Category: Baseball

The schedule keeps lining ‘em up and the Braves keep knocking ‘em down. Indeed, we’re just under 20 games into the season and the Braves are not just in first place at the moment, they’re the only team above .500 in the NL East and they still have yet to drop a series. This is a very, very pleasant departure from how the season got started last season and here’s hoping that this can keep going for as long as possible.

With that being said, Miami definitely didn’t make this easy for Atlanta! Despite this being a house of horrors for the Marlins, this crew appeared to be up for the task of coming into Cobb County and making sure that things went their way for once around here. The Fish were off to a relatively solid start of their own and were desperate to make sure that things kept going in the right direction for them and we ended up getting a very competitive series out of these two divisional foes. Let’s talk about it, shall we?

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Monday, April 13

Marlins 10, Braves 4

Heading into this series, the Marlins had scored a grand total of three (3) runs across three games in Detroit. Monday must’ve felt like a bonanza for them as they scored three runs each in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Grant Holmes was credited with three earned runs in the fourth, Aaron Bummer got credited for the trio of runs in the fifth and then Rolddy Muñoz got dinged for three runs over the two innings of work that he put in.

It seemed like there was going to be a slugfest coming based on what happened in that fourth inning as Atlanta responded to Miami’s flurry with a three-run rally of their own. They were unable to match the second three-run volley that Miami offered, as they could only muster up one more run in the fifth and that was it as far as the scoring was concerned for the Braves. Again, when you consider how both the Braves and the Marlins looked over their past three games before this one, respectively, this was just one of those nights that baseball loves to provide us all!

Tuesday, April 14

Braves 6, Marlins 5

At first, it sure looked like we were heading towards a disappointing repeat of the events that took place on Monday night. The Marlins got to Reynaldo López early and plated four runs at his expense across the first two innings to get things going. The good news is that Reynaldo ended up fighting through those struggles to finish up with five innings under his belt — something that ended up being crucial as his stint ended up helping to keep the Braves right in it as they attempted to claw their way out of another hole.

Dominic Smith got things going for the Braves in this one with an RBI single in the second (you’ll be hearing more from him, later) and then Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson went back-to-back with two-out doubles in order to make it a one-run game. It stayed 4-3 all the way until the eighth inning, which is when this game got really interesting. It sure started inauspiciously for the Braves, as the Marlins got what looked like an insurance run after picking up three straight singles off of Robert Suarez.

Then it was Atlanta’s turn to respond and boy, did they ever respond. Drake Baldwin led off the frame with a single and then the two-run magic began shortly after that. Mike Yastrzemski and Ozzie Albies joined Baldwin on the basepaths with a single and HBP, respectively. That set the stage for another Big Dominic Smith Moment and the big guy delivered in dramatic fashion. Smith hit an opposite-field line drive into the gap in left-center for a bases-clearing double that turned a two-run deficit into a one-run lead. Raisel Iglesias entered in the ninth and promptly sat down all three Marlins batters in short order to ensure that the Braves came away from this one with a memorable win.

Wednesday, April 15

Braves 6, Marlins 3

Folks, Bryce Elder just keeps making it happen. We really have to give it to the Guardians, apparently, because they’re the only team that’s figured out a way to even get a scratch on Elder so far. The Marlins certainly tried but they ended up failing as Elder sat down seven Miami batters on strikes and only gave up four hits and two walks. The Marlins just could not get a serious handle on what Elder was serving up. Elder now has an ERA of 0.77 through four starts — just like every single last one of us predicted coming into this season, right?

Thanks to some early runs and another big late-game flurry of offense, the Braves had a firm grasp on this game — for the most part. An Ozzie Albies long ball and another big RBI knock from Mauricio Dubón made it a 2-0 game in the second inning and then Atlanta added on four more runs across the sixth and the seventh innings. Austin Riley finally hit his first dinger of the season in the sixth inning, which was truly a sight for sore eyes. Drake Baldwin added on an RBI single in the seventh and then Matt Olson added another big fly to his tally to put the Braves ahead 6-0 at that point.

Remember when I said that the Braves had a firm grasp on this game for the most part? There was a slight wobble in the eighth inning when Osvaldo Bido ended up with three runs on his record. Fortunately, Robert Suarez was able to clean up the mess with a double play ball and then Raisel Iglesias finished things off to seal away another series win for the Braves.

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I mentioned the standings in the opener for this series recap and while it’s always a perilous exercise to look at the standings this early in the season, it makes for really beautiful viewing at the moment. It’s not just the NL East, either — it’s the entire NL as a whole. While the Dodgers are currently off to the races doing Dodgers stuff that we all expected the Dodgers to be busy doing, the Braves aren’t that far behind them at 12-7 at the moment. The run differential is also a very lovely +44 as well. When you compare that to the rest of the NL East, it is night and day — the Marlins have the next-best run differential in the NL East at +2, and Atlanta’s next opponents are currently sitting on a run differential of -25.

Those opponents, of course, are the Philadelphia Phillies. While it’s just about impossible to make any grand statements about series taking place in April, it sure would feel nice to see the Braves keep this run of series wins going by going up to Philly and making that run differential just a little bit worse and getting even more of a gap going in the early portion of the season. It’s certainly a whole lot easier of a task to talk about than to actually do but with the way that this team is currently going at the moment, it’s tough to bet against the form that the Braves are in.

The confidence in the Braves’ clubhouse following this series against the Marlins has to be pretty high as well. The Marlins gave them a very good shot and honestly had the Braves on the mat during the first half of this series. However, the furious comeback in the second game led to a cool, calm and composed series win in the finale. It’s a vibe that’s similar to things felt for this ballclub not all that long ago. With standout performances from Dominic Smith, Bryce Elder, Matt Olson and more, it sure seems like the contributions are coming from enough sources that things feel somewhat sustainable.

Either way, I think we’re all rooting for this series-winning streak to keep rolling indefinitely. Keep banking those wins and keep things rolling for as long as possible, please!

Reminder: I’m on vacation all this week and will be a little briefer than usual this week. Thanks for your patience.

The Cubs offense has showing some serious signs of life. It’s now 53 runs over eight and if we drop the high and the low, it’s 42 over six. Or if you prefer, it’s 62 over 10. Any one of those slices is a very good one. They’ve scored the sixth most runs in baseball now. But it bears repeating, the start of this season is a weird one. The Astros have slipped to second most runs scored and they have a bottom six record in baseball.

The key to this team is going to be finding a groove on run prevention. They have a deceptively large margin of error though. This defense can be special. They need guys that throw strikes and manage contact. I mean everyone looks for guys with really elite stuff. You should always be searching high and low for those. But an old fashioned Kyle Hendricks would be in heaven with this team. The old championship core was good, but I don’t think anyone could credibly argue this team isn’t better. Javy Báez, Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward were truly elite fielders. But this team flashes elite ability at five positions. The eye test says that Michael Busch is pretty good too.

On Wednesday night Shōta Imanaga was terrific again. If early metrics are any indication, he might be in store for his best year as a Cub. The strikeouts are up and the walks down. That is always going to be a great sign for a pitcher. He and Edward Cabrera look really good in the early going. If Colin Rea can be relatively dependable, the rotation is functional. Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad can fill out the rotation, mixing some good and bad starts with a lot of veteran experience. Hopefully, in the not super distant future, Justin Steele becomes an option and Matthew Boyd returns healthy.

Eighteen games in, the Cubs are two games out of first place, but only a half game behind the team that I think most of us think is their primary competition. Don’t play yourself out of contention in April. Half way there and on track to accomplish that one simple goal.

Three Positives:

• It’s hard to find enough positive words for Nico Hoerner’s start to the season. Three more hits, one a homer, five runs driven in and two scored. He also stole a base. He was involved in six of the 11 runs scoring.
• Imanaga threw six innings allowing just three hits and a walk against a very potent Phillies lineup. I know most of you only root for or pay significant attention to the Cubs, but imagine yourself a Phillies fan. You just allowed 21 runs over two very non-competitive losses. They have a 28-year-old starter with a 7.94 ERA over 22.2 IP.
• Dansby Swanson also had three hits, one a homer. Two runs driven in and two scored.

Honorable mention to Matt Shaw pounding lefty pitching with three doubles.

Game 18, April 15: Cubs 11, Phillies 2 (9-9)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Nico Hoerner (.315). 3-5, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, SB
• Hero: Shōta Imanaga (.163). 6 IP, 3 H, BB, ER, 11 K, WP (W 1-1)
• Sidekick: Matt Shaw (.118). 3-4, 3 2B, 3R, 2 RBI

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Ian Happ (-.081). 0-4
• Goat: Michael Busch (-.044). 0-5
• Kid: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.028). 2-4

WPA Play of the Game: The game was tied in the third inning when a wild pitch scored Alex Bregman from third to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. (.219)

*Phillies Play of the Game: Trea Turner led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer. (.097).

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 17 Winner: Colin Rea 74-68 over Hoerner (197 votes)

Up Next: Off day Thursday. The Cubs host the 7-12 Mets this weekend. Edward Cabrera (1-0, 1.62, 16.2 IP) gets the start for the Cubs. Kodai Senga (0-2, 7.07, 14 IP) is off to a rough start right along with the Mets as a whole. This will be the first of 13 straight scheduled games for the Cubs before the next off day. That will take us to the end of April.

Let’s take at least two out of three and keep momentum.

Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (10-7) lost 9-8 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land got on the board in the first inning on an Alexander solo home run. Fleury got the start and allowed one unearned run over 2.2 innings. He was relieved by McLoughlin who allowed 3 runs and then Maldonado who allowed 3 runs as well. The offense picked up 3 runs in the third inning on a Winkler RBI single and Alexander 2 run home run. Winkler added a solo home run in the 5th. Sugar Land battled back to tie it getting an Unroe RBI double in the 8th and Strahm RBI single in the 9th as the game went to extra innings. In the 12th, Strahm gave Sugar Land the lead but in the bottom of the inning, the Bees got a 2 run double from Moore as they walked it off.

Note: Winkler is hitting .311 this season.

• James Nelson, LF: 1-for-6, R, 2B
• Jack Winkler, 2B: 3-for-6, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI
• CJ Alexander, RF: 3-for-6, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI
• Carlos Perez, C: 2-for-4, 2B
• Collin Price, DH: 2-for-4, 2B, BB
• Cavan Biggio, 1B: 1-for-5, BB
• Kellen Strahm, CF: 3-for-6, 2 RBI
• Jax Biggers, SS: 1-for-5, R, BB
• Riley Unroe, 3B: 1-for-6, 2B, RBI

• Jose Fleury, RHP: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• Trey McLoughlin, RHP: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Anthony Maldonado, RHP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• Alimber Santa, RHP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Roddery Munoz, RHP: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Jayden Murray, RHP: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• Logan VanWey, RHP: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

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AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (6-5) won 10-5 (BOX SCORE)

The Hooks jumped out to an early lead scoring 2 runs on a Janek RBI double and a run on a wild pitch. They picked up 4 more runs in the 3rd inning on a Ferreras sac fly, Baez RBI single, Sacco RBI single and a run on a balk. In the 4th, Sullivan and Bush connected on solo home runs to extend the lead. Mayer got the start and pitched well tossing 4 scoreless innings while striking out 7. The pen allowed five runs but in the 8th, the offense got two more on a Sullivan RBI single and Spence sac fly. Chirinos closed it out with a scoreless 9th inning as the Hooks won 10-5.

Note: Bush has a 1.091 OPS this season.

• Joseph Sullivan, CF: 2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• Lucas Spence, RF: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB
• Walker Janek, DH: 1-for-5, R, 2B, RBI
• Will Bush, C: 1-for-2, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 BB
• Trevor Austin, 3B: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB
• Pascanel Ferreras, 2B: 0-for-2, RBI, BB
• Luis Baez, 1B: 1-for-4, R, RBI
• Tommy Sacco, SS: 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB, SB
• Tyler Whitaker, LF: 1-for-4, R

• Bryce Mayer, RHP: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
• Nic Swanson, RHP: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (WIN)
• Derek True, RHP: 1.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Amilcar Chirinos, RHP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (SAVE)

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A+: Asheville Tourists (4-7) won 14-7 (BOX SCORE)

Asheville jumped out to an early lead scoring 4 runs in the first on a Thomas solo HR, Schiavone 2 run HR and Hernandez RBI single. In the 4th, Batista added a 2 run double. The offense continued to add one in the 5th with Thomas driving in two more runs with a single. Santos started for Asheville and was solid allowing 2 runs over 5 innings of work. Serrano relieved Santos and allowed 5 runs, but the offense continued to pour it on getting a Frey RBI double in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th on a Hernandez 2 run triple and Thomas RBI groundout. The pitching held on for the 14-7 win.

Note: Thomas has a .935 OPS this season.

• Justin Thomas, RF: 3-for-6, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI
• Alejandro Nunez, 2B: 1-for-6, R, 2B
• Ethan Frey, CF: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB
• Jason Schiavone, C: 1-for-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• Freuddy Batista, 1B: 3-for-6, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI
• Narbe Cruz, DH: 2-for-5
• Kyle Walker, SS: 2-for-5, R
• Cesar Hernandez, LF: 4-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Alberto Hernandez, 3B: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI

• Yeriel Santos, RHP: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (WIN)
• Jose Serrano, RHP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Colby Langford, LHP: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

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A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (2-9) lost 6-5 (BOX SCORE)

The Woodpeckers jumped out to an early lead scoring a run in the first on a Wakefield RBI single and another in the 2nd inning on a Diaz solo home run. In the 4th, Diaz connected on a 2 run home run to extend the lead. Potter got the start and pitched well tossing 3 scoreless innings. He was relieved by Oakes who struggled allowing 3 runs while retiring just 2 batters. In the 6th, Huezo scored on a wild pitch for the 5th run for Fayetteville, but the GreenJackets responded with 3 in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The Woodpeckers’ offense was unable to come back as they fell 6-5.

Note: Monistere has a .929 OPS this season.

• Kevin Alvarez, CF: 2-for-5
• Xavier Neyens, 3B: 0-for-4, BB
• Nick Monistere, SS: 1-for-2, R, 2B, 2 BB
• Josh Wakefield, RF: 1-for-5, RBI
• Anthony Huezo, LF: 2-for-4, R, 2 SB
• Juan Sierra, DH: 1-for-4, R
• Camilo Diaz, DH: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB,

• Nick Potter, RHP: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• Kellan Oakes, RHP: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Jackson Wells, RHP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Jose Varela, RHP: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

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Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Peter Lambert – 7:35 CT

CC: James Hicks – 6:35 CT

AV: TBD – 5:30 CT

FV: TBD – 6:05 CT

In honor of the Philadelphia Phillies playing host to the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, we here at The Good Phight are launching a yearlong series that focuses on the history of the Phillies and the All-Star Game. Check back regularly for posts about the Phillies participation (or lack thereof) in the Midsummer Classic over its history.

It’s time once again for a look at some Phillies one-time All-Stars. However, unlike the rest of this series so far (which you cancatchup onhere) there is only one member of the 1960s Phillies who was a one-time All-Star as a member of the Phillies, and he was just under the decade threshold.

Grant Jackson, 1969

In 1942, Grant Jackson was born as one of nine children to Joseph and Luella Jackson in Fosteria, Ohio. He was a strong athlete from an early age, lettering in football, baseball, and track during his time in high school. Unfortunately, Jackson’s family was not very well off financially, and their situation worsened when his father passed away following a heart attack in 1960 at the age of 52. That forced Jackson’s older brother and biology teacher Carlos to assume the role of the father figure in his life and help support the family. Jackson finished high school in 1961 but did not have the grades to qualify for an athletic scholarship to Bowling Green University.

That’s when he decided to take a long shot and reach out to the most famous resident of his hometown, Tony Lucadello, who also just so happened to be a scout for the Phillies. Lucadello would wind up being responsible for numerous players signing with the Phillies, including Mike Schmidt, Fergie Jenkins, and Mickey Morandini. But in 1961, Lucadello decided to give the 18-year-old Jackson a shot, as the Phillies signed the small 6-foot, 180-pound pitcher to a contract worth just $1,500. But Jackson needed the money to help his family, so he accepted. Shortly after, Jackson was introduced to the cruel realities of baseball in the time before high school players had agents, as he discovered just two days after signing with the Phillies that the Milwaukee Braves were prepared to offer him $35,000.

In any case, Jackson’s pro career started in 1962 when he was just 19 years old with the Bakersfield Bears of the California League. Jackson would spend the next two seasons there before eventually earning a promotion Triple-A in 1965 to Arkansas. Jackson, an African American, was walking into a very hostile environment in Little Rock as described by Arkansas teammate Fergie Jenkins. Jenkins described the racial climate by saying “things were tenser, more overt in Arkansas” and describing incidents where players would leave games to find their cars vandalized with racial epithets.

Jackson was not long for Arkansas though, as the Phillies made him a September call-up and he made his major league debut on September 3rd, 1965, on the road against the Cincinnati Reds. He entered in the bottom of the fifth with two on and no outs, relieving Phillies starter Ray Kulp who left with a 6-3 lead but traffic on the bases. Jackson struck out the first two hitters he faced in Tony Pérez and Deron Johnson, but he then allowed a three-run homer to Frank Robinson that tied the game at 6-6. Jackson would go on to pitch two innings and be charged with the loss as the Reds mounted a ferocious late offensive barrage to win 17-6.

The 22-year-old Jackson went on to appear in six total games his rookie year including two starts. He allowed 11 runs and four home runs in just 13.2 innings, but he also struck out 15 to flash his potential. Jackson began 1966 with the team but was demoted after just two relief appearances, except this time the Phillies Triple-A affiliate was in San Diego instead of Little Rock. That’s where he would stay for the rest of 1966, going 10-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 23 starts. Jackson made the MLB team in 1967 and stayed there all season, but only appeared in 43 games with four starts.

But then Phillies manager Gene Mauch was fired early into the 1968 season, paving the way for Bob Skinner to take control of the ballclub. Skinner was able to help Jackson correct a mechanical flaw in his delivery by speeding him up on the mound. The change worked, as Jackson had his best season in the majors to that point with a 2.95 ERA in 61 innings across 33 games and six starts. It was enough for Skinner to name Jackson the fifth starter in his rotation entering the 1969 season. Some in the media were incredulous about the idea that Jackson, who was still only 26-years-old, had finally figured it out. As Bill Conlin wrote in the Philadelphia Daily News, the Jackson story “was written every spring training about this time and is a story filled with hope,” calling Jackson “wild as a Filmore Auditorium Rock concert and as undisciplined as a Berkley student.” Jackson had remarked that “People ask me if this is a now or never year, I tell them it’s going to be a now year. I’ve had my last never year. This is going to be my year.”

Despite Conlin’s disbelief in Jackson’s talk, the lefty backed it up and then some. The 1969 Phillies finished with 99 losses, but Jackson excelled in his first real chance at being a major league starting pitcher. He was 9-10 with a 3.32 ERA in the first half of the season, earning him a nomination to the NL All-Star team for the contest to take place July 23rd at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. However, despite being the Phillies only representative at the midsummer classic, Jackson did not appear in the game as the NL went on to win 9-3 in large part thanks to two home runs from Willie McCovey of the Giants.

Jackson finished his All-Star season with a 14-18 record and a 3.34 ERA across 253 innings pitched with 180 strikeouts. It appeared he had finally proven himself as a pitcher, but he regressed mightily in 1970 and finished with a 5.29 ERA while having disputes with new manager Frank Lucchesi. The Phillies then finally gave up on Jackson, sending him to Baltimore in December 1970 in a package that included Sam Parilla and Jim Hutto in exchange for top outfield prospect Roger Freed who had just won MVP of the International League.

It was the best thing for Jackson’s career, as he never again had a losing record and totaled a 3.09 ERA in 538 appearances over his next 12 seasons of his career, including the 1979 season when he won the World Series as a member of the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates. Jackson had a pivotal impact in Game 7, entering a 1-0 game in the fifth inning and delivering 2.2 hitless innings of relief and earning the win to collect his first championship in three tries over the last decade. Freed meanwhile would play two seasons in Philadelphia and hit .222 in 191 games.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com

Maxwell Cates, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Biography for Grant Jackson

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 2nd, 1961

Stan Hochman, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 15th, 1967

Allen Lewis, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 7th, 1967

Bill Conlin, Philadelphia Daily News, March 11th, 1969

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 17th, 1970

The Cincinnati Reds (11-7) will try to complete a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants (6-12). The Giants have lost four overall, including the first two games of their series with the Reds. Starting pitchers are Landen Roupp for San Francisco and Chase Burns for Cincinnati.

How to watch San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds

• Date: Thursday, April 16

• Time: 12:40 p.m. ET / 9:40 a.m. PT

• Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH

• TV Channels: Reds.TV, NBCS BA

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• San Francisco Giants: 6-12 (No. 5 in NL West)

• Cincinnati Reds: 11-7 (No. 1 in NL Central)

Odds

• Spread: Cincinnati Reds -1.5

• Moneyline: Cincinnati Reds -125 (53.2%) / San Francisco Giants +105 (46.8%)

• Over/Under: 8.5

Starting pitchers

San Francisco Giants: Landen Roupp (2-1, ERA: 3.24, K: 18, WHIP: 1.14)
Cincinnati Reds: Chase Burns (1-1, ERA: 3.31, K: 18, WHIP: 1.29)

Weather: 74°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 43,891 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

The Royals are averaging just 3.11 runs-per-game, second-fewest in baseball. They have scored three runs or less in 12 of their 18 matchups so far.

But for long-time Royals fans, this is just business as usual. If the calendar reads April, that means taxes are due, Midwestern showers are common, and the Royals are leaving goose eggs on the scoreboard.

#Royals are consistently way behind their xBA on hard hit balls every April.. also in September 2024 pic.twitter.com/egO3NTX7CM

— Brandon H. (@BHIndepMO) April 15, 2026

The Royals have scored fewer runs-per-game than the American League average in all but four seasons since 2007. But that shouldn’t be too surprising – the Royals have typically had a below-average offense. So I wanted to look at how the Royals performed in all months compared to the league average. Below is a chart that shows how much better or worse the Royals fared in runs-per-game compared to the AL average – 10% means they scored ten percent more runs than the average AL team, -10% means they score ten percent fewer runs than the average AL team. I also color-coded things to make it easier to scan – light blue means the Royals did 0-10% better than league average, and dark blue means they did over 10% better. Light red means they did 0-10% worse than league average, and dark red means they did over 10% worse.

If you think April is a bad month for the Royals, wait until May and June, it typically gets worse! The Royals have had some epic slumps in May. In 2014, they collectively hit .246/.300/.339 as a team, dropping 17 of 29 games. The team demoted Mike Moustakas and reassigned hitting coach Pedro Grifol in May. It was the second consecutive year the Royals had fired their hitting coach before the month of June, having reassigned Jack Maloof in May of 2013 after he suggested the team wasn’t hitting because of Kauffman Stadium.

And Royals fans have become familiar with the June swoon. The team dropped 20 of 26 in June of 2023, on their way to 106 losses. Last year’s June probably cost them a playoff spot – they lost 18 of 26 including series sweeps at the hands of the Athletics and Rays, and were shut out five times that month.

When do Royals hitters typically perform? They have fared well in August, particularly in 2013-15, when they made runs at a playoff spot. But often they also perform well in September, often when the team has been eliminated from contention.

Why do the Royals always seem to get off to a slow start offensively, only to get going as the summer warms up? I had a few theories.

The weather

Spring weather in the Midwest can be temperamental. It can be 80s degrees one day, and 40 degrees the next. Plus the Royals often make early season visits to chilly burbs like Minneapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit.

According to Baseball Reference, the Royals have had 101 games since 2007 played with a first-pitch temperature of 50 degrees or less. They average 3.84 runs in those games, a bit lower than their average of 4.20 in all games over that time. That’s about five games per season, so not nothing, but not likely to make a large impact. According to a 2013 study published by Weather, Climate, and Society found that Kauffman Stadium actually has fewer overall “cold” games than Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The wind could be a different story. But according to Baseball Reference, the Royals have only had 36 games since 2007 where the wind was greater than 15 mph and blowing in – interestingly only five were at home.

Spring training hangover

We are very familiar with Royals hitters raking in the warm, dry air of Arizona, then having the bats go completely limp once the regular season begins. While weather may not be a direct culprit, moving from the desert climate of Arizona to a much more damp spring Midwestern climate could be a difficult adjustment for hitters. Pitchers are said to be ahead of hitters to begin the year, although the Royals seem to struggle more than other teams early in the year.

Roster construction

The Royals are a small market team that commonly has to rely on a few proven stars, with some question marks to fill out the lineup. Some years that may mean hoping a young hitter like MJ Melendez figures it out, or it may mean banking on a career rebound from a veteran like Lane Thomas. Sometimes it works, but more often it does not, and the lineup has precious little depth. The Royals are typically able to make mid-season adjustments – a callup from the minors, a trade to bring in more depth. Last summer, the Royals were able to significantly improve the lineup by simply jettisoning dead weight like Melendez and Hunter Renfroe, and adding solid, but unspectacular veterans like Adam Frazier, Mike Yastrzemski, and Randal Grichuk.

Coaching

Coaching does matter, although its direct impacts can be difficult to ascertain, particularly now when so many players seek counsel outside the organization. If hitters are unprepared to begin the year, they may struggle. By late summer, a good hitting coach has identified mechanical flaws, opponents have tipped tendencies, and experienced hitters have settled into routines.

In 2014, the Royals hit .253/.308/.352, averaging 3.86 runs-per-game when they fired hitting coach Pedro Grifol. They hit .267/.316/.388 afterward, averaging 4.09 runs-per-game. It is impossible to say whether replacement hitting coach Dale Sveum made the impact, or if the personnel change was the shakeup the hitters needed to wake them out of their funk.

Of course, the simplest explanation is often the right one. The Royals have finished in the upper half of the American League in runs scored just three times since 2007. It may be that the Royals just haven’t been a very good offensive team. April doesn’t make them worse. It just makes them exactly who they are, before the calendar has had enough time to obscure it. Moving in the fences hasn’t changed things yet. The Royals still have a flawed offense that is mired in yet another spring slump.

The Kansas City Royals (7-11) and Detroit Tigers (9-9) close out their three-game series. The Tigers have won the first two games, each by a score of 2-1. Kansas City has scored more than two runs only once in its past eight games. Starting pitchers are Kris Bubic for Kansas City and Keider Montero for Detroit.

How to watch Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers

• Date: Thursday, April 16

• Time: 1:10 p.m. ET / 10:10 a.m. PT

• Where: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI

• TV Channels: Detroit SportsNet, Royals.TV

• Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Team records

• Kansas City Royals: 7-11 (No. 4 in AL Central)

• Detroit Tigers: 9-9 (No. 3 in AL Central)

Odds

• Spread: Detroit Tigers 1.5

• Moneyline: Detroit Tigers -110 (50.0%) / Kansas City Royals -110 (50.0%)

• Over/Under: 8

Starting pitchers

Kansas City Royals: Kris Bubic (2-1, ERA: 2.50, K: 23, WHIP: 0.83)
Detroit Tigers: Keider Montero (1-1, ERA: 1.74, K: 10, WHIP: 0.68)

Weather: 70°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 41,083 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

Team News

Del Castillo punctuates D-backs’ strong trip with go-ahead HR in 10th
“They’re winning players with a winning attitude,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “There’s good leadership on this team. There’s a good culture. The leaders carry the torch here and they don’t want to let bad things happen, and they address it right on the spot.”

https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/adrian-del-castillo-go-ahead-homer-5-rbis-d-backs-win

Adrian Del Castillo hits game-winning home run as Diamondbacks win series over Orioleshttps://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/orioles-series/3617937/

ADC YOU LATER. pic.twitter.com/EZbFkibYK8

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 15, 2026

Diamondbacks Win Wild Back-and-Forth Game vs Orioles in Extra Innings
https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-win-wild-back-forth-game-orioles-extra-innings

Diamondbacks road trip takeaways: 3 series wins leads to successful triphttps://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/road-trip-takeaways/3617950/

What D-backs’ Huge Series Win vs Orioles Told Us — And What it Didn’thttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/d-backs-huge-series-win-orioles

The Diamondbacks Made the Perfect Pitching Decision — For Nowhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-perfect-pitching-decision-pfaadt-soroka

Diamondbacks Infielder Reaches Franchise-Record Hit Streak vs Orioleshttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-infielder-franchise-record-ildemaro-vargas

Other Baseball

Dodgers smashed MLB’s spending record at $515M in 2025https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48502875/dodgers-smashed-mlb-spending-record-515m-2025

Sources: MLBPA fires COO, human resources head with causehttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48498255/sources-mlbpa-fires-coo-human-resources-head-cause

MLB, Twins investigating after Red Sox’s Jarren Duran alleges heckling fan told him to kill himself

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/mlb-twins-investigating-after-red-soxs-jarren-duran-alleges-heckling-fan-told-him-to-kill-himself-215156398.html

Tigers Extend Kevin McGonigle

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/04/tigers-kevin-mcgonigle-extension.html

Elder K’s 7, lowers ERA to 0.77 with brilliant scoreless start
https://www.mlb.com/news/bryce-elder-scoreless-start-in-series-finale-vs-marlins

Reds rookie Stewart stays hot with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs (all in first 2 innings!)https://www.mlb.com/news/sal-stewart-has-multihomer-game-vs-giants

Merrill magic strikes twice! Fresh off HR robbery, young star caps wild rally with walk-offhttps://www.mlb.com/padres/news/jackson-merrill-hits-walk-off-double-as-padres-win-vs-mariners

JACKSON MERRILL ROBS JULIO RODRÍGUEZ OF A HOMER! pic.twitter.com/ZMWtLlmhjC

— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2026

This is the Padres’ first win when trailing by 4+ runs entering the 9th since 6/14/19, which was won in extras

First win for them when trailing by 4+ runs entering ninth AND won it in nine since 9/9/17 https://t.co/gCzFrvldCV

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 16, 2026

If you’re curious for tomorrow for Mike Trout:

no visiting player has homered on four straight days at the Yankees

The only player to homer in 4 straight games within a series at NYY is 1972 John Mayberry, over 3 days due to doubleheaders https://t.co/vtxIF2M0AG

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 16, 2026

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-16

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/April_16

China originated paper making.

The first papermaking process was documented during the 25-220 CE (Eastern Han period). At some point during the 8th century, Chinese papermaking spread to the Islamic world which later on was used as a method of making paper currency. 

Abraham Lincoln was a wrestling champion.

Before taking a seat at the office, Abraham Lincoln was once known as a great wrestler and has won many awards from his time in the ring. One of his most famous matches was with his rival Jack Armstrong. 

A shrimp’s heart is in its head.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you can’t choose between following your head or your heart? Well, it seems shrimp have an evolutionary advantage when it comes to tough decisions. Kidding aside, one of the fun facts about shrimps is that their hearts are literally in their heads. Specifically, it is found in the thorax just behind the head – but they are covered in the same shell segment.

Monday night’s zany 11-10 walk-off win over the Angels will be remembered for the offensive heroics of both lineups far more than any pitching performance. However, there was a sequence from Will Warren right before his start got turned on its head that caught my eye. So, I’d like to share what I felt was a good illustration of the growth Warren achieved over the offseason in terms of stuff but also sequencing.

We join Warren in the top of the third with the Yankees already winning, 4-0, courtesy of a pair of two-run home runs by Aaron Judge and José Caballero. Warren is coasting to this point, only Jo Adell having reached on a hit-by-pitch. Warren’s collected a pair of quick outs in the frame on a Logan O’Hoppe groundout and Adam Frazier strikeout, but has to face the top of the order for the second time.

Warren has already struck out Zach Neto to open the contest — making him look silly on a sweeper down and away (though it did require a nine-pitch battle). In the first encounter he started Neto with a first-pitch sinker in on the hands that Neto swung through, so Warren feels he can achieve a similar result with a first-pitch four-seamer in the same location.

Similar pitch and an even more painful outcome, Neto fouling this pitch off his front foot and collapsing in a heap of pain.

After a result like that, the hitter might become a little gun-shy against future pitches inside. Warren leverages that hesitation with a front-door sweeper trying to steal a called strike two.

This is perfect execution of his pitch, Warren landing this sweeper right on the corner down and in. You can see Neto flinch slightly as it appears this pitch is heading right for his front kneecap and gives up early, only for the sweeper’s foot-and-a-half of horizontal break to bend it into the zone at the last moment. You don’t always want to throw your sweeper for strikes, but this is an encouraging development from Warren to be able to command this pitch to the corner rather than pigeonholing himself into throwing the sweeper only for chase.

In the blink of an eye, Warren is in the driver’s seat, 0-2. He has a wealth of options available to him — fastball above the zone, sweeper off the plate away, or he can even go back inside with a pitch running towards the hitter and away from the barrel. Warren elects the latter option given the success he’s had busting Neto inside so far.

Another excellent pitch from Warren, this sinker running viciously in on Neto’s hands. Neto is barely able to nub it foul with the handle of his bat to stay alive.

After three straight pitches inside, Warren has the situation perfectly set up to get Neto to chase a breaking ball down and away.

This is just a filthy pitch. The sweeper looks like a fastball down Broadway out of the hand, only to take a sharp left hand turn. Neto waves weakly at the pitch, his bat nowhere near making contact to give Warren five strikeouts through the first three innings. You might wonder why Neto is swinging at a pitch that ends up so far off the plate away. Not only is the command of this individual pitch just as Warren intended, it comes out of almost exactly the same tunnel as the sinker that immediately preceded it, a pitch that Neto also swung at. It’s truly the perfect two-pitch sequence given all the other pitches Warren had thrown Neto to this point.

Will Warren sinker, sweeper overlay pic.twitter.com/YzikY2kMSm

— Peter Brody (@PBrods7) April 16, 2026

Here’s the full sequence:

For as smoothly as Warren’s outing was going up until this point, it was abruptly derailed an inning later. The leadoff error by José Caballero certainly didn’t help, but you can’t let four of the next six hitters to reach the minute you encounter the first inconvenience of your start. That being said, I think we can still acknowledge the excellence of Warren’s first three innings this game. Warren recorded strikeouts on four different pitches — four-seamer, sinker, sweeper, and changeup — which to me is an encouraging sign given I feel he can become a little over-reliant on his four-seamer and sweeper in two-strike counts. I liked that he varied his approach with the sweeper, throwing it for called strikes and chase, and I though he tunneled pitches well on a handful of occasions. Obviously, the biggest adjustment is to not let a single moment derail his entire start, maturation in that department one of the keys in taking him from an MLB starter with question marks to a legitimate middle-of-the-rotation arm.

Hello, friends.

The Orioles are back down to .500. Monday’s exciting comeback win availed them of absolutely zero momentum, even though Trevor Rogers was the next day’s starting pitcher and Kyle Bradish was the guy the day after that. They lost an annoying one to the Diamondbacks yesterday to close out the homestand. Check out my recap of the extra innings 8-5 loss for more of the not-so-lovely totals.

For me, there were two stories of the game. One played out all through the game, and that was the outfield defense. An alignment that any idiot could have looked at and thought, “Hmm, I’m not sure that’s going to work” did not work. You cannot get by with a corner outfield consisting of Weston Wilson and Johnathan Rodríguez with a center field manned by Blaze Alexander. Maybe you could deal with one of those things at a time, but all three was asking too much and the O’s paid the price for it.

The other story is Tyler Wells, who has not been up to snuff in high-leverage innings so far this season. I thought he’d be able to do it. I figured the Orioles would be okay with him in the eighth inning. It’s not happening, or at least not so far. After yesterday’s 10th inning clunker, his ERA is up over 5 for the season. That’s barely worth having him as the guy who comes in the fifth inning when the starter got knocked out early by injury or ineffectiveness, let alone putting him in any kind of leverage spot.

Maybe Wells can turn it around. It’s early to give up on anybody. But the team can’t afford to have him out there in crucial situations like this. I think the Orioles know this. There’s a reason Wells didn’t come in until the tenth inning. The only guys left in the bullpen were Rico Garcia, who had pitched the two previous days and was probably unavailable, and Albert Suárez, who based on his own early-season struggles is below Wells on the depth chart. Yesterday’s game played out in a way that there was no hiding Wells and he showed us all why they were trying to hide him.

Cleveland awaits next. This is another team on the pile that’s hovering at or just around .500 so far this season. The Guardians are fresh off losing two out of three to the Cardinals. We don’t really know a lot about who’s for real and who isn’t yet. Anybody might fix some of their problems and anybody might have their problems continue or get worse. The 2026 season story continues at 6:10 Eastern tonight.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

“There’s no running away from it”: Wells on extra-innings loss (Baltimore Baseball)
“I asked for the fire,” said Wells on expressing that in spring training he said he wanted the leverage situations. He has been falling short, he knows. Can he fix it? Always the question.

Gunnar Henderson aims to curb frustration, says emotion has “just been me” (The Baltimore Sun)
There’s a fine line between being a “fiery competitor” and being an on tilt mess. Henderson is trying to stay on the right side of the line. He could help by working on his two-strike approach this season.

The Orioles can learn a lot from Samuel Basallo’s stint as everyday catcher. So can he. (The Baltimore Banner)
It would have been better if the Orioles didn’t have to find out in these circumstances, but here we are in them so hopefully he can make the best of them.

Mountcastle on frustration of fractured foot (School of Roch)
Ryan Mountcastle scootered along to speak with Orioles media before yesterday’s game and among the remarks confirmed that he suffered the broken bone in his foot while running between first and second base. What a freak injury.

For the first time since 2019, Frederick hosted a game as an Orioles affiliate (Steve on Baseball)
Orioles prospect expert checked in from the scene of the first Keys home game of the year. The affiliate has an exciting roster as their season begins – though who knows how long that will last before the strong performers start getting promoted.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

In their 18th game last year, the Orioles beat the Guardians, 6-2, to move to 8-10 for the season. Tomoyuki Sugano got the win while pitching seven innings with two runs allowed. Each of Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn, and Heston Kjerstad homered in the game, with O’Hearn’s homer driving in three runs.

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2017-20 reliever Richard Bleier, and 1972-73 catcher Sergio Robles. Today is Robles’s 80th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Revolutionary War loser Henry Clinton (1730), aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright (1867), actor Charlie Chaplin (1889), author Kingsley Amis (1922), actor Martin Lawrence (1965), singer-songwriter Selena (1971), and actress Anya Taylor-Joy (1996).

On this day in history…

In 1746, Jacobite rebels in Scotland supporting the so-called Stuart Pretender were defeated by a British army led by the Duke of Cumberland in the Battle of Culloden. One consequence of the battle was that traditional Scottish tartan kilts were banned by an act of Parliament except for those in the military.

In 1917, the exiled Vladimir Lenin returned to Russian soil, having secretly been aided in his return by Russia’s World War I enemy, Germany.

In 1945, the Soviet Army launched an assault on German positions surrounding Berlin in the Battle of Seelow Heights. Over one million Russian men were involved in the attack, outnumbering the Germans nearly 9:1, in what proved to be the start of the final offensive of the European theater of World War II.

In 1963, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned his letter from the Birmingham jail. One of my college professors summed up this letter as a response to white clergy members who asked why he was in jail, with King offering this distilled reply: “Why aren’t you in here with me?”

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 16. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!

The Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to five straight games on Wednesday night with a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. They also improved to a robust 7-1 at home so far this season.

On Thursday afternoon, the Motor City Kitties have a chance to sweep their second straight series with a win over their American League Central rivals. On the topic of the division, Detroit (9-9) is currently third in the standings, with the Minnesota Twins (11-8) and Cleveland Guardians (10-9) ahead, respectively, while the Royals (7-11) and Chicago White Sox (6-11) trail behind.

On the hill for the Tigers is right-hander Keider Montero, who has looked sharp so far in his first two starts, while the Royals send lefty Kris Bubic to the bump. The last time K.C.’s southpaw faced the Olde English D, he tossed seven innings of one-run ball on four hits and two walks while striking out nine in a 1-0 loss on June 1, 2025.

Here is a look at how the two hurlers match up on Thursday.

Detroit Tigers (9-9) vs. Kansas City Royals (7-11)

Time (ET): 1:10 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Royals Review
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 19: RHP Keider Montero (1-1, 1.74 ERA) vs. LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 2.50 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Montero	2	10.1	26.3	5.3	38.5	1.79	0.4
Bubic	3	18.0	33.8	10.3	42.1	3.20	0.4

MONTERO

BUBIC

Well, another day, another embarrassing loss to the Cubs. Jesús Luzardo got shelled, the defense was a disaster, and the bats were silent against another lefty starter. There are 144 more games to go. Take that any way you want to.

On to the links.

Phillies News:

• Alec Bohm’s struggles could be the key to more playing time for Edmundo Sosa. ($)
• Zack Wheeler struck out 9 in his latest rehab start Tuesday night. He’s getting closer to a return to the Phillies.
• MLB umpire Brock Ballou was allegedly robbed and assaulted in Center City last week.
• It’s been ten years since Vince Velasquez’ 16 strikeout game. He’s still just as confident in his fastball as ever, despite it only being 92 MPH and him being in Triple-A. ($)

MLB News:

• The Detroit Tigers are the latest to get in on the prospect extension trend, giving Kevin McGonigle an 8 year, $150M contract.
• The MLB Players Association has fired two of its top executives following an internal investigation.
• Astros starter and big NPB free agent acquisition Tatsuya Imai is having trouble adjusting to life in America on and off the field. ($)
• MLB and the Twins have launched an investigation into Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran’s claim of what a fan said to him that prompted Duran to give the fan the middle finger.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (8-9)

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 4, SYRACUSE 1 (BOX)

Christian Scott was a hard-luck loser on the night. Scott, who is making a very strong case to be the first Syracuse Met called up to the big league squad if there is a need, surrendered just two hits in his five and one third innings of work, though both hits drove in a run for the RailRiders. He struck out five and walked just one.

Offensively, the Mets just did not have it going for them. No one had more than one hit, with the only run coming on a solo home run by Nick Morabito, which made a 3-0 deficit a 3-1 deficit.

• CF Nick Morabito: 1-4, R, HR (3), RBI, K
• RF-1B Ryan Clifford: 1-4, K, E (3)
• 2B Ronny Mauricio: 0-3, E (3)
• 1B Jose Rojas: 0-1
• RF Cristian Pache: 1-3, K
• DH Christian Arroyo: 0-1, BB, K
• PH-DH Yonny Hernández: 1-2, K
• SS Vidal Bruján: 1-4, K
• LF Ji Hwan Bae: 0-2, 2 BB, K
• C Hayden Senger: 0-3, 2 K, E (1)
• 3B Jackson Cluff: 0-3, K
• RHP Christian Scott: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, L (0-2)
• LHP Alex Carrillo: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Ryan Lambert: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Joe Jacques: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (5-5)

AKRON 3, BINGHAMTON 0 / 7 (BOX)

Binghamton and Akron played a rain-shortened affair, with the game only going seven innings and having a delay that was 43 minutes longer than the two hour game time.

Binghamton’s bats simply did not show up, collecting just one hit, a Kevin Parada single in the seventh. They did walk six times, so they had some traffic on the basepaths, but one hit just is not gonna cut it.

Zach Thornton pitched well, surrendering two runs in five innings, but had no run support.

• CF A.J. Ewing: 0-2, BB, K
• SS Marco Vargas: 0-2, BB, K, SB (4)
• 3B Jacob Reimer: 0-2, BB
• 1B Chris Suero: 0-1, 2 BB, K, 2 E (2, 3)
• RF Eli Serrano III: 0-3
• C Kevin Parada: 1-3, K
• DH JT Schwartz: 0-2, BB, K
• LF Matt Rudick: 0-3, 3 K
• 2B Wyatt Young: 0-3, 2 K
• LHP Zach Thornton: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 WP, L (0-1)
• RHP Ben Simon: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (3-7)

GREENSBORO 15, BROOKLYN 4 (BOX)

Well, 15-4 is pretty self-explanatory.

The game was close in the early stages, as the Cyclones and Grasshoppers were tied at one apiece after two innings, and Brooklyn trailed 3-1 after three. It completely fell apart in the sixth inning, where Brooklyn surrendered eight runs in the frame, with Tanner Witt wearing six of them. They gave up four more in the eighth but it was over and done with by then.

• 2B Mitch Voit: 0-5, 3 K
• SS Antonio Jimenez: 1-5, R, HR, RBI, K
• DH Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-3, R, 2 BB
• 1B Corey Collins: 1-3, R, 2B, 2 BB
• C Ronald Hernandez: 1-4, RBI, BB, E
• RF John Bay: 1-3, R, 2B, BB, K
• 3B Colin Houck: 1-4, RBI, 3 K, E
• LF Vincent Perozo: 3-5, RBI
• CF Kevin Villavicencio: 1-3, BB
• RHP Channing Austin: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, L (0-1)
• RHP Cristofer Gomez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K ,2 HBP
• RHP Tanner Witt: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP
• RHP Juan Arnaud: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP
• LHP Gregori Louis: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Danis Correa: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
• RHP Trace Willhoite: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (5-6)

DAYTONA 17, ST. LUCIE 13 (BOX)

As the score would suggest, this was a wild one.

St. Lucie actually led this game handily at one point. Randy Guzman put them ahead 2-0 with a home run in the first. Elian Peña made it 3-0 with a straight steal of home, which was a really heads up play. Branny De Oleo doubled home a pair to make it 5-0 in the fourth, and they plated two more in the fifth on a Guzman triple and AJ Salgado sacrifice fly.

It all fell apart from there.

The St. Lucie bullpen surrendered five runs in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, turning a 7-0 lead into a 15-8 deficit in the blink of an eye (Sam Robertson drove in a run in the sixth but the timing of the RBI messes up the narrative flow of the 15 runs in five innings that were surrendered).

Daytona added two more in the eighth, making it 17-8. St. Lucie actually tried to answer back, coring five runs in the ninth, but the lead was insurmountable.

• SS Elian Peña: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 K, SB (5)
• 2B Sam Robertson: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, E (1)
• 1B Randy Guzman: 3-5, 3 R, 3B, 2 HR (1, 2), 5 RBI
• DH Julio Zayas: 0-5, K
• RF AJ Salgado: 1-4, R, RBI, 2 K, 2 E (1, 2)
• CF Simon Juan: 1-4, 2 R, 2 K
• LF JT Benson: 1-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• C Chase Meggers: 0-1, R, E
• C Francisco Toledo: 0-2, R, BB
• 3B Branny De Oleo: 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, E (1)
• LHP Nicolas Carreno: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 WP
• RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 1.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP
• RHP Omar Victorino: 1.0 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 WP, 2 HBP, BS (1), L (0-2)
• RHP Elwis Mijares: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• RHP Jorge De Leon: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 WP
• RHP Joe Scarborough: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-0)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Randy Guzman

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Omar Victorino

It’s the three-week anniversary of the 2026 MLB season opener, with barely 10% of the grueling season completed, and at least six weeks before anyone can adequately evaluate their team.

Yet, in the world of talk shows, social media, gambling sites and plain ol’ rancor and hostility, it’s never too early to rush to judgment and overreact, right?

So, here we are, prematurely jumping to our own conclusions, and passing out labels for the biggest surprises and disappointments of this terribly young season.

Biggest disappointment: New York Mets

Remember when David Stearns went into his chemistry lab, threw on his goggles, whipped out the glass beakers, mixed up the solutions, and decided that he found the magical formula to turn MLB’s most expensive payroll into a winner?

Well, back to the lab.

The Mets are an absolute mess. They are in last place with a 7-12 record. They have lost eight games in a row. They have scored three runs in their last 38 innings. They went down in order 15 times in the three-game series against the Dodgers. They have already been shut out five times. They have the second-lowest batting average in the National League. And they’ve had four players who have endured hitless streaks of at least 20 at-bats.

All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, their $341 million man, has one RBI. Third baseman Bo Bichette, their prized free agent with a three-year, $126 million contract, is hitting .228 with one home run and a .575 OPS. Second baseman Marcus Semien, who was swapped for Brandon Nimmo, is hitting .194 with a .526 OPS. And starters David Peterson (6.41 ERA) and Kodai Senga (7.07 ERA) have yet to win a start.

Yes, it’s ugly in Queens.

Although it’s hardly manager Carlos Mendoza’s fault, someone is going to have to take the fall if this continues much longer.

Biggest surprise: Minnesota Twins

They conducted the biggest firesale in baseball last summer since the Miami Marlins in 1997.

They slashed their payroll to $96 million, more than $100 million less than the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

They lost their ace, Pablo Lopez, who underwent Tommy John surgery the first week of spring training.

And yet, here they are, with the best record in the American League at 11-8, hitting the daylights out of the baseball, slugging 26 homers, the third-most in MLB.

They took on the American League’s finest in Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Framber Valdez and Max Scherzer in the past week, and pounded them into submission. The quartet yielded a 19.76 ERA, giving up 32 hits in 13⅔ innings. Only Valdez managed to last five innings.

Are the Twins for real?

Probably not, but certainly they’ve got everyone’s attention.

Biggest disappointment (2nd place): San Francisco Giants

They hired a new manager, signed a couple of free agents, and went into the season believing that Rafael Devers would be back to being the same guy they acquired from the Boston Red Sox last summer.

Well, three weeks in, and they are tied for the worst record in baseball, 6-12. It’s tied for their second-worst start since moving to San Francisco in 1958, and their minus-27 run differential is their third-worst in the San Francisco era.

They are last in runs, last in home runs, last in walks, last in stolen bases, and have the worst outfield production in MLB: .184 with a .222 on-base percentage and .259 slugging percentage.

They have hit only nine home runs all season, which is only one more than Jordan Walker has hit for the St. Louis Cardinals this season.

It is getting ugly in a hurry in San Francisco, where fingers already are being pointed at who to blame.

Biggest surprise (2nd place): Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals

This is the Cardinals’ young outfielder, who bounced back and forth from the minors to the big leagues the past three seasons, and was available in trade talks.

Well, what was forgotten is that he still is only 23 years old, and was probably rushed to the big leagues.

These days, he just so happens to lead all of MLB with eight home runs and a .734 slugging percentage, hitting .318.

He has more homers in 64 at-bats this year than he had in 363 at-bats a year ago (six).

Walker is the first Cardinals player to produce eight homers in his first 16 games since a future Hall of Famer by the name of Albert Pujols in 2006. Walker’s eight homers are the same Mark McGwire produced in 1998, when he broke Roger Maris’ record with 70 homers.

Biggest disappointment (3rd place): Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox believed their valued pitching depth would cover up any offensive deficiencies they had entering the year.

Well, never did they imagine they’d have five players in their lineup making the Mendoza Line look like Tony Gwynn, hitting below .200.

Their biggest blunder was their failure to re-sign third baseman Alex Bregman, and trading for Brewers rookie third baseman Caleb Durbin to replace him.

Durbin, who finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year race for the Brewers last season, is hitting .127 with a .226 on-base percentage and .164 slugging percentage, with two doubles as his only extra-base hits.

Biggest surprise (3rd place): Pittsburgh Pirates

OK, raise your hand if you thought that Pirates starters Carmen Mlodzinski (1.77 ERA), Braxton Ashcraft (2.12 ERA), Mitch Keller (2.86 ERA) and Bubba Chandler (3.86 ERA) would be pitching like this, with their defending Cy Young winner Paul Skenes (4.00 ERA) bringing up the rear.

They are tied for first place with the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central with an 11-7 record.

Yes, for the first time in a decade, they really may be for real.

Biggest disappointment (4th place): Houston Astros

The Astros kept insisting all spring their pitching would be fine, believing that even with the departure of Framber Valdez, the free-agent signing of Tatsuya Imai would certainly be a big help.

Oops.

They just came off a 1-9 three-city trip, coughing up six or more runs in seven of the games, for their worst trip since 2013. They have the worst ERA in baseball at 6.28.

They’ve also been ravaged by injuries to starters Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier, All-Star shortstop Jeremy Pena, All-Star closer Josh Hader and center fielder Jake Meyers.

Oh, and Imai, who signed a three-year, $54 million contract, has been a disaster. He is yielding a 7.27 ERA and has lasted just 8⅔ innings in three starts. He’s now on the IL, saying that his inability to adapt to the American lifestyle has caused arm fatigue. Really.

Biggest surprise (4th place): Atlanta

Their pitching staff was in shambles before the season even started.

They lost starter Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep to elbow cleanup procedures during spring training. Joey Wentz, who was expected to step into the rotation, tore his ACL. Spencer Strider went down with a strained oblique. And outfielder/DH Jurickson Profar was suspended for the season after testing positive a second time for PEDs.

Yet, here they are, sitting in first place in the NL East, producing a 2.93 ERA, the lowest by any team in the National League.

Oh, and their biggest surprise has been journeyman Dominic Smith, who signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract.

Smith is the bargain of the year, hitting .381 with three homers, 15 RBI and a 1.043 OPS.

Biggest disappointment (5th place): Jesús Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies

It was just a month ago when the Phillies, wanting to make sure Luzardo didn’t depart as a free agent, signed him to a fat five-year, $135 million contract.

Well, four starts into this season, the Phillies can’t help but wish they had waited.

Luzardo is 1-3 with an ugly 7.94 ERA, giving up 12 hits and nine runs (eight earned) in 5⅓ innings in the Phillies’ 10-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

Luzardo has given up five earned runs in three of his four starts, with the Phillies losing three times.

Biggest surprise (5th place): Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds

In the Year of the Rookie, with rookies dominating the landscape and bank accounts with record-setting extensions, there is Reds first baseman Sal Stewart.

Simply, Stewart is having the greatest start by a rookie in the last 100 years.

He is hitting .323 with four doubles, seven homers, 17 RBI, three stolen bases and 13 walks.

No rookie has achieved those numbers in an 18-game span since at least 1920, according to OptaSTATS.

Biggest disappointment (6th place): Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners

OK, so no one expected Raleigh to duplicate his surreal season of a year ago, when he hit 60 home runs, finished runner-up to AL MVP Aaron Judge, and didn't allow a single passed ball.

There was bound to be a drop-off.

Still, no one envisioned that he’d get off to this rough of a start, hitting just .151 with a .274 slugging percentage with just two home runs, striking out 28 times in 73 at-bats.

It’s awfully early, of course, but it’s a heck of a crash after a spectacular year.

Biggest surprise (6th place): Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers, a $300 million team filled with All Stars, future Hall of Famers, Gold Glove winners and Silver Sluggers, has a clear-cut MVP these first three weeks.

Yep, the only guy in the lineup who hasn’t earned at least $10 million in his career, and is the only one not earning $1 million this year.

Say hello to Pages, who is hitting .409 with five homers, 20 RBI, a .443 on-base percentage, .692 slugging percentage and 1.135 OPS.

Not bad for a guy making just $820,000.

Biggest disappointment (7th place): Colorado Rockies

They flipped the franchise upside down to turn around this dormant team.

It was a new era, they cried.

Well, three weeks into the season, and it’s the same ol’ Rockies.

They are 6-12.

They are tied for the worst record in baseball.

And yes, once again, they are on pace to lose 100 games.

Biggest surprise (7th place): Mason Miller, San Diego Padres

OK, everyone knew he was good. Really good. But this good?

It’s super-human.

He has faced 27 batters.

He has struck out 20 of them.

He hasn’t given up a hit since April 1.

He hasn’t walked a batter since Opening Day.

And he hasn’t given up an earned run since Aug. 25, 2025.

No wonder he politely declined the Padres’ offer this spring to convert to a starter.

He could become the Padres’ fourth reliever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day, joining Trevor Hoffman, Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mets highlight MLB's biggest disappointments, surprises of 2026 season

The modern Yankees are known at this point for their midseason slumps, but they also deserve credit for the late-season surges that those slumps necessitate. Last year, after going 25-27 through June and July, the club closed the season on an MLB-best 30-11 run.

That run was in part thanks to a midseason makeover that was forced by the team’s shoddy midsummer play. With the club slipping to five games back in the AL East, Brian Cashman imported seven players at the trade deadline, and though not all of them excelled in pinstripes, the stronger pickups, David Bednar, José Caballero, and Ryan McMahon, combined for over 3 rWAR, crucial contributions in a division race that came down to the final day.

As the Yankees limped through July, it was clear they needed major reinforcements, and the front office responded. It’s early days in 2026, but the Yankees have already shown their trademark inconsistency, and they again appear to have some major holes on the roster. So, do you think they will need another midseason makeover this year?

With such glaring holes in their infield at the moment, the answer to this question may seem like an obvious “Yes” to some, but let’s at least hear the optimistic case. For one, among the primary issues the Yankees had to address at last trade deadline was how left-handed heavy their lineup was, leading to the acquisitions of Amed Rosario, Caballero, and Austin Slater. In theory, this version of the team doesn’t need the same kind of augmentation, with a bench full of right-handed bats capable of stepping in against lefties (in practice, of course, the lineup has struggled thus far against southpaws).

Moreover, pitching is where so many contending teams look to add midseason, and the Yankees are loaded with it. Their starting rotation has paced the league, with Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole, and potentially Clarke Schmidt still on the way. Injuries very well may eat into the club’s depth and force them to add more arms, but should Cole and Rodón return healthy, the Yankees may be close to set on pitching. At full health, they’d have more talented arms than slots in the rotation, allowing them to address any bullpen weaknesses by shifting arms to relief, and that’s before even mentioning talented prospects like Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodríguez

That’s the optimistic case, but the more pessimistic case isn’t too hard to spell out. Ryan McMahon and Caballero have barely been playable as a starting left-side this year, and the bullpen cries out for reinforcements. Perhaps Anthony Volpe comes back healthy and productive, and maybe the Yankees’ excess of starting pitching helps them address their bullpen needs. Or, perhaps the Yankees need to find two starting caliber infielders at the deadline, and multiple capable bullpen arms, much like they did last year.

What do you think? Will another midseason roster makeover be necessary? Or will something more akin to the 2024 deadline, when the Yankees only made a couple of additions, be the path the club takes?

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On the site today, you can get caught up on Wednesday night’s AL action with Kevin’s Rivalry Roundup, and read up on a Hall of Famer you probably didn’t know play for the Yankees in Matt’s profile of Paul Waner. Also, Peter’s sequence of the week highlights some quality work from Will Warren, and Andrés reviews another shaky from Luis Gil.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, FanDuel Sports Network West

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY