BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 31: Gunnar Henderson #2 and Colton Cowser #17 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 31, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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May 31, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Jorbit Vivas (84) tags San Diego Padres second baseman Sung-Mun Song (28) for an out during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
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.
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.
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.
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+).
New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) celebrates scoring a run in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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.
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.
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.
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
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 7-45, -10.52 units
Today’s HR parlay
Mike Trout
Bet Now +7944
James Wood
Jordan Walker
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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.
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.
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.
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.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 27: Cristopher Sanchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on May 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MAY 31: Mike Yastrzemski #18 of the Atlanta Braves hits a single in the 9th inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 31, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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?
May 31, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz (67) and catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) celebrate their teams 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals following the ninth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
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.
May 30, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles infielder Pete Alonso (25) begins to celebrate after hitting a walk-off single in the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
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!
PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA - MARCH 15, 2026: Cam Booser #62 of the Tampa Bay Rays throws a pitch during the seventh inning of a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Charlotte Sports Park on March 15, 2026 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
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.
May 31, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the second inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images
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.
May 31, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) makes a leaping catch on a deep fly ball hit by Miami Marlins first baseman Connor Norby (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets not only won one game against the Marlins, not two games, but three games in one series! In the business, we call that a sweep.
James Wood continued his battle with Juan Soto to crown the National League’s top hitter as his home run propelled the Nationals to a 4-2 win over the Padres.
Ronald Acuña Jr. lead off the game with a home run, his fourth homer in four games, but the Reds scored exactly once in six different innings as they handed the Braves a 6-4 loss.
Hard to believe that we are already beyond Memorial Day and the one-third mark of the MLB season. The first two months have flown by, the Yankees looking well positioned with the second-best record in the AL. As the calendar flips over to June, it’s time to evaluate GM Brian Cashman and the performance of his team in May.
Cashman entered the month of May polling at a relatively robust 41 percent approval rating when in recent years his approval has tended to hover in the low-to-mid 30s at the end of April. It helped that his team was in first place, powered by the two-headed monster of Aaron Judge and Ben Rice as well as a historically good starting rotation. However, things took a turn for the inconsistent once we got into May.
They started the month well enough, with a sweep of the Orioles and a series win over the Rangers. But then they got swept by the Brewers and lost consecutive series to the Orioles and Mets culminating in the soul crushing walk-off loss in Queens. A series against the Blue Jays brought a hard-fought respite but a subsequent series split with the Rays laid bare the frailty of the offense. That being said, the month-ending road trip could not have come at a better time, the Yankees sweeping the Royals and taking two out of three in Sacramento after having dropped a series to the A’s in April.
I think we have enough evidence to say that this Yankees offense is prone to blowing hot or cold, reflected by the overall streakiness of the team — they have three winning streaks of at least five games but also a pair of losing streaks of at least four games. They have scored at least 23 runs in seven different series but also have a pair of streaks of over 20 innings each where they failed to score. There were worries that the yearly June Swoon had arrived early in May, but their play to wrap up the month did enough to assuage those fears.
They might have fared better in May had Judge not “slumped” to a 126 wRC+ in the month, but that is the time when you look to his teammates to carry the captain through a temporary downturn in form. Rice also cooled off from a 212 wRC+ to 156 in May. It shows how much that pair was propping up the offense through the first month, and will continue to be relied upon as the principal run producers of the team.
The main issue has been the pair of black holes at the bottom of the lineup. Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra have combined to produce the second-worst wRC+ (58) of any group of catchers in the AL ahead of only the Angels. Ryan McMahon is 24th out of 30 qualified third basemen with his 75 wRC+, but at least has shown the faintest stirrings of life in May as opposed to the pair of catchers while also being part of a platoon alongside the inspired re-signing of Amed Rosario and his 129 wRC+.
Fortunately, other contributors have stepped up in the lineup. Cody Bellinger is doing his best Kyle Tucker impression since re-upping over the winter with a 140 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR. Paul Goldschmidt has been something of a savior after Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez went down with injury, stabilizing the DH role with his six home runs and 140 wRC+ in 34 games. Anthony Volpe returned from offseason shoulder surgery with a newly disciplined approach that has allowed him to post a .375 OBP and 128 wRC+ in 13 games. Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have turned around slow April starts to resemble the lineup stalwarts they were last season, Grisham posting a 131 wRC+ and Jazz a 126 wRC+ in May.
The rotation has remained exemplary despite losing Max Fried to an elbow injury. Cam Schlittler is the early favorite for AL Cy Young with his 1.50 ERA, 1.90 FIP, and AL-leading 2.9 fWAR. Gerrit Cole hasn’t missed a beat since making his long awaited return from Tommy John rehab and steps right back into his spot as staff ace. Carlos Rodón has posted back-to-back one-run outings after a pair of rocky starts in his return from offseason elbow surgery. Will Warren and Ryan Weathers remain sturdy back of the rotation options.
The bullpen remains the weakest link. We’re all still scarred from the three-run homer David Bednar gave up to Tyrone Taylor. Even Tim Hill and Brent Headrick have gotten touched up recently after strong starts to the season. The bright side is that reinforcements might be on the way. Yovanny Cruz opened eyes in his brief cameo and should be one of the first options back up if he can improve his strike throwing. One of Warren or Weathers will likely be pushed into the bullpen by Fried’s return. And perhaps most excitingly, Cashman floated the possibility that they could call up top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange and his 103 mph fastball to reinforce the bullpen at some point.
That brings us to today’s task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman has done through the end of May? On one hand, the Yankees boast the best offense and pitching staff in the AL by several metrics. On the other hand, they sit a game-and-a-half behind the Rays in the division and often look just as liable to be shut out or suffer a bullpen meltdown as they are to turn in a dominant win. The polarizing GM certainly elicits stronger feelings than can be captured in a one-word response — you may feel a question such as the one being posed requires more nuance, greater elaboration, or a wider selection of options than just a “yes” or a “no,” however for the sake of this exercise, a binary question works best.
May 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (35) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
It’s a been a while since the Pittsburgh Pirates have had bragging rights over just about anyone, but that has changed this year, as the Bucs are currently rolling along with a 32-28 record and have moved into third place in the NL Central following a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.
The Pirates scored 25 runs in the three games against the Twins, with Sunday’s 9-3 victory also showing another good outing from Braxton Ashcraft. There were also dingers from Ryan O’Hearn, his 8th of the year, plus the first homer of the year from Nick Gonzales, with both guys hovering near .300 batting, with Gonzo and .308 and O’Hearn now at .294.
Bryan Reynolds, Jake Mangum and Spencer Horwitz all had their moments in the Twins series, as the Bucs lineup is pretty much dangerous from top to bottom, outside of when Henry Davis is playing, and even he got in on the act on Sunday, with 2 RBIs, while Horwitz is now hitting .289 and is looking like a smart pick up from GM Ben Cherington.
Oh, and the Bucs dropped a little social media bragging rights on Twins as well, posting this after Sunday’s sweep.
Of course, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the Bucs, as rookie phenom Konnor Griffin was just put on the 10-day IL. He has a forearm strain, but the Pirates don’t expect that he’ll be out long. After a slow start, Griffin has been coming into his own, now hitting .270 on the season with 4 homers and 22 RBIs.
There’s also the Carmen Mlodzinski drama right now in which he was moved to bullpen to make room for Jared Jones and responded by telling the team he would not be ready to pitch out of the bullpen. Ben Cherington then placed him on the Restricted List. The restricted list rule says:
“The restricted list is for players who are under contract but unable to play due to unexcused, personal or non-baseball reasons. There’s no limit to how long a player can stay on the restricted list, but he isn’t paid and doesn’t earn service time.”
So I guess we’ll see what happens next, but Jaiman will have some analysis and commentary on the Carmen situation tomorrow, so we’ll wait to hear from him about some more. We may have some additional clarity by tomorrow as well.
The Bucs are off tonight but will return to action tomorrow as the head to Houston to take on the Astros. That’s an 8:10PM series game to kick off the game.
Mike Trout
James Wood
Jordan Walker
