Category: Baseball

Coming into Tuesday night’s game, the Cubs were third in all of MLB in hard-hit rate, trailing only the Dodgers and Rangers. Here’s what it looked like before the game:

You knew that eventually some of those hard hit balls would start falling in for hits, and that’s what happened Tuesday in Tropicana Field. The Cubs bats kept hitting baseballs hard, and many of them did drop in, leading to a 9-2 win over the Rays. The Cubs had 16 hits in the game, a season high.

The first inning went scoreless, then Dansby Swanson smacked a double to left, hard it. Check out the exit velocity:

Michael Conforto followed with this RBI single [VIDEO].

Matt Shaw scored Conforto with this double [VIDEO].

The Cubs put two more on the board in the third. Alex Bregman led off with a double and went to third on a sharp single to right by Pete Crow-Armstrong.

PCA took off for second. He was safe, and a throwing error allowed Bregman to score [VIDEO].

PCA took third on the error and scored on a sac fly by Moisés Ballesteros [VIDEO].

That was all off Rays reliever Mason Englert, who I thought was going to be used as an opener in this one — but the Rays left him in through two out in the fourth inning and 65 pitches, a career high for the right-hander. The Cubs took advantage and hit him hard. The last batter he faced, Nico Hoerner, smacked a laser of a line drive to left for a single, their seventh hit of the game in less than four innings.

A note on those back-to-back two-run innings from BCB’s JohnW53:

Going into tonight, the Cubs had scored multiple runs in just two of their last 41 innings. Then they did it twice in three innings, back-to-back.

Javier Assad breezed through the early going in this game, retiring the first 12 Rays on just 46 pitches, really efficient work. It was his usual game when he’s on, not throwing real hard, just keeping Rays hitters off balance and pounding the strike zone. Keep up this great work!

PCA was thrown out trying to steal in the fifth. That was the Cubs’ first CS of 2026 after 11 successful steal attempts this year.

Junior Caminero walked to lead off the fifth, the Rays’ first baserunner. An infield hit by Chandler Simpson broke up any thought of a no-hit bid. Assad eventually got out of the inning with a double-play ball.

In the sixth, Ballesteros led off with a single and one out later, advanced to second on a wild pitch. A walk drawn by Conforto and single by Shaw loaded the bases. Nico Hoerner then dribbled a ball up the middle that the Rays defense turned into an out with some fancy flips, but Ballesteros scored to make it 5-0 [VIDEO].

Assad was lifted with two out in the sixth and 80 pitches, having allowed one hit and two walks, with three strikeouts. He was just outstanding. Here’s more on Assad’s outing [VIDEO].

Hoby Milner relieved Assad and allowed a hit, then finished off the inning with a fly to center. More on Assad’s outing from John:

This was the 11th of Javier Assad’s 55 career starts in which he did not allow a run. The longest was 8.0 innings at Cincinnati on Sept. 2, 2023. The Cubs lost, 2-1. He pitched six innings three times, on April 2, May 5 and May 15 of 2024; 5.1 twice, in 2022 and last year; and 5.0 twice, both in 2022. The two other starts were only 4.0 and 3.1. The fewest hits in any of the previous shutout starts of at least 5.0 was four, five times. The most recent was May 15, 2024, vs. the Rockies.

PCA’s bat seemed to come alive in this game. In the seventh, he smashed his first home run of the year [VIDEO].

That was another ball hit really hard by a Cub [VIDEO].

The Cubs added another run in the eighth. Swanson led off with a single and stole second. Conforto walked, and one out later Nico singled in Dansby [VIDEO].

The Rays got on the board in the eighth with a couple of runs off Phil Maton, who has been… not good so far in a Cubs uniform. This is something that’s going to have to improve. Craig Counsell doesn’t have much of a Circle of Trust in this year’s Cubs bullpen so far. One of the runs scored literally off Maton when Ryan Vilade’s line drive hit him in the back [VIDEO].

Maton had to be relieved by Caleb Thielbar with two out and his season ERA at 13.50. That’s gotta improve.

The Cubs added two more in the ninth. PCA singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ballesteros followed with his first home run of 2026 [VIDEO].

This is the sort of offense this team is capable of. Let’s hope it shows up more often in upcoming games.

Jacob Webb, who had also struggled in his first few appearances this year, entered to throw the ninth. He walked the first hitter he faced on four pitches, then retired three in a row to end things. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

That’s the only complaint department item for this one, still a bit shaky among the middle relievers.

Once again in this game, Ballesteros showed how good he is at ABS challenges. Here, he gets a strike three call overturned [VIDEO].

As JD says on the clip, that’s a dangerous time to use a challenge — top of the second inning. But Ballesteros was correct. Ultimately he flied to left, but that made Englert throw three extra pitches. Every little bit counts. One day, Ballesteros is going to do this and it will come through for him with a key hit.

The Cubs will go for the series win Wednesday evening in St. Petersburg. Colin Rea will make his first 2026 start for the Cubs, and Joe Boyle goes for the Rays. Game time is again 5:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Columbus Clippers 14, Worcester Red Sox 10

Clippers improve to 7-3

Between 16 hits, 12 walks and two hit by pitches, Columbus scored a whopping 14 runs with 30 baserunners on Tuesday — and somehow they still needed a late rally to pull out the victory.

George Valera led the way, going 4-for-5 with two sacrifice flies and six runs batted in. (He’s ready folks).

Stuart Fairchild went 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk and a hit by pitch. Cooper Ingle reached base all six times, going 1-for-1 with four walks, a hit by pitch and three runs scored. Kody Huff reached base five times, going 2-for-3 with a triple, three walks and four runs scored.

Other standouts included Dayan Frias, who went 1-for-4 with two walks and a stolen base, Travis Bazzana who went 2-for-6 with a walk and a stolen base Petey Halpin, who went 2-for-7 with a double. Milan Tolentino had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-6.

Starting pitcher Trenton Denholm pitched reasonably well, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits in 5.0 innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk anyone.

Andrew Walters made his first rehab appearance of the season, allowing two runs on one walk and one hit in an inning. Colin Holderman was tattooed for four runs on three hits and a walk in his lone inning of work.

Also rehabbing was Hunter Gaddis, who pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Franco Aleman closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth inning.

Akron RubberDucks 12, Harrisburg Senators 13 (F/10)

RubberDucks fall to 3-1

Scoring 12 runs wasn’t enough for the Akron offense on Tuesday. Angel Genao led the way, smacking his second home run of the season, going 2-for-4 with two walks.

Also homering were Jacob Cozart, who went 2-for-5 and Alex Mooney, who went 1-for-5 with a grand slam.

Ralphy Velazquez and Alfonsin Rosario both went 2-for-6 with a pair of runs scored. Wuilfredo Antunez went 1-for-3 with two walks while Nick Mitchell went 2-for-5.

Starting pitcher Dylan DeLucia had an atrocious outing, allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on 11 hits in just 3.0 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Jay Driver chipped in 2.0 scoreless innings of relief while Zane Morehouse and Reid Johnston both gave up one run.

Alaska Abney pitched a scoreless inning and Jack Jasiak allowed the ghost runner to score with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to take the tough-luck loss.

Lake County Captains 6, Dayton Dragons 2

Captains improve to 2-2

Lake County didn’t get a ton of offense, but it was timely. Ryan Cesarini led the way, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base to lead the way offensively.

Bennett Thompson also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Jaison Chourio walked twice and stole a base while Nolan Schubart walked twice and had a sacrifice fly and Anthony Silva went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk and Aaron Walton went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

Top draft pick Jace LaViolette’s early season struggled continued, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout, although he reached base for the first time of his career with a walk.

Starting pitcher Franklin Gomez looked sensational in his Guardians system debut. He pitched 4.0 shutout innings of four-hit ball, striking out seven and walking just two.

Michael Kennedy added solid long relief with 3.0 scoreless innings, giving up two hits with three strikeouts, although he walked four.

Logan McGuire was touched up for two runs in 1.2 innings and Sean Matson picked up a one-out save

Hill City Howlers 4, Fredericksburg Nationals 9

Howlers fall to 2-2

Hill City players got on base, but no one had a particularly great game Tuesday. Dauri Fernandez, Robert Arias and Anthony Martinez all went 1-for-3 with a walk, with Arias also stealing a base.

Yelferth Castillo had the biggest hit of the game, a home run while Yaikel Mijares walked twice and stole a base.

Starting pitcher Aiden Major made his organizational debut, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 2.2 innings.

Will McCausland also gave up two runs, but impressively struck out eight batters in 3.2 frames of long relief.

The big blow came from reliever Zane Petty, who was tagged for five runs in his lone inning of work, preventing any thoughts of a comeback.

I traded my Easter ham for a hot dog last weekend to watch the Orioles take on the Pirates at PNC Park. On paper, it felt like dealing Erik Bedard for Adam Jones and a quartet of pitchers. It’s not like I was skipping Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s always a thrill to catch a game or three at the second most beautiful park in baseball.

There was a legitimate buzz in Pittsburgh leading up to the team’s home opener. A traditionally pessimistic fan base garnered some optimism with the signings of Ryan O’Hearn, Brandow Lowe, and Marcell Ozuna, but the city caught fire when the organization announced they were promoting top prospect Konnor Griffin before the first home game of the season.

The top prospect in baseball? That’s nice. Call me when you go back-to-back-to-back. Baltimore’s lineup should have featured Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Jackson Holliday, but the youngest reamined on the IL recovering from a broken hamate bone. Still, I couldn’t help but smile when the sold out crowd rose to its feet to greet the future of its franchise. Pirates fans are aching for the type of feeling Baltimore enjoyed during a 101-win season in 2023, and Orioles fans are looking to rediscover the magic.

Griffin delivered a big hit, and the Orioles failed to recover from a four-run deficit. Baltimore went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and Gregory Soto danced around a solo homer for his first save of the season. Fans talked some smack in a jovial manner as I left the park. “We’ll get you tomorrow,” I said with a grin, and the fans conceded like it was already a foregone conclusion.

That’s not what happened though. Baltimore let a two-run lead slip away with the type of defense that we all feared would rear its ugly head at some point. Coby Mayo failed to turn a double play. Anthony Nunez couldn’t corral a weak grounder, and the Pirates walked it off for their second one-run win in as many days.

I won’t waste much time on the finale. Chris Bassitt looked old and cold with temperatures in the low 50s. Craig Albernaz yelled at home plate umpire James Jean like a manager watching his team get hopelessly swept, and Jean barked back like a guy unhappy to be working on a holiday. I left the park like a guy who went to three games and all he got was a lousy opening series pin.

I was ready to air grievances like some odd combination of Easter and Festivus, but I don’t post on Monday mornings. Since then, the Orioles traveled to Chicago and clinched a series victory with a pair of close wins. They enter today with a chance of a series sweep and a return to .500. So where does that leave us?

Nothing is coming easy for this team right now. Baltimore finished 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position yesterday with 14 men left on base. The team could have coasted to a comfortable victory but instead needed its closer for a second straight day in April.

Baltimore’s early struggles are manifesting in strange ways. The team desperately needed a hit with runners in scoring position and less than two outs yesterday. Albernaz sent Ryan Mountcastle up to pinch hit in the fifth inning because he couldn’t trust Colton Cowser to put the ball in play right now. Mountcastle drove in a run with an RBI-groundout, but the move said more about Cowser’s inability to handle offspeed pitches than anything else.

Samuel Basallo can hit the ball HARD, but the Orioles still have a rookie batting .167 in the cleanup spot. A team that spent $155 million on Pete Alonso should be able to let guys like Basallo and Beavers cut their teeth a little lower in the order.

Trevor Rogers has looked the part through his first three starts, but the second head of Baltimore’s two headed monster failed to complete five innings in either of his first two outings. The Orioles could use a strong start from Kyle Bradish today with closer Ryan Helsley likely unavailable.

Cade Povich and Brandon Young have already turned in better appearances than free agent signing Chris Bassitt. The 37-year-0ld is 0-2 with a 14.21 ERA on the season. The Birds will need more out of Bassitt with Zach Eflin already on the 60-day injured list.

Henderson, Rutschman, and Taylor Ward look capable of carrying the offense until Alonso heats up, but the bottom half remains a question mark without Holliday and Jordan Westburg. Mayo has yet to offset the defense at third base, and Jeremiah Jackson looks to be the easy option once Holliday returns.

After 11 games, the optics match reality. The Orioles are playing like a team fighting to play .500 baseball. That’s not a disaster, but it’s not enough either. These two close wins in Chicago stopped the sky from falling, but Baltimore could really use a comfortable win to catch its breath. There’s an opportunity to get that win today with Bradish on the mound against University of Maryland product Sean Burke.

Good morning, Phillies fans. You can be forgiven for being a bit bleary-eyed this morning, given that yesterday was another 9:45 eastern start. Fortunately, today’s game is a reprieve in the form of a 3:45 start. But there will be more late nights this season; a road trip to San Diego and Los Angeles in late May will require some coffee.

Or not. Perhaps energy drinks are your beverage of choice for those late baseball nights. Or perhaps you don’t stay up at all. If you’re among those who prioritize health over baseball (I’m not), do you watch a replay of the game the next morning? If so, do you avoid spoilers? Or is a recap your option of choice? We offer those, you know.

Today’s question is: what do you do for the late night games?

After the fisticuffs between Reynaldo Lopez and Jorge Soler, Walt Weiss had a bit of a problem. He had to get 4 1/3 from his bullpen, but ideally, while preserving a small lead. If the game were a blowout already, it would be easy to sacrifice Jose Suarez and move on from there, but that wasn’t a good tactical option in a close game.

When I saw Tyler Kinley coming in, I started to do some math in my head — between Kinley and three “good relievers,” you could straightforwardly get either 3 1/3 or maybe more, depending on whether Kinley came back out after ending the fifth. You’d need Kinley for a full frame to get to 4 1/3. So, I started to think along the lines of, “Okay, fine, these guys are gonna have to pitch more than an inning, and that’s how we solve this problem.”

But that’s not what happened either. Kinley got two outs, one in the fifth, and one in the sixth. Dylan Lee finished the sixth. Robert Suarez was thrown in to face the scary part of this lineup in the seventh, but he was only asked to go an inning. Then we got an “Aaron Bummer in not-meaningless leverage” sighting, but a hit-by-pitch and a “oh rats we used all our ABS challenges already” sequence led to the tying run coming to the plate, so Walt Weiss, Jeremy Hefner and company went with Raisel Iglesias for the remainder of the game. Iglesias even stayed in as the Braves tacked on multiple runs in the top of the ninth.

While we’ve seen a lot of these things before (Iglesias for more than an inning, pitchers for less than an inning for handedness reasons, Aaron Bummer in non-awful leverage, a better reliever pitching earlier to face off against tougher batters), we generally haven’t seen them combined in this fashion. While the starting pitching decisions still trend towards the lackadaisical, we can at least say that Walt Weiss and company are being a lot more aggressive with their bullpen and bench decisions than we’ve seen in the past from this team.

If you were watching last night (which I know is a tough sell given the time for many of you), did the bullpen management surprise you as it happened?

The Pittsburgh Pirates and rookie infielder Konnor Griffin agreed to a nine-year contract extension, the team announced Wednesday, April 8.

The extension ties the 19-year-old to the team through the 2034 season. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team, but it is reported to be worth $140 million, according to The Athletic and ESPN.

After being baseball's top-rated prospect, Griffin, a Jackson, Mississippi native, was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on April 3, and in 17 at-bats this season, he is hitting .176 with three RBIs."Signing Konnor is a meaningful commitment to this team, this city and our fans. It reflects our belief inKonnor, in this season’s club and in the future of our organization," said Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting in a statement.

Rangers 3, Mariners 2

• A big win for your First Place Texas Rangers.
• Yes, that’s right…with the Astros and Angels losing, the Rangers are currently alone in first place in the A.L. West, a half game above Houston and Anaheim.
• Also, weirdly, they have the third best record in the American League right now. The only other A.L. teams above .500 are the 8-2 Yankees and the 7-5 Guardians.
• The Rangers, having run through a bunch of relievers the day before, needed innings from Nathan Eovaldi. And Nathan Eovaldi gave the Rangers innings.
• Six of them, to be precise. Six rather good innings.
• The first pitch of the game didn’t go well, I must admit. Brendan Donovan took the first pitch out of the park.
• That said, he didn’t exactly crush the ball. With a 94 mph exit velocity and a 34 degree launch angle, its a ball that Statcast says turns into an out 95% of the time.
• Unfortunately, Eovaldi experienced the 5%, and the Rangers were immediately in a 1-0 hole.
• Eovaldi ended up allowing a pair of runs, the second coming on a single-wild pitch-walk-single sequence. Cal Raleigh’s RBI single came on an 0-2 pitch that he flared into center field. Raleigh didn’t hit it well, but he was able to muscle it into that no man’s land in the outfield where weakly hit flares fall for hits.
• Eovaldi had his stuff going on, though. Seven strikeouts in the game, and a whopping 22 swings and misses generated on 93 pitches. He relied heavily on his splitter and his cutter, using them almost a third of the time, and generated 8 whiffs apiece off of those two pitches.
• The Donovan homer was off his fastball, and maybe not surprisingly, Eovaldi threw that pitch just nine more times after that.
• Jacob and Jakob finished things off, with Latz providing two shutout innings and Junis allowing two baserunners to start the ninth, scaring everyone, before finishing things off and getting the save.
• The offense wasn’t good, generating just six hits and no walks, with two GIDPs to boot. George Kirby had the Rangers’ number once again.
• But they strung hits together when they needed to, all at the start of the fifth inning.
• Joc Pederson started things off with an infield single, advancing to second on a bad throw to first, and scored on Evan Carter’s single.
• Then Kyle Higashioka, who led off the third with a blast down the left field line that looked like it would be a homer, but which drifted maybe a foot foul, crushed a Kirby pitch into the left field seats for a home run. And just like that, it was a 3-2 Rangers lead.
• Kirby retired the next 12 Rangers hitters in order, but it ultimately didn’t matter, as the three runs the Rangers put up ended up being enough.
• Nathan Eovaldi topped out at 95.3 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.4 mph. Jacob Latz’s fastball maxed out at 94.4 mph. Jakob Junis hit 93.8 mph with his fastball.
• Kyle Higashioka’s homer was 107.1 mph. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.4 mph ground out. Wyatt Langford had a 102.6 mph ground out. Ezequiel Duran had a 102.2 mph ground out. Jake Burger had a 101.2 mph ground out. Evan Carter had a 100.5 mph single.
• Now to finish off a sweep on a Wednesday afternoon and head into the off day with us all being happy.

This past Saturday, Giancarlo Stanton stole the show not for his stupendous power but for his baserunning. The slugger whose speed can charitably be described as “plodding” nonetheless swiped second base in the seventh inning when the Marlins neglected to hold him on first. His first steal since the 2024 ALDS and just his second overall since 2020 was followed by a brisk jog to third on an out, then one last race to the plate on a wild pitch, giving the Yankees a big insurance run.

An inning later, Stanton provided the go-ahead two-run single in a 9-7 win.

This isn’t an isolated incident with Stanton. Evidently, he’s feeling great—the series against the Mariners saw him run all over the place, with rather mixed results. Still, there’s plenty of reason to feel giddy about Stanton’s improved running. For one, it’s a sign he’s healthy enough to take off the limiters and try to make an impact beyond the pop in his bat. For another, if the player who has the most incentive of anybody in the dugout to take it easy and not run too hard is running hard anyway, it’ll have a positive downstream effect on the rest of the team.

In the arduous grind of an MLB season, example is the best form of leadership. Mantras and motivational speeches can ring hollow if they don’t lead to results, particularly over 162 games. The Yankees under Aaron Boone don’t depend on the rah-rah kind of leadership beyond the occasional bombastic ejection. Similarly, team captain Aaron Judge and his deputy, Stanton, are not going to be caught on camera yelling at their teammates to motivate them. They do it by, as ballplayers say, “going about their business.”

Teammates are effusive of Stanton’s willingness to be a resource on hitting, but until last week I’m not sure anyone would have expected him to show his leadership on the basepaths. The Marlins certainly didn’t, giving him an easy opportunity to steal second base and help bring in a big insurance run. Opposing clubhouses will certainly be paying more attention to Stanton now, but so will his own clubhouse. It’s a lot harder to justify not giving your all on a baserunning play if Big G’s busting his hump on the paths.

This is part and parcel of a broader evolution the Yankees have attempted over the past few seasons. The prevailing criticism of the team in recent years has been that they’re not maneuverable enough, so to speak—that they’re so reliant on the home run ball that they lose their potency if the ball isn’t leaving the yard. I find that criticism a touch disingenuous, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with making your team more athletic and better positioned to take advantage of opponents’ mistakes. And at the very least, the Yanks needed to make fewer mental errors of their own—particularly on the bases and in the field.

It’s early yet, but the numbers back up a more aggressive approach working for the Yankees. Last season, they were tied with the Mariners for the lowest rate of extra bases taken in the league at 37 percent. So far this year, they’ve take the extra base more than anybody else, at 59 percent.

To be clear, this isn’t really a sustainable figure—the Tigers’ led the league in XBT% each of the last two seasons, managing a 53 percent last season after doing so 49 percent of the time last year. But if the Yankees can approach the latter figure and sit in the top ten leaguewide while mitigating outs on the bases, that’s a massive improvement from their station-to-station incarnations in previous campaigns. It should appreciably improve their ability to bring home runners when the ball isn’t carrying. And as a team that always works oodles of walks, they should have plenty of baserunners to bring home.

Last year, the Yankees made waves with their torpedo bats. Fans and media alike wondered if the Yankees had cracked some kind of offensive code. In reality, the team was just off to a hot start—it remains to be seen whether the shape of their bats had any real impact on that. But if the Yankees’ newfound ability to consistently take the extra base sticks, that would be no mirage. It would be another sign that the Bronx Bombers are becoming an even tougher puzzle for opposing teams to solve.

Meet the Mets

The Mets beat the Diamondbacks 4-3 in a ten-inning, back-and-forth game. The Mets went up by two runs early by way of a Brett Baty sacrifice fly in the first inning and a Francisco Lindor RBI double in the second. The Diamondbacks came back in the fifth, as Huascar Brazobán allowed all three of the runners he inherited from Freddy Peralta to score. But the Mets came back to tie it in the eighth after Jared Young hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly, and they won when Ronny Mauricio hit an RBI single in the tenth inning, his first at-bat since returning to the major leagues.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic

Ronny Mauricio likely won’t see significant time with his time on the major league roster, with his appearances probably coming as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement.

Juan Soto won’t be doing baseball activities until his calf soreness subsides.

Tom Nieto, a member of the Mets’ coaching staff from 2005 to 2008, passed away.

MLB ranked the top 10 talent-packed minor league rosters, and the Rumble Ponies made the cut.

Around the National League East

The Nationals lost a ten-inning contest against the Cardinals 7-6, in spite of a solid 4.2 inning start from Cade Cavalli in which he gave up just one earned run (though he walked four batters).

It was a big day for extra inning games in the National League East, as the Marlins lost a ten-inning game 6-3 to the Reds, wasting a fantastic 8.1 innings from Sandy Alcantara, who gave up just two runs while striking out six.

The Phillies needed just the regular nine innings to lose to the Giants 6-0, with Cristopher Sánchez giving up four runs on eleven hits in five innings.

The Braves were the only other team in the division to secure a win, beating the Angels 7-2 thanks to a wide spread of offensive contributions, with Eli White leading the team with two RBI.

Around Major League Baseball

Young Cubs star starter Cade Horton needs season-ending surgery on his throwing elbow.

After a young Dominican aspiring baseball player died from too many performance-enhancing drugs, there are renewed interest in an international draft to replace the current international free agency signings.

Mike Petriello is here to ease worries about two stats this early on—as well as substantiating worries in another.

The Orioles traded prospect Brayden Smith to the Cardinals in exchange for lefty reliever Nick Raquet.

Blue Jays pitcher Cody Ponce needs ACL surgery, likely ending his 2026 season before it ever really started.

Astros ace Hunter Brown has a grade 2 shoulder strain, and won’t be throwing for a few weeks at least.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Steve Sypa delivered this season’s first Mets Minor Leaguers of the week.

This Date in Mets History

On Opening Day in 1969, the Mets inaugurated the Montreal Expos franchise—and gave them their first win in the process.

Toledo Mud Hens 1, St. Paul Saints 0 (box)

The Mud Hens welcomed back their home crowd with a well pitched game and just enough offense to everyone home quickly and out of the cold with a victory on Tuesday afternoon.

Lael Lockhart Jr. got the start and the lefty set down the Saints in order in the first with help from Max Clark on a sinking drive that he had to go to the ground to snare as it fell in front of him.

The Hens quickly got to work in the bottom half. Wenceel Pérez lined out to center, but Clark kept his on-base streak intact with a sharp single to right field. He then stole second base. Trei Cruz struck out, but Eduardo Valencia walked to keep the inning alive, and Hao-Yu Lee, in his first game back with the Hens after a Lakeland rehab assignment, lined a single to left to make it 1-0 Hens.

Clark hasn’t really scorched many balls so far, but he has hit a pair over 110 mph, his hardest hit on record, and his at-bats have uniformly been great. When we start seeing hard contact to the pull side, Clark will be within striking distance of his first major league cup of coffee. It’s early, but he definitely looks like he’ll be forcing the issue by June at this rate.

That was all they’d need. Lockhart only struck out one, but he managed to retire the first 14 hitters he faced in order. The Hens’ defense was sharp, while the Saints batted ball luck was tough. With two outs in the fifth, Lockhart walked old friend Ryan Kreidler for the Saints first baserunner. He was quickly erased by a ground out, and the Saints wouldn’t have many more. Lockhart spun five innings of no-hit ball with just a walk and a strikeout allowed. As you’d imagine, the pace of play was brisk.

Of course the Hens offense wasn’t doing much either. Corey Julks doubled in the fourth but was stranded. Clark beat out an infield single in the fifth with two outs, but that went nowhere either.

Burch Smith tossed a perfect sixth with two strikeouts. Konnor Pilkington took over, and the lefty walked a pair but collected four more outs without a hit allowed.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ben Malgeri tripled to right field with one out after a lengthy battle and a failed dive by the Saints right fielder. He tried to score on a Pérez groundout, but was cut down at the plate. Clark flew out to end the inning.

Pilkington got the first out of the eighth, but then issued his two walks, and right-hander Ricky Vanasco took over. Vanasco and Smith have been the best of the Hens relief corps early on, and he cleaned up the mess, whiffing Alex Jackson and Aaron Sabato both on power curveballs to escape the jam.

Vanasco allowed a walk and a single in the top of the ninth. The first hit of the game for St. Paul was a blooper into shallow right field. Second baseman Gage Workman made a great effort to get out there but couldn’t make the basket catch. Two outs from a combined no-hitter. Vanasco scorned the Saints meager success, and punched out his fourth and fifth hitters on the outing to decisvely earn his first save on the year. The Saints managed just one hit, although the Hens had just six of their own.

Clark: 2-4, R, BB

Valencia: 0-1, 3 BB

Lee: 1-3, RBI, K

Lockhart: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, K

Vanasco (S, 1): 1.2 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start at Fifth Third on Wednesday.

Chesapeake BaySox 4, Erie SeaWolves 1 (box)

Mistakes plagued the SeaWolves in an otherwise tight game on Tuesday as they dropped the first of their six-game road series against the BaySox.

It was a bullpen day for Erie, and Tanner Kohlhepp and John Stankiewicz got them through four innings without issue. They wasted an opportunity when Seth Stephenson was hit by a pitch to start a game, and he went on to steal second and third while his teammates popped up or struck out.

John Peck finally got things going with a one-out double in the fourth. An Andrew Jenkins single made it a 1-0 game.

Yosber Sanchez took over in the fifth. He issued a leadoff walk and then an Andrew Jenkins throwing error on a grounder made it first and second no outs. Another walk from Sanchez loaded the bases, and an RBI single and then a wild pitch followed before he got out of the inning with the BaySox up 2-1.

Stephenson led off the sixth with a walk, and Brett Callahan singled, but Peck, Izaac Pacheco, and Jenkins all struck out against tough lefty Micah Ashman, who you’ll recall was traded for Charlie Morton last summer.

Sanchez walked the first batter he faced in the sixth and gave way to right-hander Moises Rodriguez, who walked his first batter. The hard throwing sinkerballer avoided the big hit, but a pair of deep sacrifice flies made it a 4-1 game.

Chris Meyers led off the seventh with a double, but again they went in order from there.

Wandisson Charles pitched the eighth, giving up a walk but otherwise having no trouble.

In the top of the ninth, Pacheco led off with a single, and Meyers walked with one out. Justice Bigbie struck out, and a sharp single to left from Peyton Graham didn’t allow Pacheco to score. Bennett Lee struck out to end it.

Peck: 1-4, R, 2B, 2 K

Jenkins: 1-4, RBI, 3K

Kohlhepp: 2.0 IP, 0 R, BB, K

Sanchez (L, 0-1, BS): 1.0 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, H, 3 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Wednesday.

Great Lakes Loons 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (box)

Lefty Gabriel Reyes made his High-A debut and was quite wild, walking five hitters in just 2 2/3 innings. Those walks and some sloppy play put the Whitecaps in a hole early and then never fought back.

Reyes walked Mike Sirota to open the game. Sirota stole second and scored on a Charles Davalan single for a quick 1-0 lead. Reyes issued another walk in the inning but got out of further trouble. The Whitecaps loaded the bases with one out as a result of three straight walks, but Ricardo Hurtado grounded into a double play to waste the opportunity.

Reyes just could not get it together. He walked two more in the second and escaped, then walked the leadoff hitter in the third, and did not escape. A Cristian Santana error at second allowed the next hitter to reach, and then Reyes plunked Nico Perez. A sacrifice fly made it 2-0. Perez stole second and Hurtado threw it away as the runner on third scored. Perez showed Hurtado zero respect, stealing third as well, but it was unnecessary as Victor Rodrigues mashed a two-run shot for a 5-0 lead. Duque Hebbert took over and cleaned up the mess.

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps bats were stone cold. Logan Berrier relieved Hebbert in the fifth and promptly surrendered a run on a Rodrigues RBI single. 6-0. Loons.

In the bottom half, Stephen Hrustich led off with a walk. With one out, Samuel Gil singled Hrustich to third, and he scored on a wild pitch to get the Whitecaps on the board. 6-1.

Berrier was fine in the sixth, and in the seventh, Carlos Lequerica took over and punched out the side. However, in the eighth, a leadoff double and a pair of ground outs made it a 7-1 game, and that was about all there was.

Inohan Paniagua made his Whitecaps debut in the top of the ninth, striking out two. Roberto Campos singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and Garrett Pennington walked. The Loons went back to their pen and a Hurtado ground out advanced the baserunners. A wild pitch from Joseilyn Gonzalez scored Campos. A Samuel Gil single made it 7-3, but Santana flew out to end it.

Gil: 2-4, RBI, K

Campos: 1-3, R, BB

Reyes (L, 0-1): 2.2 IP, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 12:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday at LMCU Park.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Daytona Tortugas 5 (box)

The Flying Tigers built a lead, lost it, got ahead again, and then just held off the Tortugas to maintain a perfect 4-0 record in their home 2026 debut.

LHP Bailey Horn made a short rehab outing to start this one off. He got the first two outs before giving up a single. Pedro Garcia took over and started with a balk and a wide pitch before a grounder tied up Carson Rucker and scored the run. Garcia shut things down from there but it was 1-0 Daytona.

The Flying Tigers struck out in order against Sheng-En Lin in the first, while Tyler Owens came on for a rehab inning in the second, which he handled without much issue.

In the bottom of the second, Lin walked four hitters, handing the Flying Tigers a 2-1 lead.

At that point, LHP Grayson Grinsell, the Tigers’ 2025 sixth rounder out of Oregon, entered the game to make his debut. He spun a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. Jack Goodman stayed hot for Lakeland with a ground rule double down the right field line, but that went nowhere.

Grinsell dug a little hole to open the fourth, but Mason Neville lined into a double play and Grinsell whiffed Drew Davies to escape unscathed.

Zach MacDonald has been a minor revelation early on for the Flygers, and he opened the fourth with a double to right. Sergio Tapia moved him to third with a groundout, and a wild pitch from the Tortugas’ Dominic Scheffler Nolan McCarthy brought the run in while walked Nolan McCarthy. 3-1 Lakeland.

Grinsell struck out the side in the fifth, showing off good sliders and changeups to go with a solid 92 mph fourseamer. However, he got into trouble in the sixth, giving up up two runs as Grinsell and Tapia struggled to control the Tortugas running game. The score was knotted 3-3, but the Flying Tigers came right back.

Beau Ankeney led off the bottom of the sixth with a single. MacDonald struck out and Tapia grounded out, but McCarthy singled and Jose Pinto walked to load the bases with two outs. Bryce Rainer popped up to the shortstop Rafhimil Torres, but he lost the towering ball and dropped it as all three runners scored for a 6-3 lead. Rainer stole second and then third, but Rucker struck out to end the inning.

Eliseo Mota then conspired to return the favor with a mess of an inning that saw the Tortugas score two until Jorger Petri took over to clean things up. 6-5 Lakeland. Petri was nails, and collected the next six outs with just a walk in the ninth allowed to collect the save.

Goodman: 1-3, R, 2B, BB, K

MacDonald: 1-3, R, RBI, BB, K

McCarthy, 1-2, R, RBI, 2 BB

Grinsell (W, 1-0): 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start in Lakeland on Wednesday.

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George Springer has a good track record in the batter's box against Shohei Ohtani. I’m expecting the Toronto Blue Jays’ lead-off hitter to continue that trend and help generate offense against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Find out why with my Blue Jays vs Dodgers predictions and free MLB picks for Wednesday, April 8.

Dodgers vs Blue Jays predictions

Dodgers vs Blue Jays best bet: George Springer Over 1.5 total bases (+130)

The Toronto Blue Jays batter with the most success against Shohei Ohtani on the rubber is George Springer, who is 9-for-17 with a career 1.438 OPS in six meetings against the Los Angeles Dodgers starter.

He also has two home runs against Ohtani in that stretch, averaging 2.16 total bases per game.

This shouldn’t come as a major surprise considering Springer's success against the four-seamer, Ohtani’s most-utilized pitch, where he had a .746. xSLG rate last season, with 37 of his XBH coming off the fastball.

COVERS INTEL: Springer has registered 2+ total bases in 7 of 14 games against the Dodgers, with a .954 OPS when facing off with this pitching staff.

Dodgers vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

Ernie Clement is riding a three-game hitting streak and has recorded at least one hit in eight of the 10 games he’s played. I expect that trend to continue tonight against Ohtani, against whom he's gone 2-for-4. 

Teoscar Hernandez has struck out in eight straight outings and struggles mightily against the slider, with a 43% whiff rate and a 35% strikeout rate in 2025. The former Blue Jays slugger has a lowly .200 batting average with nine K’s in just 21 at-bats against Dylan Cease through his career.  

Dodgers vs Blue Jays SGP

• George Springer Over 1.5 total bases
• Ernie Clement Over 0.5 hits
• Teoscar Hernandez Over 1.5 batter strikeouts

Dodgers vs Blue Jays home run pick: George Springer (+350)

This is a half-unit bet. 

We’ve seen Springer have his way with Ohtani in the past, sporting a .506 career average with an OPS north of 1.400 with two homers and an .882 slug rate. 

Additionally, the pitching matchup favors Springer, who crushes four-seamers, which is Ohtani’s most-used pitch. 

So, assuming the Dodgers star will zip in a bunch of fastballs to Springer, he can get a hold of one and take it deep over the wall. Springer was also an elite barrel rate hitter in 2025, ranking in the 94th percentile, and enhancing his ability to tap into his home run power.

Dodgers vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -170 | Blue Jays +145
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (-105) | Blue Jays +1.5 (-115)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-115) | Under 7.5 (-105)

Dodgers vs Blue Jays trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have covered the 1st Five Innings (F5) Run Line in 14 of their last 21 games at home (+6.00 Units / 24% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Dodgers vs Blue Jays and game info

Dodgers vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Dodgers vs Blue Jays weather

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Here's what happened in Mets Land on Tuesday, in case you missed it...

• Ronny Mauricio lifted his first career walk-off to give the Mets their fourth consecutive win
• Carlos Mendoza said postgame that it was good to see Mauricio deliver in his first opportunity back in the majors
• New York's comeback spirit continues to be fueled by pinch-hitting heroics and a lockdown bullpen
• The bullpen did have one hiccup, though, as Huascar Brazoban was hurt by an ABS challenge for the first time
• Pregame, Mendoza discussed Mauricio's role and how the team is playing is safe with Juan Soto
• MLB Insider Chelsea Janes broke down how the Mets will piece things together with Soto on the IL
• Carlos Beltran says he's grateful to head into the Mets Hall of Fame and have his No. 15 retired
• Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo break down this week in New York baseball on the latest episode of The Mets Pod

The reigning World Series MVP took the mound in Toronto on Tuesday for the first time since that fateful Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto bounced back after being dealt a loss in his start against the Cleveland Guardians by tossing six innings of one-run ball while striking out six against the Blue Jays, giving Jays fans flashbacks of Yamamoto’s brilliance in last year’s Fall Classic. Yamamoto now joins Shohei Ohtani as the only two Dodgers this season to have tossed at least six innings with no more than one run allowed in a start this season, with the former now having tossed three quality starts to open the season.

Although the Blue Jays began to tee off Yamamoto after the fifth inning, he was able to pitch into the seventh inning with his pitch count just shy of century mark, and Dave Roberts credited Yamamoto with the ability to do whatever it takes to win ballgames, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“This guy’s a winner, and he’s shown that he’ll do whatever it takes to win,” manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. “That’s part of his DNA.”

Links

Will Smith may have his starting catcher job in jeopardy, as Dalton Rushing has been on a tear at the plate over his last two games. Rushing has now reached base safely over his last six plate appearances, and he has crushed three home runs— including his first multi-home run game— since Sunday’s win over the Nationals.

Of course, as long as Will Smith is still a Dodger and playing like an All-Star, then he will continue to be the team’s go-to guy behind the plate despite Rushing’s recent success, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

“I plan on playing him this year. I plan on giving Will (Smith) ample rest,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But make no mistake who our starting catcher is.”

After a slow start on this road trip and after being the only starter on Monday without a hit against Toronto, Alex Freeland had an impressive game on Tuesday by going 3-3 with a double, a sacrifice bunt, an RBI and two runs scored in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Freeland spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA post-game about his first career three hit game.

“It felt amazing. I’m just trying to be consistent and just keep putting together good at-bats, and hopefully they fell. They fell tonight and it feels good.”

Happy Wednesday, everyone! While things have gotten off to a bit of a rough start for the Cubs this season, they aren’t the only club suffering from early season injuries and disappointing numbers. Below, we take a look at some clubs who are being forced to re-assess their plans to get back on track.

Plus, people are still reacting to Jo Adell’s wild weekend, and also looking at how it impacted the pitcher on the mound at the time—Chris Sale. We also take a look at some wild ballpark food, as teams get more and more inventive to try going viral online and getting attention from fans.

Let’s just get right into it!

• Dan Szymborski looks at how three different contending teams are having to pivot now that they’re facing serious player injuries.
• Ben Clemens looks at some small adjustments that could make big changes for teams down the line.
• The Jays continue to have a bumpy start to the season as Max Scherzer exits a game early. Story by Keegan Matheson.
• Karl Rasmussen reports that Willson Contreras’s beef with the Brewers got worse after a hit by pitch.
• Alden Gonzalez looks at the mounting scandals coming from internation development, and wonders if an international draft is the answer.
• The Athletic staff look at the players making the biggest difference to team Power Rankings in the first weeks. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Maury Brown assesses the early MLB TV rankings a few short weeks into the 2026 season.
• Now that’s one way to make a comeback.

• Padres’ broadcaster Mark Grant takes a personal career quiz. Story by David Laurila.
• Kennedi Landry shares that the Rangers are waiting on an MRI for Jacob deGrom’s knee.
• Jason Mackey reports that the Pirates are hopeful about working out an extension deal with Konnor Griffin.
• Chris Sale, ever a chill guy, smashed himself in the head with a baseball during a terrible outing. Story by Stephen Douglas.
• Tom Verducci spotlights the youth movement currently taking over baseball.
• Which teams are the most fun to watch in MLB right now? Story by David Schoenfield.
• How a die-hard Angels fan managed to capture Jo Adell’s magic moment. Story by Tyler Kepner. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Sign me up for that Lobstah Poutine.

• Getting into the food details, the Yankees’ ice cream chicken has turned into a viral sensation. Story by Chris Kirschner. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Michael Soroka is getting a lot of attention from opposing batters. Story by Michael Baumann.
• Sam Dykstra figures out the most prospect-packed rosters in the minor leagues.
• Karl Rasmussen looks at three free agent pitchers who could still help struggling teams.
• The A’s have sent Luis Morales to the minors to help work on his control issues. (AP)
• The Rays are finally back at Tropicana Field, and looking ahead to their new forever home. Story by Chad Jennings. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Johnny Flores Jr. takes a look at how the ABS is faring three weeks into the season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Wait, are the Rockies good now?

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

Good morning, baseball fans!

Earlier this week, the San Francisco Giants announced that they would be working with ElevenLabs, an AI research and product company, in an upcoming multi-year partnership at Oracle Park.

ElevenLabs will become the presenting sponsor of Oracle Park’s Championship Suite. They will also “deploy AI voice and audio technology throughout the ballpark to elevate the fan experience.”

Thanks, I hate it.

I’m sure there are good or even neutral uses for AI technology, such as accessibility in the form of translation services and audio dubbing, as the announcement mentions in further detail.

But in my experience on an everyday use basis, AI features tend to be forced on the public, filled with data-mining functions to steal as much user information as possible, and lack the ability to turn them off. Meanwhile, those features tend to primarily slow down programs (often ones that users have already paid for) and make it take ten times longer to do the things they were already doing with those programs before. But that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, the announcement goes on to read like a word-soup scramble of corporate buzzwords:

“Through this integration, the organization will elevate fan engagement and optimize operations across several key areas, including real-time, AI-powered fan support for ticketing, merchandise, food ordering, and ballpark FAQs, as well as in-game activations featuring live dubbing and multilingual audio at Oracle Park.”

Sounds to me like a lot of people at Oracle Park are going to lose their jobs whenever this actually goes into effect. But yay optimized operations I guess. Because that’s what the world needs more of right now.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants wrap up this series against the Philadelphia Phillies today at 12:45 p.m. PT.