Category: Baseball

(29-28) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (35-22) Nashville Sounds 4

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 3-for-5, 2B, .300/.404/.440
• Aaron Schunk, DH: 1-for-4, R, 2B, .245/.307/.391
• Austin Gomber, SP: 6IP 2H 1ER 0BB 3K, 6.00 ERA
• Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, .260/.359/.500

Box Score

The Gwinnett Stripers ended their week with a very narrow, late fall, to the hands of the Nashville Sounds. After striking early, the Stripers were held in check by the Sounds thanks to some very unfortunate production with runners in scoring position – going 3-for-14 while also grounding into three double plays.

Austin Gomber picked up the spot start for the Stripers, who have seen a number of pitchers cycle between Gwinnett and Atlanta, and was good as he surrendered just one earned run across six innings of work along with five whiffs. The only really damage he allowed was a solo home run given up in the second inning, and would go on to retire the next 15 hitters. Hunter Stratton (0.0IP 2H 3ER 2BB 0K) would relieve Gomber and was just flat out bad as he allowed four runners to reach base without retiring a single hitter. He left the game with the bases loaded and was relieved by Rolddy Muñoz (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K) who would immediately induce a ground ball, but would surrender the final run charged to Hunter Stratton before ending the threat in the seventh. Connor Thomas (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 0K) pitched the final frame of the game – needing just seven pitches (six strikes).

Offensively, the Stripers struck first and they scored a pair of runs in the second inning. An RBI single by Jair Camargo with one out, would drive in Aaron Schunk who doubled to start the inning. Ben Gamel would follow up the Camargo hit with one of his own, as he would drive in Camargo to push the Gwinnett lead to 2-0. The Stripers wouldn’t really threaten again until the seventh inning with a Rowdy Tellez RBI double that would drive in Luke Williams to extend the Gwinnett lead to 3-1, before they ultimately surrendered three runs in the bottom half of the inning to re-gain the lead at 4-3, before taking the win.

GET ROWDY!

A Tellez RBI double extends the lead! pic.twitter.com/u3AgGQidVT

— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) May 31, 2026

(25-23) Biloxi Shuckers @ (23-26) Columbus Clingstones – POSTPONED

(27-24) Rome Emperors 3, (20-21) Winston-Salem Dash 6

• John Gil, SS: 2-for-4, RBI, BB, .267/380/.417
• Eric Hartman, CF: 2-for-5, .296/.373/.581
• Dalton McIntyre, LF: 2-for-4, R, RBI, .313/.378/.445
• Mason Guerra, DH: 1-for-3, BB, 2 R, .225/.354/.358
• Colin Daniel, SP: 3.2IP 6H 3ER 3BB 7K, 5.19 ERA

Box Score

The Emperors would fail to hold onto a slim 2-0 lead before eventually falling to the Dash to end the week, and series. Rome would be forced to use five pitchers, as starting pitcher Colin Daniel lasted just 3.2 innings. The offense would also struggle with situational hitting, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10 on base.

The Emperors staff got off to a hot start as Colin Daniel originally was able to get through three scoreless innings but then it all unraveled in the fourth when he would allow three hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch to give up what was an Emperors lead. He would be relieved with two outs by David Rodriguez (1.1IP 4H 3ER 0BB 2K) who would end that bases loaded threat via strikeout, but would then surrender an additional three runs in the bottom of the fifth to push the Dash lead to 6-3. Logan Samuels (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K), Elison Joseph (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K), and Isaac Gallegos (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K) would shut down the Dash the rest of the game.

Offensively, it was a struggle for the Emperors as they could never get the big hit. They would threaten throughout the start of the game but were unable to drive in a run until the fourth inning when Dalton McIntyre start the festivities by hitting his first double – driving in Mason Guerra who had walked earlier. Right after, Mac Guscette would reach on error to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Isaiah Drake would follow that up with a force out to the pitcher, but thanks to some chaos on the base pads it drove in the speedy Dalton McIntyre from second. They would tack on another run in the sixth inning with this John Gil single that would score Mason Guerra. That would be the last time a runner would reach base until a one out single by John Gill but it would not lead to anything as Rome would fall once again.

GET ROWDY!

A Tellez RBI double extends the lead! pic.twitter.com/u3AgGQidVT

— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) May 31, 2026

(29-22) Augusta GreenJackets 8, (26-25) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4

• Tate Southisene, 2B: 2-for-5, HR, 3B, 2 RBI, R, .299/.435/.514
• Conor Essenburg, CF: 3-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, .240/.377/.480
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-for-5, 2B, .250/.335/.399
• Davis Polo, SP: 4IP 2H 1ER 3BB 9K, 3.49 ERA
• Kendry Richard, RP: 4.2IP 3H 3ER 4BB 2K, 6.68 ERA

Box Score

The GreenJackets leaned on strong starting pitching and hard hitting offense to score eight runs and pick up the win to end the series against the Cannon Ballers and once again find themselves tied for first in the Carolina League.

Davis Polo, coming off of a marvelous previous start (6IP 6H 1ER 0BB 6K) on May 24th, got the start for the GreenJackets and continued to look fantastic as he utilized all three of his pitches and was able to live at the bottom of the zone. The only run he surrendered came in the fourth inning after some self-inflicted trouble (1B, K, HBP, BB) but was able to work out of it with a weak force out that scored the run. He was replaced in the fifth inning after starting the inning of with a walk, and was replaced by Kendry Richard who has looked much better coming out of the bullpen than starting. Working with a lead, Kendry was able to fill out a bulk of the game before turning it over to Carter Lovasz who needed just one pitch to pick up the save.

Offensively, it was a huge game for the top of the lineup as Tate Southisene and Conor Essenburg went a combined 5-for-10 with three home runs, and a triple. The two went back-to-back in the third inning to initially give the GreenJackets the 2-0 lead. Augusta would tack on another two runs in the seventh inning when Joe Olsavsky would double in Nick Montgomery and Hayden Freiese. They would tack on three more runs in the eighth inning with Conor Essenburg getting it started – hitting his second home run of the game. Later in the inning Dallas Macias would score on a wild pitch, and Michael Martinez would then score on a sacrifice fly by Nick Montgomery to make it 7-4. Augusta scored their eighth and final run of the game in the ninth inning when Tate Southisene tripled in Joe Olsavasky to push the lead to the conclusive 8-4.

ESSENBURG BLASTS ONE FOR THE LEAD!! pic.twitter.com/PlyqG3hRzF

— Augusta GreenJackets (@GreenJackets) May 31, 2026

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The Los Angeles Dodgers head to the desert for a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning Monday night.

The Boys in Blue are the hottest team in baseball, so my Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks predictions and MLB picks for Monday, June 1, see the visitors snagging a victory.

Who will win Dodgers vs Diamondbacks today: Dodgers (-155)

Both starting pitchers tell a tale of regression, but the moral is quite different.

Eduardo Rodriguez’s 2.31 ERA is unsupported by his 4.44 xERA. His 89 Stuff+ is one of the worst you’ll see among Big League starters, so his hot start is bound to fizzle out as the season progresses.

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan’s 4.70 ERA will positively regress given his 3.88 xERA and 3.29 xFIP. He dazzles with a 20.7% K-BB% and should flummox an Arizona Diamondbacks lineup with a 91 wRC+ in the last 20 days despite facing poor competition.

Good until -160.

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (+107)

The Dodgers have been profitable to the Under (25-34 O/U) this season despite having a potent lineup.

That’s in large part due to a revamped bullpen that suppresses opponent scoring regardless of who the starting pitcher is. They allowed just 24 earned runs in May while sporting a sterling 2.96 FIP.

The only team to let in fewer runs? Arizona, which allowed 18 earned runs en route to a 2.18 ERA.

LA has hit the Over just once in Sheehan’s last four starts, while Arizona has done so once in Rodriguez’s last six.

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -128 | Diamondbacks +116
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (+102) | Diamondbacks +1.5 (-122)
• Over/Under: Over 9 (-110) | Under 9 (-110)

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks trend

The Dodgers have cashed the moneyline in 11 of their last 14 games. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks.

How to watch Dodgers vs Diamondbacks and game info

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks latest injuries

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks weather

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Dodgers multi-position switch-hitter Tommy Edman hit a two-run home run on Sunday and played center field for the first time on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

FIRST HOMER OF 2026 FOR TOMMY EDMAN☄️ pic.twitter.com/FKyOHHaXef

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) May 31, 2026

Edman played four games in his first week with the Comets, the first two at second base plus once as designated hitter. He played seven innings in center field, a position at which he was hampered at times over the last two years while dealing with various right ankle maladies before surgery last November.

Four games into his rehab assignment, Edman has five hits in 13 at-bats plus a walk, with three runs scored.

Player of the day

Dodgers top prospect Josue De Paula tied career highs with four hits and two home runs in Double-A Tulsa’s win on Sunday. The Drillers right fielder hit a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo shot in the seventh.

“A MAMMOTH MOONSHOT”
Josue De Paula homers 😁 pic.twitter.com/ofU83KSi9i

— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) May 31, 2026

De Paula also singled in the first and second innings and scored four runs, establishing a new career best. He has five career four-hit games, including two others this season in Double-A on April 8and May 22. His other two-homer games were May 17, 2024 with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and May 10, 2025 with High-A Great Lakes.

After hitting .302/.439/.419 in April, De Paula turned up the power in May, hitting a robust .340/.410/.650 with 14 doubles, six home runs, and 29 RBI in 25 games. That’s the most home runs, RBI, and highest slugging percentage of any month in his career to date.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

James Tibbs continued his week to remember with yet another home run in the Comets road win over the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros). Tibbs hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, and also singled and walked. He hit six home runs with 16 RBI during the six-game series, a rare feat.

James Tibbs III is now the first OKC player in six years to homer in four straight games.

(And in one of those games, he only got one at-bat.) https://t.co/WasPEaL2R4

— Alex Freedman (@azfreedman) May 31, 2026

Cole Irvin allowed a run in five innings for the win, and was followed by four scoreless innings of relief. Nick Frasso pitched two perfect frames with two strikeouts, his third straight scoreless outing with seven strikeouts among his 14 batters faced during that span.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers led 9-0 after three innings but had to hold on to beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals) by a single run. De Paula had plenty of company in producing offense.

Mike Sirota homered, doubled, singled, and walked, scored twice, and drove in three runs. Zyhir Hope tripled, singled, and drove in three. Jake Gelof doubled twice.

After Northwest Arkansas scored five runs in the eighth inning to pull within one, Nick Robertson pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save. The 27-year-old right-hander, who debuted with the Dodgers in 2023 and also pitched in the majors for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Toronto Blue Jays in 2023-24, has pitched in 15 games this season, all of scoreless, totaling 21 1/3 innings with just four singles and five walks allowed, with 25 strikeouts.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons lost 3-2 to the Dayton Dragons (Reds) for the second straight day. That spoiled a strong start by left-hander Sterling Patick, who struck out seven and allowed just one run in his five innings. The seven strikeouts matched his season high.

Eduardo Quintero and Jose Meza each had two hits for Great Lakes.

Class-A Ontario

Down 8-3 in the ninth inning, the Tower Buzzers rallied for six runs to stun the Visalia Oaks (D-backs).

First baseman Easton Shelton hit a solo shot in the ninth for Ontario, his third home run in four games. AJ Soldra hit a two-run shot that pulled Ontario within a run, part of a three-hit day for the left fielder.

Mairo Martinus homered and drove in three runs. He reached on an error in the ninth inning, then Brendan Tunink walked, putting the tying and winning runs on with only one out. Chase Harlan singled home Martinus, and Ching-Hsien Ko singled home Tunink for the game-winner.

Brady Smith struck out six and allowed a run in his four-inning start.

Transaction

Triple-A: Right-hander Paul Gervase was optioned to Oklahoma City.

Sunday scores

• Oklahoma City 5, Sugar Land 1
• Tulsa 10, NW Arkansas 9
• Dayton 3, Great Lakes 2
• Ontario 9, Visalia 8

The week ahead

• Oklahoma City vs. Round Rock (Rangers)
• Tulsa at Amarillo (D-backs)
• Great Lakes vs. Lansing (A’s)
• Ontario vs. Stockton (A’s)

The Dominican Summer League also gets underway on Monday, with a 56-game regular season that runs through Tuesday, August 18.

It was only a week or so ago that Birdland was buzzing over Ben McDonald’s post-game rant on MASN, and the Orioles, not far off getting swept by the Rays, seemed like they might be headed for disaster. Instead, for the second time in May, they picked themselves up after getting swept by a division rival, faced that team a second time, and did a lot better. In this case, the Orioles actually swept the Rays in Baltimore. That was fun!

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I’m looking back on what was a rollercoaster May for the Orioles. There are a number of players, particularly hitters, who did a lot better over that month, and much of the rotation has shown signs of improvement over the last two or three starts as well. These are good things. There are, of course, things that still need to improve, as the month was particularly disappointing for the duo of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson.

I’d say don’t even get me started on the bullpen, except in this episode I already did get started on them. I try to figure out where the solutions might be for some of the problem areas, though as ever, a lot of it really is just going to have to come down to, the Orioles players have to play better.

Listen to this week’s episode here:

If the above player isn’t displaying, view this article in Incognito Mode or check it out on the show’s page.

This is my weekly podcast about whatever is going on lately with the Orioles. If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to subscribe. You can get the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you prefer to access your podcasts.

How are you feeling about the way things are going with the Orioles right now? Answers could make it into the mailbag section of the next episode of the podcast.

The San Diego Padres found themselves trailing the Washington Nationals, 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, but they had runners on the corners with one out. Miguel Andujar was at the plate after being called upon to pinch hit for Freddy Fermin, who is currently mired in an 0-for-24 slump. It was not a sure thing, but it seemed likely that Andujar would put the ball in play and the Padres would have a chance to tie the game. San Diego had some speed at first base in Sung-Mun Song, who worked a walk with Ty France on third base. Andujar fouled off three pitches in which Song attempted to steal second base in an effort to take away Washington’s chance for a double play. Song took off for second a fourth consecutive time as Andujar watched strike three. Song was thrown out at second after sliding past the bag. He initially got his left hand to the base before he was tagged but could not maintain contact as he slid past and the tag was applied. The inning ended after an ABS challenge from Andujar, which was not close, with the tying run 90 feet from home plate.

The Padres trailed 4-2 entering the top of the ninth inning when Jackson Merrill reached on a one-out single through the left side of the infield. France followed and was at the plate as a legitimate threat to tie the game, but much like the seventh inning, France struck out as Merrill tried to steal second base. The Friar Faithful had to laugh to keep from crying when they saw Merrill slide past the bag in almost the same manner as Song, resulting in him disconnecting from the base and being tagged out to end the game. The Nationals got the 4-2 win and the 2-1 series win, while the Padres dropped to 1-5 in their last six games.

San Diego is off today and will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday at 3:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• Nick Schnell continues to be a contributor for the El Paso Chihuahuas, hitting his 10th home run of the season.

Baseball News:

• The New York Yankees scored 13 runs in the third inning en route to a win over the Athletics in Sacramento.

• Jose Siri robbed what would have been a grand slam, but it was not enough to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a leadoff homer to start the game, but the Atlanta Braves lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4.

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto strikes out 10 and leads the Los Angeles Dodgers to win over Phillies.

• The Chicago White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 2-1 win.

• Juan Soto helped the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins with a grand slam in their 10-1 route of the Fish.

• The Seattle Mariners got a one run win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Mariners play a three-game series in Seattle starting on Monday at 9:40 p.m. on SNY.

---

5 things to watch

The reverse engineered rotation

The first two games of this series will feature Sean Manaea and Jonah Tong, but it's possible neither of them starts.

Manaea, who is basically replacing David Peterson in the rotation, will enter after opener Austin Warren on Monday.

On Tuesday, Tong will be on the mound in a bulk role, but it hasn't yet been revealed whether he'll start or enter after an opener -- Tong has been utilized after an opener in his first two big league appearances this season, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings. 

What the Mets are doing might be viewed as relatively unorthodox by some, but it is becoming a more prevalent strategy throughout the game.

It's also a different (and better) strategy than the one the Mets used at times last season, when they often had straight bullpen games where they didn't use a traditional starting pitcher to eat innings.

Juan Soto is still scorching hot

Soto had a monster weekend as the Mets swept a three-game series from the Marlins, with four hits (including a grand slam), two walks, and five RBI.

In 65 plate appearances over 15 games since May 14, Soto is hitting .382/.469/.873 (1.341 OPS) with nine homers and 18 RBI.

For the season, he is slashing .305/.397/.597 (.994 OPS) with 13 homers. Even after missing roughly three weeks due to a calf injury, Soto is on pace to finish the year with 36 home runs, which would be the third-highest total of his career.

Among players who have played 42 games or more this season, Soto's .994 OPS is tops in the National League and third-best in baseball, behind only Ben Rice of the Yankees (1.056) and Yordan Alvarez (1.050) of the Astros.

Is Marcus Semien turning a corner?

Ahead of the series against Miami, Semien had notched just three hits in his prior 28 at-bats dating back to May 20. 

In 221 plate appearances over 56 games to that point, Semien was slashing .213/.264/.307 (.571 OPS, 64 OPS+).

The struggles were deep enough to wonder whether the Mets could shift Semien to a bench role once Francisco Lindor returns from the IL, with Bo Bichette shiftingback to third base and Brett Baty taking over for Semien at second base.

Semien rose to the occasion against the Marlins, though, reaching base seven times in 12 plate appearances (five hits, two walks) while raising his OPS for the year to .615.

The Mariners are flying high

After falling to 23-27 on May 19, the M's have gone 8-2 over their last 10 games, including winning their last six in a row with three-game sweeps over the Athletics and Diamondbacks.

The surge has been enough to catapult Seattle into first place in the mediocre AL West -- the 31-29 Mariners are the only team at .500 or better in the division. 

Julio Rodriguez has been hot amid Seattle's hot streak, with homers in three of his last four games.

J.P. Crawford, who is on a seven-game hitting streak, has also picked things up. 

One player the Mets won't see against Seattle is 2025 AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh, who is on the IL with an oblique injury. Raleigh was struggling badly before his injury, hitting a paltry .161/.243/.317 with seven homers in 41 games.

Hancock, Gilbert, and Kirby

The Mariners' calling card remains their elite starting pitching.

Seattle has given up just 225 runs this season, which is second-best in the AL and sixth-best in MLB.

A lot of that has to do with Emerson Hancock, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby -- the trio of starters who will toe the rubber against the Mets this week.

Hancock has been especially impressive this season, allowing two runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Juan Soto

Soto is as locked in as he's ever been as a Met.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Freddy Peralta

The Mets need more from Peralta, who couldn't make it through five innings this past Friday against the Marlins.

Which Mariners player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Randy Arozarena

Arozarena is having a strong season, with an .825 OPS through 60 games.

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Three hard-hitting sluggers headline our MLB player props home run analysis for tonight's quiet nine-game slate. I'll include James Wood, Mike Trout, and Jordan Walker.

Read more in my MLB picks for Monday, June 1. 

Best MLB home run props today

Home run pick: Mike Trout (+310)

Mike Trout continues to produce elite power metrics, carrying a 48.6% hard-hit rate and a 21% barrel rate that ranks in the 98th percentile. He'll face Kyle Freeland on Monday, and the Rockies left-hander owned a 9.41 xERA in May while allowing opponents to post a 44.6% hard-hit rate.

The matchup is favorable for Trout, who has consistently punished southpaws this season with a .231 ISO and 144 wRC+. He also owns a 62.9% fly-ball rate against left-handed pitching, while more than 60% of the contact against Freeland has been in the air.

Freeland's recent form only adds to the appeal, as he's surrendered five home runs across his last two starts.

I'd play this pick up to +250.

• Time: 9:38 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Angels.TV, Rockies.TV

Home run pick: James Wood (+285)

James Wood will be licking his chops tonight as the Washington Nationals star faces Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara. The veteran has allowed 53.9% of his contact through the air and posted a poor 4.97 FIP in May.

Opponents are also making plenty of loud contact against Alcantara, producing a 40.4% hard-hit rate this past month, while he's allowing 1.61 HR/9 over his last five starts.

This bodes well for Wood. He's in the 100th percentile in xSLG, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate. The left-handed slugger owns a 23.5% HR/FB rate and a .225 ISO against right-handed pitching this season.

Alcantara's recent form only strengthens the case. He's surrendered five home runs across his last two appearances, while Wood has gone deep three times over the last seven days.

I'd confidently play this pick up to +250.

• Time: 6:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marlins.TV, Nationals.TV

Home run pick: Jordan Walker (+378)

Jordan Walker is having a breakout campaign with 15 home runs, and he comes up against Jacob deGrom tonight. While the veteran's 3.77 ERA is respectable, the underlying numbers are more concerning.

He's allowing a 46.2% hard-hit rate this season, and that number jumped to 51.2% in May, when he also posted a 5.62 FIP. Walker owns a 21.2% HR/FB rate against right-handed pitching this season and has produced a 57.9% hard-hit rate over the last week. 

Eleven of his 15 home runs have also come against righties, while deGrom has been tagged for seven long balls across his previous three starts.

I'd play this pick up to +350.

• Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Rangers Sports Network, Cardinals.TV

Today’s HR parlay

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

As we go through some of these statistical series it becomes important to occasionally go back and explain the whys and what fors for these numbers. Simply put, the more numbers we can use to demonstrate the difference between players the better. Essentially, we are looking the mathematics of situational baseball. The good news is that the Astros are playing good enough baseball where it matters again. The bad news is they have dug themselves another hole where they cannot afford missteps.

Friday night was a misstep of epic proportions. For some it was even a fireable offense. In the 8th inning, Joe Espada subbed Brice Matthews in for Taylor Trammel ostensibly to get better defense in left field. Bryan Abreu immediately gives up the tying run and we are left needing that at bat later in the game. So, Matthews had to hit with the bases loaded and one out. Given his speed, a strikeout was the only real negative probability. Since he strikes out 32 percent of the time, he obviously struck out. That single decision was baseball malpractice.

Baseball is a game of probabilities. Every pitch and every situation sees the odds of success and failure change in the blink of an eye. A 1-0 count shifts to a 1-1 count. However, if ABS can shift that to a 2-0 count then the odds clearly change. Coaches and players must make split second decisions based on these odds. Even when the odds are in your favor you will often fail. Even if failure is predicted you sometimes succeed through happy happenstance.

A manager’s job is to put his team in a position where the odds of success are as high as possible. As much as we might love a manager like “Major League’s” Lou Brown, I would just as soon not have my manager rolling out phrases like, “I gotta hunch he’s due.” Coaches, gamblers, and even players don’t succeed without a healthy understanding of situations and what the highest percentage play is.

That brings us to bases per out. Obviously, this is just yet another number, but I believe it to be a pretty accurate one and descriptive one. No number explains everything. Nothing is ever that easy. However, it can explain a lot on both the pitching and hitting side of things. It is calculated by taking total bases, walks, stolen bases, and hit by pitches and divide it by the total number of outs. The league average is .663 and as we have seen in the outfield, very few Astros have met the average. Again, we will list the players from most outs to least outs.

	TB	BB/HBP	SB	Outs	BPO
Christian Walker	113	25	0	174	.793
Isaac Paredes	75	27	0	158	.646
Jose Altuve	62	20	1	133	.624
Jeremy Pena	38	6	3	68	.691
Braden Shewmake	30	2	0	60	.533
Nick Allen	17	4	1	42	.524

Let’s put these numbers in perspective. Yordan Alvarez might very well lead the league in BPO. His BPO is well over 1.000. There is a pretty significant drop off from there. You can clearly see there are only three really above average hitters on this team according to BPO. Taylor Trammel counts as one for the moment, but he is likely to see a regression really soon. The resurgence of Jeremy Pena has helped considerably over the last week, but this is still a pretty shallow lineup.

Mind you, Paredes is not far below average and one mini hot streak gets him above average. He has an OPS+ of 99 so he looks more or less average. Altuve obviously got off to the hot start, but faded in early May. Does he recalibrate himself and get back to what he was doing in the first couple of weeks of the season when he does come back? Anything is possible.

What this effectively means is that the Astros have several players that are interchangeable in terms of overall production. Shewmake and Allen are similar offensively if not in style, but results that matter. Mathews can also play on the infield and he is similar to them in results. These numbers are not predictive in nature, but they do help explain why managers sometimes make the decisions that they do. Unfortunately, it also highlights when they make the wrong ones.

When Altuve comes back, the decision of who to start will be simple. It is the decision of who to keep and who to drop that will become harder. As important as fielding is, this team does not have enough good bats to squander a spot to a fielding only player. However, looking at Matthews, Allen, and Shewmake right now is like looking at a group of siblings. They are not identical triplets. Each of them reach their BPO a little differently, but the results are all fairly similar.

So, it comes down to a decision. Do you want upside? Clearly, Matthews has more of that. Do you want positional flexibiity? Shewmake and Allen can play every infield position well. Matthews can play second well in addition to the outfield. He struggled in limited time at third and has not played short in the big leagues. Mathews also has options left and that is a pretty big deal. He has the look of a guy that needs everyday reps. Like Zach Cole before him, he just simply does not make enough contact yet to stick. Will he someday? Baseball history is littered with guys that take awhile to figure it out.

The simple fact is that the Astros have played well enough (and other teams in the AL West have sputtered) to where their games in June matter. Development can and should happen, but it cannot happen at the big league level under those circumstances. Joe Espada and Dana Brown have to maximize every single ounce of good baseball they can out of this 40 man roster. They will need to pick their bench and bullpen carefully. One or two missteps will cause losses like Friday night. Those are the kinds of losses this team can ill afford right now.

The Cubs looked really good Saturday. Great pitching from Ben Brown, a huge day from Pete Crow-Armstrong, good relief, great defense…

As good as they looked Saturday, that’s how bad the team looked Sunday in a dispiriting 5-1 loss to the Cardinals.

You knew it probably wasn’t going to be the Cubs’ night after they got the first two hitters in the game on base and didn’t score. Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong singled to begin the night’s action and then… Alex Bregman struck out, Seiya Suzuki popped up and Ian Happ struck out. If you’re keeping track that’s already 0-for-3 with RISP. (0-for-8 with RISP for the entire game, not that such things are anything new for this team.)

Then Jordan Wicks had a second start just like his first, getting hit hard in the first inning. He allowed hits to the first three Cardinals and by the time the inning was over, two runs had scored. So, improvement? Just two runs given up in the first instead of five, as he did in Pittsburgh?

Yes, I’m being sarcastic. Everyone could have gone home after that inning because the Cubs offense was largely absent. They had only five more hits the rest of the way, just two for extra bases — a double by Michael Conforto in the seventh, by which time the game was basically over, and a solo homer by Alex Bregman in the fifth.

By the time Bregman left the yard, the Cubs were already down 5-0. Three of the runs were off Wicks, who completed just two innings plus one batter’s worth of the third, a leadoff single by JJ Westerholt, who eventually scored. Three runs off Wicks in two innings and his ERA went DOWN, from 16.62 to 15.63. Yikes. I feel badly for Wicks, who does have talent, but who doesn’t seem to know how to harness it at the MLB level. It seems likely that at least one more start in that rotation slot replacing Edward Cabrera will be needed, and my recommendation (not that the team listens to me) would be for Javier Assad to be recalled to make that start and Wicks be sent back to Triple-A Iowa.

Two more runs scored in the Cardinals third off Ethan Roberts, who had a rare bad outing. At 5-0 the game appeared out of reach, but Bregman did put them on the board with this home run [VIDEO].

It was Bregman’s first home run since May 12, a span of 82 plate appearances. All five of Bregman’s home runs so far this year have come with no one on base. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a coincidence. Did you know that Bregman is on a 10-game hitting streak? True story. He’s batting .304/.373/.413 (14-for-46) during the streak with two doubles, a home run and six runs scored. So that’s… pretty good, I guess. Hopefully he can build on it.

After Roberts left the game, Trent Thornton, Phil Maton and Ryan Rolison combined to throw five one-hit innings, though they also issued four walks. Maton actually retired all three hitters he faced — baby steps, maybe. Maton’s only strikeout came after this ABS challenge [VIDEO].

Honestly, that’s about all I’ve got from this one. With Cabrera and Matthew Boyd (who had a good rehab outing Sunday) on the shelf and Jameson Taillon and Shōta Imanaga giving up home runs every time you look up, Cubs starting pitching is in tatters, and it’s shown in the results over the last week. The Cubs went 3-4 on the road trip, which wouldn’t have been terrible if they hadn’t lost eight straight games right before it.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

It was fun to hear Anthony Rizzo as a field reporter for a Cubs game, and Jim Deshaies and Jason Benetti had an easy rapport. NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball production is, in my view, vastly superior to ESPN’s. NBC focuses much more on the action on the field, and that’s the game I want to watch.

Silly fun fact about this game:

That's 3 straight pitchers with glasses/goggles to start the game for the Cubs.

Jordan Wicks
Ethan Roberts
Trent Thornton

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 1, 2026

After an excellent 17-9 April, the Cubs went 13-16 in May. Let’s hope that’s the worst month of 2026. They trail the Brewers by five games in the NL Central and dropped into a third-place tie with the Pirates after Sunday’s loss. With 102 games remaining, that is certainly not an insurmountable lead. Perhaps coming back to Wrigley Field and a turn of the calendar page will get the Cubs back on a winning track.

The Cubs are off Monday, an off day they surely need after 10 straight games during which they went 3-7. They’ll open a three-game series against the Athletics at Wrigley Field Tuesday evening. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and Gage Jump will go for the A’s. Game time Tuesday is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

There isn’t a lot to go into this question. The National League just witnessed two of the best months from a starting pitcher in a long time.

Who had the better May?

Cristopher Sánchez: 4-0, 39 IP, 25 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 45 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.06 FIP

Jacob Misiorowski: 5-0, 38.1 IP, 14 H, 1 R, 6 BB, 57 K, 0.23 ERA, 0.63 FIP

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 31, 2026

These are two types of domination. For Sanchez, he literally did the exact job a pitcher is supposed to do: prevent the other team from scoring. No one scored on him in the month of May. For Misiorowski, he only allowed a single run, but struck out twelve more hitters than Sanchez did. They were both beyond excellent and entered a different stratosphere of pitcher while doing so.

So, which is the pitcher of the month? A minor award when thinking in terms of Cy Young stuff, but it is still something that any pitcher would be happy to claim.

Well, that’s another month in the books. It was a pretty good month; while the Braves didn’t play at a league-best rate (hi Brewers), they weren’t far behind, either.

If you had to pick one Brave as the standout, however defined, who would you pick? Some food for thought…

While Mike Yastrzemski didn’t have the most bombastic batting line, he did far and away lead the team in WPA. His resurgence was perhaps also emblematic of the season the Braves are having as a whole: next man up production-wise, with different heroes stepping up to delivery victory after victory. It’s not that his context-neutral performance was anything to sneeze at, either, with a 170 wRC+ and 0.7 fWAR in just 66 PAs. But, in perhaps a fitting fashion for this season and not any other Braves season, he did it while massively outhitting his inputs: a .418 wOBA on a .338 xwOBA for the month.

Robert Suarez was almost entirely money, with a 6/1 shutdown/meltdown ratio in 12 appearances. Dylan Lee had a similar ratio and actually a much better pitching line (Suarez’ 17/85/94 is actually kinda meh; Lee was a hilariously dominant 34/42/54), but Suarez did stuff like have four consecutive outings (and five of six) with 0.10 WPA or more and only entered in low leverage three times for the month.

Meanwhile, Chris Sale was Chris Sale, with the most fWAR on the team for May (1.3). He made five starts, and though the Braves somehow lost two of them, he was dominant in every single one. Seriously, among his five starts, his worst ERA- was 88, his worst FIP- was 84, and his worst xFIP- was 70.

Though they weren’t around for the whole month, no one would blame you for going with Ronald Acuña Jr. or Drake Baldwin, either. Both had 0.9 fWAR. Acuña had a 192 wRC+ with a .451 wOBA and .462 xwOBA, because that’s what heroes do. Baldwin, well… .441 wOBA, .469 xwOBA, 185 wRC+. These guys were monsters. Get well soon, Drake Baldwin.

I think I’ve covered the likely picks here, but who ya got?

Good morning.

Shawn McFarland writes about what we’ve learned about the Texas Rangers over the last week, a club that started a homestand by getting no-hit and ended it with a sweep.

Kennedi Landry writes about Jack Leiter following his Vandy bro Kumar Rocker for a stellar outing against Kansas City as the Rangers finished off a sweep of the Royals on Sunday.

McFarland writes that the Rangers secured the sweeping victory by scoring six runs with timely hits, getting good pitching from their starter, and playing sound defense.

Jeff Wilson writes about the Rangers bouncing back from a poor start to finish with a winning homestand by taking the win on Sunday.

The cavalry could soon arrive as McFarland notes that Corey Seager is expected to begin a rare rehab assignment with Wyatt Langford also nearing a return.

Landry writes that getting Seager back and healthy and hitting is the hope for Texas to heat up in June.

And, Evan Grant answers why it was Andrew McCutchen on the chopping block despite several other players also struggling.

Have a nice day!

If the Orioles do end up fully turning this season around, this past home stand will have been where it started. Ten days ago, this club was spiraling, losers of five out of six and cratering to the bottom of the AL East. Now, after some home cooking and a series of exciting wins, the O’s feel like they are truly back in the mix.

Prior to this 10-game home stretch, the Orioles were 21-29, in fifth place in the division, 13 games out of first place and 3.5 games back of the final wild card spot. After going 7-3, which included a series win over the Tigers, a sweep of the Rays, and a four-game split with the Blue Jays, they are now 28-32. That brought them up to fourth in the East, within 10 games of first in the division, and just one game out of the final wild card spot.

Clearly, there’s work to be done, but the success of the home stand is unambiguous. The Orioles finally put together a stretch of games that made them look like the competitive team they were always supposed to be. Dreams of a playoff run are back on.

Offensive outburst

Over these 10 games, the Orioles scored 60 runs and hit 14 home runs. Contributions came from up and down the order, the previous black holes at second and third base seem to have disappeared, and one Oriole in particular has reasserted his everyday place in the lineup.

Nine different Orioles had a wRC+ of 105 or better. That is the sort of well-rounded offense Mike Elias had in mind when he built the roster. And that includes Pete Alonso (119 wRC+), Gunnar Henderson (111), and Adley Rutschman (105) being good not great. It was the rest of the team that really drove the run scoring.

Coby Mayo, despite dealing with an injury, had an impressive showing across five appearances. He slashed .333/.412/.600 with a home run. Could he be turning the corner? The Orioles really need him to take third base as his own.

Jackson Holliday’s return to the lineup has added a crucial dimension to the offense. He hit .276/.371/.483 with two home runs, and a 14.3% walk rate. While Jeremiah Jackson did a great job early in the season, his struggles have been evident for a while now. Holliday brings a much better approach to the plate.

But the MVP of the entire home stand is, without a doubt, Colton Cowser. The outfielder hit .375/.444/.792 with three home runs, eight runs scored, and nine RBI. He cut is strikeout rate in half, just 18.5% in this stretch, while still walking at a solid 11.1% rate. Cowser also came up clutch several times, including a pair of walk-off home runs. The Orioles don’t even need him to be that good at the plate. They just need him to be competent. He was certainly that these last few days.

Rotation rounding into form?

Expectations for the Orioles starting staff were not as high as they were for the lineup. The group simply needed to be serviceable with occasional pops of brilliance. Until recently, the underlying numbers for the starters were better than the actual outcomes. In these 10 games, their fortunes turned around a bit.

The Orioles 2.38 starter ERA since May 22 is the fifth-best in baseball. Their 4.27 xERA is 17th, their 4.21 FIP is 19th, and their 4.48 xFIP ranks 23rd. So were they actually good, or did they just get some good luck? The answer varies by the individual.

Shane Baz had a brilliant seven-inning outing, and both Brandon Young and Kyle Bradish have found some consistency recently that feels impossible to ignore. Chris Bassitt, on the other hand, allowed just one run in six innings despite barely missing any bats. Trey Gibson navigated a boatload of walks to give up just one run in 5.2 frames. Those two seem to be on the luckier side of things.

Trevor Rogers exists somewhere in between. Neither of his two starts on the home stand were “good,” and the Orioles lost both games. But they also felt like progress from where he has been. If he had been pulled after six innings in the game against the Blue Jays then maybe we would feel even better about this team, the pitching staff, and this stretch of 10 games.

Bullpen roles becoming clear

The relief corps had an opposite experience to their mates in the rotation. Some of their underlying stats from the home stand were actually better (3.16 FIP) than their top-line numbers (4.10 ERA). But overall outcomes in a bullpen feel less important than how some of the most important individuals are doing. In that regard, it was promising.

Rico Garcia went another 4.2 innings without allowing an earned run, though his strikeout (5.79 K/9) and walk (3.86 BB/9) numbers are not where you want them. Even still, it’s more brilliance from one of the team’s best surprises.

Andrew Kittredge seems to have found his footing after struggling after his IL stint. He didn’t allow a run in three appearances, which included coming into a bases loaded jam with no outs against the Rays. He struck out the three batters he was responsible for.

It was not a good week-and-a-half for Yennier Cano. He is the one that created the aforementioned bases loaded mess for Kittredge, and he exited with what seemed to be a hamstring injury. The good news is that he’s fine! No IL stint. and his underlying metrics are much better than the 16.20 ERA across 1.2 innings would suggest.

On top of that, Ryan Helsley is on the way back. He threw a 15-20-pitch bullpen on May 30, will do more bullpen work this week, and then is expected to go out on a rehab assignment sometime after June 8. He’s a reliever, so shouldn’t need an overly long stint down in the minors before he is ready to help the rest of the group out.

The return of Helsley should make the entire unit deeper. He will likely return to the closer’s role, even though Garcia has filled in admirably there. More importantly, it pushes everyone else further up in the game. So if a starter can get through five or six innings with the game in reach, you feel confident that a combination of Garcia, Kittrege, Cano, and Helsely can lock things down from there. It’s a much better situation in the late innings than many expected coming into the season.

Keep it going

Hoping for the Orioles to continue winning seven out of every 10 games is a way to get yourself disappointed. But they do need to maintain some level of momentum, and this road trip could give a chance to do just that.

They start with three games in Boston, who are back at the bottom of the AL East following the O’s winning ways. The BoSox have been awful at home this year, owning a 9-19 record at Fenway Park. Similarly, the Orioles have been terrible on the road (9-17) this year. Something’s gotta give.

Then the O’s get to see the Blue Jays again. The defending American League champs have righted the ship after early-season wobbles. But they are no juggernaut. There’s no better way to get back into playoff position than to beat a team that currently holds one of the last wild card spots.

This past home stand was so huge for the Orioles and the fan base. If it had gone wrong, it would have felt like a final blow to this underperforming team. Instead, they were fantastic. We saw the potential. Let’s keep it going, folks!

The Rays signed Cam Booser this past offseason as a non-roster invitee. He performed well enough during Spring Training to earn a spot on the Rays’ 40-man roster and remain in the organization’s plans despite opening the season in Durham.

Booser has the lowest walk rate of his career while still getting above average swing-and-miss on his stuff. The Rays have helped Booser accomplish this by getting him in the zone more with his cutter. Cutters are naturally platoon-neutral offerings, so optimizing his cutter shape has helped him handle both righties and lefties. Below are the differences in his cutter from 2025 in the majors to what he has shown in Durham this year:

	2025	2026
Vertical movement	0.8 inches	3.8 inches
Horizontal movement	3.3 inches	3.4 inches
Zone rate	46.4%	56.8%
Strike rate	61.6%	68.5%

Prior to the adjustment to the shape, Booser’s only in-zone weapon was his four-seamer. It’s a good pitch with solid velocity and ride from his slot – especially from the left side – but major league hitters are talented. Hitters could reasonably narrow their decision-making process. If a pitch was going to finish in the zone, it was most likely Booser’s four-seamer.

Now that Booser has a second pitch he can reliably land in the zone, hitters can no longer assume every strike will come from the four-seamer. Stuff models will likely favor his old cutter shape because the additional depth gave it more bat-missing potential. The tradeoff is that Booser now throws the pitch for strikes far more often. To mitigate the risk of the flatter shape getting hit hard, the Rays have altered his usage.

Hitters are less likely to swing early in counts; the league swing rate this season is just 38.1% in the first two pitches of an at-bat compared to 55.3% after the first two pitches. The Rays have Booser throwing his new cutter nearly 60% of the time within the first two pitches of an at-bat. He was doing it at just 20% last season. Booser throwing his cutter more when hitters are less likely to swing helps hedge the risk of it getting hit while still accomplishing the same goal of keeping hitters from sitting four-seam.

Booser has adapted well to the Rays pitching philosophy of pounding the zone with less than two strikes and then looking to expand the zone. He now has two distinct shapes in two distinct velocity bands that he can attack the zone with before using his plus breaking ball to generate chases and whiffs outside of the zone. On paper, the shape change may look like a step backward because it sacrifices some movement. In practice, it appears to be making the entire arsenal play better by giving Booser a second pitch he can confidently attack the zone with. If the strike-throwing gains hold, this version of Booser looks much more capable of handling meaningful major league innings.

Welcome to week 10 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!

1. Milwaukee Brewers (35-21); 5-1 this week; 86.5% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)

The Brewers kept it rolling with a 5-1 week, including a sweep of the rival Cardinals and a 2-1 series win over their former division mates in Houston.

Jake Bauers slugged a pair of homers this week, while Jackson Chourio, David Hamilton(!), Garrett Mitchell, and Christian Yelich added one apiece. Yelich slashed .292/.346/.458 for the week, while Andrew Vaughn went 7-for-14 with three doubles.

Jacob Misiorowski had another great week to wrap up a great month, as he made a pair of starts with 20 strikeouts and one run allowed over 14 innings (0.64 ERA) in wins over the Cards and Astros. Aaron Ashby picked up another win with five scoreless innings in relief across three appearances, while Trevor Megill went a perfect 3-for-3 in save chances across four innings this week. Kyle Harrison went six scoreless innings to pitch up a win, while Abner Uribe, DL Hall, Grant Anderson, and Shane Drohan added scoreless weeks for the bullpen.

The Crew now returns home to host the Giants and former friend Willy Adames for four games before a road trip takes them to Colorado this weekend.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates (32-28); 5-2 this week; 55.6% chance to make postseason

The Pirates had a strong week, splitting four games with the Cubs before sweeping the Twins at home for a 5-2 week.

Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, and Bryan Reynolds each slugged a pair of homers this week, with seven players adding one homer each. Reynolds also led the team with 11 hits, adding four doubles as he hit .478/.581/.913. Horwitz had 10 hits to hit .370 for the week, and Cruz, Nick Gonzales, and Brandon Lowe each had seven hits.

Carmen Mlodzinski and Paul Skenes both had solid starts this week, as Mlodzinski went five innings with one run allowed and Skenes went 5 1/3 innings with three runs allowed (just one earned), striking out 10. Braxton Ashcraft picked up a pair of wins as he totaled 12 1/3 innings with three runs allowed and 16 strikeouts. Gregory Soto wetn 2-for-2 in save chances and got a win in his three appearances, while Wilber Dotel, Cam Sanders, Dennis Santana, and Evan Sisk combined for 12 2/3 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts out of the bullpen.

Pittsburgh gets the day off on Monday before a road trip takes them to visit the Astros and Braves this week.

3. St. Louis Cardinals (31-26); 2-4 this week; 25.7% chance to make postseason

The Cardinals were swept in Milwaukee this week but bounced back to take two of three from the Cubs over the weekend, keeping them above Chicago in these rankings.

Iván Herrera, Thomas Saggese, and Nelson Velázquez all homered for St. Louis this week, while JJ Wetherholt led the team with eight hits, including a pair of doubles. Wetherholt and Masyn Winn each swiped a base, too.

Matthew Liberatore totaled 10 1/3 innings with a team-high 14 strikeouts across two starts this week, going 1-1 in those outings. Dustin May put together a solid seven innings with nine strikeouts, taking a no-hitter into the eighth against Milwaukee but ultimately taking a tough-luck loss as the Brewers scored two (one earned) in that inning. Hunter Dobbins and Riley O’Brien each collected a save, while Justin Bruihl and JoJo Romero were the only scoreless arms for the bullpen.

The Cardinals continue their homestand this week with three games against the Rangers and three games against the Reds.

4. Chicago Cubs (32-28); 3-4 this week; 51.2% chance to make postseason

The Cubs had another rough week against NL Central foes, splitting four games with the Pirates and losing two of three against the Cardinals.

Ian Happ led the offense with three homers and 10 hits this week, while Alex Bregman also had 10 hits, including a homer. Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong both homered with nine hits each, and Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner had seven hits each.

Ben Brown led the rotation with a pair of solid starts, going 13 innings with two runs allowed (1.38 ERA) and 13 strikeouts. For the bullpen, Jacob Webb and Caleb Thielbar both had scoreless weeks, totaling five innings with nine strikeouts between them.

Chicago now heads back to Wrigley, where they’ll host the A’s and Giants for three games each after an off day Monday.

5. Cincinnati Reds (30-28); 3-3 this week; 14.0% chance to make postseason

The Reds had a .500 week against two NL East teams, taking two of three against the Mets in New York before dropping two of three to the Braves in Cincinnati over the weekend.

JJ Bleday led the week for Cincinnati’s offense, slugging three homers and two doubles as part of a 10-hit week, slashing .417/.481/.875 with six RBIs, Nathaniel Lowe, Tyler Stephenson, and Eugenio Suárez each homered, and Sal Stewart picked up seven hits.

Nick Lodolo went 2-0 with 11 strikeouts over 12 2/3 innings this week, allowing four runs (2.84 ERA). Chase Burns went 5 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and two runs allowed in a winning effort, while Tejay Antone, Graham Ashcraft, Caleb Ferguson, Pierce Johnson, and Sam Moll combined for 9 1/3 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts from the bullpen.

Cincinnati now hosts the Royals for three games before heading to St. Louis to face the Cardinals.