corps
Do not expect to see Miller tonight unless he must preserve another one-run lead. Bradgley Rodriquez and Jeremiah Estrada should not be available, as both have appeared in the first two games of the series.
It leaves Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, and Wandy Peralta ready to pitch in high-leverage situations in the rubber game.
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 24: Toronto Blue Jays Starting Pitcher José Berríos (17) throws a pitch during the MLB regular season game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on September 24, 2025, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The big news, this afternoon, is that Jose Berrios had full Tommy John surgery, so he’ll be out for a year at very least. The good news keeps coming. The told us yesterday that they were going to ‘remove loose bodies’ in his elbow and see what else needs fixing. I’m sure when Berrios woke up and was told they decided to do Tommy John surgery, since he was already on the operating table, it was a bit of a shock (I’m joking, I’m sure they wouldn’t do that without discussing it with him).
I don’t know why the team has been gaslighting us. They must have known he was getting TJ, so why not say it. Why pretend it was something minor when it wasn’t. Would telling us yesterday have been worse than telling us today. Are we going with ‘It’s not a lie if we know the truth’, as Donald Rumsfeld would have told us. Or something like that. Ask Matt.
This has been such a fun season.
I missed something yesterday. It happened in the hour and a half that I spent in a Rogers shop, trying to get a new phone. Something that you would think would take 10 minutes. Maybe 15? It wasn’t that I didn’t know what I wanted. I said “that one” within minutes of entering the store. An hour and a half later, and roughly 100 of my signatures, I walked out with ‘that one’.
I don’t know why it has to be so complicated.
Anyway, Joe Mantiply was put on the IL with left knee inflammation. He’s been excellent this seasons, with a 2.04 ERA in 17 appearances.
Chase Lee, who pitched yesterday, came up from Buffalo. He had a 1.83 ERA there. The AI summery of the deal, on Twitter, tells me that Lee’s fastball ‘touches 100 mph’. It doesn’t. It touches 90, maybe 91. He also has a sweeper and a changeup. He is a side arm pitcher
There maybe be other stuff going on, Rafael Lantigua, a right-handed hitting infielder, is in New York. Officially on the taxi squad but I can’t see any reason he would be there if he wasn’t going to be on the roster soon. He’s not hitting much in Buffalo, just .211/.312/.349 with 3 home runs, 16 walks and 30 strikeout in 35 games. He’s never played in the majors before.
Davis Schneider (53 OPS+) and Lenyn Sosa (40 OPS+) are hitting roughly what you or I would hit, but maybe the team has tired of one or the other.
Today’s lineup. I’m kind of grumpy about Springer at the top of the order, but then I don’t know who I’d put there. I guess Lips.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that pitching prospect Jonah Tongis "in play" to be called up to make his 2026 debut at some point during this weekend's series against the Miami Marlins.
Tong was scratched from his scheduled Wednesday start with Syracuse, which seemed to indicate a call-up would be happening soon.
"We’re keeping him in play," Mendoza said. "There’s a chance that he plays a part in the Miami series for us. We’ve got to get through today. We’ve got to get through tomorrow, and then we’ll go from there. But we want to keep him in play in case there’s a need here."
Mendoza said earlier this week that Tong was in consideration to get called up when the club called up Zach Thornton, who will make his season debut on Wednesday night.
The 22-year-old right-hander has been hit hard at Syracuse this season, pitching to a 5.68 ERA. But he's also struck out a whopping 55 hitters in just 38.0 innings.
Tong had a brief stint with the Mets at the end of the 2025 season, making five starts while pitching to a 7.71 ERA.
And while those numbers don't seem like much to write home about, Mendoza said the club still believes in Tong, and they like his ability to put a poor outing behind him.
"There’s no denying that he’s been inconsistent, but we also like how he bounces back," Mendoza said. "We saw it last year when he was here with us. He had a couple of tough outings and he was able to recover for the next one, so we’re not too worried about that. That’s why he’s in play. We believe, we’re high on him, and we’ve been saying it, he’s going to help us. Here he is, waiting for his opportunity, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to come here soon."
The Dodgers stormed back to beat the Padres, 5-4, and tie up the series at one apiece. Freddie Freeman hit two home runs and Andy Pages recorded the tie breaking RBI off Mason Miller, which was just the third run scored when he's in the game all year.
The Padres' four-game winning streak was snapped yesterday as they fall to 4-1 over the past five and 7-3 in the last 10. The series has featured 10 total runs scored in two games so far and San Diego recorded two hits in 19 at-bats from the 5-9 hitters. San Diego turns to Randy Vasquez. The Padres are 8-1 in his nine starts this season.
Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound for the Dodgers. Los Angeles is 3-4 in his seven starts this season despite his 0.82 ERA and WHIP over 44 innings. In the four losses during Ohtani's starts, Los Angeles has been outscored 11-5. In the three wins, the Dodgers have outscored their opponents 16-3.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Dodgers at Padres
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Time: 8:40 PM EST
Site: Petco Park
City: San Diego, CA
Network/Streaming: MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Dodgers at the Padres
The latest odds as of Wednesday:
Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers (-193), San Diego Padres (+158)
Spread: Padres +1.5 (-114), Dodgers -1.5 (-105)
Total: 7.5
Probable starting pitchers for Dodgers at Padres
Wednesday's pitching matchup (May 20): Shohei Ohtani vs. Randy Vasquez
The Padres’ Miguel Andujar is hitting .299 with 40 hits and 70 total bases over 134 at-bats
The Padres’ Jackson Merrill is hitting .205 with 36 hits and 49 strikeouts over 176 at-bats
The Dodgers’ Andy Pages is hitting .294 with 53 hits and 91 total bases over 180 at-bats
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts is hitting .172 with 10 hits and 7 strikeouts over 58 at-bats
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Dodgers at Padres
The Padres are 21-25-1 ATS this season
The Dodgers are 21-27 ATS this season
The Padres are 7-4 ATS and 5-6 on the ML as a home underdog
The Dodgers are 14-9 ATS as a road favorite, ranking second-best
The Padres are 7-4 to the Over as a home underdog
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Dodgers and the Padres
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday's game between the Dodgers and the Giants.
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Dodgers on the Moneyline.
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Baseball fans at Petco Park will get the full Shohei Ohtani experience on Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar is set to pitch and hit on the same day for just the third time this season, manager Dave Roberts told reporters. Roberts has experimented with keeping Ohtani out of the lineup on days he's pitched this season in an effort to ease his workload after starting the year in a prolonged slump at the plate, and the results have been promising.
Ohtani enters Wednesday with a 0.82 ERA, the lowest in the Majors. And after back-to-back off days in the final two games of the Dodgers' series against the San Francisco Giants last week, his bat has started to trend upwards as well. In the five games since, Ohtani has gone 10-for-19 with five extra base hits -- including an insane Little League home run against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday -- for eight RBIs with five walks. His OPS has also shot up by over a full percentage point from .767 to .872 in that span.
Roberts told reporters over the weekend that his expectation was that Ohtani would hit during his next start, and reaffirmed that plan once the team was in San Diego.
"I just feel like he’s more energized," Roberts told reporters on Monday. "I think the couple days off did his body and mind some good."
The Dodgers retook first place in the NL West from the San Diego Padres with a 5-4 win courtesy of Andy Pages' clutch ninth-inning at-bat against Mason Miller that scored the winning run from third on Tuesday night. Now with a half-game lead, LA can create some breathing room (albeit not much) against their neighbors to the south with a win in Wednesday's series finale.
How to watch Dodgers vs. Padres on Wednesday
When: 6:40 p.m. PT (9:40 p.m. ET) on Wednesday, May 20
Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California
How to watch on TV/streaming: Spectrum SportsNet LA (Dodgers), Padres.TV (Padres)
May 20, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Ryan Vilade (26) reacts after escorting a run against the Baltimore Orioles in the eighth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Orioles were four outs away from staving off a sweep at the hands of the Rays and maybe fending off the feelings of impending doom around this team for a couple more days. They had a two-run lead, the tying run was only at the plate for the Rays, and then it all fell apart. The disaster was not averted. Almost before you could blink, the Rays had scored four runs to take a 5-3 lead, the Orioles were retired in order in the ninth inning, and the game was over, yet another stupid Orioles loss in the last two seasons.
As is generally the case in these affairs, there is a lot of blame to go around. That’s not to say that every player deserves blame equally. Several Orioles played well today, starting with Shane Baz collecting what could have been a fun Revenge Game in his first start against his former team, the Rays.
Baz has been one of the Orioles problems in 30% of his starts to date. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday afternoon, with Baz allowing one run on two hits and three walks over six innings. Sure, the fact that the lone run he gave up was the first career MLB home run hit by Rays catcher Hunter Feduccia in his 71st career game is an annoying thing. That homer, hit in the second inning, gave the Rays a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Overall, Baz was good. We would all feel better about the trade made for and extension given to him if he was regularly putting up games like this.
The Orioles quickly tied up the game in the third inning, with Pete Alonso driving in Taylor Ward with a two-out base hit. Neither Ward nor Alonso deserves too much of the blame today either. The walk machine, Ward, picked up two more. Alonso and Samuel Basallo each homered in the sixth inning to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead that, for a little while there, looked like it might hold up. Baz was on the way to leading the team to a nice win. The bullpen happened instead.
Specifically, Anthony Nunez happened. The Rays game-winning rally started off innocently enough, with the same pesky Feduccia from earlier in the game dropping a bunt to the third base side of the field. The defense was shifted away from that location, enough that even with a slow catcher bunting, he could beat out the attempt to field and throw to first base. Nunez retired the next two batters, Taylor Walls and Chandler Simpson, though Simpson stayed on base as he grounded into a forceout at second.
All he had to do was get the next guy. Problem: The guy was Junior Caminero, one of the better young players there is in the game right now. He is what we wish Jackson Holliday was and what we hope Basallo will continue to be. Nunez got to a 1-2 count, failed to entice Caminero to swing at two pitches way outside of the zone, then left a hanger in the middle that Caminero sliced into right field for a single.
Even still: There were two outs and all Nunez had to do was get the next guy. Problem: The guy was Jonathan Aranda, a classic Rays late bloomer who broke out at age 27 last year and is keeping an OPS over .800 this year. Nunez got two strikes on him too and then couldn’t put him away, with Aranda fishing out of the zone for what was actually not all that bad of a changeup. Aranda launched a line drive that hit the gap in right-center.
Substitute Orioles center fielder Colton Cowser had to run a long way to get it, and once he got there, he bobbled it not once, but twice, before picking it up and throwing it back in. Let’s be clear: Both runs were always going to score on this play, no matter what Cowser did with that baseball. The game was going to be tied. Cowser just made the act of the game going from a 3-1 lead to a 3-3 tie look even worse than it already was. And this was the defensive replacement!
Nunez walked the next guy before he got the hook. Rico Garcia was brought in to try to hold things steady. Folks, he failed. Blame who you like. Towson product Richie Palacios got a go-ahead hit off of Garcia, just the fifth hit he’s allowed all year.
As far as the game’s outcome was concerned, that fourth run sealed it. Nothing else needed to happen and the Orioles would have lost. What they really specialize in for 2026 is the way they kick you, specifically you the fan who dares to believe in them even after everything you’ve witnessed since about July 1, 2024, after things have already gone badly.
Here’s what I mean on Wednesday afternoon. After Palacios’s go-ahead hit, the Rays had men on first and third. During the next at-bat, Palacios took off for second base, drawing a throw from Adley Rutschman. After Rutschman threw the ball, the man on third, Ryan Vilade, raced home. Jackson Holliday, who pinch hit, played third base, and later second base, came in to cut off the throw and made a high throw home. Vilade stole home as Palacios safely stole second.
They can’t even get the little things right. If it was just the Nunez meltdown, whatever. Relievers have bad days. It is perhaps even more likely that a reliever will have a bad day if he’s maybe not good enough to be an MLB reliever. There is a reason that the Mets made Nunez one of three players the Orioles received for Cedric Mullins last July, and the reason is not that he was guaranteed to be a good late-inning reliever for six years to come. Nunez now has a 5.16 ERA, the latest of Mike Elias’s bright ideas to not look all that bright.
It’s not even about Nunez. The Orioles have to get stomped on in ways that it’s honestly kind of embarrassing for a major league team. This is “cat playing with its food” territory from the Rays. They knew they could do something crazy and the Orioles didn’t have the wherewithal to execute something basic and stop them.
The Orioles are now a season-worst eight games below .500 at 21-29. Quotes about how they all know that they have to do better are meaningless now. They have to actually do better, or else this thing will be over only a week later than last year’s season was over. It continues to feel like the players assembled should be better than this. They continue to not be better than this. No one who has influence over their actions has been able to prevent this.
We all get a day off from the Orioles on Thursday before they’re back in Baltimore on Friday to face the Tigers. Chris Bassitt is scheduled to pitch. Tough luck for anyone who spent their money and that’s what they get. Good luck for anyone who doesn’t subscribe to Apple TV: You can’t watch the game and get at least two days off from these jokers.
May 20, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) checks a runner against the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
The Phillies and Reds played the rubber game of their series on Wednesday afternoon. The offense wasn’t great, but the main problem was that Aaron Nola and the bullpen simply couldn’t keep the Reds from scoring. The result was a 9-4 loss and the team’s first series loss under manager Don Mattingly.
The Phillies scored a first inning run thanks to Trea Turner walking, stealing a base, advancing on an error, and then going home on Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly. It was a solid start and not at all representative of how the rest of the day would go.
Nola got the start for the Phillies and did Aaron Nola things. He had a clean first inning, but allowed a series of hits in the second. A double, single, and double and the game was tied.
Thanks to an RBI groundout and another single, the Reds were off to a 3-1 lead.
After Nola pitched out of trouble in the third, a leadoff triple by Blake Dunn and single by Higgins extended the lead to 4-1.
Nola pitched a clean fifth to end his afternoon. It wasn’t a disastrous outing, but it certainly wasn’t good either, and far too similar to most of his previous starts this year.
The bullpen didn’t fare much better. Back-to-back doubles in the sixth against Tim Mayza gave the Reds their fifth run.
The Phillies bats woke up at this point, and tried to make a game of it. Andrew Abbott kept the Phillies’ offense in check most of the day, but Alec Bohm chased him with a solo home run.
Going against reliever Brock Burke, Brandon Marsh singled, and Edmundo Sosa got the Phillies within one.
Mayza started the next inning, but after a single, Don Mattingly tried a mid-inning pitching change. Orion Kerkering was notoriously bad with inheriting runners in 2025, and he wasn’t good at it again on Wedneaday.
After giving up a single, he was on the verge of escaping unscathed, but an RBI double ended that dream.
The Phillies didn’t do much offensively after that, and it didn’t even matter that Jose Alvarado gave up a two-run home run in the ninth.
After an off day on Thursday, the Phillies will welcome the Guardians to town. Cristopher Sanchez will be on the mound, so there’s hope that the Phillies will be a little better at run prevention than they were on Wednesday.
