CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 13: Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Ike Irish (97) and Infielder Wehiwa Aloy (95) walk back to the dugout before the spring training game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 13, 2026 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Runs were hard to come by in this one, as nobody scored until the Tides walked it off in the bottom of the 10th. Christian Encarnacion-Strand did the honors with a bases-loaded single to right to drive in Maikol Hernández and send the Tides fans home happy. Encarnacion-Strand had two of Norfolk’s six hits, and Creed Willems had two others. All six hits were singles. Leadoff man Jud Fabian reached base thrice on a hit and two walks.
Six Tides pitchers combined for the 10-inning shutout. Starter Cameron Weston handled the first 3.2 innings, striking out six, and five relievers each worked at least one scoreless inning. That group included rehabbing O’s lefty Dietrich Enns, who tossed a perfect sixth. Southpaw Josh Walker earned the win with two scoreless frames, stranding the go-ahead run at third base with nobody out in the 10th.
In stark contrast to the Tides, the Baysox played a game that featured 18 runs and 28 baserunners. The Baysox fell behind by five runs after a six-run Akron fourth inning, then stormed back with seven unanswered to take an 8-6 lead, only to let the RubberDucks score the game’s final four runs to conclude a roller coaster of a game.
Chesapeake got no help from the top of the lineup — with #1 and #2 hitters Brandon Butterworth and Aron Estrada going 0-for-9 — but plenty of production from the bottom. The #8 hitter Tavian Josenberger was 2-for-3 with a double, three runs, and two RBIs, and #9 man Frederick Bencosme was 2-for-4 and drove in three.
All four Baysox pitchers allowed at least one run, but they have their defense to blame for a lot of it. Akron scored six unearned runs thanks to three Baysox errors. Both the second baseman Estrada and third baseman Carter Young committed errors in the top of the ninth that led to Akron’s tie-breaking two-run rally. Earlier, a miscue by Butterworth at short cost starter Sebastian Gongora three unearned runs. Jose Espada, just sent down from the Orioles’ bullpen yesterday, pitched 1.1 innings for Chesapeake and gave up two runs.
High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 7, Frederick Keys 3
What a performance by Frederick starter Juaron Watts-Brown, the Orioles’ acquisition in last year’s Seranthony Domínguez trade. The right-hander pitched five scoreless, hitless innings with eight strikeouts, retiring 15 of the 16 batters he faced. Watts-Brown is on a rehab assignment from Chesapeake, and he sure looks like he’s about ready to head back to Double-A.
Unfortunately, as soon as Watts-Brown left the game, things spiraled quickly. Towering lefty prospect Boston Bateman got blasted for seven runs (five earned) and nine hits in just 2.1 innings. He also committed two balks. Ugly.
It wasn’t a banner day for the Frederick offense overall, with 11 strikeouts and just one walk, but the two highly touted 2025 draft picks — Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy — each homered. Orioles fans could get used to seeing that. Vance Honeycutt took an 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Nate George did not play.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 7, Wilson Warbirds (Brewers) 2
This marked the professional debut for left-hander Caden Hunter, the Orioles’ sixth-round pick last year, and he had his ups and downs. In 2.2 innings, he held the Warbirds to one hit, but also walked three. The only run on his ledger was an unearned one. Christian Rodriguez picked up the win with 3.2 innings of long relief, striking out seven and giving up just an unearned run.
Catcher Johnny Tincher, signed as a minor league free agent earlier this week, made his organizational debut and smacked a home run and drove in four. Not a bad first impression. His dinger was Delmarva’s only extra-base hit, but the Shorebirds made the most of their six singles, five walks, and four stolen bases to tally a seven-run game.
There’s something special about this Cubs team. Do you feel it?
Utterly dominated by Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan for six innings, trailing 4-0 heading to the seventh, the Cubs cut that to 4-3 thanks in part to a triple (!) by Dansby Swanson. Then an Alex Bregman homer tied the game in the eighth, and Swanson’s two-run homer in the ninth gave the Cubs their 10th consecutive victory, 6-4 over the Dodgers.
Did I mention that two relievers who weren’t even on the radar when the season started threw four innings of two-hit relief against the tough Dodgers lineup?
Let’s begin at the beginning.
Jameson Taillon matched Sheehan for two innings, then gave up a single and walk leading off the third. Taillon struck out Shohei Ohtani and got Freddie Freeman on a line drive to center.
Unfortunately, Will Smith then smashed a three-run homer off Taillon. That’s been an issue for Jamo since Spring Training, when he allowed 10 homers in 13.1 innings. Now he’s allowed seven in 27.2 innings this season. It’s definitely a concern.
I thought that was a bad send by Quintin Berry. The hit by Alex Bregman wasn’t that deep, it moved quickly and Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages charged it. True, it took a perfect throw to get Busch, but if he had stayed at third, the Cubs would have had first and third with one out. Instead, there were two out with Bregman taking second on the throw. Ian Happ popped up to end the inning.
The Dodgers scored in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-0.
It was still that score in the sixth when Tucker got robbed again by a Cubs fielder, this time Swanson [VIDEO].
And Sheehan continued to mystify Cubs hitters. He struck out 10. More on Sheehan’s night from BCB’s JohnW53:
Emmet Sheehan is the first pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts vs. the Cubs this season. Two did it last year: Jesus Luzardo of the Phillies (10 in 6.0 IP) and Nolan McLean of the Mets (11 in 5.1). Six did it in 2024, five in 2023 and 17 (!) in 2022. The most whiffs by any of them was 12.
The Cubs finally got to him, and Dodgers relievers, in the seventh. Moisés Ballesteros singled off Sheehan with one out and that brought left-hander Alex Vesia in to face Carson Kelly, who flied to right. Then Vesia walked Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Well. Now we’ve got a ballgame! Hoerner likely wasn’t running here, but Vesia threw over to first three times and didn’t get Nico the third time. That’s a disengagement violation and Hoerner was awarded second base. I don’t recall that happening to the Cubs since that rule went into effect three years ago. There were only 35 such violations in all of MLB in 2025. Hoerner was stranded, though, when Busch struck out.
That’s not only an excellent play by Nico, but also give credit to reliever Ryan Rolison for alertly getting to first base when it was clear Busch wasn’t going to make it.
Now that one, I thought was a good send. You’ve got that chance to take the lead, and it would take two perfect throws to get Happ — and the Dodgers accomplished that. Hat tip to Pages and Hyeseong Kim for those two throws.
So the game remained tied to the bottom of the eighth. Rolison retired the side in order. Can’t say enough about Rolison, who entered 2026 with a 7.02 career ERA. He threw three shutout innings, allowing just two hits.
Then the Cubs scored what would be the decisive runs in the ninth. PCA led off with a single.
The next three Cubs were retired in order, so they went to the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead. On to save the game was… Corbin Martin, another reliever with a career ERA north of 6. The Cubs signed him to a minor-league deal in January and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa to start the season. He’s only in the big leagues because, well, you know about all the pitching injuries.
The Cubs now have erased 10 deficits this season, each in a different game. They eventually lost the first two, Opening Day (March 26) vs. the Nationals and April 11 vs. the Pirates. They have won all eight since then, including each of the last three days.
Last year, the Cubs erased 68 deficits in 60 games. Of those 60, they eventually won 32 and lost 28.
There’s something special about this Cubs team. Do you feel it?
I think the players feel it. Everyone steps up, every single member of the 26-man roster including the guys added to it because of injury. So many Cubs contributed to this win, including Rolison and Martin, neither of whom were on this roster a couple of weeks ago — and Rolison hadn’t pitched in 10 days.
The last time any Cubs team won 11 in a row was July 31-Aug. 12, 2016. This year’s Cubs will try to match that when they take on the Dodgers this evening in the second of this three-game series. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Roki Sasaki goes for the Dodgers. Game time is 6:15 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Fox-TV (regional — coverage map). A reminder that if you subscribe to MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings, you can watch this game via those services even if it’s not on the Fox affiliate in your market.
SARASOTA, FL - MARCH 20: Franklin Arias #65 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Mets pitching staff pulled off a fantastic bullpen game on the uninspired WooSox offense. Worcester got just two hits on the night on the six pitchers Syracuse marched out, which totally upstaged whatever goodwill the Worcester staff got by allowing just one extra base hit on the night. There wasn’t much to write home about in this game, but kudos to the bullpen for not making the result even worse as well as Anthony Seigler for being the only WooSox bat on the night to reach base more than once. Hard to win games when hits are so tough to come by.
No, Franklin Arias did not get a home run last night against the Yard Goats (Rockies AA). He actually didn’t even get a hit, failing to reach base for just the second time all season and seeing his OPS drop to a paltry, lackluster 1.340. His batting average is now just .408. The offense wasn’t found elsewhere in the Sea Dogs lineup, as they got just three hits on the night and only one off each pitcher Hartford marched out. The two runs the Sea Dogs allowed in the first innings ended up sealing the game, but no one knew it yet. Maybe Arias is a catalyst for the rest of this lineup…
The Drive had two guys mash their fourth home runs of the season, Mason White and Yophery Rodriguez. Rodriguez hit a go-ahead home run in late innings for the second time in a week. The Tourists (Astros High-A) couldn’t hit Greenville reliever Devin Futrell, as many on the year have struggled to do. Through 17 2/3 innings having already recieved a promotion, he just allowed his first run tonight, but he remained strong through more than four innings and gave those home runs a chance to elevate Greenville to a win.
The RidgeYaks jumped ahead of the Nationals with runs in each of the first two innings, but the lead wasn’t held for too much longer and they fell victim to their three errors on the night. Soon, that 2-0 lead was a 6-2 deficit, and it only got worse from there as Salem, on top of their defensive woes, also went hitless in nine attempts with guys in scoring position. When you allow extra bases with errors and allowing nine walks, you’re more apt to lose games.
Saturday is littered with Major League Baseball, with 15 games on tap.
That means plenty of MLB player props to choose from, including a hot-hitting Randy Arozarena looking to do some damage against lefty Matthew Liberatore in St Louis.
Read below for the rest of my favorite MLB picks for Saturday, April 25
Best MLB player props today
Player
Pick
Odds
Randy Arozarena
Over 1.5 Hits
+210
Kevin Gausman
Over 5.5 strikeouts
+126
Ronald Acuna Jr.
2+ Total Bases
+105
Randy Arozarena Over 1.5 hits (+210)
Randy Arozarena doubled and scored a run in Friday’s 3-2 series opening win over the St. Louis Cardinals, which gives him hits in 10 of his last 13 games.
Of those games, six have been multi-hit efforts, and he draws a favorable matchup Saturday against Matthew Liberatore. In just five at-bats, Arozarena has two hits against him, including a homer and four RBI.
The Seattle Mariners’ left fielder is hitting .364 against lefties on the season (8-for-22) with a home run, a double and two RBI.
Time: 2:15 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Mariners.TV,Cardinals.TV
Kevin Gausman Over 5.5 strikeouts (+126)
After back-to-back 10+ strikeout performances to start the season, veteran Toronto Blue Jays righty Kevin Gausman has been Under six strikeouts the next three starts.
But the Cleveland Guardians are a good matchup for him, as this current edition is hitting just .196 in 92 at-bats, with Gausman striking out 25.
In both starts against the Guardians in 2025, he was on point: Gausman pitched six innings of shutout ball allowing just one hit on May 3, striking out nine.
He followed that up on June 26 by going 8.0 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and fanning six.
Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
Where to watch: FS1
Ronald Acuna Jr. 2+ total bases (+105)
Ronald Acuna Jr. is coming off just his second homer of the year in their series opening win over the Philadelphia Phillies, giving him hits in 14 of his last 17, grabbing at least two total bases in seven of them.
He’ll face Zack Wheeler Saturday, and he’s shown some pop against the veteran righty, going 12-for-49 (.245), with four doubles, four home runs and seven RBI.
Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NBCSP, BravesVision
Eric Rosales' 2026 Transparency Record
Prop picks: 5-9, +1.63 units
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 24: Gavin Williams #32 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches in the first inning during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 24, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guardians had the first bad Gavin Williams start of 2026, took some significant punches from former Guardians Andres Gimenez and Ernie Clement and had Cade Smith allow the first two Blue Jays to reach base in the bottom of the 9th… and still won 8-6.
Jakhob has your recap here. Sorry I posted it late, I fell asleep.
Kyle Manzardo has a wRC+ of 47. We are nearing emergency status with him. Also, basically, Vogt needs to keep Daniel Schneemann and Angel Martinez in the lineup every day (maybe just against RHP for Schnee) until further notice.
AROUND MLB;
The Tigers gave up a big lead to Tito’s 17-9 Reds and lost 9-8, the Twins also lost, but the White Sox and Royals won.
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 21: Brent Headrick #47 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Natalie Reid/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Four weeks into the season, the Yankees are riding high with the best record in the American League. Despite several key starters beginning the year on the IL, their rotation has been excellent and, even with a weeklong swoon, New York’s offense has scored the fourth-most runs in the league. The biggest area of concern has been a bullpen that’s ranked middle-of-the-pack and featured some alarming underperformers.
As I do each month in a given season, I’m going to take a look at the Yankees’ relievers to identify how manager Aaron Boone is deploying each and offer a verdict as to how much trust we can place in them moving forward.
Statistics below are as of the morning of April 24th.
The Closer
David Bednar
Recent results: 10.2 IP, 3.38 ERA, 13 SO, 2.11 FIP, 7 Saves (in 8 opportunities)
Bednar has not been the dominant force he was after coming over at last year’s Trade Deadline, a stretch which earned him the Yankees’ closer job. Only 3 of his 11 appearances have been clean outings, as the right-hander—known for his ability to pitch around traffic—has been forced to live up to that reputation. After a rough start, though, he appears to have settled in, rattling off scoreless innings his last four times out.
Confidence Level: High
Bednar’s peripherals, including a 2.50 ERA, suggest he’s pitched into some bad luck. He’s actually allowing much less hard contact than he did last year and, for the first time in his career, inducing opponents to put the ball on the ground at an elite rate. Weakly-hit grounders are surely a formula for success. Expect Bednar to continue to put his early-season blip in the rearview.
The Setup Man
Camilo Doval
Recent results: 10 IP, 7.56 ERA, 8 SO, 4.71 FIP
After doing little to augment their bullpen this offseason, the Yankees were counting on a resurgence from Doval. There was reason to believe — despite struggling in the second half after joining New York last year, the righty looked more like the pitcher who’d saved 107 games for San Francisco during the previous five seasons. The early returns have been abysmal. He’s allowed multiple runs three times this month, the types of showings which swing games in the late innings. Doval has limited walks after free passes plagued him last year but he’s allowing far more hard contact and struggling to induce groundballs (think Bizarro Bednar).
Doval may well have already lost the setup job; he hasn’t pitched since April 17th, which also happens to be the last traditional setup opportunity the Yankees have had. Boone gave his embattled reliever a show of confidence after his last poor outing. “Really, it’s back-to-back outings where I think he’s been really good, really sharp,” the skipper said, somewhat implausibly. “I feel like he’s close to being really dialed in.” Time will tell.
The Middle Relievers
Fernando Cruz
Recent results: 7.1 IP, 2.45 ERA, 10 SO, 3.69 FIP
A late bloomer if ever there was one, a 35-year-old Cruz burst onto the scene in the first half last year, riding a filthy splitter to a 3.00 ERA while punching out 54 in 33 innings. After trailing off in the second half, it was fair to wonder if that run of dominance was a flash in the pan. Cruz’s stuff has looked nasty so far, as he’s posted the lowest hard-hit percentage (13.3) in the league. But only two AL relievers have a higher walk rate, showing the potential for boom-and-bust in his game.
Confidence Level: Medium
Cruz has performed well, but his walk rate is wholly unsustainable. If he can improve his control, he has a potential to be a difference-maker in the back end of the bullpen. If not, his numbers could quickly nosedive.
Brent Headrick
Recent results: 13 IP, 2.08 ERA, 14 SO, 2.15 FIP
After shuttling between the Yankees and their Triple-A affiliate last year, Headrick has been the biggest surprise in the bullpen so far. The southpaw has tied for the most appearances in baseball while riding a dynamic four-seamer — against which opponents have hit .160 — to strong numbers. His splits have been reversed to a startling extent, with righties posting a feeble .429 OPS against him while his fellow lefties have feasted to the tune of a 1.195 mark.
Despite his solid start, the splits and 3.87 expected ERA raise some red flags. In the developing late-inning vacuum created by Doval’s struggled, Headrick will get the chance to show if his newfound dominance is sustainable. We don’t even need to attach a qualifier next to “will,” as Boone has him on pace for a number of appearances that can best be described as “Scott Proctor level.” The Yankees clearly like Headrick, and if anything, they might need to ease up on him — at least a little bit.
Tim Hill
Recent results: 10 IP, 0.90 ERA, 3 SO, 2.55 FIP
In a world in which relievers’ fortunes seemingly change by the week, you can set your watch by Tim Hill. He’s posted a 2.53 ERA in 115 appearances as a Yankee, neutralizing lefties while holding his own against righties. The sinkerballer has been at his extreme best this year — he’s yet to allow a walk or a barrel while posting a ridiculous 80-percent ground-ball rate that easily leads baseball.
Hill’s consistency makes it difficult to find anything new to say about him. As I’ve written in pretty much every instance of this series, the 36-year-old remains one of the biggest bargains in baseball. The Yankees are fortunate to have his steady hand as an anchor of their bullpen.
The Long Relievers
Ryan Yarbrough
Recent results: 8 IP, 5.63 ERA, 4 SO, 5.64 FIP
Yarbrough had a run last year that made him something of a folk hero in the Bronx, going 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA through his first five starts to help stabilize an embattled rotation. That showcase earned him a return engagement on a $2.5 million plus incentives deal. The journeyman’s numbers are inflated by a four-run outing against the Angels on April 16th, and he hasn’t pitched since.
Confidence Index: Low
While his impressive run last year provides a glimmer of hope, the breadth of Yarbrough’s career makes that look like a wonderful outlier. Expect him to remain in a low-leverage, innings-eater role.
Paul Blackburn
Recent results: 8 IP, 4.50 ERA, 5 SO, 3.02 FIP
Despite struggling with both New York teams last year, the Yankees took a flier on Blackburn on a similar deal to Yarbrough’s. He’s performed slightly better so far in a similar role, though there’s little in his profile or peripherals to suggest a breakout on the horizon.
Confidence Level: Low
See above. Blackburn is a righty Yarbrough, serving as a veteran long reliever with little upside.
The Mop-Up Men
Jake Bird
Recent results: 7 IP, 7.71 ERA, 9 SO, 2.43 FIP
A disappointment after joining the Yankees from Colorado last deadline, Bird got a shot at redemption after cracking the team’s roster out of spring. But he allowed six runs in seven innings and it was back down to Triple-A. The righty has allowed far too much hard contact to consistently get outs at the major-league level. Called back up this week as depth with starter Ryan Weathers landing on the paternity list, Bird has yet to be used and is extremely likely to return to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre once Weathers is activated.
Confidence Level: Nonexistent
Bird remains a talented reclamation project, best suited to work through his command issues in the minors.
Angel Chivilli
Recent results: 2.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 3 SO, 11.29 FIP
Another former Rockie, Chivilli started the year at Triple-A. He was recalled after tossing 8.1 scoreless innings but has yet to see much action with the Yankees. The right-hander features elite fastball velo but has struggled to turn that into commensurate strikeout rates, leading his new team to up his changeup usage.
Confidence Level: Nonexistent
The jury’s still out here. Chivilli has some promise but has not yet been given enough runway to establish any kind of confidence.
(Original Caption) April 25, 1976-Los Angeles, California: On a dead run from centerfield, Chicago Cubs Rick Monday reaches to rescue an American flag as two men attempt to set the flag on fire during 4th inning play in Dodgers Stadium. First reports said the men, a father and son, were protesting treatment of American Indians. The flag was wet with lighter fluid but the men were unable to light their matches.
Dodgers broadcaster Rick Monday will be honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer during induction weekend, part of the 50th anniversary celebration of him stopping an American flag from getting burned on the field at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 1976.
It’s been quite a baseball life for Monday, who was the very first pick in the first-ever MLB Draft in 1965. He played 19 seasons in the majors, eight with the Dodgers, made two All-Star teams, played in three World Series with Los Angeles and won a championship in 1981.
Monday has also been broadcasting for over four decades, and is currently in his 34th consecutive season calling Dodgers games.
The flag Monday rescued in 1976 will be on display at the Hall of Fame beginning Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. From the Hall:
Monday will be honored at the July 25 Awards Presentation at the Alice Busch Opera Theater at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown along with Ford C. Frick Award winner Joe Buck, Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award winner Paul Hoynes and Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award winner Bill White.
The Dodgers’ series against the Giants in San Francisco had an old school feel to it, with the Giants taking issue with catcher Dalton Rushing’s apparent comments after a play at the plate involving Jung Hoo Lee, then Rushing getting hit by a Logan Webb pitch on Thursday followed by Rushing sliding hard into second base. Katie Woo and Andrew Baggarly at The Athletic rounded up the reaction from both sides after Thursday’s game.
Mark Washington was drafted by the Dodgers in 2017 in the 25th round, a round that no longer exists, and pitched seven professional seasons in the minors and independent leagues, getting as high as Triple-A. He retired as a pitcher after last season and joined the Dodgers player development as a junior area scout. Washington talked to J.P. Hoornstra about the transition:
“Player evaluation wasn’t something I really thought about,” Washington said in a telephone interview with Dodgers On SI this week. “The Dodgers — I was there for seven years. It’s just awesome, like a full-circle moment, where the team that drafted me, I’m now employed by them.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Tony Vitello #23 and Landen Roupp #65 of the San Francisco Giants prepare for the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on April 21, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The San Francisco Giants are wrapping up another week of games this weekend, so it’s time to see everyone’s picks for Player of the Week!
I think my pick for this week has to be Landen Roupp. Roupp is quietly having a very good start to the season, and the team has supported his endeavors by winning four of his first five starts. So far this year, he’s got 2.28 ERA, 2.42 FIP, with 31 strikeouts to 12 walks in his 27.2 innings pitched.
That trend continued this week in the Giants’ 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. In which Roupp allowed just the one run on one hit with seven strikeouts in five innings. That’s a good start regardless of the opponent, but to do it against the Dodgers in the opening game of the series? Yeah, he’s my Player of the Week.
Who is your pick for Player of the Week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants continue their series against the Miami Marlins this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. PT.
Feb 18, 2026; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Brennan Bernardino (83) poses for Photo Day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
For nearly a month, the Rockies tried something you don’t see very often: They carried one left-handed reliever.
If you’ve followed bullpens for a while, that probably jumped out to you the same way it did to me. You get used to seeing two, three, sometimes four lefties when you scan a roster. Different looks, different roles, different ways to navigate a lineup. That’s just how it’s always been.
That’s why this stood out — and why it was worth watching.
Now, that setup has recently changed — Sammy Peralta is here — and the Rockies have a second lefty. But that almost makes the original experiment more interesting.
Because the Rockies didn’t just end up with one lefty. For a stretch, they leaned into it. Brennan Bernardino was the only left-handed option in the bullpen, and the question wasn’t just whether it would work. It was what would it tell us.
So, what did the Rockies learn from trying it?
From LOOGY to the three-batter minimum
If you’re like me, you might tend to picture bullpen construction the old-school way.
You needed a LOOGY (Lefty One Out Guy) — a lefty who could come in, get one tough left-handed hitter out, and head back to the dugout like he just checked a box. That was a role. That was a roster spot.
That role is gone.
Since MLB introduced the three-batter minimum in 2020, relievers have to face at least three hitters or finish the inning. There are small loopholes — two outs, clean inning, you can sneak through — but the point is clear: You can’t just deploy a one-batter specialist anymore.
That didn’t eliminate left-handed relievers. It eliminated the reason to carry one who can’t get righties out.
So the job changed.
Now it’s not ‘do you have a lefty?’ It’s ‘can your lefty handle everyone?’
Why Bernardino made it work
That’s what made this viable at all. Because Bernardino isn’t a specialist.
So far this season, he’s handled both sides:
Vs LHH: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 1.20 WHIP
Vs RHH: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1.06 WHIP
No dramatic platoon split. No obvious lane where he needs to be protected.
And when you watch him — and when you dig into the data — it makes sense.
He works with five main pitches (plus a rarely used slider), and none of them dominate the mix. Sinkers, curveballs, cutters, changeups, four-seamers — he’s constantly shifting shapes and speeds. The sinker/change combination helps him navigate right-handed hitters, while the breaking ball mix keeps lefties from getting comfortable.
He’s not overpowering anyone. He’s just not letting hitters get comfortable.
And the contact profile is what really drives it:
82.1 mph average exit velocity allowed
20% hard-hit rate
53.3% ground ball rate
At Coors Field, that’s not just useful — that’s survival.
Bernardino doesn’t blow hitters away. He just keeps them from doing damage. And in today’s game, that’s enough to let a lefty face anyone.
The other side of it: righties vs lefties
If you’re only carrying one lefty, though, the rest of your bullpen has to pick up the slack.
Right-handers have to get left-handed hitters out.
And to the Rockies’ credit, they’ve mostly held up there.
Jimmy Herget, Jaden Hill, and Antonio Senzatela have all been effective against lefties — limiting damage, keeping the ball on the ground, and giving the Rockies a way to survive without constantly chasing the left-on-left matchup. That’s part of why this didn’t unravel early.
But it hasn’t been universal.
Victor Vodnik and Juan Mejia, in particular, have been more vulnerable in those spots. And that’s where the lack of a second lefty starts to show.
When your righties can handle those matchups, you don’t notice the absence.
When they can’t, it becomes obvious pretty quickly.
Where it shows up in-game
You saw a glimpse of that recently.
Vodnik ended up facing left-handed hitter Gavin Sheets in a big spot.
In a more traditional setup, that’s often where a lefty gets the call.
But that’s not what happened here — and that’s what made it interesting.
Instead, Vodnik stayed in to face Gavin Sheets and gave up the home run. With the damage done, he remained in to strike out the next batter — a righty — before the Rockies turned to Bernardino. The lefty was available, but he wasn’t used as a matchup lever in that moment.
But that might not be how the Rockies are thinking about it right now.
Part of the shift this season has been toward flexibility — leaning on pitchers who can cover innings, manage workload, and handle a mix of matchups rather than just one. In that context, leaving Vodnik in to face Sheets isn’t just a matchup decision. It’s a usage decision.
Would having another lefty — someone like Peralta — have changed the calculation?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But that’s the tradeoff.
When you only have one lefty, you don’t always get to chase the clean matchup. You trust your right-handers to navigate it — and live with the results.
He’s different than Bernardino. He throws from a similar arm slot, but he’s still figuring out his pitch mix.
In 2025, Peralta leaned heavily on a slider-driven approach, throwing it nearly half the time, with a sinker and changeup behind it. That’s a more traditional relief profile — one often built to handle same-handed hitters first and figure out the rest second. So far at the major-league level, the results have been uneven. He’s shown flashes of dominance against left-handed hitters in small samples — but hasn’t found consistency — and hasn’t shown the same ability to suppress contact or flatten splits the way Bernardino has.
He isn’t replicating Bernardino’s role — he’s complementing it. Giving the Rockies a second look. A different option. A way to play the matchup when they actually want to, for now.
Strategy or shortage?
For a stretch, the Rockies showed something.
They showed that if your lefties are versatile enough — and your righties can hold their own — you can get by without multiple lefties.
That part worked.
But the roster move tells you something too.
Calling up Peralta suggests that one reliable lefty — and a handful of righties who can survive — still isn’t the same thing as having enough flexibility over a full season.
So what do you think?
Did the Rockies prove one-lefty bullpens can work? Is adding Peralta to the mix any indication of their thinking?
The Albuquerque Isotopes (13–11) lost a close one, falling 4–3 to the Sacramento River Cats (13–9) despite a late push. Albuquerque made it interesting with a three-run sixth to climb back into the game, but couldn’t find the tying run late. Cole Carrigg and Chad Stevens each went 2-for-3 with a walk, with Stevens driving in two runs. Patrick Weigel took the loss, while Welinton Herrera impressed out of the bullpen with 1.2 scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
The Hartford Yard Goats (8–10) picked up a solid 5–1 win over the Portland Sea Dogs (9–9) at Delta Dental Park on a chilly 46-degree night. Andy Perez led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a home run, while Zach Kokoska added a 2-for-3 night with a long ball of his own. Blake Adams was the difference on the mound, earning the win with four innings of scoreless relief. Clean game, timely hits, and shutdown pitching — hard to draw it up much better than that.
The Spokane Indians (6–13) dropped a tough one, falling 2–1 to the Everett AquaSox (11–8) on a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth. Alan Espinal led the offense with three hits, while Everett Catlett struck out seven over 4.2 innings, working around five walks and a solo homer. Justin Loer kept Spokane in it with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to bridge the game late. Francis Rivera took the loss after allowing the winning run in the ninth.
The Fresno Grizzlies (12–7) broke things open late and rolled to a 10–3 win over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (10–9), powered by a big night at the plate. Clayton Gray led the way, going 3-for-4, while Ethan Holliday and Tanner Thach each went deep — Thach’s fourth homer on the season was a towering moonshot that climbed high into the dark sky and felt like it was golfed out over the right-field fence. Jack O’Dowd added a long ball of his own as Fresno’s offense showed real punch. On the mound, three pitchers combined to keep things under control, backing up the breakout offensive performance.
In this MLB.com piece, Thomas Harding checks in on RJ Petit and Pierson Ohl as they grind through the long, often boring Tommy John rehab process, where it’s more about patience than payoff right now. Along the way, though, there’s a random noodle mishap and a worried mom sprinkled in that serve as a reminder there’s still a real human side to all of it.
The Rockies quietly flipped Nicky Lopez to the Cubs for cash. Lopez had been swinging it well in Albuquerque and represented a potential plug-and-play depth option if needed, but the Rox have chosen to move on. For the Cubs, it’s a low-risk reunion with a glove-first infielder they know well.
Barstool rounded up some clips of fans making some seriously impressive foul ball catches at Coors Field. It’s a fun mix of skill and chaos in the stands, and they’re definitely worth a quick watch.
J.P. Hoornstra of Sport Illustrated breaks down Mason Miller’s absurd strikeout streak. The interesting part — somehow, of all teams, it’s the free-swinging, strikeout-prone Rockies that put it to an end. Of course it happens that way… baseball makes no sense.
I’m willing to do all I can to make things right! I closely read the stories from my usual group of writers. Nothing about the big story of the weekend, if not the week. I even read the national writers, thinking that someone may need one more story for the day. Nada. So I present to you the fans the story that should have been written:
Michael Busch entered Monday’s game having struggled all season (.164, 12-for-73). Then … the Philadelphia Phillies came to Wrigley — and so did George the Goose. Busch was looking for contact, a hit any way. Then *Thunk* — Busch hit a weak, soft single, RIGHT OVER GEORGE, who ended up leaving Wrigley with PTSD.
But on that the night, and through the beginning of the weekend, Busch is back! From this almost tragic Monday through Friday’s game, Busch was 8-for-23 (.348) with 2 HR and 7 RBI. This is the story Mr. Busch deserved, celebrating his breakthrough.
*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.
Thomas Domol (North Side Baseball) – Edward Cabrera’s Cubs Legacy Is Only Getting Started “Edward Cabrera has been the Chicago Cubs’ best starting pitcher in 2026. Can he keep the momentum rolling into the summer? There’s a whole lot of good going on with the Cubs, who walked it off in the 10th inning with an 8-7 win Thursday at Wrigley Field.
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): The Annual Cubs Bullpen Reckoning is Here: “The good news is, the Cubs didn’t lose a bunch of winnable games en route to their yearly spring bullpen overhaul. The bad news is, they have to improbably nail one again, anyway.”
Evan Altman (Cubs insider): Hodge to 60-Day IL, Lopez Selected, Kingery Optioned” “It’s pretty much a lateral move, with Lopez bringing better defense to the table in what figures to be a very limited role. This will be something like his 43rd stint with the team in the last two years, so he’s very familiar with Craig Counsell and a number of his new/old teammates already do.“
Everyone knows B. B., so I’ll be short with him: Riley B. King was born in Mississippi and became an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter known as the “King of the Blues.” In 1946, he followed his cousin Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months. King returned shortly afterward to Mississippi where he better prepared himself for the next visit. Two years later, he returned to West Memphis, Arkansas attracted to music and taught himself to play guitar, beginning his career in juke joints and on local radio. He worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey where he was given the nickname “Beale Street Blues Boy”, later shortened to “Blues Boy” and finally to “B. B.” It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, “Once I’d heard him for the first time, I knew I’d have to have [an electric guitar] myself. ‘Had’ to have one, short of stealing!”
It sounds like B. B. would gladly vouch for T-Bone Walker, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. Aaron Thibeaux Walker was born in Linden, Texas. His stepfather, Marco Washington taught him to play the guitar, ukulele, banjo, violin, mandolin, and piano. His stepfather was a musician, and Blind Lemon Jefferson, a family friend, sometimes came over for dinner. Initially, by the time he was 15, he was Jefferson’s protégé and would guide him around Deep Ellum, Dallas for his gigs. By the time he was 25, he working clubs in Los Angeles. In 1942, Charlie Glenn, the owner of the Rhumboogie Café, brought T-Bone Walker to Chicago for long stints in his club. Walker started his recording in 1946-48, and again 1950-1954.
He didn’t release a record for six years — a collaboration that was widely record during three separate years. Walker rarely recorded through the 60’s, then recorded intently from 1968 until his death in 1975.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - APRIL 24: Dylan Beavers #12 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 24, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
That felt good! We have been waiting for this Orioles offense, which is loaded with potential, to finally break out and show us their power. They did exactly that on Friday night, blasting six home runs as part of a 10-3 dismantling of the visiting Red Sox. It could not have gone much better than it did.
You can go up and down the box score to find things worth smiling about.
Perhaps the most important nugget is that Adley Rutschman continues to look like his old self, picking up right where he left off before his recent IL stint. He went 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI in the win last night, and now has a 1.115 OPS on the season.
Rutschman being back has given the entire lineup better structure. Samuel Basallo has dropped a few spots in the order and looked better for it. The youngster went 4-for-5 on Friday, including his fourth homer of the year.
The hardest hit of the day belonged to Gunnar Henderson. He had a 111.2-mph single in the second inning, not a bad follow-up to the 109.1-mph homer he had to begin the game. Maybe he is coming out of his recent cold spell. The O’s would welcome the boost.
Speaking of which, has Coby Mayo been activated? He hit another homer on Friday, his third of the week. There is still work to be done on his season numbers, but the outcomes have been better recently. The Orioles do not need him to be a star, but they have to hope for more more than a .618 OPS out of the third base position. He has plenty of talent to make that happen.
And don’t forget about the 4-for-4 night from Taylor Ward, or the three hits (including a home run) from Dylan Beavers. Oh, and Tyler O’Neill was activated from the concussion list. Plus, the news was good on Jackson Holliday’s MRI.
The point is that the Orioles depth is (for now) showing itself. That doesn’t mean it will always be apparent, or that other rough patches won’t come. But in this moment, the team is showing what it is capable of against some admittedly struggling opponents. That’s what team’s with playoff aspirations have to do.
Imaging clean on Holliday’s hand/wrist, rehab paused due to ongoing discomfort | Orioles.com Holliday said that “it felt like I broke my hand again” during that painful looking swing earlier this week. Fortunately, after getting imaging done, the Orioles medical staff confirmed that there is no structural damage, only slight inflammation. The infielder will still take some time off to let that inflammation subside. At this rate, it feels unlikely that he is back with the big league club until at least mid-May.
Elias provides injury updates before tonight’s series opener against Red Sox | Roch Kubatko The only “negative” update was on Dean Kremer, who is going to miss “several weeks to say the least” with a quad strain, according to Mike Elias. Holliday is going to take off a week and then get back to work. Jordan Westburg is hitting and throwing down in Sarasota. Heston Kjerstad is doing the same and is close to a rehab assignment. Keegan Akin is expected to be ready soon. Dietrich Enns is right behind him. For one day at least, the Orioles didn’t get bad news about an injury.
Mike Elias is ‘bullish’ this year’s Orioles will avoid last year’s tailspin | The Baltimore Banner This year’s team has already shown they are quite a bit deeper than the 2025 version. That has allowed them to tread water as they get healthy. A 13-13 record isn’t great, but it has them in the thick of the wild card picture, and there is reason to think that the team will improve as the season goes on.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Robert Andino turns 42 today. He played parts of four seasons in Baltimore from 2009 through 2012, with his signature moment coming on the final day of the 2011 season. On that day he (and the rest of the Orioles) eliminated the Red Sox from playoff contention with a walk-off single that was part of a wild day in MLB.
Darren Holmes is 60 years old. The journeyman reliever played for eight teams across 13 major league seasons. In all that time he played in just five games for the O’s, all of which came in 2000. He returned to the organization as major league bullpen coach from 2020-23.
The late Art Schallock (b. 1924, d. 2025) was born on this day. He pitched in 30 games (six starts) for the 1955 Orioles.
This day in O’s history
April 25th has been a slow date in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. So here are a few happenings from beyond Birdland:
1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish the first article that explains the double helix structure of DNA.
1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
1960 – The USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe. The journey had started on February 24, taking 60 days and 21 hours.
1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit, now known widely as a “microchip.”
1983 – Pioneer 10, a NASA space probe that was launched in 1972, travels beyond Pluto’s orbit
Apr 24, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) reacts after lining in to a double play to end the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
It was good while it lasted. After winning two straight games, the Mets are back to their losing ways following a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies last night. Freddy Peralta faltered late in the game, as he is wont to do, and the Mets failed to get enough clutch hits to overcome the deficit, as they are wont to do.
This one lasted just long enough as the Mud Hens seized the lead in the bottom of the fifth, and then the game became official as rain washed out the rest of the day.
Lael Lockhart Jr. was uncharacteristically wild in this one, walking four. He gave up a run in the third, and then two more in the fourth. Matt Seelinger cleaned up a little jam, and then Brenan Hanifee handled the top of the fifth.
So it was 3-0 headed into the bottom of the fourth. Jace Jung led off with a walk, and Eduardo Valencia launched his third homer of the year to make it a 3-2 game.
Eduardo Valencia goes down and golfs a 2-run homer to left to pull the Med Hens back within a run. Left his bat at 108.8 MPH and went 387 feet. pic.twitter.com/A4Nbn4mfUT
Hanifee immediately allowed a single and then a Josh Rojas double in the top of the fifth. A strikeout and a pair of ground outs got him out of the inning unscathed.
Ben Malgeri singled to open the bottom of the fifth, and by then the rain was really coming down and a half hour delay followed. It was still ominous when they resumed, but after Max Clark struck out, Gage Workman singled Malgeri to third. Workman stole second base, and the throw went into center field as Malgeri scampered home to tie the game, and the throw in from Drew Waters in center field also went awry as Workman roared around to score as well.
It wasn’t a walkoff, but it eventually functioned as one as the rain picked up again and the game was put into the books after five innings.
Malgeri: 2-3, R
Workman: 2-3, R, SB
Valencia: 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR
Coming Up Next: It’s a 5:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday in Toledo as the Hens lead the series 3-1.
Dariel Fregio made his fourth start after getting promoted to Erie and converted to the rotation out of need. He was mauled for six runs as the Ponies ran roughshod over the SeaWolves on Friday.
The Ponies scored a run in each of the first three frames, two on solo shots, before the SeaWolves answered back in the fourth. Brett Callahan led off the top half with a walk and Chris Meyers singled. Andrew Jenkins reached on a fielders choice that forced Meyers at second, and Callahan scored on an Izaac Pacheco ground out.
Fregio gave up three straight singles in the bottom of the fourth, and Colin Fields had to take over. That did not work out as Fields allowed all three runs to score on two sac flies, and then a two-run homer from the Ponies’ A.J. Ewing. 7-1 Binghamton.
In the sixth, Peyton Graham was hit by a pitch and Callahan walked. Graham moved to third on a Meyers ground out and scored on a wild pitch. Otherwise it was a poor night for the offense.
Fields allowed two more runs in relief, and the Ponies added one against Eric Silva to complete the scoring. The SeaWolves only had two hits on the night.
Fregio (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, BB, 2 K
Fields: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves lead the series 3-1, with first pitch on Saturday set for 1:00 p.m. ET.
West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Lake County Captains 6 (box)
Rayner Castillo threw a great game, but the late innings got dicey until the Whitecaps stormed back to walk this one off in Comstock Park.
Castillo, our 25th ranked prospect in the offseason, had a down year in 2025 and has been up and down early on this year. The 21-year-old locked in on Friday night, two-hitting the Captains over five scoreless frames with five strikeouts.
The ‘Caps got on the board right away when Jackson Strong led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on a Samuel Gil double. Nolan McCarthy launched a solo shot for his first with the Whitecaps in the fifth inning. Andrew Sojka followed him with a solid single to center and Clayton Campbell pumped an RBI double to center to make it a 3-0 lead.
Carlos Lequerica took over from Castillo with a snappy 1-2-3 sixth, but gave up a solo shot in the seventh. 3-1 ‘Caps.
Seth Chavez followed Lequerica, taking over in the eighth, and the Captains jumped all over him after the leadoff hitter reached on a Gil error from second base. They banged out five straight hits and a sac fly and it was a 6-3 Lake County lead with the smoke cleared.
Gil redeemed himself quickly by leading off the bottom half with a single, and Garrett Pennington made it count with a two-run blast that made it a 6-5 Lake County lead.
Garrett Pennington crushes a 2-run homer to left center and the Whitecaps are back within a run. It’s his 5th home run of the year. @ThatDanHasty on the call. pic.twitter.com/zqT8MIe9k1
Lefty Ethan Sloan cleaned up the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. That was well as it set the Whitecaps up for the comeback. Campbell led off with a single and Hunter Dobbins reached on an error. Two fly outs followed, but Pennington got an 0-2 pitch on the outer edge and dumped it into right field for a two-run walkoff double. And the LMCU faithful rejoiced.
🚨Whitecaps Walk-Off Win🚨
Garrett Pennington was down 0-2 with 2 outs in the 9th when he bloops a 2-run walk-off double into shallow right. @ThatDanHasty calls it. pic.twitter.com/LfnRb6cPAk
Tampa rallied back to win on Friday, but I don’t care because RHP Kelvis Salcedo was back on the mound for his first start of the year.
The 20-year-old right hander broke out in a big way last summer, featuring huge stuff and advanced strike throwing. He had a minor meniscus clean up procedure this spring, so the Tigers started easing him back in with a two-inning outing in this one. Once he’s built up, Salcedo should be moving to West Michigan pretty quickly. He torched the Tarpons for two innings in this one, striking out five and allowing one single and a walk. His fourseamer was 94-95 mph, and he racked up plenty of whiffs on his slider in particular, getting 7 total whiffs on 15 Tarpon swings.
This is arguably the most exciting young pitcher in the system, at least of those who aren’t perpetually on the injured list. We’ll see.
Jordan Yost got the Flying Tigers started on Friday by leading off the bottom of the first with a deep drive to center field. He turned on the afterburners and raced around the bases for a triple off of lefty Justin West. Thayron Liranzo immediatley pulled a single to left for a 1-0 lead.
19-year-old Jordan Yost (@tigers 2025 first-rounder) hammers his first pro triple and zooms from home-to-third in 11.48 seconds 🏃♂️
After the leadoff hitter reached on a Carson Rucker error to start the third, RHP Jose Guzman took over from Salcedo and did a nice job getting out of the inning, though most of the credit goes to Liranzo, who cut down the runner trying to steal third.
Zach MacDonald, one of the big stories early on this spring, crushed a 112.9 mph home run in the bottom of the third to make it 2-0. The 22-year-old outfielder now has six homers in 17 games and is showing off huge raw pop to go with his speed. He is still striking out a huge amount, however. Don’t get too excited. It’s just that center fielders with double plus raw don’t grow on trees.
Guzman was solid, while Charlie Christensen allowed a run in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half, Yost slapped a ground ball single the opposite way and advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Liranzo lifted a fly ball to right field for a sac fly to make it 3-1.
After that it was all Tampa. Eliseo Mota gave up three runs, two earned in the late innings, and the Flying Tigers’ offense didn’t have an answer.
Yost: 2-4, 2 R, 3B, K
Liranzo: 1-3, 2 RBI
MacDonald: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 3 K
Salcedo: 2.0 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start in Lakeland on Saturday.
Apr 24, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pinch hitter Michael Harris II (23) hits a double to drive in two runs against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Braves began the homestand on a high note and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3. For the first time in 19 years, the Braves have now won four straight over the Phillies to open a season. It was a solid night from both the lineup and the bullpen, but once again, Michael Harris II headlined the night with some later-inning heroics.
Though originally scratched from the lineup with quad tightness, he came to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and delivered a double to give the Braves the edge.
It was previously reported that Harris was day-to-day, but so far, that has not limited him from driving in runs for Atlanta. The Braves aim to ride this momentum and collect another series win tonight at 7:15 ET.
More Braves News:
Walt Weiss announced that though Raisel Iglesias has not started throwing yet, he is expected to return relatively soon.
Isaiah Drake, Eric Hartman, and John Gil continue to be the heavy hitters for the Rome Emperors. More in the minor league recap.
MLB News:
The Cincinnati Reds will place DH Eugenio Suarez on the 10-day injured list due to a low-grade oblique strain. Fortunately, this injury does not appear to be overly serious.
From the Feed:
The Braves have already been successful in game one, so submit your picks on how many games the Braves win this series.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - APRIL 24: Starting pitcher Brayan Bello #66 of the Boston Red Sox reacts in first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 24, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s more than fair to wonder whether Brayan Bello is on the verge of losing his spot in the starting rotation. Bello has been the Sox’ clear weak link, posting an ERA of exactly 9.00 after 5 starts this year. But with Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo currently on the shelf, Alex Cora says Bello isn’t going anywhere, as the Red Sox plan to “stay the course.” That’s why, when Alex Cora pulled the unusual move of paying Bello a mound visit in the third inning last night, he didn’t remove him from the game but, rather, wanted him to improve his body language: “We’re here to compete, be prepared. We go out there and do our best. Regardless of the situation, you’ve got to keep competing and he actually did. I’ll give him that. But we’ve got to figure it out.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Speaking of staying the course, it doesn’t look like Caleb Durbin will be losing his job anytime soon, either, despite the fact that Durbin is the single-worst hitter by OPS in all of baseball right now. “I hate the comparison, but Dustin Pedroia was hitting .190 on May 15 in 2007,” Alex Cora said incorrectly, as Pedroia was actually .259 with an OPS over .700 on that date. “It’s still early in the season. There’s some trends that we like. He’s not chasing. Of course, he’s not hitting the ball hard — we know that — but he keeps working. He’s a good defender, too. We cannot forget that. Just got to keep playing.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
It’s not merely Bello and Durbin whom Cora is sticking by. The manager continues to believe in the roster at his disposal and is trying to block out the criticism: “You have to cancel the noise because it’s loud, very loud. Anywhere you look, they’re talking about us and how bad we are. Deservedly so. The record is the record. But I don’t think we have a bad team. We’re just going through a bad stretch.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
At least they won’t have much time to dwell on last night’s lopsided loss in Baltimore. Due to bad weather expected in the mid-Atlantic, today’s game has been moved up from 4:05 PM to 12:05 PM (MLB)
But will Roman Anthony be back in the lineup for the earlier start? He is reportedly making progress with the sore back that has kept him out of the lineup for three straight games. “[He’s] feeling better, moving better,” said Cora. “Hopefully at one point during the weekend he plays. We’re not gonna rush it, but it was a better day for him.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
Anthony better get back into the lineup quickly, because this Red Sox season is beginning to be characterized by something even worse than bad baseball: fan apathy. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
Ronald Acuna Jr.
